The North Country National Scenic Trail links scenic, natural, historic, and cultural areas in seven northern states. The approximately four thousand mile long trail incudes a variety of hikes from easy walking to challenging treks. When completed, through the efforts of many people, the trail will become the longest continuous hiking trail in the United States. From the Missouri River in North Dakota to the shores of Lake Champlain in New York, the trail allows hikers to experience a variety of...

Binder Park Zoo is located in a lush forest which exhibits the animals in natural surroundings. Wild Africa, a 50-acre immersion experience, features a 17-acre savanna where one of the nation's largest herd of giraffe roam with gazelle, ostrich, zebra, and more.

Christian Home Educators Support System (CHESS) is a Lansing based homeschool organization that reaches out to serve all mid-Michgan homeschoolers. They are currently serving over 160 families from St. Johns to Jackson, Portland to Perry, Charlotte to Howell, and everywhere in between. CHESS seeks to provide support, encouragement, resources, information, activities, and other services that will nurture Christ-like character in homeschooling children and parents, alike.

This is a private list for leaders of Catholic homeschool support groups within the state of Wisconsin (or in border towns in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and UP Michigan). It is a place to exchange information that may be of interest to Catholic homeschoolers throughout the state. It is also a forum for the dissemination of statewide invitations to various Catholic homeschooling events, such as conferences, graduations, dances, etc.

This group provides support for homeschoolers in St. Clair County, Michigan. They offer activities for kids and teens.

The NICHE homeschool support group provides a comfortable, enriching environment for home educators to meet, inform, encourage, and enjoy one another. They offer information, support, and networking opportunities for homeschooling parents and children.

Lenawee Involved in Family Education (LIFE) is Lenawee County's largest homeschool support group. LIFE membership is open to families pursuing Christian home education. As a cooperative support group, members assist with planning and conducting training and programs for students and families. They have activities year round, seminars, mentoring for new homeschool families, guest speakers from all over Michigan and neighboring states that have dedicated their lives to Homeschooling. The annual m...

The Homeschool HUB is a non-profit educational organization and Michiana's homeschooling resource center. This organization provides programs and field trips, and a communication network among homeschool families in the Michiana area. They offer classes and seminars, field trips, games days, play days, community service projects, a sports program, and much more.

Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary, established Michigan's earliest European settlements at Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace in 1668 and 1671. He lived among the Great Lakes Indians from 1666 to his death in 1675. During these nine years, Father Marquette mastered several native languages and helped Louis Jolliet map the Mississippi River. Father Marquette National Memorial and Museum is located in Straits State Park.

Comprised of 125 acres of natural wetlands, woodlands, meadows and botanical gardens, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a year round experience with indoor tropical, arid, Carnivorous, Victorian and seasonal gardens, world class changing sculpture gallery with shows by international artists, and outdoor acreage featuring a world-class sculpture park, children's garden, historic Michigan's farm garden, amphitheater for summer concert events, nature trails and board walks. It is located ...

The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts in Grand Rapids offers art exhibits and performing arts events.

This group is for families in Michigan that Unschool or are relaxed homeschoolers. This group is not for discussion of curriculum or how to get kids to "do school", rather it's a forum to discuss unschooling, share our unschooling experiences, ask questions or just explore the concept.

Online support group for Michigan Homeschooling families including the planning of group trips and events.

The Mission of the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum is to inspire people to discover the wonder of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Our Vision is to be the leader in imaginative and interactive learning experiences.

LAUNCH (Livingston Area UNschoolers and eClectic Homeschoolers) is a secular support group for unschoolers and eclectic homeschoolers in and around Livingston County, Michigan. This non-religious group meets for volunteer activities, field trips and other gatherings as arranged by its members. Most of their activities occur in the Howell area.

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

The concept of the national park is an American contribution to world civilization, and it remains a defining characteristic of our country. From the rocky shore of Maine's Acadia to the barren crater and lush rain forest of Hawaii's Haleakala, America's national beauty is celebrated and preserved in its national parks. This book retells the history of each park, describes its most important features and wildlife, and reproduces its gorgeous scenery in full-color photographs that will enthrall armchair travelers and entice others to lace up their hiking boots and reach for their sporting gear. Organized by region of the country, it includes well-known parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Glacier as well as lesser-known destinations like Shenandoah, Biscayne, and Kenai Fjords.

