National Park Lovers Holiday Gift Ideas

We’ve decided to bring back one of our most popular blogs from last year, with a few updates!

Tired of giving the same boring Holiday gifts year after year? Well, forget about the ties and bath slippers. For the national park lovers on your list, we’ve got a few suggestions for you! Here are a few of our favorites.

•Grand Canyon National Park Gifts (www.grandcanyonlodges.com/shop) – Find Grand Canyon T-shirts, books, videos, Native American crafts, knick knacks, and even desert-themed food items here. There’s even an area dedicated to beautiful crafted Zuni Native American Jewelry. This online shop is operated by Xanterra, the official lodge operator inside the Grand Canyon. Free shipping is available for qualifying purchases.

•Great Smoky Mountain Association (www.smokiesstore.org) – If you have ever visited the Smokies, you probably tasted some of that terrific country cooking. Well, you can purchase some of those yummy foods here – blackberry preserves, sorghum molasses, apple butter, and cornmeal ground at an actual gristmill. There’s also t-shirts, calendars, posters, and DVD”s to buy. All purchases made on this site benefit Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

•Yellowstone National Park Store (www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com/shop/ - Informative books, adventure planners, DVD’s, calendars, Old Faithful Lodge Wine Glasses, coffee mugs, tumblers, totes, and throws are sold here. But our favorite items have to be the Huckleberry treats. If you’ve ever visited the area, you know that both humans and bears love the huckleberry! A terrific variety of huckleberry jam, gummy bears, toppings, syrups, and jelly beans are available here. Yum!

•National Park Passes – If you have someone on your Christmas List who visits America’s National Parks each year, consider giving them a National Park Pass. There are many different options to choose from. Passes can be purchased at parks or online. For more information, visit www.store.usgs.gov/pass

•National Park Travel Guides – (www.greatamericanvacationideas.com/) – We’re not above a shameless plug here! It is never too early to start planning a vacation. Consider giving a travel guide. Our National Park guides lay out in detail the areas to see, hikes to take, park lodging and dining, and sample itineraries. Start packing your bags for an adventure of a lifetime!

Looking for more National Park gift ideas? Most of the bigger National Parks will have their own online store. Just Google the park name. You’ll probably find some terrific gift ideas!

Mannheim Steamroller Headlines Universal Studios Holiday Celebration

Looking for some holiday cheer? Then head to Universal Studios Florida this year! The park is preparing to put on one of the biggest Holiday bashes in Orlando. And the best part – all these fun holiday events are included in your regular priced admission ticket!

Mannheim Steamroller is scheduled to perform their smash instrumental Christmas hits on select Saturdays and Sundays in December. This group has sold more Christmas albums that any other artist in the world, including Elvis! The concert they put on here is absolutely phenomenal. It lasts well over 30 minutes and includes many of the melodic, instrumental Christmas favorites they have become so famous for. Performances are scheduled for:

• December 3, 4, 10, 11 at 7PM
• December 17 & 18 at 8PM

Then, there is the 10th anniversary of the Macy’s Holiday Parade. Direct from New York City, this parade features many of the balloons and floats from the iconic Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Santa Claus makes an appearance at the end of the parade too. Guests can even sign up to hoist those big balloons! Daily beginning December 3rd at dusk.

Some of the park’s popular shows take on a Christmas theme too. Jake and Elwood sing some of your Christmas favorites during The Blues Brothers Holiday Show. Barney and his buddies host A Barney Holiday Show for their young fans. Your favorite Universal cartoon characters sing and dance to the Christmas beat at the StarToons Holiday Show.

Plus there’s a Holiday Village centered in a New York City Square. Nightly Christmas tree lightings take place here. There are plenty of yummy holiday treats and beverages to purchase. Kids can make their own Christmas themed crafts. And, of course, there are plenty of Holiday themed souvenirs for sale!

All the Holiday festivities begin on December 3rd and run through December 31st. For more information, visit www.universalorlando.com/Events/Holidays/Overview.aspx

“Goodbye God, I’m Going to Bodie”

This famous phrase, written by a little girl, became well known throughout the West. In 1859, gold was discovered in the hills around Mono Lake. Gold prospectors flocked to the area and Bodie, California was born. By 1880, over 10,000 called the town home, making it one of the most raucous and infamous mining towns in the West. A few decades later it became a virtual ghost town. Today, only 5% of the town’s buildings remain.

During its heyday, wickedness and badmen were the norm. Killings, street fights, robberies, or stage holdups occurred on a near daily basis. The Reverend F.W. Warrington described the town awash in “a sea of sin.” Badmen flocked to the area, including the dastardly “Badman from Bodie.” The fact the town had over 65 saloons didn’t help matters either.

When the gold dried up, so did the town. For years, Bodie sat in a state of decay. Buildings collapsed due to age, fire, and the harsh High Desert climate. In 1962, the area became Bodie State Park. The decision was made to leave the structures in “arrested decay.” Meaning if they fall, they fall.

Visitors can explore this California Ghost Mining Town throughout the year. Stroll down Main Street and peer into store windows and homes. Everything appears just as it did when the town was deserted, right down to the canned goods. The Old Methodist Church still stands. So does Chinatown, the Town Jail, the bank vault from Bodie Bank, and the Wheaton & Hollis Hotel. The Miners’ Union Hall now houses the park’s museum.

Bodie is located northeast of Yosemite National Park. For more information and directions, visit www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509. Note: The last 3 miles to Bodie are on a rough, dirt road. Just like the prospectors experienced!

NASA’s Iconic Vehicle Assembly Building is Open for Tours!

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has been one of Central Florida’s biggest tourist attractions for years. Visitors from across the globe came to catch birds-eye views of the Space Shuttles perched on their seaside launch pads. When the final shuttle took flight, it left the Visitor Complex with a dilemma. It would be awhile before Space Shuttle Atlantis went on display here. So, how could they entice visitors to come for a visit right now?

Well, they rose to the challenge, developing a tour that’s sure to attract any space enthusiast. For the first time since the 1970’s, visitors are able to tour inside the famed Vehicle Assembly Building!

The Vehicle Assembly Building (or VAB) is the world’s 4th largest building, by volume. Completed in 1965, it instantly became the symbol of Kennedy Space Center. Here is where some of mankind’s ultimate adventures began. The Saturn Rockets were stacked and assembled right here, before rolling out to the launch pad and heading to the moon. Every Space Shuttle was carefully assembled here too. Each orbiter was gingerly lifted up and over onto the External Fuel Tank before heading into Space.

The Kennedy Space Center Up-Close Tour gives you the chance to tour these hallowed halls. Guides take you past the Transfer Aisle where rockets were carefully assembled. You’ll see the towering 456 foot tall bay doors. Every Space Shuttle and Saturn rocket went through them on their way to the launch pad. The 325 ton bridge canes used to assemble the shuttles are on display. Plus, you many even catch a glimpse of a Space Shuttle being prepped for its new museum home.

This tour is only expected to be available for a limited time. The VAB will once again see activity when NASA ramps up its next phase of manned spaceflight. For now, you get the chance to stand where only a select few have gone.

Tour prices are $25 for adults and $19 for children. You must also purchase a general admission ticket to the Visitor Complex. For more details, visit www.kennedyspacecenter.com/ksc-up-close-tour.aspx