2009 - The Year of Looking for Travel Deals

As we look at next year and what's possible for your travel options, we see that many deals will be there to be had.

Travel to destinations outside of the United States will be more attractive than earlier in 2008 because of the stronger dollar. Currently, there is a 20% discount in the cost of the Euro but there is no guarantee that the exchange rates will stay this favorable. We hope that you will stay closer to home and see the magificence of our National Parks.

The price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States is averaging around $1.65 right now and seems to be headed lower. Many forecasters are expecting that this will not hold through next summer's driving season, but it's expected to stay well below the record prices of 2008. This should be favorable for you to choose a Tracks & Trails driving adventure since 2009 gasoline prices may be half what they were in 2008. And don't forget that when traveling by RV, you save by buying your own food - and it usually tastes better, too!

Airfares are predicted to be stable through 2009 yet scheduled flights may drop as ridership is expected to continue to be depressed due to economic conditions. If you are looking for deals, popular destinations such as Las Vegas, San Francisco and Denver will work very well with many of our itineraries. For instance, all of our trips to visit Bryce Canyon National Park start in Las Vegas which has direct flights from many locations in the eastern half of the United States. And campgrounds in the National Parks are some of the best values out there!

Bottom line, we can help create fantastic and affordable family vacations. The way we do this is to shop around for the best options for RV rentals, campgrounds and excursions. Our list of suppliers is extensive with time-tested people and services. We know that price is always a concern and we work with you to create the best value for you possible.

Exploring the National Parks

by Ann Proctor

Our last couple of posts have been about dreaming that your vacation is in a National Park (through playing a game) and telling you about one of the things to do before you get there (buy a National Parks Pass). So we thought that we would give you some idea of what to expect when you get there!

When you visit a National Park, prepare not only to be entertained, but to be educated, so subtly so that you and your children may not even realize it is happening. The moment you enter the park you will receive brochures, maps, and a park newspaper full of services available, interesting tidbits, current activities, and other pertinent information like road closures, detours, and delays.

The park information will give you details of guided tours, where knowledgeable park rangers share the park’s history, geology, and other notable facts, as well as self-guided tours you can complete at your own pace. The visitor centers typically offer interactive displays and contain a wealth of information. (Michael's favorite is the Canyon Information Center in Yellowstone!) Roadside pullouts throughout the park feature signs describing what you are seeing in more depth – you can’t help but learn something new from reading them! The goal of all of these interpretive services is to increase each visitor’s enjoyment and understanding, and to foster care for our national parks.

Campfire programs are hosted on select evenings and reach out to entertain and enlighten visitors on a wide variety of topics. For kids, the Junior Ranger programs occupy the small fry with fun activities and reward their learning with a badge. Also available to visitors is the National Park website (http://www.nps.gov/), a great tool which will assist in planning your visit, as well as a fun facts section to get the kids involved.

And we can help plan that driving vacation into the National Park of your choice. Not only have we been there, but 10 years worth of our clients have been there and all that information goes into creating great vacations for you and your family. Whether it's by RV or rental car, we can help you create a trip of a lifetime!

The National Parks Pass

Most of our clients at some point during their Tracks & Trails driving adventure spend a significant amount of time in a National Park or other Federal recreation area. If you are going to be spending time in 3 or more places overseen by the National Park Service on your trip or back home over the course of one year, a National Parks Pass is a great investment.

This pass is available to the general public and provides access to, and use of, Federal recreation sites that charge an entrance or standard amenity fee, for a year beginning from the date of purchase. The pass admits the pass holder and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas and pass holder + 3 adults, not to exceed 4 adults, at per person fee areas (children under 16 are admitted free). The pass can be obtained in person at the park, by calling 1-888-ASKUSGS, Ext. 1, or via the Internet at http://store.usgs.gov/pass. The cost is $80.

If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident age 62 or over, there is a lifetime America the Beautiful Pass for only $10. This pass can only be obtained in person at the park and includes discounts on additional services in addition to the same admission benefits as the standard pass.

Much thanks to the National Parks Service for providing the information above. If you want to learn more about the parks in the NPS system, go to www.nps.gov. And if you want to learn more about how we can help you plan your National Parks driving or camping vacation, check out, the Tracks & Trails website or give us a ring at 1-800-247-0970 and talk to one of our fabulous trip consultants.

Gift Ideas for the Holidays

By Shannon Freed, Trip Consultant

Support your National Parks, learn, and have fun with Monopoly: National Parks Edition. Imagine a world where wooden tents and ranger stations replace houses and hotels, and where wagons and bears take the place of cars and dogs.

Instead of traditional properties like Boardwalk and Park Place, in this version you'll find Yellowstone, Yosemite, and 26 other properties of the National Park System. The game board is divided into eight sections that include Spirit of America, Early Cultures, The Earth Alive, Hallowed Ground, Ancient Creatures, The Water's Edge, Nature's Great Variety, and Majestic Landscapes. The makers and sponsors of the game hope to promote this customized edition as an educational tool to increase awareness and provide information on the national parks. A portion of the proceeds from game sales will be used by the National Park Foundation to benefit our nation's parks.

