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| VOLUME 6, ISSUE 11 |
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Looking for That Perfect
Gift? |
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Doing some last-minute holiday shopping? We have some great park-inspired ideas for you...READ MORE |
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| Only a Few Days Left to Enter the Share the Experience Photo Contest! |
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Don't forget! The final days of December are your last chance to enter the Share the...READ MORE |
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| Lighting Up the Holidays |
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you were tuned into almost any news station on December 4, you would have seen
the Opening Ceremony of the 85th Anniversary...READ MORE |
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| Celebrate
Winter in the National Parks |
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With fewer crowds, less traffic, and extraordinary opportunities for discovery
and adventure, what...READ
MORE |
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Also in this edition, read more about:
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Welcome to GoParks! |
It's that time of year again, time for Santa's gifts, for mistletoe kisses and for togetherness with family and friends. We invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy this merry season with us as you read about what's happening in America's National Parks.
In this season of giving, we want to thank you for your generous and continuing support of the National Park Foundation. You can have the satisfaction of knowing that your gift to
NPF, the only national charity that directly supports the national parks, will make a true difference across the park system. Thank you and best wishes this holiday season.
Click Here to DONATE |
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Help Support the Work of the
National Park Foundation
The National Park Foundation, chartered by Congress, strengthens the connection between the American people and their national parks by raising private funds, making strategic grants, creating innovative partnerships and increasing public awareness.
Visit the National Park
Foundation online and DONATE TODAY!
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
National Park Foundation
1201 Eye Street NW, Suite 550B
Washington, DC 20005 |
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 Looking for That Perfect Gift?
Doing some last-minute holiday shopping? We have some great
park-inspired ideas for you:
•
National Parks MONOPOLY® — Outdoor enthusiasts can now own a piece of America
with America's National Parks edition of the MONOPOLY® game. From Yosemite in the mountains of California to Acadia on the coast of Maine, players will experience the wonder
of our national parks while enjoying America's favorite board game.
•
Fodor's Official Guide to America's National Parks, 13th Edition — From
seashores and hiking trails to historic sites and battlefields, this is the
ultimate tool for planning the perfect trip to one or more of America's 391
magnificent national parks. Called "very useful for anyone contemplating a visit
to the national parks" by The New York Times, this is also the only guide
officially endorsed by the National Park Foundation.
• Parks Magazine
— Make a $50 gift donation in honor of a loved one, and we will send them the
current and the 2009 issues of Parks magazine
• NPF Eco-friendly eCards — Visit NPF's new website dedicated to the 85th
Anniversary of the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree to create and
decorate your own electronic Christmas tree cards that you can email to friends and family!
And if you want to give back to the parks,
DONATE to the National Park
Foundation, the official national charity of America's National Parks. |
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 Only a Few Days Left to Enter
the Share the Experience
Photo Contest!
Don't
forget! The final days of December are your last opportunity to enter the
Share the Experience Photo Contest for a chance to have your winning photo grace the cover of the 2010 Federal Recreation Lands Pass used by over 500,000 park and recreation lands visitors. Other great prizes include Olympus digital cameras, trips to America's public lands, gift cards to outdoor gear and apparel retailers and more!
Sponsored by Olympus and the National Park Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and the U.S. Forest Service, the Share the Experience Photo Contest showcases the more than 500 million acres of federal lands and draws entries from all across the United States.
Don't forget to enter and go online to view an online gallery of photos
at
www.sharetheexperience.org and vote for your favorite! |
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 Lighting Up the Holidays
If you were tuned into almost any news station on December 4, you would have
seen the Opening Ceremony of the 85th Anniversary of the Lighting of the
National Christmas Tree, an American tradition presented by the National Park
Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service.
In honor of this historic event, NPF has created a new website,
www.thenationaltree.org where
visitors can learn more about the holiday history of the National Christmas
Tree, preview ornaments specially designed to celebrate all U.S. states and
territories, decorate and share their own Christmas Trees for America and watch
footage from the Opening Ceremony.
For the 46th consecutive year,
General Electric Consumer and Industrial, a
sponsor of the event, donated the design and lighting of the National Christmas
Tree display. This year's tree is the most energy efficient in the history of
the event. Powered almost entirely by light-emitting computer chips called LEDs,
the 2008 National Christmas Tree display is 50% more energy efficient than the
2007 display.
To help Americans decorate their own trees safely,
Underwriters Laboratories
(UL), also a sponsor of the 85th Anniversary of the Lighting of the National
Christmas Tree, has provided some
home safety and eco-friendly tips for lighting
your Christmas tree at home.
Click Here to learn more. |
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 PARK TIP OF THE MONTH!
Visit Santa in a National Park
For the first time, Santa Claus will be part of the festivities all month long
in
President's Park.
SANTA'S WORKSHOP on the Ellipse will be open through December 24th for kids and families who have a few last-minute wishes to
discuss with Santa. The workshop is supported by UL and includes a wish for a
safe and happy holiday.
Families can visit the workshop and kids can have their photos taken with Santa
during the following days and times:
Mon-Fri: 2 – 5p.m. and 5:30 – 8:30p.m.
Sat-Sun: 11a.m. – 3p.m. and 4 – 8p.m.
