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Energy Saving Articles

Drive slower, save the planet!
Site: Hoot Article Release details: Immediate Date: 23 September 2005 Drive slower, save the planet! The environment is a hot issue that we just can't afford to ignore any longer. To some, being environmentally aware is a way of life, a...

Ecology: 10 Ways To Fortify The Environment For Under $10
America’s beautiful landscape represents the natural brilliance of a nation founded on truth, freedom, and the well-being of all its citizens. As technology progresses, America’s ecosystem suffers the greatest toll. Automobiles, industrial parks,...

Household Energy Saving Tips
Each room or area of your household, including the outdoors, can contribute to making the process of saving energy an efficient one, with undeniable results. Thus, the attic, for example, is an area which plays a huge role in the energy...

Solar residential outdoor lighting is becoming the product of choice for millions of consumers
Residential outdoor lighting is a billion dollar a year industry in the United States. It is getting so popular, there is now a corporation that franchises individual businesses dealing only in exterior landscape lighting design, supply, and...

When Asphalt and Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth
You may not be aware of it but a part of the highways and parking lots that you drive your car into may have been around for millions of years! Those roadways and pavements' considerable history can be attributed to one if its key component -...

 
National Parks - Get Out of Your Car!

The national park system in the United States is full of beauty and surprises. Still, you'll be wondering if they're worth it when you run into the crowds of other visitors.

Road Side Viewing

Sure, millions of people visit our national parks each year, miles of cars creep through at a painfully slow pace, parking lots are full and busses are packed. Cars stop in the middle of the road to view wildlife, backing up traffic for miles.

Is it all worth it? Should I just get stuck in a Los Angeles traffic jam with DVD player showing some nice mountain scenery?!

I travel through the Rocky Mountain Nation Park, using Trail Ridge Road, on a regular basis throughout the summer to reach some of my favorite fly fishing spots on the other side of the divide. I also have hiked many of the park trails. Let me tell you, I have seen the frustration of the gridlock national park experience.

Do you think the national park experience is looking out the window of your car or bus? How about stopping at the most popular scenic spots that are located within a stones throwing distance from the parking lots? If you do, well, you


likely have missed out on 95 percent of the park and a serine magical experience that only those willing to put on the hiking boots get to see.

The system of roads in a National Park is designed to minimize the impact on the park. It is not designed to get you to the best places. If you do not get off your butt and hike a bit, you are not seeing the beauty of the park. Sure, you may have to deal with the cattle drive to reach your desired trailhead, but a leisurely stroll of about 1 mile leave the hordes of arm chair park goers long behind. You could be standing shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of people looking across Bear Lake at one moment, and in near solitude one hour later if you're willing to exert just a bit more energy than the majority of the park visitors.

Thanks goodness for the fast food armchair lifestyle!!!! Get on those boots and leave the crowds behind. It's worth it.

About the author:

Rick Chapo is with http://www.nomadjournals.com - makers of hiking journals. Writing journals make great Christmas gifts for him or her. Visit http://www.nomadjournaltrips.com to hiking stories and hiking articles.