Why National Parks are "America's Best Idea"

Explore North America with Abercrombie & Kent

What began fifty years ago on a family road trip to national parks across the country led to a lifelong fascination for writer Dayton Duncan, resulting in “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” a six-part, 12-hour documentary by Ken Burns, which begins airing on PBS stations September 27. Filmed in some of nature’s most spectacular locales, the series is sure to inspire other families to visit all 58 U.S. national parks. Abercrombie & Kent celebrates these national treasures with new itineraries in North America for 2010, featuring several of the national parks showcased in the series including Denali National Park in Alaska and Glacier National Park, where “Going-to-the-Sun” Road is said to be “the most beautiful 50 miles in the world.” 

Alaska: A Backcountry Adventure – New for 2010
Glimpse Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak, en route to your lodge in Denali National Park, home to large caribou, moose, wolves, Dall sheep and grizzly bear. Travel aboard the Alaska GoldStar Dome train to Talkeetna for a river canyon trip by jetboat. Visit the homestead of 4-Time Iditarod Champion, Martin Buser. Enjoy a scenic glacier cruise in Prince William Sound, keeping watch for glaciers calving and a variety of marine wildlife, including whales. Time-saving charter flights maximize comfort. Eight days from $6975.

Lewis & Clark Montana Adventure – Featuring Glacier National Park for 2010
Explore the Upper Missouri River just as Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago. History comes to life as you paddle, hike and explore the White Cliffs region which offers some of the most spectacular scenery along the river. A Blackfeet historian is your guide to expedition sites, including Starvation Winter and Medicine River. The adventure begins with a dramatic drive on the “Going to the Sun” Road in Glacier National Park with spectacular mountain views of glacial lakes, plummeting waterfalls and glacier-carved valleys. Your A&K River Camp is fully outfitted with large, comfortable tents that come fully equipped with off-the-ground cots, sleeping bags, pillows and headlamps. Eight days from $3395.

Rivers offer another way to explore our National Parks and remember the visionaries who saved them for future generations. Cataract Canyon River Rafting (six days from $2415) takes you deep into Canyonlands National Park where the magnificent scenery rivals the lower Grand Canyon. During the day, exciting whitewater alternates with slower, easier stretches.  At the end of the day, delicious evening meals await, along with a large tent, equipped with cots, pillows and sleeping bags.  This is camping, A&K style, distinctively different from other rafting choices available.

Abercrombie & Kent also offers tailor made private travel that includes national parks with accommodations nearby.  From luxurious romantic retreats to outstanding family getaways, A&K’s selection of wilderness resorts and ranches offers another way to pursue a passion for the outdoors and a choice of activities including Hiking, Fishing, Horseback Riding, Mountain Biking and Kayaking. Explore Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park from your base at Smith Fork Ranch, known for its gracious hospitality, superb cuisine and outstanding wine cellar, or take the family to Yellowstone National Park while staying at Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, where a specialized children’s program features age-appropriate activities.

While the idea of national parks is uniquely American, natural beauty can be found all over North America, including Canada.

Signature British Columbia – Revised for 2010
One day longer and priced less than 2009, this privately guided journey includes accommodations at some of the region’s finest resorts. Begin with a guided tour of Vancouver. Fly to Sonora Island for three days of outdoor activities including Zodiac exploration along British Columbia’s Inside Passage. End your journey at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler with a choice of golfing, river rafting on the Elaho River, ziptrekking or simply relaxing at the spa. Nine days from $5760.

A&K Price Assurance

Reserve your 2010 North American adventure with confidence thanks to A&K Price Assurance guarantee.  If the eligible North American Abercrombie & Kent journey you’ve booked is ever offered at a lower price, A&K will refund the difference.  Newly introduced page-turning technology makes it fast and easy to view Abercrombie & Kent’s new North America 2010 brochure online.  Preview or download a copy at www.abercrombiekent.com or call 800 554 7094 to speak with a destination specialist.

Comments

[Margery Glickman]

For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Six dogs died in the 2009 Iditarod. Two dogs on Dr. Lou Packer's team froze to death in the brutally cold winds. What happens to the dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains. At least 142 dogs have died in the race. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training. For more facts, visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition, www.helpsleddogs.org

On average, 52 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it across the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do finish, 81 percent have lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine said that 61 percent of the dogs who complete the Iditarod have ulcers versus zero percent pre-race.

Iditarod dog kennels are puppy mills. Mushers breed large numbers of dogs and routinely kill unwanted ones, including puppies. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged, drowned or clubbed to death. "Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses......" wrote former Iditarod dog handler Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper.

Dog beatings and whippings are common. During the 2007 Iditarod, eyewitnesses reported that musher Ramy Brooks kicked, punched and beat his dogs with a ski pole and a chain. Jim Welch says in his book Speed Mushing Manual, "Nagging a dog team is cruel and ineffective...A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective." "It is a common training device in use among dog mushers..."

Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, "He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens.. Or dragging them to their death."

During the race, veterinarians do not give the dogs physical exams at every checkpoint. Mushers speed through many checkpoints, so the dogs get the briefest visual checks, if that. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

Most Iditarod dogs are forced to live at the end of a chain when they aren't hauling people around. It has been reported that dogs who don't make the main team are never taken off-chain. Chained dogs have been attacked by wolves, bears and other animals. Old and arthritic dogs suffer terrible pain in the blistering cold.

The Iditarod, with all the evils associated with it, has become a synonym for exploitation. The race imposes torture no dog should be forced to endure.

Margery Glickman
Director
Sled Dog Action Coalition, www.helpsleddogs.org