If a picture's worth 1,000 words, this book--with its hundreds of breathtaking photos of America's National Parks--is a well-stocked bookstore. Accompanied by the words of poet laureate Mark Strand, These Rare Lands is a perfect coffee-table book for anyone who has enjoyed the wonders of nature's wildest places. From a storm over Sequoia National Park in California to the otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns and an Atlantic sunset in Maine's Acadia, this is a book that draws you back again and again. Photographer Stan Jorstad's obvious love of nature comes through in the thoughtful approach he takes to his life's work, contained in the pages of These Rare Lands.

Educational Travel on a Shoestring shows parents how they can help their children learn–and have a blast–while traveling. From researching destinations to sharing activities that both teach and entertain, this priceless guide offers practical information for parents who want to have more fun with their kids, build closer family ties, and enjoy richer educational experiences–all without spending a fortune.

What makes a trip to a national park so wonderful? For starters, America's national park system is more diverse than any park system in the world. You can stroll the seashore at Olympic National Park in Washington or Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, climb craggy mountains in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, or go underground into the world's largest cave system at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. You can marvel at the largest canyon on Earth (Grand Canyon National Park), hike among the planet's largest collection or rock arches (Arches National Park), explore the lowest and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere (Death Valley National Park), or wander a realm of forests and misty mountains (Great Smoky Mountains National Park).

And these are just a few of your park options.

America's National Parks For Dummies gives you guidance to decide which park is for you, when to go, and what to see when you reach your destination. This guide will help you plan the best trip imaginable, whether you are

• An inexperienced traveler looking for guidance in determining whether to take a trip to a national park and how to plan for it
• An experienced traveler who has yet to explore the national park system and wants expert advice when you finally get a chance to enjoy one
• Any traveler who doesn't like big, thick travel guides that list every single hotel, restaurant, or attraction, but instead looks for a book that focuses on the places that will provide the best or most unique park experience

America's National Parks For Dummies is user-friendly and organized in a logical fashion. Each park is broken down in a chapter that delves into the nitty-gritty of trip planning and highlights, including tips for

• Planning your trip by touching on the diversity of the park system, explaining some of your vacation options, and telling you when parks are the most (and least) crowded
• Ironing out the details by describing how you get to the parks and how to find your way around after you arrive
• Exploring America's national parks by giving you the lowdown on 15 of the best parks, detailing things like each park's wild kingdom, the best spots for memorable photographs, and a few safety issues

The pages of this book resemble a great long-distance hike – you never know what's around the next bend in the trail. So throw on a backpack, take a swig of water, and get ready to explore the national parks!

Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings.

From stunning mountain ranges to arid expanses of desert, America has been blessed with an incredibly diverse land -- and the vision to protect it for our and future generations to enjoy. These lands are ours to view, wander, learn from, and revel in. America's National Parks captures all that is great about all fifty-six parks in the national park system. It also gives interesting, easy-to-understand background on the geological and ecological forces that continue to make each national park so worthy of protection.

Nature lovers will be captivated by gorgeous photos of landforms, flora, and fauna. Families will appreciate the information that is sure to enhance vacations at the parks. And visitors to any of the country's national parks will forever treasure this book as a memento of past visits and an inspiration for future ones.

Unlike any other book published on national parks, America's National Parks is a must-have for anyone who relishes America's natural wonders and wants to learn more about the powerful forces that created them.

For tourists, family campers, and serious lovers of the outdoors, here is a big, beautiful, color-illustrated book that describes more than 50 national parks, sites, and seashores that stretch from Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic coast to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Haleakala in Hawaii, and Glacier Bay in Alaska. More than 400 breathtaking photographs capture the beauty and atmosphere of each site, and 54 color maps show each park's location and major features. Visitor information panels give important details on access points, accommodations, and recreational activities such as hiking, rafting, birdwatching, and fishing. Here is a wonderful volume that will inspire plans for trips and evoke marvelous memories of past experiences in America's great outdoors.