*** Official National Parks Thread ***

PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
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Kauai's north shore ~
La Jolla bottomed out at 85° last night for the overnight low. For coastal San Diego, that was absolutely brutal!
Headed to Hermosa tomorrow night (Wed) for Hap Jacobs (Jacob's Surfboards) paddle out on Thursday morning. Guess it'll be tank top, shorts n' rubbah slipper's for me. Back on Kauai at noon Friday.

"No need carry on, brah. just go la dat". :shaka:
 
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PPK96754

Miki Dora status
Apr 15, 2015
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Kauai's north shore ~
Free entrance to all National Parks tomorrow, 9/24.

“The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave”

It is well known that Francis Scott Key is the author of the famous words “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” He wrote those words in 1814 and, ever since 1931, they have been sung as the national anthem of the United States.
 

One-Off

Tom Curren status
Jul 28, 2005
14,120
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33.8N - 118.4W
Anybody been to Great Basin NP? Was thinking of where to go on Spring break. It's seems too cold for camping (average minimum temps in the 20's). It is only 5 miles from a little town called Baker (population 68) which, from what I can tell, has one motel and one VRBO trailer. Then ther's a town called Ely, about one hour away. Might be kind of a hassle drivng back and forth.

I'm wondering- could you spend a week there?
 

ghostshaper

Phil Edwards status
Jan 22, 2005
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Never been to Great Basin NP, although it's one of the closest to us. Always too hot when we've driven by.

Got a new Tacoma and am trying to decide on where to go for Thanksgiving. Soliciting recs:
1665852010616.png
Amboy Crater, Mojave. Certified dark spot for star gazing. Been once when the groms were tiny. Not sure if we made it all the way down into the crater (night hike).

or
1665852120726.png
the Racetrack, Death Valley. Never been.

Insights appreciated
 

Joshua2415

Tom Curren status
Jul 18, 2005
12,701
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San Clemente
I'd say go to DV. Are you camping or planning to stay at the Inn? If you're planning to camp, I'd recommend going early and staying at Mesquite Springs Campground (first come first serve). It's one of the few campgrounds that isn't a parking lot setup and it's located just a couple miles from Ubehebe Crater, which is where the Racetrack Valley Road starts. If you're looking for fun offroad treks, I'd highly recommend doing the Titus Canyon trail as well. Here are a few shots from Thanksgiving at DV three years ago when it was blanketed in snow.

Racetrack Valley Rd


Teakettle Junction - almost to the Racetrack


The Racetrack covered in snow
 

ghostshaper

Phil Edwards status
Jan 22, 2005
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Thanks, @Joshua2415 for the suggestion.
We'd camp for sure. We did Titus once before and had a blast, but didn't make it out to the Racetrack.








Hoping it's not snowing when we drive out there, bc I want to see the tracks in the mud, if we end up going.

This is the sky from Amboy Crater when we went (camera hooked up to telescope pointing at Orion nebula):


There were about 6 scopes set up, and everyone was very willing to let our sons look through theirs. One woman from NASA had a huge scope that necessitated a ladder to climb up to the eyepiece.
 

SteveT

Phil Edwards status
Apr 11, 2005
5,864
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Never been to Great Basin NP, although it's one of the closest to us. Always too hot when we've driven by.

Got a new Tacoma and am trying to decide on where to go for Thanksgiving. Soliciting recs:
View attachment 139983
Amboy Crater, Mojave. Certified dark spot for star gazing. Been once when the groms were tiny. Not sure if we made it all the way down into the crater (night hike).

or
View attachment 139984
the Racetrack, Death Valley. Never been.

Insights appreciated
There's actually a vid on Youtube that might explain how the rocks got there. Kinda makes sense
Never been to Great Basin NP, although it's one of the closest to us. Always too hot when we've driven by.

Got a new Tacoma and am trying to decide on where to go for Thanksgiving. Soliciting recs:
View attachment 139983
Amboy Crater, Mojave. Certified dark spot for star gazing. Been once when the groms were tiny. Not sure if we made it all the way down into the crater (night hike).

or
View attachment 139984
the Racetrack, Death Valley. Never been.

Insights appreciated
Check this Youtube Vid.
May be the answer to how the rocks sail.
 

ghostshaper

Phil Edwards status
Jan 22, 2005
6,242
2,866
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There's actually a vid on Youtube that might explain how the rocks got there. Kinda makes sense

Check this Youtube Vid.
May be the answer to how the rocks sail.
I remember reading about it when it got published. Crazy. The first time we went out to see it, we ended up chickening out b/c we heard that someone had gone out there and drove on it and fvcked it up. :cursing:
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
24,850
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San Francisco, CA
Anybody been to Great Basin NP? Was thinking of where to go on Spring break. It's seems too cold for camping (average minimum temps in the 20's). It is only 5 miles from a little town called Baker (population 68) which, from what I can tell, has one motel and one VRBO trailer. Then ther's a town called Ely, about one hour away. Might be kind of a hassle drivng back and forth.

I'm wondering- could you spend a week there?
Have only gone in summer for stars.

Spring is gonna be chilly, but if you got the gear.....

You can do a week there if you are hiking and camping, car camping though might be a little boring for a week but it depends on your outlook.

By the way, intersection of 375 and 318 NV has a warm spring that reminds me (somewhat) of the spring in Florida with mermaid shows, and down from that on 93 are some great hotsprings.

PS

One of our favorite lunch spots...looking SW:1667252816726.png

Looking NE:
1667253222024.png

Edit:

1 Isn't Tree of Life in Washington, not Oregon?

2 Racetrack over Amboy. Beside, on the way to Racetrack, you can stop at Ubehebe Crater for similar 'Amboy Crater' type hike/experience. For greatness of the sublime type, on the way to the Racetrack stop of 1X and follow ephemeral trail to the Wall at 2X. Go on Google Earth and look for the trail. 3X is some sort of "ghost settlement" below some exploratory mines...no stealing stuff, but the debris field is kinda nifty to go through. 4X is near the lead mine and Lippencott Rd. I wonder how passible the road is.


1667253810349.png


3 Stars are better at Racetrack too, but Thanksgiving is going to be cold at night (maybe windy and then it will be miserable).

1667254185086.png

And what’s up with Pluto not being a planet anymore???
It is more like Kuiper Belt objects than the inner planets...at least that is what I have read.
 
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