Go West Summit travel conference

Dan and I just got back from the 2009 Go West Summit in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico. We spent a couple of days in a 15 minute "speed dating" format, meeting with representatives of various visitors & convention bureaus, hotels and outfitters from throughout the western United States.

This is a great opportunity to get updates on what's new at many destinations that we recomend to our clients. We get ideas for new itineraries, evaluate new excursions and find out about little out-of-the-way activities that enhance your travel experience. This summit was the 20th annual conference. As you can imagine we have much to share and include in our itineraries for the future. Be looking here for information about some of the new, fun stuff that we will be including in our vacation packages based on what we learned this week!

Here's one tidbit: Did you know that the largest flamenco school in the United States is in Albuquerque? Check out the website of The National Institute of Flamenco. At Go West, we were treated to a performance by nine of the institute's members at the Albuquerque Art and History Museum. Just fantastic! For more on Albuquerque, check out www.itsatrip.org!

Stay tuned! More to come!

Update on availability of campgrounds and RV's for the summer

We have been busy bees here since the holidays as many start to plan their summer vacations, particularly folks that are big planners because they want their trip to go just right or they have big families (takes a lot to coordinate 6-8 calendars, right?).

We are already seeing limited availability of campgrounds along the California coast around the Fourth of July holiday. We expect to see a continuation of the trend of vacationers staying closer to home, so it's not surprising to see California campgrounds booking up (there's a ton of people living in California!).

So far we are still seeing good RV availability with many companies - even in Canada (where the exchange rate still offers a 20% discount for US travelers!). And we know that this will change soon, particularly around major holidays (Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day) and major events (Calgary Stampede, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Burning Man). We do our best to keep a calendar of major happenings so that we can steer you around the big crowds. Don't procrasinate if you have plans for a great National Park vacation! Now is the best time to plan!

If you call us today (800-247-0970), one of our trip consultants can help you with finding that out-of-the-way, off-the-beaten-path destination, fun activity or campground that will make your vacation!

Calling all Wildlife Seekers!!!

by Ann Proctor

If one of your main objectives while on vacation is to view wildlife, here are some of the top National Parks to consider visiting, along with the types of wildlife you are most likely to see there:

Glacier National Park, Montana. Best for: Grizzlies, mountain goats, elk, and deer. Unless you’re ready to get up close and personal with one or more of the resident grizzlies, don’t come to Glacier National Park. And though not likely, be prepared for encounters with wolves, mountain lions, and mountain goats. For the most wildlife encounters, do something that visitors usually don’t: Get out of the car and take a hike! More than 730 miles of hiking trails offer opportunities to see animals in the wild. Paddle the North and Middle Forks of Flathead into the heart of the wilderness where you’re likely to see mountain goats from the water.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Best for: Elk, wolves, bison, and deer. Yellowstone is home to more than 30,000 elk, 3,000 bison, 2,000 mule deer, and hundreds of grizzlies, moose, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope. The park is home once again to gray wolves, who were absent for more than 60 years due to extermination by park rangers, but are now considered a valuable component of the ecosystem. Get up early and head to the Lamar Valley, where elk herds graze under the watchful eyes of the wolf packs who prey on them.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Best for: Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, elk, and marmots. Bighorns are well suited for the steep and rugged environment of the Rockies. In the summer they spend a lot of time around the Sheep Lakes. There is a special Bighorn Crossing Zone on Highway 34. Hike the Milner Pass trail to the edge of the Crater, where you’ll find them in their Alpine setting. The curious Rocky Mountain marmot and coyotes can be found in the park’s forests, large, open meadows, and Alpine tundra. Best seen at dawn or in the late evening are the park’s more elusive animals: mountain lions, bobcats, and elk.

Everglades National Park, Florida. Best for: Alligators, crocodiles, manatees, turtles. The last remaining everglades in the world, this park is truly a unique environment. Almost completely submerged beneath water; even deer and bobcats have adapted to the semi-aquatic environment and can be seen wading in the water foraging for dinner. You can boat or paddle the waterways where you’re likely to see alligators, deer, herons, and numerous turtles. Try the half-mile long Anhinga Trail, where saltwater meets fresh. You’ll find a staggering variety of fauna. You can bike the 15-mile, paved Shark Valley Tram Road, where you’ll see alligators, deer, herons, and turtles.

Whichever park you choose, encounters with animals in the wild are bound to be a thrill. You will be entranced with their beauty and grace, and their ability to survive, against all odds, in the modern world. Tracks and Trails offers trips to all of these National Parks – the wildlife awaits!

