Imagine riding in a luxury coach, eating delicious outdoor meals, having a campsite waiting for you, and partaking in your favorite outdoor activities. Where do you go for such a camping adventure?
I received an email from Shaunna D. who saw on my bio page that I had worked in Sequoia National Park. She said that she was a park ranger there for about 5 years back in 94. She now works for a company called the Green Tortoise:
"We do outdoor adventure camping trips all across the USA (yup, Alaska too!) and down into Mexico and Central America. We pride ourselves on being unique and run our trips in custom built coaches with lounge style interiors (think couches, dinettes, bunks, etc.) We also have a gourmet cooking style that is very different from what most people think of as camping cuisine."
Shaunna adds:
"On a typical Green Tortoise trip our passengers will sleep some nights in the bus. Because they are converted "sleeper" coaches, people can lie down and sleep while the guides drive to the next destination. The night drives are during the boring stretches of the trip to save the traveler $$ on accommodations and to avoid wasting precious daylight hours sitting in a vehicle. For camp nights, travelers can either sleep under the stars, in the bus, or in their tent. In addition, passengers can take the full size cushions off of the bus making tent camping pretty luxurious!
"The percentage of expenses that are covered depends on the trip. On a Yosemite trip, for example, 100% of the trip costs are covered. Transportation, food, camping and park fees are all included. On most other trips there are only a few meals that the passengers will have to cover. Of course the old "night out in the local pub" is not covered! Additional expenses vary according to the passengers activities chosen also. All of our trips stop in places that have a variety of activities for the traveler to choose from. Many of the activities are free (hiking, sightseeing, etc) and some have costs associated (horseback tours, jeep treks, white water rafting, kayaking, etc.) In all cases we choose local guide services and all $$ goes directly from the passenger to the local guide.
"Food - oh the food! The passengers prepare meals as a community/family. We shop before the trip and have a basic menu outline and using our expert knowledge in outdoor meal preparation, we guide our passengers through preparing a gourmet camping feast. Meals are freshly prepared, mostly vegetarian, healthy and plentiful!"
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