OC'ing in National Parks! It's okay,... really! Part 1.

Howdy Folks!
I met up with a fellow OC'er from Grand Junction by virtue of travelling across the state to meet up and enjoy lunch with him. F350 is a most congenial gentleman who we enjoyed meeting and sharing a late lunch at the Golden Corral. He was sporting a 1911 worn strong side, and I was toting my Judge worn in a cross draw holster as we dined and chatted about a wide range of topics.

I'd studied up on the area because I wanted to try out my newly acquired 2008 Jeep Liberty on some back country trails. One I'd been reading about is called the Black Ridge Trail. F350 guided us to the Colorado National Monument and I bought myself a card that will grant me access to any national park anywhere in the United States and good for the rest of my life to have free entry foro the same $10 bucks it would have cost if I'd just decided to pay for the single day of entry to the park. Tough call, but I made an executive decision and bought the card!

We parted company after seeing some marvelous sites... and sights... on our way up into the monument mesa. Thanks and a tip of the Stetson to F350 for being hospitable to us on that trip. After saying our goodbyes, the wife and I were soon bouncing down Black Ridge Trail in hopes of seeing the natural stone arches which exist there in a place called Rattlesnake Canyon. I never did find that freaking canyon, but did enjoy the back country anyhow.

The first video seen below is about that adventure.

[video=youtube_share;Yr4yMr8krz4]http://youtu.be/Yr4yMr8krz4[/video]

end part 1.

OC'ing in National Parks! It's okay,... really! Part 2.

Part 2!

The next video was shot this past Saturday when the wife and I decided to try out that new card I got at Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park Colorado. This time I carried my XDM .40 compact in a cross draw holster. We did some shopping and had lunch in Estes with no problems regarding OC, and finally headed up into the park.

We saw herds of elk, very close up. We watched a coyote stalk prey, and I got shots of Big Horn sheep that were somewhere from 1/2 to 1 mile from the camera lens. Despite owning a relatively cheap camera, the shots came out great.

[video=youtube_share;qqIQUpY9AI0]http://youtu.be/qqIQUpY9AI0[/video]

It wasn't too long ago that OC'ing in a National Park would land a guy in serious trouble.
We enjoyed these outings without any kerfuffle whatsoever.

Blessings to all,
and Carry ON!
M-Taliesin

Dang, that pass cost me like $80 just for the year.

Beautiful sites up there.

jdholmes said:

Dang, that pass cost me like $80 just for the year.

Beautiful sites up there.

Click to expand...

Howdy Amigo!
Sorry to hear that. Guess it helps to be 62 years of age. The card I got is a lifetime thingy and states on the card it is because I am 62.

What it says is:
America the Beautiful
The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass
Lifetime Pass for U.S. Citizen or permanent resident, 62 years or older.

There is a whole bunch more stuff on the back, but at the very bottom it lists agencies that accept this card:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, Bureau of Reclamation.

Surely does open a few new doors for me!

$80 bucks per year sounds really steep; but then again, the Colorado State Parks sells a pass good for one year for $70 bucks.
Don't believe they give seniors a break on price either.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Yes sir, $80 sounds steep to get into a park but when you live in Las Vegas area it can prove worth it. Every time we take the boat to Lake Mead, or want to camp in the out back there, or check out Valley of Fire etc. we would have to pay $10 to access the area. Plus we have Mount Charleston, and Red Rock Canyon we can access free with the pass and a state park, Floyd Lamb, close by and then another couple National areas within a few hours drive so it seems to be paying off.