Archive for August, 2010

The 10 Best America?s Campgrounds

As the summer starts, RV campers hit the road for the first camping trip of the season for many people and families. But, this year that holiday weekend and summer kickoff is met with expenses and gas prices making heads spin.

Therefore, many of them are exploring the camping spots close to home and using the gear they’ve got (tents, sleeping bags, or maybe a camper) for the most fun they’ve had in a long time.

But, there are thousands of campgrounds around the country, many of these in national and state parks and forests.

Privately run camps, such as those in the KOA system (“Kampgrounds of America”), charge some fees, and a number of public lands require permits of various kinds. But if you take a do-it-yourself approach to everything else, you can manage to pull off some adventure on a sensible budget, with a little planning.

Here are 10 best campgrounds in America according to Forbes.

1. Sterling Highway, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

The Kenai Peninsula’s Sterling Highway runs through a major chunk of Alaska’s gorgeous southern-coast scenery. There are numerous places to stop and camp along the Highway, from Sterling Junction to the very end at Homer Spit, whether you just want to pitch a tent or park an RV.

Along the way, you’ll have chances to spot moose, eagles and bears. And in the summer, you’re smack dab in the middle of the biggest salmon-fishing party in the world, when the wildlife extends to the numerous good-time taverns and road joints in various towns along the highway.

Chill out at Centennial Park in Soldotna, which is roughly halfway. Carry the salmon-fishing gear with you, and book ahead for some halibut fishing out of Homer.

2. Roan Mountain

In the East, some of the greatest Appalachian Trail scenes are available to those hikers who climb and camp on Roan Mountain, known for incredible views of rhododendron-covered hillsides and spruce groves.

Roan Mountain shelters a rich diversity of life, from spruce-fir forests to vast grassy balds.

Access is through Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee, or Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. Moving south from Carver’s Gap to the Roan High Knob takes hikers through some of the thicker spruce on Roan.

Look for rhododendron gardens a short distance off the main trail on High Knob, along gravel paths. After some steep climbs, those who want to pitch a tent off the trail can do so, but be careful of sensitive areas.

3. San Gorgonio Wilderness Area

Those campers in the West who are willing to do a little hill climbing for the sake of a great eco-adventure should look to the San Gorgonio Wilderness Area in the San Bernardino National Forest.

The San Bernardino Mountains aren’t your typical desert range. For one, they are well watered and forested. They are also extremely high, rising like a fortress and walling in the eastern edge of the Los Angeles Basin. San Gorgonio is popular with back-packers and climbers seeking incredible views of the Mojave Desert and Los Angeles.

4. Cotter Trout Dock

Looking for some terrific Arkansas trout fishing? Looking for a whole lot of fun, a real getaway, and relaxation all at the same time? Cotter Trout Dock specializes in just those very things.

A cool destination around Lake of the Ozarks is the Cotter Trout Dock fishing camp on Smith Island, at the confluence of the White and Buffalo rivers.

You can treat yourself to a day (or several) of fishing, fun and relaxation.

5. Seawall Campground

In Maine you never run out of outdoors amusing stuff. Coming to this campground is always a great idea. Seawall Campground sits at the southern end of the island, so it often sees less of a crowd than the campsites near Bar Harbor.

Seawall Campground is right by the Harbor Trail, and you absolutely ought to stop at Lamoine State Park since you’re here. So much cool stuff in the vicinity of Seawall Campground, and it’s always fun to be here.

Near Seawall Campground you stumble on splendid places like Long Ledge; do take a hike on the Wonderland Trail.

6. Kirk Creek Campground

To pitch a tent in ocean breezes, your best bet for scenic coastal camping on the West Coast is Kirk Creek Campground in the northern section of California’s Los Padres National Forest.

It’s situated on a bluff 30 miles south of Big Sur, and trails from the campground lead down to the rocky beach.

The best way to discover the wonders of Big Sur is to stay awhile. An excellent way is provided by the Los Padres National Forest at Kirk Creek Campground. For campers, either in a tent or recreational vehicle, who want to experience both land and sea, Kirk Creek is the best campground on the Big Sur.

7. Brickhill Bluff, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Ga.

Feeling shipwrecked never felt so good on this Spanish-moss-strewn island where you can kayak, swim, fish, watch for dolphins, sea turtles, and wild horses, and then camp in one of three wilderness areas or two main campsites.

The mosquitoes can get thick in wet periods, so be prepared. The only way to get to the island is by ferry, which departs from the park visitor center in St. Marys, Ga., not far off Route 95 (exit 3, about half an hour south of Savannah).

8. Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Ky.

