GPO Summer Travel Series: Yes to Yosemite

June 26, 2019

Yosemite National Park, courtesy of NPS

How is your summer going so far? GPO is here to help you make it an extra special one, and we’re pretty confident this next destination in our Summer Travel Series is going to do just that. Early conservationist champion John Muir described the forests of our upcoming stop as surpassing “all others of their kind in America, or indeed the world, not only in the size and beauty of trees, but in the number of species assembled together, and the grandeur of the mountains they are growing on.” This park has so much to offer, from valleys to falls to giant sequoias. Slide on some good water shoes and say “yes” to the sprays of the falling waters of Yosemite National Park!

For first-time Yosemite visitors, the park can be overwhelming. After all, it is made up of 748,436 acres, 800 miles of trails and about 30 different waterfalls. Luckily, there are resources to help you decide which sites you want to hit during your visit. Yosemite: A Guide to Yosemite National Park from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service is a great resource to read before planning your trip. Part One of the guide introduces the park and John Muir, who helped propose the boundaries of the park in 1889 and wrote magazine articles that led to the park’s creation in 1890. Did you know Yosemite is one of America’s very first National Parks? Part Two explores the park’s natural and cultural history. Part Three presents a concise guide and reference materials, including a full-color map of the park.

We’re particularly excited to be taking you to Yosemite National Park in July when the flowers are in their peak at the Subalpine Meadows. In a brilliant mix of purples and golds, Alpine wildflowers at Tuolumne Meadows are truly enchanting in super bloom. Another site that’s a must-see? Grizzly Giant, one of the most massive Sequoias in Mariposa Grove. If you were feeling old today, we suggest you pay your respects to this noble tree, which is about 1,800 years old. Can’t get enough of the jaw-dropping scenery? Head over to North America’s tallest waterfall. Yosemite Falls is composed of three parts: The upper, middle, and lower parts. From here you will get breathtaking views of Yosemite Valley. Quick! Grab your binoculars from your daypack. We think we spotted a bear. Yosemite is home to as many as 500 black bears. And that’s just the start of Yosemite.

Wish you could wake up to Yosemite every morning? The Yosemite National Park Poster depicts the park’s wondrous rock forms, hanging valleys, waterfalls, lakes, and streams with El Capitan and Half Dome forming the central spectacle with Bridalveil and Yosemite Falls.

Were you blown away by this National Park? We hope your answer is “yes”! Thanks for coming along to Yosemite on our Summer Travel Series, and stay tuned for more to come in Summer 2019.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order 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, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 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.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

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.


GPO Summer Travel Series: California, Here GPO Comes

July 10, 2018

We’re having the best summer ever traveling the country with you, and we can’t wait to make it to our next destination. It’s home to warm weather, palm trees, movie stars and surfer dudes. Not to mention, it’s also a great place to experience some of the most beautiful National Parks in the country. Oh man, we knew the movie star hint was too obvious. Yep, you guessed it – California, here GPO comes!

Our journey begins in the southern part of the Golden State in Joshua Tree National Park. Here, two desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together. This park is filled with Sacred Datura, cacti, Brittlebush, and the quirky Joshua tree whose limbs twist and turn every which way, forming wishbone-like shapes. While in the park, put your little Junior Rangers to work. The Joshua Tree National Park Junior Ranger Official Program and Activity Booklet from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service offers challenges for kids ages four and up who are visiting Joshua Tree National park. Activity booklet in hand, these Junior Rangers will be on wildlife watch and scavenger hunts throughout the park which contains about 800,000 acres of unspoiled desert.

