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Park Ranger Rebecca Haynes and the Adventure-Crew take you on a short whirlwind adventure through Biscayne’s mangroves. Being mostly underwater, the park hosts lots of wildlife and mangrove trees. Ranger Haynes explains how the mangroves multiply and their importance in the park.

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It’s pretty simple to get off the beaten path in this video about Biscayne National Park because there is no path. Biscayne’s park features are 95% underwater and Adventurer Clint Pollock and Park Ranger Rebecca Haynes take you through the highlights of a day at the park.

Unique to this national park is how to get around. Forget the four-wheel drives or even hiking. You’ll be riding in a boat one way or another. Whether a rental from the local concessionaire, your own boat, a tour with Gary Matthews of Biscayne Concessions, or one of the many park provided tours, this is one of the easiest parks to experience because the transportation is generally done sitting down.

Here’s an insider tip that will completely make your Biscayne vacation: book a tour with Biscayne Concessions!

You’ll learn the following in this short video:
- Private boating essential navigating tips that will keep you safe and free from bottoming out
- Why mangroves are so important to these islands and shorelines
- When the best time is to view the underwater coral in clear water
- Some intriguing history of the park, islands and lighthouse
- The best high vantage point for a 360 degree view of the park
- Where in the world is Boca Chita Key

So, put on your life vest, grab your sun hat and water bottle, and experience one of the most unique aquatic parks on this side of the planet.

Thursday marks the 40th Anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11, the spacecraft that first took man to the moon, an event that many people feel is the greatest accomplishment in human history. To commemorate this historic event, a new website has been launched at WeChooseTheMoon.com which will recreate the entire mission from start to finish.

If you visit the site right now, and as I write this we're still more than 43 hours from "launch", you can see a virtual representation of the Saturn V rocket that would propel Apollo 11 out of the Earth's atmosphere. You'll also be able to hear ground control running through pre-flight checks as they prepare for the mission, which is still two days away. All of the audio feeds are authentic, and once the mission is underway, there will be video as well, as we follow the three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on their voyage, which will culminate next week on July 24th when they return to Earth with a splashdown. Of course, before that happens we'll get to relive the most significant piece of history when on July 20th, Armstrong and Aldrin pilot the lunar lander to the surface of the moon, and become the first humans to step foot on another world.

From what I understand, the details of the mission have been rebuilt to exacting specifications for this website, so we'll all be able to follow along in realtime. The site also allows you to view the liftoff from a variety of angles, and feeds us information about the speed and distance traveled. Other feeds provide trivia about the day, such as what the best selling books were at the time, and the songs that topped the charts as well.

Of course, once liftoff occurs, that's when the fun really begins. I'm told that there is nearly constant chatter between the astronauts and mission control, which should make for a very interesting way to relive this slice of history. I wasn't around when the moon landing happened, I was actually born a month later, but I have always been a fan of the space program, and have been fascinated with the idea of traveling to other planets. For the next week or so, this is going to be something that I'll be watching very closely. In my mind, it is indeed the greatest human adventure of all time, but if you can think of one better, I'd be happy to re-evaluate.

Here's a contest that I wasn't sure I really wanted to share with anyone. As a bit of an amateur photographer myself, I always appreciate good gear, and especially something that helps me carry my DSLR's and lenses a bit easier, which is why the packs that Clik Elite offers are so intriguing to me. The company makes some great looking packs that are not only designed for use on the trail, but also for protecting your precious camera equipment while you're out there.

Next week is the start of the Summer Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake City, Utah. And to celebrate the event, Clik Elite has decided to give away some cool swag, and they've made it exceedingly easy for us to sign up for the contest. All you need to do to enter is sign up for their online newsletter, start following their twitter feed, or become a Clik Elite Fan on Facebook. Simple huh?

After that, all you have to do is sit back and collect the free stuff. Over the next three weeks, they'll pick a winner each week, and will be giving away two of their Compact Sport packs and one of the Medium Nature bags. They'll also be giving away t-shirts, accessory pouches and more.

If you're not familiar with the Click Elite packs, and you're into photography at all, I'd recommend checking them out. The packs offer space for carrying your gear, but also have designated compartments for your camera equipment, with extra padding to protect your DSLR, lenses, and other photography gear. The packs have all the other features you would expect as well, like hydration sleeves, water bottle holders, and a well designed harness system. They seem to be well designed for the outdoor enthusiast who doesn't leave home without his camera.

Good luck in the contest. If you win, at least thank me for sharing! ;)

The Sierra Club has launched in interesting new website called Sierra Club Trails that aims to be the Wikipedia of hiking, with a comprehensive, online, user updated, database of the best places to hike in the U.S.

The site is designed to be a place where we can all share information about our favorite places to hike, and post information on trails that we've discovered. Because it is user-updatable, the trail information can be altered on the go as conditions change, new trails open up, and unique places are discovered. You can search for trails in your area or some place that you will be visiting, and there are even easy options for finding the newest trails added to the database, as well as the most popular and highest rated. The trails don't even have to be on dry land either, as the website will allow you to enter paddling trails too.

If that wasn't enough, the Sierra Club is building a community around the site allowing outdoor adventurers to create a profile, logon, and join in the discussions on gear, trail food, and more. There is also an official blog for the website as well as news on upcoming events, and a "how to" section as well.

At the moment, the site isn't very well but it is technically still in beta, with many hikes missing. But the wiki just launched last week and I'm sure things will fill in very soon. Checking for my location here in Texas, i find only 11 trails so far, so there are plenty to add. But the ones that are there have some good information, including descriptions of the what to expect, including photos, and an indication of how challenging the trail is as well.

So, if you have a favorite trail, maybe you should head over to Sierra Club Trails and start sharing your thoughts. I'm sure your contribution will be appreciated by others, and you may find a few new trails for yourself while you're at it. This wiki looks very promising, and we can all use a few ideas on where to head out on a new hike.