If you err on the side of a pretty loose definition of “camping,” Barren River Resort might be just the thing for you. Maybe “camping” means a cottage on a lake and a little tennis every afternoon. Or it means an improved site for a trailer camper and a couple rounds of golf.

You can do that here, plus fishing, boating, lake swimming, cave exploring, riding, and just about any organized outdoor group sport. The main lodge has 51 rooms for those whose relationship with nature involves an actual bed and bath.

9. Dispersed Sites, Colorado State Forest, Colo.

While there are four areas of developed campsites in the Colorado State Forest, the 60-odd first-come, first-serve “dispersed” sites scattered around the County Road 41 and the Bockman, Montgomery Pass and Ruby Jewel road areas provide some of the best seclusion and allow for spur-of-the-moment access to adventure.

Backcountry camping is allowed in many places in the forest, especially around a number of alpine lakes. Located northeast of Estes Park, this is the place to turn to for a whole host of wildlife—elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bear, moose, porcupines, eagles and bobcats. Take your fly rod for the trout and grayling.

10. Juniper Woods Campgrounds, Catskills, N.Y.

How free do you want to be in the outdoors? Juniper Woods lets you go all the way, with its clothing optional/nudist campground (50 campsites total, and filling up fast), right in the storied Catskills region of New York.

Natural beauty is abundant here from the wooded rolling hills to the open meadows perfect for sunning and relaxing. Set your mind and body free and wrap yourself in nature’s magnificence.

So shed that uptight ‘tude, get rid of the polo shirts and skinny jeans, and live like Adam and Eve before the apple incident. But don’t expect some kind of Bacchanalia—this is a mellow, family-oriented place that doesn’t put up with weirdos, shenanigans, or cell-phone cameras (you’ll get tossed out on your bare bottom if you try).

Campers enjoy barbeque’s, parties and karaoke nights. The first-time visitor day fee is waived for those who want to spend an afternoon getting to know the camp.
Check out these top Canadian camping destinations.

We got a new puppy today!

The girls brought a surprise back from their camping vacation — a 12 week old Maltese puppy! Still working on a name, we’re thinking Lilly or Madison (Maddie). Yet another thing to be grateful for blog.10k3.com

Where the bloody hell are we ? Pt.4/7

We portray the simple existence which we know and have grown to love. However ? We are constantly reminded or ever present changes and threats to our lives and lifestyle. In particular we highlight imperialism, the erosion of our civil rights and the pressures of modern living.

Croatia Istria Umag – Campsite Stella Maris ****

Located under centuries-old pine trees and on green meadows next to a pebble lagoon, this is a modern campsite for families and individuals who enjoy active holidays and nature. Next to the resort bearing the same name which hosts the internationally recognized ATP tour tournament with worlds tennis stars. A beautiful seafront promenade takes you to the historical town centre of Umag Completely renovated in 2005.

Hello From Sicily – A Driving Tour Through Lipari And A Magical Evening In Vulcano

Our beautiful dinner in the old town of Lipari last night was another opportunity to get to know Sicilian cuisine. A light-hearted evening was followed by a night of deep sleep and by 8 am this morning I stuck my head out of the boat: another gorgeous day! Everyone was still sleeping and I had about an hour and half to walk into town and catch another glimpse of picturesque Lipari. I mailed my postcards and picked up some fresh locally grown oranges for the gang on the boat.

Once back at the boat, my co-travellers Herbert, Claudia and I were ready for another excursion: a driving tour of Lipari. Herbert is a German TV travel journalist and is planning to bring a television crew to Sicily next year to film the Italian language learning experience aboard a sailboat provided by Laboratorio Linguistico. Naturally he has to scout out the various locations to check into sights of interest, lighting, and facilities – all the factors that will have a bearing on the shoot.

He had asked our captain Francesco to arrange for a local guide who would drive him around the island and generously invited Claudia and me to come along. Our driver Pasquale Liberatore (what a great name), a Lipari resident, arrived punctually at 9:30 am to pick us up at the Lipari pleasure craft harbour to take us on a tour through this beautiful island.

Pasquale packed us into his vehicle and off we went. His personal story, incidentally, is also quite interesting: Pasquale was born and grew up in Lipari and then in the lat 1950s his family emigrated to Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large community of southern Italian émigrés. Southern Italy went through real economic hardship after World War II, and many hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from the mainland and the islands. Pasquale spent a few decades in Australia but as the only person from his immediate family, he returned to Lipari to live here. He has now been back for about 15 years and loves living here although he occasionally misses his brothers and sisters and their families who are still living in Australia. Of course he speaks excellent English, and that is how he markets himself – Pasquale, the English-speaking cab driver and tour guide.

