Noble Work in Texas

Some good programs at a Texas State Park.

Operations have been on an upswing since fall at Guadalupe River State Park, where new staff and a series of family-friendly nature programs are attracting tourists from around the state.

“The turnout really has been wonderful,” said GRSP official Joan Nitschke, “and I think the biggest success that we’ve had the most fun with are the afternoon programs with the children.”

With titles like “Fun in the Summer: Bountiful Bugs” — that ran last week, in fact — the hands-on series has proven to be a draw for children as well as parents, and there’s plenty on the schedule to satisfy all ages and interests.

There’s also “‘Kids in Nature Water Wonder,’ where they actually get in the river with dip nets and buckets and search for aquatic bugs and tadpoles,” Nitschke said. “The kids absolutely love it, and before long the parents absolutely do too.”

Texas has been a leader in getting kids connected to nature and programs like this show it.

Read more here.

Wi-Fi in State Parks

USA Today recently published an article on the growing number of state parks with wi-fi access.

"There is a growing need for many of our visitors to be able to stay in touch with friends, family members and co-workers while they are away," says Roy Stearns, a spokesman for California State Parks, which has more parks equipped with Wi-Fi than any other state.

Three years ago, none of California's 278 parks had Wi-Fi. Now 50 are so equipped, including state beaches at Malibu, San Clemente and Half Moon Bay.

When I was growing up and camping all over the country with my parents, there were always folks with big travel trailers that had television. We never did, although we would take advantage of electric hook ups occasionally. My gut preference now would be to not have wi-fi in parks, but on the other hand, if having the service gets more people out camping in the parks, maybe it's not such a bad thing in this wired world. Heck, we always had music playing at Gray Knob.

The Outdoor Retailer Blog has a short post and a poll you can take on the topic here.