A Collection of Intriguing Adventures

by Ann Proctor

Whether you’re an adrenaline junkie looking for your next “fix” or a discerning traveler searching for that “once-in-a-lifetime” experience that will become the highlight of your entire vacation, here are a few destinations that are "off-the-beaten-path" that we include in some of our custom itineraries:

Pacific Tree Climbing Institute, Eugene, Oregon. If you are inspired by new experiences, this belongs on your “must do” list. Ascending into the canopy of an old growth forest is not only an adrenaline high but a journey of the spirit. It offers an exciting and peaceful place to experience life in a timeless setting. The tree you climb is specially chosen for your experience, ranging from 250-300 feet tall. You can even spend the night aloft in a hammock, hearing the call of owls, and waking to mist in the treetops. No prior climbing experience is necessary; ascending the tree is comparable to hiking a mountain with a day pack. See this on our Touring the Oregon Coast trip.

Soaring Tree Top Adventures, Durango, Colorado, boasts the largest, highest and safest zip line canopy tour course available, with over a mile and a quarter of ziplines through alpine mountains, aspen forests and across the beautiful Animas River. Opened in 2008, the fastest and most thrilling soaring run spans 1,400 feet, almost tripling the length of its predecessor of 560 feet! Located on 180 private acres, this thrilling day-long, eco-friendly adventure lets you glide through old-growth Ponderosa pines with the help of friendly Sky Rangers (guides) who assist you at every tree. If you take our one of our Colorado trips, you can check out this activity that will make you scream like you're on a roller coaster!

Fossil Butte National Monument, Kemmerer, Wyoming. Some of the world’s best preserved and abundant fossils are found in the flat-topped ridges of southwestern Wyoming’s cold sagebrush desert. Visit on a Friday or Saturday in the summer and you can hike to the fossil research quarry and collect fossils with a paleontologist. This is a rare opportunity to experience the thrill of seeing a fossil revealed after being buried in stone for 50 million years. All fossils remain in the monument’s museum collection for scientific study, but you can watch lab personnel prepare a fossil, and they will field your questions as well. We can create a custom trip so that you can get to see this unique find for the fossil hunter in your family!

For devoted animal lovers, the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, 5 miles north of Kanab, Utah, (two hours’ drive from Zion, Bryce Canyon, and the Grand Canyon North Rim) is worth a visit. More than 2,000 rescued animals reside in this sanctuary in awe-inspiring Angel Canyon, waiting for you to lavish them with attention. An additional option, you can stay overnight in one of the on-site cottages or cabins, or in your RV. If you take our most popular trip in 2008, you'll go right past the sanctuary.

These are just examples of the tons of information that we give you in your Adventure Kit when you take a Tracks & Trails driving adventure. We've either done the sightseeing to these great destinations or our clients have told us from their own exploring. Either way, there is so much to see in the Western US/Canada and Florida, that we can schedule either downtime, tons of activities or a little of both.

Look for more out of the way destinations next week!

Comparing Disney, cruising and National Park RV vacations

We know that you have many choices in where and how to take your summer vacation so we thought we'd give you a quick comparison that may help you make a decision for this year's trip. We've tried to keep these comparisons as "apples-to-apples" as possible. We have not included the additional costs of airfares or optional excursions in our comparisons either. The prices below are for a family of four.

We chose to compare an RV trip with two popular destinations. The first trip we chose to compare is the quintessential family vacation, a trip to Disney World. Disney is now promoting a vacation special that is offering 3 nights free accommodations in a one week package. Their package includes one week's accommodation, 7 day park passes, full meal package and ground transportation to/from the airport. The cost for an early June 2009 trip is approximately $4,950.

The second vacation package we chose is an early June 2009 sailing on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines to the Western Caribbean. We chose Royal because when you Google "family cruise", they were #1. This cruise to the western Caribbean is 7 nights and departs Miami for Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. A junior suite, including meals, to accommodate a family of four would cost approximately $7,650.

Now in comparison to these two vacations, we think that a Tracks & Trails driving adventure is not only a better value, but a better vacation since it gets everyone outdoors and appreciating the natural beauty of our National Parks. We chose for this comparison our most popular trip last year. For $3,950 you will visit Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks over a one week trip. The cost of this adventure includes first night's hotel stay, RV rental for six nights, campgrounds, fuel costs (assuming $1.75/gallon), groceries/meals for a week (assuming $500 for a family of four) and a National Parks pass.

So when you are getting ready to plan that fabulous vacation for this summer, we think that when you look at your budget and the experience that you will have as a family, that a Tracks & Trails RV vacation will be a great choice!

Booking now saves money and gets the best vacation!