Christmas Eve: 11:00am to 2:00pm. |
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 Celebrate Winter
in our National Parks
With fewer crowds, less
traffic and extraordinary opportunities for discovery and adventure, what
better place to experience the frozen majesty of winter than in one of America's
National Parks! Here are some of our favorite cold-weather activities:
• Snowshoe Hikes in Grand Teton —
Grand Teton National Park will begin its
popular ranger-led snowshoe hikes on December 26, offered daily throughout
January, February and March. These two-hour excursions offer hikers the chance
to learn about winter ecology while experiencing a classic winter transportation
mode — wooden snowshoes. A trek into the park's winter wonderland begins each
day from the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center in Moose, WY.
• Yellowstone Snow Coaches — In
Yellowstone National Park, snow coaches serve as
winter transportation to Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, one of the park's most
spectacular features. They depart from Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel and Old
Faithful Snow Lodge, the only Yellowstone lodging facilities open during winter.
Coaches are heated and lunch is included on this narrated tour through a
wonderland of snowcapped mountains and frozen lakes.
• Skating in Yosemite — Imagine the thrill of ice-skating below two of
Yosemite
National Park's most awe-inspiring sights — Half Dome and Glacier Point. The
Curry Village Ice Rink, located at the Curry Village Recreation Center, has
attracted generations of winter visitors. At the rink, you'll find
skating-equipment rentals and a fire pit to warm your toes. This outdoor
ice-skating rink is open days and evenings from mid-November through mid-March.
• Cross-Country Skiing in Acadia — Forty-five miles of carriage roads in
Acadia
National Park offer the perfect setting for cross-country skiing. Ski equipment
is available for rental in many of the local communities. A daytime ski trip in
Acadia is a truly remarkable experience, since it is one of the few places in
the lower 48 states where you can cross-country ski and enjoy a scenic view of
the ocean at the same time.
• Dogsledding in Denali —
Denali National Park provides many options for dogsled
activities. From icy rivers and snow-covered mountain passes to the Alaska Range
glacier system, you will see a piece of wild Alaska beyond the imagination.
Local outfitters can provide instruction, guides and equipment.
Click Here to learn more.
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Also this Month
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Ken Burns' Film Has History Detectives on the Case
Do you, a family member or a friend have an item around the house that has
something to do with one of our nearly 391 national parks, monuments and
historic sites that might be of historical significance? Did you ever wonder
about its background or the story it could tell?
In a lead-up to the fall 2009 debut of Ken Burns' new documentary series, The
National Parks: America's Best Idea, the series History Detectives is calling
for national park–related items with historical significance to uncover what's
been hiding in America's attics, basements and garages.
All items relating to AMERICA'S NATIONAL PARKS will be considered for possible
on-air investigation. The outcomes will be broadcast during the seventh season
of History Detectives, airing throughout summer 2009, with the owners of the
chosen items being interviewed nationally on PBS.
Sponsored in part by the National Park Foundation, the The National Parks:
America's Best Idea is a 12-hour, six-part documentary that tells the story of
how America's National Parks came to be, focusing on the human story of people
from every conceivable background who were shaped by the landscape and in turn
devoted their lives to ensuring that the most special places in our country
would be preserved for future generations.
Click Here to submit a historical park item for consideration on History
Detectives |
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 Richard Martin Receives Yount Award for Lifetime Achievement
Retired National Park Service (NPS) employee Richard H. "Dick" Martin has
received the Harry Yount Award for Lifetime Achievement in the art and science
of "rangering." The award, named after a 19th-century outdoorsman generally
credited as the first park ranger, is the hallmark of recognition for rangers —
bestowed upon someone who has served as a role model throughout his or her
entire career, providing consistent leadership to the Service and the ranger
profession, and who, in the eyes of his peers, represents the quintessential
ranger.
The National Park Foundation makes the Yount Award program possible through a
generous gift from Unilever, Proud Partner of America's National Parks. |
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 And Finally, a Quick Contest!
But first, the results from last month. When asked to identify the park featured
in this photo captured by a PAST Share the Experience Photo Contest winner,
Raymond Merrill from Sterling, CT correctly answered –
Blue Ridge Parkway. And for answering correctly, Raymond has won himself an
Olympus Stylus 850 camera, donated by Olympus, a sponsor of this year's contest.
Way to go, Raymond!
And now for this month's quiz question...
The tradition of having a National Christmas Tree began in 1923 when President
Calvin Coolidge walked from The White House to the Ellipse to light a 48-foot
fir tree on behalf of all Americans. 85 years later, this holiday tradition
continues to unite Americans in a message of hope and peace.
So here's the question – During America's Great Depression, a new feature was
added to the inside of the tree that helped attract thousands of new visitors to
the site, despite the hard economic times. The new feature earned the tree a
special nickname that would last for decades. Name the feature and the nickname
it inspired.
Send your answers to
goparks@nationalparks.org
And if you missed the historic lighting of the 2008 National Christmas Tree on
December 4, 2008, visit
www.thenationaltree.org to catch the video of the lighting ceremony. Plus,
you can read about the history of the National Christmas Tree, receive helpful
holiday decorating tips from UL and GE, and decorate your own Christmas Tree for
America!
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