Vacations and day trips are fun and at the same time these trips can be educational.  Preparing for and visiting a park offers the family opportunities to learn subjects like geography (visiting new places), history by visiting parks like the Statue of Liberty and math (think preparing a trip budget y measuring the distance to the park).  Not only that, but park visitors could learn new skills like how to paddle a kayak or canoe, how to identify the planets in the sky or how to fish.

Below are a few links that show the connection between parks and education. If you want to learn more about your own state’s standards, look up your state education agency on the web.

The state of Massachusetts

Science in the state of Massachusetts Grades 3-5

The lifecycle and more  http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/1006.pdf

All of Massachusetts standards http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

Texas

All of Texas’ standards

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148&menu_id=720&menu_id2=785

The lifecycle is on page 23 of this informational website by Texas Parks and Wildlife

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4503_0131n.pdf

Photo is courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife

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Elephant Seals along the California coast  http://www.elephantseal.org/livecam.htm

Bald Eagles in Decorah, Iowa http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Turkey Vultures in Missouri http://www.ustream.tv/missouriturkeyvultures

Peregrine Falcons in the Mississippi River Valley http://www.ustream.tv/greatspiritblufffalcons

Peguins at the Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.aspx

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 Health and Emergencies

 Clothing

 Bathroom

 List of Recommended Equipment

The Kitchen

 Other Accessories

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In order to plan a trip, you need to think about how much time is available for the vacation, what type of budget you have, who is going to go, the ages or physical abilities of the people who are going and what type of transportation you have.  To help you choose a park that meets your needs, there is a list of information sources at the end of this post.

How Much Time is Available?

This is an important topic because if your destination is far away and you don’t have much time, you are going to spend a lot of time traveling to the destination and very little time relaxing outside of the car.  Try to choose a trip in which you are going to spend more time outside of the vehicle investigating the natural world.  If you do not have much vacation time and have the desire to visit a particular location, sometimes it is possible to begin a trip very early in the morning.  If you pack the car the night before and leave the house at four in the morning you can drive while the kids are sleeping.  When the kids wake up, you can stop at a restaurant for breakfast and to get coffee for the driver or you could stop at a public rest area alongside the highway and eat rolls and fruit from your cooler.

Budget

The budget plays a role in every vacation.  If there is not enough money for you to enjoy a vacation, don’t go on that trip because you will become frustrated.  But, when you camp instead of staying in a hotel, you save money which can help you reduce expenses and can make a trip to a place likeDisneyworld possible.  In order to manage a budget there are various steps you can take.

1. Bring your food or buy it at the supermarket near your destination.  If you regularly eat at fast food restaurants, you are going to spend a lot more money.
2. Make blocks of ice at home using empty milk cartons.  To do this, fill a carton 80% full with water.  Put the carton in the freezer for three days.  This type of ice lasts longer than cube or crushed ice and it costs you very little.
3. Begin your trip with a full tank of gas because gas is more expensive along the highway in remote areas.
4. Bring snack foods and drinks for everyone instead of buying snacks and drinks at the gas station.
5. Buy your film at home instead of at your destination because tourist areas tend to charge more for film.
6. Use campgrounds instead of hotels for overnight accommodations.  Once in a while you are going to need a hotel, so bring some extra cash for this expense.
7. Try to make most of your meals at the campsite instead of going to restaurants.  On the other hand, do not plan to have every meal at the campsite.  This is because there are times when it will be raining hard and everything is going to get wet, sometimes mom or dad will be tired of cooking and other times there won’t be enough time to make a meal after a long day.
8. Look for coupons for the attraction that you are going to visit.
9. If you are a member of AAA the American Automobile Association, there are many places that offer a better price to you for their goods and services.  This includes hotels and amusement parks.
10. Prepare your car for the trip by checking the oil, the tires and the spare tire in the trunk.  Driving with fully inflated tires will help your car go farther on every gallon of gas.  Finally, car repairs are not cheap or easy in rural areas and sometimes you will need to have the car towed a long distance which is very expensive.  So make sure your car is in good working order prior to your trip.
11. Investigate the weather for your destination to prepare yourself and your family with the appropriate clothing.  If you need to buy clothing in order to adjust to the weather, this expense is going to reduce the money you have available for other activities.  Prepare and enjoy.
12. If you are going to visit a number of National Parks or a number of parks in one state, consider buying an annual park admission pass.  This card or pass can save you money on park entrance fees.  If you are not going to more than two parks in a year, then this card will cost more than the price of admission.