The first place he took us to was a village north of Lipari called Canneto which has a beautiful waterfront location, draped around a horseshoe-shaped bay. We decided to catch a little late breakfast first, and I really enjoyed my refreshing lemon granita, a typical Sicilian specialty – crushed ice that comes in a variety of flavours, a great idea for starting off the day. Herbert enjoyed a fresh croissant and an espresso.

On our way out of the bar, parked by the lungomare, the waterfront promenade, a local fisherman was selling fresh fish he caught this morning out of a little three-wheeled cargo vehicle. He shouted out the names of the fish with a peculiar cadence that was sure to attract the attention of passers-by. This is one thing I noticed about Sicily: street selling, particularly of fish, produce and other edible products, is still a popular way of marketing one’s merchandise.

We continued our drive towards the white pumice quarries that Lipari is famous for. This volcanic stone is used for the production of cement, as an abrasive and a cosmetic exfoliant. Pumice is a highly porous, extremely light-weight, usually white stone that is formed during volcanic eruptions. Just a few dozen meters away from the pumice quarries we stopped to see another type of volcanic stone: obsidian, or volcanic glass, which is a dark-brown, dense, virtually opaque and heavy substance.

Pasquale explained that the chemical make-up of obsidian and pumice is essentially the same, but that they are ejected a different temperatures during volcanic eruptions. Obsidian has been used for eons; because of its flint-like quality it can easily be shaped into blades and spear tips and other cutting instruments. Today obsidian is even used as for surgical scalpels which produce less trauma than steel scalpels. Another less high-tech use of obsidian is as a gemstone, and many stores in the Eolian Islands sell jewelry crafted from this volcanic glass.

We came around the northern tip of Lipari where a beautiful view opened up toward the island of Salina. Pasquale took us up a mountain road to the Santuario di Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani, a beautiful country church located on a hill with a phenomenal view over several of the Eolian Islands. As we were standing by the railing of the terrace, a jet fighter flew by at what seemed like supersonic speed, literally a few meters above the water. By the time we realized where the booming sound was coming from it was already disappearing into the horizon.

Another 15 minutes further on the west side of the island we stopped at an abandoned kaolin quarry. Kaolin is a silica-based mineral that is used in the production of ceramics, as a food additive and even as an ingredient in toothpaste. Everything was blooming around here, and yellow and purple flowers lit up the crags overlooking the sea.

At the southern tip of Lipari we stopped on a parking lot beside a private village and had a phenomenal view of the nearby island of Vulcano. We could even see the columns of sulphur fumes emanating from the fissures near the crater of this still active volcano. A flat stretch of land called Vulcanello is located in front of the main island of Vulcano. This part of the island appeared only about 2000 years ago in a volcanic eruption. Volcanism is still reshaping the earth all around here.

We had seen almost every corner of this small island and Pasquale dropped us off near downtown Lipari. This guided tour provided by a local expert was a great way of getting to know the island of Lipari. Claudia and I headed straight for an outdoor restaurant on the piazza by Marina Corta and had a well-deserved lunch and another nice stroll through town before we started to head back to our sailboat.

Around 3 pm we said goodbye to Lipari and set sail for our next destination: Vulcano. On our way our skipper Francesco took us past some very interesting rock formations at the southern end of Lipari. One protruding rock column was reminiscent of a praying pope while several tall isolated rocks grew right out of the sea in front of Lipari. We circled around to the eastern side of Vulcano and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Porto di Levante, the only landing place on the island. Several ferry boats were making their entries to and exits from the bay, and several other sailboats were anchored at a distance from the island.

Now it was time for our Italian lesson: for two hours in the late afternoon Claudia, Agnieszka and I were studying concepts such as the Italian Condizionale as well as the Congiuntivo under the guidance of our expert teacher Franco. You would definitely be hard-pressed to find a more stimulating environment to study Italian than a sailboat anchored in a beautiful bay in Southern Italy.

The wonderful thing about this sailing trip has been so far that it has been a nearly perfect immersion in Italian, where we are hearing the language all day and both our teachers communicate only in Italian with us. This concept is as close to full immersion as one can imagine, and the learning process is very intense and fast.

For the evening we stayed on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset which bathed the entire scene in hues of pink and purple. After our on-board dinner we retreated outside where Agnieszka, a gifted singer, and Franco, a great guitar player, teamed up and entertained us with many different soulfully delivered classics.

Sitting on a sailboat at night, by candlelight, in the beautiful bay of Vulcano, listening to the touching melodies of two gifted artists, was a magical, almost spiritual experience. I knew tomorrow was going to be our last day on this sailing trip, but I didn’t want this moment to end…..