Happy June! Summer is here!

As Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, we're knee deep in the summer vacation season. May was another great month for Tracks & Trails and now we get to the time when most of our clients are hitting the road! Over the next three months we'll be shipping out our client's Adventure Kits, checking road conditions, looking at weather reports and providing assistance to our clients as they embark on their self-guided driving adventures.

We have a number of websites that we check regularly for road closures, construction delays and wildfire updates. While they are too numerous to list here, it's safe to say that we can get the latest information at short notice for our clients while they are in the midst of their trips. Also, each and every RV rental company that we work with provides 24-hour road assistance. So that way, someone is there to help with any problems with the RV along the road.

We also provide assistance with re-routing when necessary. Many of the destinations have remote roadways that can be impacted by weather, rockfalls, flooding and other natural impacts. We can help with changing routes, checking availability with campgrounds or help with notifying excursion outfitters with new information. One thing that is difficult once trips have started is to cancel stuff mid-trip. Cancellation policies kick into effect. This is why we strongly recommend trip insurance for all of our clients. We just had one client who had a child break an arm and this caused a major restructuring of their trip. If it wasn't for trip insurance, they would have lost much of the cost of their trip.

So, as we say to many of our clients (and to those on the road this summer!), "Happy Trails" and we hope to be able to help out if you run into troubles while on a Tracks & Trails road trip adventure this summer!

Progress on bridge near Hoover Dam

Currently a bridge is being built across the Colorado River to bypass the road that takes traffic over the Hoover Dam. To follow the progress, check out their website www.hooverdambypass.org. I had a friend pass along some pictures, albiet from January, but the one I've included here shows some of the massive scale of this project (Thanks, Debbie!). We always tell our clients that there will be delays in crossing over the dam because of security checks and traffic.

The planned completion of the bridge and associated road construction is June 2010. So another year of delayed traffic is ahead of us, but you still get to see the spectacular progress on the bridge and the engineering marvel that is the Hoover Dam.

Yosemite valley report

According to the National Park Service, Tioga Pass will remain closed until late May. There is no specific date when the road will be passable. The current snow line is at about 6,000 feet and the pass is just over 9,900 feet. At the right is a current picture at Tioga Pass. They are planning to begin clearing the road on April 15th. To see a webcam of Tioga Pass and other keys locations in the park, go to the Yosemite Association's website. Tioga Pass is the main east entrance to the park and many of our clients that are taking a one-way RV trip from Las Vegas to San Francisco use this road.

There also is a report from the NPS that a sizable rock fall has occurred. According to the NPS, "The southern portion of the Mirror Lake Loop is closed due to a rockslide. (Access to Mirror Lake and Snow Creek Trail is still available, as usual.)".

As always, if you are concerned about conditions at any of our popular destinations during the time of your planned vacation, just give us a call. Trip consultants are standing by!!! 800-247-0970!

Yosemite fire update & LA road conditions

As of 10:15 this morning, the Telegraph fire is 20% contained, yet firefighting is difficult due to the terrain. Hwy 140 is partially open. The lastest maps show that this road is the most threatened and CalTrans is suggesting motorists to use alternate routes. All of our clients visiting this area do not use Hwy 140 because of damage from a landslide incident that occured some time ago. Hwy 120 that enters Yosemite from the west (Groveland and the SF Bay Area) and Hwy 41 that enters from the south (Fresno) are both open. The park is open as well despite smokey conditions.

We do not see any reason to reroute any clients at this time or change campground reservations. Here's a live webcam from the Evergreen Lodge. They are located on the western border of Yosemite on Hwy 120. http://www.evergreenlodge.com/halfdomeview1.html

The earthquake in the LA area yesterday did not appear to do any damage to freeway bridges or other roads. Any of our clients traveling in the LA area should only have to deal with the normal traffic congestion that occurs daily.

Big Sur Fire Update and a helpful link or two

Many gorgeous places in the West are very susceptible to wildfire during the summer months. Unlike last year at this time when many fires were burning in Idaho and Montana, it's been Northern California's turn.

At Tracks & Trails, we watch a number of websites daily to see if we need to reroute any of our clients that are currently on the road. Particularly the past month we have been watching the fires close to Big Sur in California. Luckily, we have heard that the local campgrounds that we like to recommend are now open as well as picturesque Hwy 1 (subject to closure to allow for emergency vehicle traffic). In fact one campground host mentioned that with the onshore breezes you wouldn't know that there has been a fire. Clear skies and no smoke in the campground was the report. We are still waiting to hear about the status of Andrew Molera State Park (we have many clients take horseback rides in and near this state park).

Here's a great blog about what's happening right now in Big Sur: http://bigsurthescoop.blogspot.com/

If you want to check out detailed information about the status of fires in the United States, here's a good link: http://www.nifc.gov/nicc/sitreprt.pdf. This is for the National Interagency Coordination Center that reports on national fire activity.