Next we’re headed to the far northwest part of the state to Redwood National and State Parks. It’s a little bit of a hike, but we promise your breath will be taken away once you’re transported to this endless world of wistful redwoods. Towering high above their admirers, these trees are so full of nobility and grandeur that you won’t help but feel humbled by them. Make sure to bring along Redwood: A Guide to Redwood National and State Parks, California for an introduction to the parks and the movement to preserve redwoods, which are world’s tallest trees. This handbook explores redwood natural history, the work of restoring logged lands, and North Coast Indian culture. Get lost while meandering beneath billowing trees, beside trickling streams, and across wooden bridges. We didn’t mean literally get lost! Pull out that handbook. It includes a travel guide and reference materials for touring the parks. And don’t forget entertainment for the kids! Junior Park Ranger Redwood Activity Book Ages 4 and Up helps children on the trip earn cool badges while exploring the parks. Activities incorporate important tips on poison oak, beaches, wildlife safety, and much more.

All aboard! It’s time to hop on the California Zephyr, a long train that travels daily between San Francisco and Chicago, through the heart of the Rockies. Have your cameras ready because this train ride is considered one of the most beautiful in all of North America. The Zephyr route contains over 2,400 miles long of overwhelming scenery and takes about 52 hours to complete. Junior Ranger California-Zephyr: An Explorer’s Activity Guide Onboard AMTRAK provides an opportunity for children ages 8-18 to test their skills at researching places, identifying unusual animals and reading about great cities and local experiences along the way.

We came, we saw, we conquered California and beyond. But there’s still much more to see and conquer! Stay tuned for GPO summer travel destinations to come.

More from our Summer Travel Series:

GPO Summer Travel Series: Exploring the Everglades

GPO Summer Travel Series: A Cape Cod Vacation

GPO Summer Travel Series: Your Trip to Yellowstone

GPO Summer Travel Series: Discover the Grand Canyon

GPO Summer Travel Series: What to Do and See in Washington DC

Don’t forget to check out our latest catalog America The Beautiful.

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.

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.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.


GPO Summer Travel Series: Your Trip to Yellowstone

June 13, 2018

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

We hope you enjoyed your last stop in the Grand Canyon. What’s that? Still in the mood to see some great natural wonders? Perfect, so are we! Pile in, folks. We’re headed north to the very first national park in the world. As Naturalist John Muir described it back in the 1880s, prepare to see “Nature at work as a chemist”. We’re stopping in to admire bison, steam clouds of sulfur, and the world’s greatest geyser collection at Yellowstone National Park!

With more active geo-thermal features than the rest of the world, Yellowstone is wild and alive. Sure, you’ve heard of the famous Old Faithful. But altogether there are actually more than 10,000 thermal features at Yellowstone, including geysers, hot springs, mudpots, and fumaroles. Here, you’ll experience a rainbow of vivid color as water flows from hot springs, starting with yellow, then orange and green. The unique activity in the park provides geologists with a glimpse into what goes on thousands of miles beneath the Earth’s surface. In all its bubbling and erupting wonder, Yellowstone has been regarded as a sacred place by the groups of people who have lived near it throughout time. In fact, it’s believed that early Native American visitors to Yellowstone left offerings at thermal features to show their respect.

Interested in seeing the work of the oldest living things in the world? Check out Mud Volcano at Yellowstone. Its single-celled organisms are so old and different from the bacteria covering Earth’s surface today that they are classified into their own kingdom, the Archaea. Amazingly, they create mudpots by metabolizing sulfur and water into rock-dissolving sulfuric acid. Alright, that’s enough science for us too.

Make the most of your adventure at this historic and wondrous site. Yellowstone National Park Trip Planner offers a vast amount of information to plan a vacation to Yellowstone, including the top five road trips to the park, an overview of the five park entrances, a map, what to do if you only have 48 hours in the park, and a guide to lodging and camping in the park.

The Yellowstone Official National Park Handbook from the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service will walk you through the history, geography and wildlife of the park.

Loved Yellowstone so much you want a view of it every day? Bring the park home. The poster Greater Yellowstone depicts scenic park features and the large basin created by a massive volcanic eruption 600,000 years ago.

More from our Summer Travel Series:

GPO Summer Travel Series: Discover the Grand Canyon

GPO Summer Travel Series: What to Do and See in Washington DC

Don’t forget to check out our latest catalog America The Beautiful.

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.

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.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.


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