Common Trip Expenses

Gasoline-To estimate how much gas you are going to use on a trip, use the following formula.  Estimate the number of total miles you will be traveling and divide this number by the miles per gallon that your car gets.  The resulting figure will be the number of gallons of gas you will be buying and you can multiply this number by the price of gas.  For example:  I am going on a trip from Chicago to Denver and back.  The distance is 1000 miles each way.  My car gets 25 miles to the gallon.  I divide my round trip total of 2000 miles by 25 and get 80 gallons.  Let’s say the price of gas is $3.50.  So knowing that I need 80 gallons of gas for my trip, I multiply this number by $3.50 and find out that I need to budget at least $280 dollars for gas.

Food-As an initial figure, use your regular weekly grocery bill and add two restaurant meals per week.

Ice-You will generally need to buy ice while on the road at the supermarket in order to keep your cooler cold.

Souvenirs- Bring extra money for buying items on your trip that may not be available at home.  Some examples are books written about the parks you visit, t-shirts, baseball caps, gifts for family members watching your house and novelty items.

Admission Fees-Many attractions have admission fees.  Before your trip, investigate these fees and bring sufficient money to pay them.

Firewood-Many parks sell firewood which generally costs between six and ten dollars.  Remember, in most parks it is illegal to collect firewood from the forest.

Fishing License-Each state has its own fees for fishing.  Many times kids can fish for free and do not need a license if they are under a certain age.

Snacks-Kids like to buy candy at the park concession stand.  Sometimes you can bring candy so you don’t have to buy it.

Who is Going?

Who is going on the trip is an important part of the planning process.  Young children between the ages of four and eight years old get bored easily on long drives.  Therefore, short trips near home might be preferable.  Five hours in the car is generally the maximum that a young child can endure in one day.  Also, the activities that you plan will depend on the ages of the campers in the group.  For example, a young child of eight years old is not going to be very interested in visiting a brewery because it is not interesting to them.  Remember who is going on the trip and plan the activities accordingly.

Transportation

The type of transportation you have will affect where you can go.  If you have a car without a trunk and all of the seats in the car are full of people, it is better to take a short trip near home.  This is because there is very little room in the car for both equipment and passengers.  If you want to take a trip a long distance from home, you could buy a roof rack to put your gear on top of the car.  If you don’t have a car, but have the money, you could take your gear (but not fuel) with you on a plane and rent a car at the airport where you land.  If your car does not work well, choose a destination close to home so you don’t suffer a breakdown on the road.  Finally, remember that there are many wonderful parks within two hours of most major cities.

Information Sources

AAA-The American Automobile Association or AAA is an organization that charges an annual fee for its numerous services.  Some of the benefits of membership are free towing, free maps, free campground guides, free TourBooks, passport photos and more.  This post focuses on their maps, campground guides and tourbooks.  A good source of information for an area is the TourBook by AAA.  If there is a town or areas of interest near your campground, use the TourBook in order to look for hotels or museums of the region, an historical monument or a tour of a local attraction like a cave or a candy factory.  These activities are educational for children and adults alike and offer everyone the opportunity to have new experiences.  Also, AAA provides regional maps for every part of theU.S.  These maps are good tools for planning a vacation.  Each map has symbols representing almost all of the public campgrounds in theU.S. and the distances between cities.  The CampBooks by AAA are simple, but very complete.  Each campground listed in the guide has a brief description.  Some descriptions are going to include the location of the park, the size of the park, the number of campsites within a campground, the dates of operation for a park, the price of staying at a particular park, the services offered at the park, location of the nearest hospital, recreational opportunities, park phone number and the altitude.

Government Brochures-The federal and state governments produce brochures for the campgrounds that they manage.  To obtain a brochure, call, e-mail or write the state or federal park you wish to visit.

Books-There are many books available about vacation destinations in theU.S.  If you go to the library or the bookstore, you will find many of these books.

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Entering a Park

Entering a park could occur at a ranger station, or, in the case of a national forest location you will see the welcome sign like the one in the following photo.