In spite of our faltering economy, National Park vacations are expected to be a hot ticket in 2009. We are urging you to book now to be sure you get the best that’s available! If you are considering putting off a decision to book your vacation, here's a couple of good reasons to not procrastinate:

1. The best campsites will be claimed by other travelers. Not only do we have an extensive list of our favorite campgrounds, but we also have our favorite campsites within those campgrounds. We would hate it if you were to miss out on that site that was right next to a river or secluded away from bathrooms or roads.
2. The cost of your vacation will increase the longer you wait to commit. Most RV rental companies slowly raise their rates each week as summer approaches (the "high" season) and we have to pass those additional costs along to you. To get the best value for your vacation dollar, committing early is the thing to do.

The moment you pay your deposit we will begin reserving your RV, hotel, campsites and excursions. If you’re worried about having to cancel later, consider purchasing affordable travel insurance (we highly recommend this - we have seen many cases where travel insurance was needed and many of our clients are glad they made the purchase).

We hope to provide you with the best assistance possible in creating a trip-of-a-lifetime. Helping you save a few dollars is just one way we can help. Talk to a trip consultant on our dime to learn more (800-247-0970).

Fake Yellowstone evacuation warnings

If you're at all interested in visiting Yellowstone this year and have been searching the internet, you may have seen what amounts to a fake US Geogolical Survey website calling for the evacuation of Yellowstone and the surrounding areas.

We have seen these fake reports and wanted to let you know that the real USGS website has not changed their alert levels based on the recent earthquake activity in the park over the past couple of weeks. To read for yourself, check out the USGS Yellowstone Volcano Observatory website.

To summarize, the USGS is saying through January 5th, "seismic activity has markedly decreased". Through this past Monday, they had identified over 500 earthquakes that had occurred between December 26 and January 1, 2009. Approximately 80% of those earthquakes were below a magnitude of 2.0. While they acknowledge that the activity is above normal, "it is not unprecedented during the last 40 years of monitoring". At this time, they also are not seeing any anomalous changes in what they call "surface discharges" (hot springs, gas output, etc.). No current winter activity in the park has been affected.

We'll do our best to keep you up to speed with any new information. If you have any questions, let us know.

It all starts in Vegas!

Last year, many of our clients started their Tracks & Trails adventures in Las Vegas. It's a great jumping off point for the National parks in Utah, Arizona and California. And here's the good news, airfares right now are just fantastic to Las Vegas from many cities in the eastern half of the United States. And even better news: there are screaming deals for hotel rooms in Las Vegas! The economic situation has had a big impact on tourism in southern Nevada and many hotels are using discounted prices to lure travelers that may be on the fence - wanting to travel but trying to stay on a tighter budget.

We constantly receive solicitations from all the major hotels with fantastic price promotions that we pass on to you. And now is the time to book. We haven't seen prices this low for many hotels in a long time. Travel-based websites are also offering many deep discounts.

And the best part - after you save on great airfares and hotels, we help you create a road trip with stunning scenery in places like Zion National Park, Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon and Death Valley. Nothing beats camping in an RV in these locales. And there's nothing like a campfire to finish off a day of experiencing the great outdoors. We can help. Check out our website to find out how RV travel in the National Parks can be fun and exciting!

NEW INFO Jan. 8, 2009: Jet Blue has just announced a seat sale from NYC to Las Vegas! I just checked it out and there are seats for $159 roundtrip JFK-LAS in the middle of June! Let us know and we'll coordinate around your flight arrangements!

Planning ahead for big families

Big families have to plan ahead all the time. If you have more than three children in your family, you know that as a parent you have the equivalent of a degree in logistics. Getting the kids here and there between school, play dates, soccer practice, shopping, family stuff, more sports, band practice and tons of other stuff qualifies any parent to organize a major symposium.

When we work with a larger family, our biggest concern is always related to the size of the RV. Normally we can find a rental RV that can accomodate seven passengers (2 adults and 5 children). While these quarters may be a little tight for larger families, we have found that the larger RV's are spacious enough for a good size group that's used to being close.

There are also newer RV's that actually have a set of bunk beds. The bunk bed lengths are around 72", so kids that are shorter than 5'6" will fit just fine. And one of our RV rental connections actually has an RV that they say can accomodate 10! This would be very unusual and we would probably only recommend this vehicle for eight because sleeping 10 would be VERY tight (we would probably suggest a tent and a couple of sleeping bags for the bigger kids).

And since we know that big families are always very busy, we help take the load of planning a big trip off your hands and do our best to ensure everyone's wants and desires are not only met but exceeded. And with everyone's eyes on their budgets, you'll find that RV vacations can be some of the most affordable out there. Talk to a Tracks & Trails trip consultant to find out more, toll free at 800-247-0970.