There is a travel brochure for Spokane that describes our town as "Near Nature, Near Perfect."  And indeed, one of the things we love about living here is that a short drive from our house in most any direction will provide us with places to be outdoors. This Spring we plan to review some of our favorites  - all the nearby State Parks, Conservation Areas, Natural Areas, County Parks, etc. that we can go and play in.  And the first of these is the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area.

Just this past weekend I found myself alone with my youngest son because all the other boys had activities.  The weather was nice for February and so the mountains called.  I only had a couple hours to get out so I immediately thought of this nearby retreat.

This area is roughly 550 acres of rolling hills that overlooks the Saltese flats below to the west, Liberty Lake to the east, with views of Mica Peak and the surrounding mountains above.  There are 7 miles of trails that gently rise and fall with the terrain making it a great destination for hikers, dog walkers, hikers, bird watchers, and mountain bikers alike.  The pictures will show you what it has to offer, and all of this is located but a 5 minute drive south of the Barker exit of I-90 in the Spokane Valley. Perfect for a quick getaway.

One thing to keep in mind when visiting here is that there are no trees on this parcel, so consider that on a hot day.  But for that same reason we love to visit on bluebird days in the Winter and Spring so we can soak up the sunshine.  The mountain bike trails here are well maintained, and the boys and I patrolled them a number of times last year.  And we almost always see a raptor or two out there, and occasionally a whitetail at dawn or dusk.

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​Although Zion National Park offers stunningly deep canyons, famous peaks and terrific hiking, canyoning and climbing, my favorite moment came one evening after dark.  It is probably my favorite because it was totally unexpected.  I like to be surprised.  I like a moment when my breath is taken away by unexpexted beauty.  When that happens, it feels like a special gift.  When it occurs in nature it feels like I am blessed beyond measure to be in the right place at the right time to take in a sight that will never be repeated in exactly the same way.  In Zion I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime gift experiences when we came out of the lodge after the evening ranger led program.  It was late, the baby had fallen asleep on my lap and I was just expecting to head to the car, get all the kids buckled in and head back to the campground.  As we exited the lodge and walked across the big lawn towards our car we happened to look up.  Directly across from the lodge the full moon’s glowing light was reflecting off the sheer cliff walls that make up the peaks of The Court of the Patriarchs.  They seemed to be the face of the moon dropped in our laps.  They rose dramatically into the black night sky that is only found so far from cities.  We all stood mesmerized on the lawn that dark fall night and just drank it in.  Somehow the dark of the night and the light of the moon had transformed the peaks that seemed so rooted, so grounded each day, into something ethereal.  I don’t know how long we stood there but I remember I never wanted to leave.  We tried to capture the majesty with our camera but all attempts failed.  Sometimes you just have to be there.  I guess that is why we go to national parks, why we take our kids.  Photos in books and online, videos and movies-none of those can compare to being there.  

Opening tomorrow is a great looking film that celebrates our National Parks 100 year anniversary by showcasing some of what they have to offer through the wonder of IMAX.  Click on the picture at the right to watch the 2 minute trailer of the film and then look for showtimes at your local IMAX or large scale theater.

Hopefully this movie will inspire you to make plans this summer to go and experience these national treasures in person!  If you need help planning a trip to Yellowstone or any of the parks in Utah, you can learn more about our guidebooks here.

 As you may have seen on our facebook page, we have just finished reserving our campsites for an epic trip to see many of California's amazing National Parks (Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Pinnacles and Lassen).  Although it may seem hard to believe, now is the time to start planning that family trip to your national park of choice.  Many of the sites are available 6 months in advance from www.recreation.gov and they are filling up fast.  Already we had difficulty reserving 6 nights in Yosemite in a row!  Other big parks like Yellowstone and Zion fill up equally early.

Last year we spent a bunch of time exploring Glacier National Park since it is in our backyard.  We checked out many of the regions scattered around the park but were also unable to see some due to fires and bear activity.  We are looking forward to spending time exploring them this coming summer.  Although most of the campgrounds at Glacier are first come, first served (and tend to fill by 8 am in the summer), some are by reservation.  Previously you could reserve sites on recreation.gov in the St. Mary's and the Apgar campgrounds.  Starting on Wednesday the 3rd, the national park service will be releasing sites on recreation.gov for 41 of the 103 sites in the Many Glacier campground.

We hope that you find inspiration here at our4outdoors or elsewhere to start planning your 2016 family adventure to one of your national parks!  Don't forget, now is the time to start planning so go get those campsites reserved!  If you are planning a trip to Yellowstone, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon or the north rim of the Grand Canyon then you might also like to check out our guidebooks on those parks.  You can learn more at www.nationalparkswithkids.com.