After passing the entrance sign you may come across this national forest service sign which is an information board telling you about the campground.

If the above photo is also a pay station, then where do you pay? You pay here at the drop box which in this case is a hollow metal post. Remember, if you did not make a reservation ahead of time, you will need to have the exact amount of cash to pay for your campsite. You will put this cash in an envelope and insert it into the drop box. Also, there is no one available to make change or take credit cards at most national forest campgrounds. Plan ahead!

Which Way to Go?

The following two photos show signs that help you find your way in the park.

Campground Area

When you get to the campsite area the first sign you are likely to see is for the campground host. The campground host is the person or couple that lives in their recreational vehicle or RV right there in the park. Their main jobs are to make sure that campers have paid for their campsite, to call authorities when a camper needs help and to answer basic questions about the park.

The next signs you will see are numbered posts or boards. These are the campsites. If you made a camping reservation, your campsite will be reserved for you as seen in this photo.

If you did not make a reservation, your job will be to drive through the campground and select the site where you want to stay. Remember, not to choose a campsite that is already reserved for that night. At this point, you will drive back to the information board or ranger station and pay for your site by either placing money into a payment box or giving money to a park employee. To assist you in finding a camping spot in some of the big parks, occupancy signs have been erected to help make your search faster.

A Typical Campsite

Most campsites in developed campgrounds have tent pads. This is the place where you set up your tent for the night. The purpose of the tent pad is to contain the people’s camping impact to one area thus preventing the grass from dying and then the soil washing away during the next rain.

Near but not too close to the tent pad is the fire ring. This is where you will build a campfire should that be in your plans.

Also at your campsite will be a picnic table.  Most but not all are bolted to a cement pad or the ground so they don’t get moved all over the campground.  If you are going be eating in a large group, you might consider bringing a folding table and chairs if more than eight people will be eating together.

In places where bears live, the parks typically provide a bear box where you are to store your food. Use this box or you will be setting the bears up to be shot because you contributed to them becoming a problem. When a bear box is available, do not store your food in the car because bears have a great sense of smell and will break into your car for a yummy treat. This photograph is courtesy of the National Park Service.

Bathrooms, Showers and Drinking Water

If you pay a fee to enter a park, it will most likely have some type of bathroom. In a national forest, the bathroom is usually a pit toilet as seen in the first picture. I recommend bringing your own toilet paper because sometimes the person before you took all of the toilet paper with them, and, if you are using it at night you will need to bring your own source of light.

In this photo, you see a bathroom that is more typical of a national or state park. Here you will usually have running water and electricity so you can see what you are doing. At night you will still want to bring a light source so you can navigate your way back to your campsite.

Many state campgrounds and some national parks offer showers at their bathroom facilities which is nice if you are going to be on the road for several days.

Next to many campsites or near most bathrooms is the water station. This is where you come to fill up your water jug for cooking and drinking. Notice in the following photo that you should not clean your dishes or fish in this area because it attracts animals and insects. This is a shared water source. Respect the other campers.

Safety Signs

In many parks, there are few if any physical barriers such as railings or walls that separate you from an attraction such as a waterfall, geyser field or canyon cliff. Instead, the parks post signs warning you of specific dangers. This helps make your experience safer, look less city like and help preserve the park in its natural state. Please obey these signs. Many people have been hurt or lost their lives because they thought the signs did not apply to them because they thought they had special accident avoiding powers.

Trail Signs

Most trails have signs indicating what direction to go and the distance you have to walk to reach your destination. In areas where erecting a sign would damage the landscape or if there is no good way to erect a sign then a pile of rocks also called a cairn is used to indicate the trail.

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Texas Outdoor Family- This highly successful program provides families step by step instruction on how to get started camping.  It also includes instruction on how to make a campfire, geocaching and a variety of other skills such as fishing and kayaking at select events.  All of this can be had for only $65 for a group of up to six people!

Becoming an Outdoor Family Nebraska - This program offers outdoor skill instruction for beginners.  Instruction topics include fishing, camping, kayaking, archery, hunting, and more.

New York City Parks and Recreation - New York City offers families an opportunity to camp with park rangers in a New York City park.  This program is free and participation is based on a lottery system.

