Hello readers,

I am currently in West Virginia on a road trip and do not have my blog post for Gauley River National Recreation Area completed yet. On Monday, I did a guided whitewater rafting trip down the Upper and Lower Gauley, 26 miles that they call the Marathon featuring some of the most famous Class V rapids in the U.S. That was National Park Service site 418/433 for me. And our raft only flipped once!

You may have already heard that Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument will soon become Chiricahua National Park, the 64th National Park and necessitating a 3rd edition of my guidebook A Park to Yourself: Finding Solitude in America’s 63 National Parks, which I hope to release in time for the holiday gift season.

I have finished writing my latest travel guidebook American History 101: National Park Service Sites That Made the U.S.A. I am doing the final edits and will have it available on Amazon in early November. I will offer a discount for early purchasers, so keep an eye on this blog for its release. I think it is the best written of my five guidebooks and certainly required the most reading for research. I learned so much about my country.

I spent some time in Kentucky last week, which helped with the Kentucky Road Trip Itinerary post. I went to the Churchill Downs Museum and kayaked underground in a limestone mine. I have also added some new photos to the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve post after doing the Bridge Walk tour. Bridge Day is this weekend when they shut down Highway 19 for BASE jumping.

I am looking forward to more fun on my road trip and finishing up the two guidebooks. Thanks for reading.

Adventure on!

Scott

Learn more about each state’s Most Scenic Drive, Wonderful Waterfall, Top State Park, and other categories in my travel guidebook 50 States of Great: Road Trip Guide to America.