I bought my niece’s National Parks Edition of Monopoly at Grand Teton National Park, but you can also purchase one online or at your local retail store. The following link will help you find the best buying option for you: http://www.usaopoly.com/. Click on Monopoly, Lifestyle/Hobby, then Where to Buy (at top of page). There is also a Monopoly: Night Sky Edition and Monopoly: MY National Parks Edition which allows you to customize your own game with over 100 of the most beautiful parks across America. Over one million possible combinations of incredible landscapes to choose from, you’ll never play the same game twice. Ages 8+ for both editions, 2-6 players. Standard retail price is about $35.95.

Another great gift for the holidays is the CAMP board game. The vision behind CAMP is to bring families together by educating them about the great outdoors. Tim Paczesny, founder and creator, (and avid outdoorsman and family man) created CAMP out of his passion for nature and a true desire to reconnect the family unit. The unique selling property of the CAMP board game is the 4 levels of play where anyone from 4 years old to 70+ can play and be challenged, making CAMP “ the game that grows with you”. Following is a link to their website to purchase for $24.99 + shipping: WELCOME - EDUCATION OUTDOORS.

Junior Ranger Programs

“I, (fill in name), am proud to be a National Park Service Junior Ranger. I promise to appreciate, respect, and protect all national parks. I also promise to continue learning about the landscape, plants, animals and history of these special places. I will share what I learn with my friends and family.”

Kids interested in exploring? Do they enjoy art, history, science, animals or nature? Junior Ranger programs help keep your kids’ ears and eyes open as you explore your National parks.

Junior Ranger programs are usually free (or nominal for supplies) and are offered in about 286 of the 388 National parks. The programs are typically available for children ages 6 through 14 (depending upon the park you are visiting.) Zion National Park, for instance, has a program designed for children ages 6 to 12, but children under 6 can complete an activity sheet to earn a decal from the Zion Canyon Visitor Center. At the Grand Canyon, there are now 5 ways for you to complete the Junior Ranger requirements (ages 4 and up) and be sworn in as a Grand Canyon National Park Junior Ranger. Their requirements include writing down your observations, answering questions about the park, writing poems and attending one of their Ranger-led programs offered throughout the day. Upon completion of the activities for your age group, bring the booklet back to the Visitor Center for review by a ranger.
Some ways to prepare for these programs would be to eat before you go. No food or snacks are served during the programs. Wear closed-toe shoes – activities are typically held outside and sandals are not usually allowed. BYOW – Bring your own water. And be prompt – Programs start right on time, and kids will need to arrive approximately 15 minutes early to register.

Fun, new airline websites

Unless you've been under a rock, you know about websites to book airfares such as Expedia, Travelocity and Priceline. As you can imagine, we have access to a ton of industry information, including some that still comes from magazines (I know it's hard to imagine...). Now that we're in our off-season, we get a chance to get caught up on our reading. One of our regular reads is Travel and Leisure magazine. One of the few things that we do not include in our road trip adventure packages is airfare. So here are a few sites that were in an article from T&L earlier this year:

1) www.momondo.com - This is a great site to help you uncover cheap flights around the world. They do this by searching over 450 websites to give you the cheapest deals available.
2) www.yapta.com - This site can help you keep tabs on changes to fares both before and after your flight so you can get any applicable credits or refunds. Know that the refund policies are only applicable if you book directly with the airline.
3) www.milemaven.com - This site is updated daily to give you the latest on limited time offers for bonus miles. The search capability will allow you to search by the frequent flyer program so you can work on cranking up those miles in your favorite awards program.

Hopefully this information is a help to you in planning your vacation with Tracks & Trails. Let us know how else we can be of assistance!

Low holiday airfares and where to go!

While we are all hearing about doom and gloom in the economy (and it may be worse for some than others), we are hoping that would-be travelers are seeing the economy of a Tracks & Trails vacation. One portion of a total vacation, in addition to what we provide on the ground - either RV or car-based National Park vacations - there is another significant cost to most of our clients: airfare.

We have written in this blog in a previous post about airfares being more affordable due to the price of oil falling back to more financially reasonable levels. We have also been reading about holiday airfare sales right around the corner. In the coming days and weeks, there may be discounts up to 25% on airfares to key gateway cities. This is great news since we see an opportunity for families to spend their holidays in new, different and exciting locales such as Tucson, Florida and San Diego. Depending on what you want to do, each of these three destinations has so much to offer.

The wild west of Arizona calls in our most popular winter destination, Tucson. The trip from our catalog called Tucson, Tombstone and the Sonoran Desert features great sites such as Kartchner Caverns, western movie sets, the world's largest outdoor airplane display and wildlife uniquely adapted to the desert.



Don't forget the the quintessential winter getaway - the state of Florida. This is a new region for us and our Orlando-based RV vacation and our Florida Keys trip are hard to beat! If you're trying to beat the cold, then a Tracks & Trails Florida trip is the answer. This is also a great location to bring together family for a reunion. We have experience with planning family reunions, honeymoons and just good ol' fashioned family fun.

To visit the San Diego area, we have created a beach and desert itinerary that will give you a great mix of activities where you can visit the world famous San Diego Zoo, pedal around La Jolla or off-road in the Anza-Borrego Desert. Some have described the beautiful weather in San Diego as the most ideal in the 48 states. And there is so much to do! Check our our San Diego itinerary for a taste of what's possible!

If you're thinking of somewhere else to play for the holidays, give one of our trip consultants a call at 800-247-0970 and we'll see how we can help you create a holiday trip of a lifetime!