NatureRocks.org - Part of the Children and Nature Network, this website helps parents find outdoor activities in their area.

Boy Scouts of America - The Boy Scouts is centered around the personal skill and leadership development of young men using excursions into the outdoors as a platform to do so.

Girl Scouts – The Girl Scouts mission statement “Girl Scouting builds girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.” says a lot about this organization.  Plus, the girls and their troop leaders learn about the outdoors.

Campfire USA - Campfire USA is an outdoor oriented organization for the entire family.  Like the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts it has a long history (founded in 1910), focuses on developing strong values in our youth and it has strong ties connecting people to the natural world around them.

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Federal Park Links

National Parks http://www.nps.gov/index.htm

National Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/

Army Corps of Engineers http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/

Bureau of Land Management http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html

U.S. National Wildlife Refuges http://www.fws.gov/refuges/

State Parks and Metro Area Park Maps

Alabama

State Parks http://www.alapark.com/

Alaska

State Parks http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/

Arizona

State Parks http://azstateparks.com/index.html

Phoenix Area Parks

Tucson Area Parks

Arkansas

State Parks http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/

California

State Parks http://www.parks.ca.gov/

Bakersfield Area Parks

Fresno Area Parks

Los Angeles-Riverside Area Parks

Sacramento Area Parks

San Diego Area Parks

San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Area Parks

Colorado

State Parks http://parks.state.co.us/Pages/HomePage.aspx

Denver Area Parks

Connecticut

State Parks http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325038&depNav_GID=1621

Delaware

State Parks http://www.destateparks.com/

Florida

State Parks http://www.floridastateparks.org/

Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Area Parks

Orlando Area Parks

Tampa Area Parks

Georgia

State Parks http://www.gastateparks.org/

Atlanta Area Parks

Hawaii

State Parks http://www.hawaiistateparks.org/

Idaho

State Parks http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/

Illinois

State Parks http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks/

Chicago Area Parks

Indiana

State Parks http://www.in.gov/dnr/

Iowa

State Parks http://www.iowadnr.gov/parks/index.html

Kansas

State Parks http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/State-Parks

Kentucky

State Parks http://parks.ky.gov/

Louisiana

State Parks http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/

Maine

State Parks http://www.maine.gov/doc/parks/

Maryland

State Parks http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/

Massachusetts

State Parks http://www.mass.gov/dcr/forparks.htm

Boston Area Parks

Michigan

State Parks http://www.michigan.gov/dnr

Minnesota

State Parks http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/index.html

Minneapolis Area Parks

Mississippi

State Parks http://www.mississippi.gov/ms_sub_sub_template.jsp?Category_ID=40

Missouri

State Parks http://mostateparks.com/

St. Louis Area Parks

Montana

State Parks http://fwp.mt.gov/parks/

Nebraska

State Parks http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/

Nevada

State Parks http://parks.nv.gov/

Las Vegas Area Parks

New Hampshire

State Parks http://www.nhstateparks.org/

New Jersey

State Parks http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/

Newark Area Parks

New Mexico

State Parks http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/

Albuquerque Area Parks

New York

State Parks http://www.nysparks.com/

New York City-Newark Area Parks

North Carolina

State Parks http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/main.php

Charlotte Area Parks

North Dakota

State Parks http://www.parkrec.nd.gov/

Ohio

State Parks http://www.ohiodnr.com/parks/tabid/80/default.aspx

Oklahoma

State Parks http://www.travelok.com/State_Parks/

Oregon

State Parks http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/index.shtml

Portland Area Parks

Pennsylvania

State Parks http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/

Philadelphia Area Parks

Puerto Rico

San Juan Area Parks

Rhode Island

State Parks http://www.riparks.com/

South Carolina

State Parks http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/

South Dakota

State Parks http://gfp.sd.gov/

Tennessee

State Parks http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/

Texas

State Parks http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/

Austin Area Parks

Brownsville Area Parks

Dallas-Ft. Worth Area Parks

El Paso Area Parks

Houston Area Parks

McAllen-Edinburgh-Mission Area Parks

San Antonio Area Parks

Utah

State Parks http://stateparks.utah.gov/

Vermont

State Parks http://www.vtstateparks.com/

Virginia

State Parks http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/

Washington

State Parks http://www.parks.wa.gov/

Seattle Area Parks

Washington DC

Washington DC Area Parks

West Virginia

State Parks http://www.wvstateparks.com/

Wisconsin

State Parks http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/

Wyoming

State Parks http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/

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Food Safety

Diarrhea and vomiting make vacation days less fun. The following link from the Minnesota Department of Health can assist you in learning how to safely manage food.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/foodsafety/away/boatcamp.html

Fire Safety

If you have not heard or seen the U.S. Forest Service commercials yet, humans cause 9 out of every 10 wildfires.  Go to the following links to find out how to build and properly manage campfires.

