The Obamas Show Us How A National Parks Vacation Is Done

August 17, 2009 at 9:30 AM | by JetSetCD | 0 Comments

With vacation destinations like Miami Beach or Las Vegas, one wonder if American families are still game to take in natural sights at the once-popular National Parks. Well, there's at least one family that kicked off their summer vacation with little good old road tripping out west, and that's the Obamas. Before they head to Martha's Vineyard for some well-deserved down time, the first family spent this last weekend admiring the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.

Alright, so it wasn't exactly a road trip in the traditional sense, since the family took the Marine One helicopter from the White House to Air Force One to reach the west, but they did hop from one park to another in one weekend, and Obama even brought along his half-sister and her family.

The itinerary, packed full of the usual tourist pitstops at the Old Faitful geyser and lunch at the historic Old Faithful Inn, even included some extracurriculars for Michelle and the girls while Barack held some town hall meetings; they went white-water rafting and peach-picking in Colorado. Barack then caught up with the fun by trying out fly fishing for two hours, and although he didn't land anything, he did hook a dozen fish.

White-water rafting, fishing, peach-picking, geyser-gazing and Grand Canyon-visiting? Sounds like an awfully busy weekend; in fact it sounds like a typically hectic National Parks family vacation.

Related Stories:
· Go West, Mr. President, to America's wilderness [AP]
· A Different Kind Of Pressure Cooker [Obama Foodorama]
· Presidential Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon]

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