Adventuring with kids in our National Parks
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Things you might find interesting

Mt Rainier Wilderness Reservations

3/29/2016

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By Harley mcallister

If you are interested in exploring some of the Mt Rainier backcountry this summer but were slow to make your plans - then you are in luck!  Their online reservation system crashed and so all permits will be handed out in a first-come first-served manner this year.  This includes the ever popular Wonderland Trail.

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If we had not already made plans for Yosemite and Glacier this summer, I know where we would be headed!  Take advantage and learn more here: https://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-permit.htm

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#5 Favorite memories of Capitol reef

3/11/2016

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by Abby mcallister

It is hard for me to pick a favorite moment from this park (actually it has been hard to do that for each of these Utah parks!).   Although I was at first turned off by the human history represented in the park (historic buildings, park, orchards, etc), I later came to love them.  The hiking was fantastic-from the Grand Wash to Angel Arch we found fun things to see and explore.  However, since we have set the goal of choosing just one moment, I think our “off trail” exploration of the slot canyons along the east side of the park along the seldom used Nottham-Bullfrog Rd is my favorite memory.  I want to make sure up front that “favorite” isn’t confused with “easiest” or “least frustrating.”  In fact, the opposite is true.  Since we were searching for Headquarter canyon, one we had read about online but that wasn’t on the main maps we ended up wandering down a lot of dead-end animal trails. 
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We would see what we thought was maybe the opening of a slot canyon in the Waterpocket Fold and set off across the sage and sand flats, only to find 20 minutes later that it was a dead-end opening that only went 30 feet into the Waterpocket Fold, or that the mouth was blocked by an impassible pool of water (which still left us wondering if this was in fact the correct canyon or should we keep looking for it somewhere else?).  After many false starts we decided to split up and cover more canyon openings in less time.  At once my group encountered at trail that closely matched the descriptions online and we followed it to the canyon we had been seeking all afternoon.  It was cool, in both temperature and interest factor but that canyon wasn’t the actually my favorite.  What I loved was the feeling we had as we worked together as a family to find “clues” that we were in the right place.  I loved seeing my kids come alive as the realized how different it felt to be on a “hunt” for something hard to find versus hiking along a well known and marked trail.  We found animal tracks, animals themselves, rocks to climb, pools to attempt to cross, and a wilderness that many visitors to national parks never find.  We were explorers, problem-solvers, adventurers and pioneers.  On this afternoon our kids truly understood what the early settlers experienced as they searched for a way through the huge uprising of the Waterpocket fold, something the informational video in the visitor center addresses but fails to strike home like doing it yourself does.  While we all like to visit the national parks to see the famous sites, I find that my best memories are formed around time spent together, often when things don’t go smoothly or as planned.  It is being together in those moments that we will all remember for many years to come.

by tavin mcallister

Capitol reef was an interesting park. I liked the hikes just fine, but those weren't my favorite activity. What I liked was the creativity, the building and the pie. Yes I said pie. At capitol reef at the campground we were at there was a little shop that sold pie. And boy, was it good! After we finished off our pie, my older brother, Kaden had an Idea. He had been gathering rocks all day and we decided to go up a trail close to the campgrounds, and make a sundial. It actually worked! So if you go to capitol reef, make sure to eat pie and try and spot our sun dial! These were my favorite memories because when you build something it is cool to think back and say I wonder what happened to that little sun dial we made, and then you start thinking about the pie, then the hikes, and it all comes back and you can remember the fun you had.

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Book sale Announcement and our first Podcast!

3/10/2016

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We have some really great news for you today!  As you may know if you've been reading along the last few weeks, we are counting down to this weekend when we are celebrating the release of our guide to all the parks in Utah.  Today we announce the next two countdown items for your enjoyment:

First, our guide book "Utah's Big 5 National Parks with Kids" goes on sale starting tomorrow!  We will be selling this guide book on Amazon on sale this weekend only.  We are in the prime planning time for a summer vacation to Utah so go grab the book while it's on sale.  

Also in anticipation of this launch we had the opportunity to be guest speakers on "The Familyman Podcast with Todd Wilson".  Todd is all about encouraging men to be better fathers and better husbands, and we found a lot of common ground in our desire to help parents plan memorable and exciting family vacations.  So if you want to be encouraged and get motivated to plan an epic family vacation, tune in to the podcast and let us know what you think! (Harley's segment starts around 13:13 minutes)

Check in tomorrow for our final family memories of our time in the Utah parks and we hope you find inspiration to start your own journey!
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#4 Favorite memories of Bryce Canyon National Park

3/4/2016

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by Harley mcallister

Bryce was one of my favorite parks due to the sheer outlandish beauty of the hoodoos.  The colors were so bold and vibrant that if you were to see them in a painting you would think the artist had gone overboard.  There are short walks to the rim of the canyon where you can look out over a wide expanse of the hoodoos, and such vistas inspire me.  But what is even better about Bryce is that there are several trails that wind right through the 'forest' of hoodoos and you get unique views with every turn.  There are hidden canyons, towering spires, occasional tunnels, and little alcoves everywhere you walk. 
Picture of hiking the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon National Park
Picture of family vacation in Bryce Canyon National Park
Amazing vistas at every turn
Another neat aspect to these colorful formations is that they really catch the colors of sunsets and sunrises if you make the effort to be there at those special times.  And the lack of light pollution in this park make it perfect for stargazing, so much so that the park has special "night rangers" that put on excellent astronomy talks and will even let you use their telescopes.

And finally, if you are blessed to visit this area on the fall, try to make it there at the start of October.  Perhaps the greatest surprise for us was the amazing display of fall Aspens that we were fortunate enough to witness on the way to and in certain portions of the park.
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by Kaden McAllister

I loved walking through the Hoodoos. I remember it was like walking in a giant maze. It was especially fun because you were able to look at the Hoodoo maze from above before you entered. Then while you were in the Hoodoos, you would try and guess where you are in the maze.

There were many different cool rock formations. There were, in a few places, trees growing in crevices, reaching up toward the sky. We took pictures next to certain signs. Then later, we showed the pictures to the rangers for some cool pins!
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    Author

    We, Harley and Abby, are the parents of 7 boys and 1 girl whom we regularly drag into any and every national park we come near to.  We love our parks and know that the only chance we have of keeping and maintaining this priceless resource is to give our children a love of them too.

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  • National Park family guide books
    • About the Glacier Guide
    • About the Yellowstone Guide
    • About The Yosemite Guide
    • About the Utah Guide: Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands
  • About Us
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