How to Build a Campfire

http://www.smokeybear.com/build-campfire.asp

How to Maintain and Extinguish a Campfire

http://www.smokeybear.com/put-out-campfire.asp

Animal Safety

One of the great things about going to the parks is that we can see animals that don’t live in our neighborhoods.  In some areas we see deer, birds or raccoons and in other areas we encounter moose, bears, elk and even animals like sea lions, dolphins or sea turtles.  Because we are unfamiliar with these animals we humans do not know how to interact with them and this can lead to problems for us and for the animals.  To reduce and hopefully prevent these negative interactions, KnowYourParks.com has created a list of best park visitor habits below.

1.  Do not feed the animals.  This includes the cute chipmunks.  The reason for this is that animals that become accustomed to people food no longer eat what they should be eating (unhealthy), they stop finding food on their own and they can start to become a nuisance by chewing holes in your equipment, opening your cooler (raccoons) and breaking into your car (bears).

2.  Keep a safe distance between yourself and wild animals by using binoculars and zoom lenses on cameras.  The animals in a park are wild.  Many times they look relaxed but that is because they have seen people before and don’t scare easily.  If you get too close though, the animal will think you are threatening it and it will defend itself.

3.  Never leave food on the picnic table when no one is around as the animals will find it and want more of it.  Keep your food locked up in the car in parks where there are no bears.  Always use the park provided bear box to store your food including coolers in places where bears live.

Theft and Personal Safety

Not everyone is your friend as much as we would like to think.  When visiting a park or camping, protect your most valuable possessions by keeping them on your person or out of sight in the car.  In twenty years of camping we have never had anyone steal from us or threaten us harm but it is possible that it could happen.  For your personal safety, traveling with others is a wise decision on the trail.  If the kids need to go to the bathroom, go with them.  If the kids want to check out the campground, have them go in a group so they can take care of each other.  Using these simple precautions will help give you a piece of mind and help you enjoy your trip.

Accidents that Happen at Home and on the Road

Every once in a while on a vacation, a member of the group is going to have an accident, an insect bite, a sun burn or contact with a plant that causes a bad reaction on the skin.  The following is a list of the preventions for common situations that can be encountered when camping.

1     Insect Bite

2.    A knife cut

3.    Sunburn

4.    Burn caused by heat

5.    Poison Ivy

6.    Bee sting

Preventions

1. Bring insect repellent and use it.  Always bring repellent on hikes because sometimes the insects are not bad in the      campground but are everywhere on the trail.
2. Always direct the blade of a pocket knife away from your body.  Also, pay attention when using any knife.  If there are distractions, stop using the knife until you can concentrate on what you are doing.
3. Always bring along sun block and wear it.  A sun burn can greatly affect how much you enjoy your vacation.  Also, too much sun can cause cancer and ugly spots on your skin.  Pay close attention to the children because their skin is very delicate and can be damaged easily by the sun.  Always put sun block on children!
4. Be careful around the campfire.  Do not put gasoline on the fire and be careful when touching the metal fire ring that      surrounds the fire.  In addition, just like at home, be careful with hot pots around the stove.
5. Bring a poison ivy block and use it in areas where the plant grows near the trail.  Try not to walk off of the trail because many times there is poison ivy in the forest.  A good rule of thumb for avoiding poison ivy is:  If the plant has three      leaves, leave it be.
6. Be careful when walking without shoes.  Especially in areas with a lot of flowers in the grass.  Also be careful when drinking from an open soft drink can because sometimes bees crawl inside looking for the sugar.  Therefore, check inside the can before you take a drink.  To prevent bees from crawling inside, cover your can between sips.

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