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Walks and hikes
in National Parks in the USA
Members invite you and your family,
through home hosting and hospitality,
home exchange and home swaps,
to explore walks
and hikes in National Parks in the USA for 2-3 days
These
walks and hikes are near the homes of some members of the Teachers
Travel Web. Enjoy free
accommodation for 1-3 nights as you stay with them, as
a TTW member, and explore the area.
The walks are
amazingly varied, through tall prairie grass, in historical battle sites,
along a shoreline, through a city, or in deep virgin bush,
they are places
throughout the United States waiting for you to explore.
Why walks?
Almost every
TTW member lists walking as one of their interests so if you don't
take the car but the book on the right definitely needs to be in your car's door
pocket.
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As low as $3.33 per issue!
From Acadia to Yosemite, America's
national parks are presented in their natural splendor in this publication
that fosters awareness of the need to protect and properly manage our precious
natural resources. Topics include wildlife, plants, endangered species,
regional history and geography.
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Use the quick
links below to get to the places that interests you, and have fun!
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Seattle Washington
There is much
to do within the city and we found it is also a walker's delight with its
turn-of-the century buildings, public art, and scenic courtyards.
You'll discover hidden treasures and little known facts about local landmarks,
see city sidewalks and vistas, and walk through the Pike Place Market.
Learn about Seattle's history- its people and its buildings- Read up before
you go with The
Pocket Guide to Seattle. available online with a click. The author
conducts the walking tours that will take you to the highlights of Seattle's
very walkable downtown Enjoy history, art, architecture, and special
places. Explore Pike Place Market, the waterfront, Pioneer Square, the
International District and much more.
If you want to find other Seattle
adventures there are 25 different guide books to choose from including
fun places to take the kids, vegetarian dining out, a tour of the architecture
and history, and even the best coffee stops. Check them all out here
with Amazon.com
Mount Rainier
National Park is located in west-central Washington, approximately
two hours driving time from Seattle. Mt. Rainier is famous for dense forests,
dazzling wildflower meadows, tremendous snow fields, rugged glaciers, and
an active volcano!
Mount Rainier National Park offers
a wide variety of recreational and educational activities, from easy guided
walks with park rangers to mountain climbing to car touring. Backpacking
and photography are also popular summer activities, while winter offers
winter camping, tubing, cross country skiing, and snow-shoeing opportunities.
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San
Jose
As we explored walking options for
you in San Francisco,which is an hour North of San Jose, we met a man called
Jay.( Phone (415) 252-9485) He operates walking tours around the
"hidden parts" of the city and will offer you a 10% discount when you book
if you mention Teachers' Travel Web.. The tour is only $US18 to TTW members
and he says,"Whether you're a first-time traveller or a frequent
visitor to the Bay Area, on the Victorian Home Walk you'll get the real
flavor of San Francisco, much more than you could with any other
tour. Even die-hard natives discover new interests and enjoy learning about
the City's architecture and history.
You'll be awestruck by the opulence
of the Victorian mansions. Amazingly, many of these splendid estates are
still single-family homes.
Discover San Francisco's best Victorian
commercial district on your tour. Easily accessible by trolley car, the
Union Street Shops house unique furniture stores, fashionable clothing
boutiques and some of the best restaurants in the City."
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The Golden
Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA)is the largest urban national
park in the world. The total park area is 76,500 acres of land
and water. Approximately 28 miles of coastline lie within its boundaries.
It is nearly two and one-half times the size of San Francisco. Located
in three California counties (San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo), the
GGNRA includes within its boundaries: Fort Point National Historic Site,
Muir Woods National Monument, Alcatraz Island and the Presidio of San Francisco
The other hidden
treasure in San Francisco that few people outside of local get to visit
is Angel Island, which is in the middle of the San Francisco Bay it can
be reached from San Francisco by a ferry. A walk around the island is about
4 miles and gives you views of the Bay area that tourists don't see often
for only the cost of a ferry ride." |
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Morehead
City.
Morehead City in North Carolina
is located along the Southern Outer Banks, the Crystal Coast is noted for
its 65 miles of warm welcoming beaches. It's a place rich in history, steeped
in the heritage of the sea: Blackbeard and other infamous pirates,
battlegrounds, and a maritime museum.
Cape Lookout National Seashore,
Fort Macon State Park and Croatan National Forest are nearby.
