Hey there! How is the holiday season treating you so far? What’s that? You’ve got a competitive cookie exchange coming up, you need to find a tacky sweater last minute, and you’ve been struggling to come up with what to get your nature-loving niece? Your GPO elves are here to help! Well, with the last thing, that is. Today, we’re bringing you gift ideas for the great outdoorsman.
Our first gift idea is a National Park Pack. The lovely coffee table book Treasured Landscapes from the GPO Bookstore showcases paintings, watercolors, sketches, and other works on paper from over 50 National Park Service museum collections. These works of art are seen together in this book for the first time to illustrate and tell the story of the Service’s first 100 years. Pair this book with a framed print of your friend or family member’s favorite national park that they can hang in their home for their daily dose of the outdoors. Next, add in a t-shirt or sweatshirt from the park so they can wear their nature-filled heart on their sleeve … literally! Voila, you have a beautiful present.
Next on the list is a mountain man’s … or mountain woman’s … survival kit. In it, include a pocketknife, a canteen, a headlamp, a compass, and snacks like trail mix, granola, and dried fruit. Rocky Mountain National Park Map from the GPO Bookstore will go perfectly in your survival kit. Top it off with cool posters from the GPO Bookstore like Alpine Northwest and Rocky Mountains by renowned late graphics artist Charley Harper. Another great addition? North Cascades, a guide that provides a brief introduction to North Cascades National Park and the surrounding region and includes travel and reference information.
Help the fisherman in your life plan his or her next fishing trip. The Upper Salmon River in Idaho provides a variety of boating opportunities. Between Stanley and Clayton, the river bounces through several classified rapids and is a favorite stretch for whitewater enthusiasts. The Upper Salmon River Boating Guide will help visitors navigate the river and learn about nature. The upper section is also unique in its combination of easy access and backcountry scenic quality. Pair this guide with a new rod, fishing line, fresh bait, and a cool vest, and you’ll hook, line and sinker all those other gift givers!
Finally, if you know someone who was really good this year, give the ultimate gift of travel. Surprise that lucky someone with a trip to the Grand Canyon, Redwood National Park in California, or Yosemite. Hide the plane tickets in a fun way by sticking them inside their passport … which, by the way, was printed right here at GPO. To get them even more excited, include a travel guide for the trip. The GPO Bookstore offers guides to many National Parks, including Trip Planner, a guide for planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, Redwood, a guide to Redwood National and State Parks, and Yosemite, a guide to Yosemite National Park.
They hike, they swim, they bike. They appreciate fresh air and fields of green. The great outdoorsman (or woman) doesn’t want a new iPhone or a watch or cologne. Show them you know them. Give a gift they will be sure to love as much as they love the mountains and the sea. We hope the ideas above inspired you to get creative. Stay tuned for more unique holiday gift ideas right here on the Government Book Talk blog.
GPO’s Gift Guide Series: Books for the Environmental Enthusiast
Click here to shop our Holiday Gift Guides for everyone on your list.
The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications
HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?
Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.
- Click here to purchase Treasured Landscapes: National Park Service Art Collections Tell America’s Stories
- Click here to purchase Rocky Mountain National Park (Map)
- Click here to purchase The Rocky Mountains (Large Version Poster)
- Click here to purchase Alpine Northwest (Poster)
- Click here to purchase North Cascades: A Guide to the North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington
- Click here to purchase Upper Salmon River Boating Guide, East Central Idaho
- Click here to purchase Trip Planner
- Click here to purchase Redwood: A Guide to Redwood National and State Parks, California
- Click here to purchase Yosemite: A Guide to Yosemite National Park
- Click here to browse our GIFT GUIDES collection
Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.
Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.
Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.
About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.