Cape Lookout National Seashore is a 56 mile long section of the Outer Banks
of North Carolina running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort
Inlet on the southeast. The three undeveloped barrier islands which
make up the seashore - North Core Banks, South Core Banks and Shackleford
Banks - may seem barren and isolated but they offer many natural and historical
features that can make a visit very rewarding.Cape Lookout National Seashore
is accessible only through private ferries leaving from Harkers Island,
Davis, Atlantic, Beaufort, Morehead City and Ocracoke
Fort Macon
is a 398 acre state park, one of the most poplar in the United States.
Swimming, fishing, nature programs and trails, guided tours of the fort,
a museum with numerous exhibits and audio-visual displays are some of the
activities available. |
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Los Angeles
Santa Monica Mountains rise above
Los Angeles, widen to meet the curve of Santa Monica Bay and reach their
highest peaks
facing the ocean, forming a beautiful
and multi-faceted landscape.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation
Area is a cooperative effort that joins federal, state and local
park agencies with private preserves and landowners to protect the natural
and cultural resources of this transverse mountain range and seashore.
Located in a Mediterranean ecosystem,
the Santa Monica Mountains contain a wide variety of plants and wildlife.
The mountains also have an interesting and diverse cultural history Visitor
Centers and Exhibits in the area are: National Park Service Visitor Center,
Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center , Malibu Creek State
Park Visitor Center, Malibu Lagoon Museum, Will Rogers State Historic
Park, Topanga State Park Nature Center, Sooky Goldman Nature Center, and
the Charmlee Nature Center.
There are over 580 miles of public
trails within the park. When completed, the Backbone Trail will extend
approximately 65 miles, linking major park areas. Hiking guides and
other publications showing the entire park are available at the National
Park Service Visitor Center.
The historic Mulholland Scenic Corridor
is a 55-mile scenic drive through the Santa Monica Mountains from Griffith
Park to Leo Carrillo State Park. |
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Chicago
The parks we feature are "a pretty
good drive from where I am and these places would be best suited to a Saturday
or Sunday (all day) outing." says JoanMarie.
Just miles west of Chicago, off
U.S. 30, urban sprawl gives way to1,550 acres of rolling prairie and features
a 318.8 acre man-made fishing lake and the Shabbona Lake State
Recreation Area You can see cattail, marsh marigolds,
horsetail, skunk cabbage, turtlehead, iris, blue joint grass and bulrushes.
Also enjoy the areas of prairie restoration throughout the park which
features prairie grasses such as Big Blue Stem and prairie flowers
such as purple cone flower.
Goose Lake Prairie State
Natural Area serves as testimony to the prairies that once covered
nearly 60 percent of the state.
Located in Grundy County, Goose
Lake Prairie is approximately 50 miles southwest of Chicago and 1 mile
southwest of the confluence of the Kankakee and Des Plaines rivers. Goose
Lake Prairie State Natural Area is a study in contrasts. Tall Grass Nature
Trail displays the largest stand of tall grass prairie remaining in Illinois.
Marsh Loop Trail shows the ponds and marshes that resulted from the 1890
decision by local farmers to drain Goose Lake. Prairie View Trail takes
you to the highest point in Goose Lake Prairie - a strip mine spoil
mound - and offers a panoramic view of reclaimed mine areas, prairie and
prairie marsh.
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The Des Plaines Fish & Wildlife
Area has an abundance
of wildlife, restful picnic areas and variety of sportfishing species.
Farmland and woodland, prairie and swamp still water and shoreline offer
unlimited opportunities for nature lovers and sportsmen.
Located ten miles south of Joliet
and 55 miles southwest of Chicago in Will County, open water and ice fishing
provide panfish, catfish, and good bass fishing. The Kankakee River borders
the site on the south with 3 miles of shoreline providing access
to boating enthusiast and excellent walleye and northern pike fishing.
Pheasant hunting is the most popular
choice for sportsmen at Des Plaines, and the largest pheasant hunting (by
permit only)
facility in the state is located
at the site. For variety, however, there are unlimited numbers of deer,
rabbit and dove. Eighty acres of the Des Plaines Wildlife Area make up
a dedicated nature preserve which contains many remnants of the natural
prairie of
years past.
While you
are so close don't leave out Chicago! It's the home of the blues,
and you'll find great guides on bike trails, walking guides, the
metro system, famous buildings, art, locals eating places and even places
where infamous crimes took place! Check all 73 of them out here
with Amazon.com |
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