How many times has your family vacation been interrupted by the incessant ringing of your cellphone? What about that weekend trip that was meant to be alone time for you and your spouse… how many times was the peace and quiet shattered by an alert from your husband’s BlackBerry or cellphone?
If you answered “many,” then you are clearly not vacationing in the right place. Believe it or not, there are places you can vacation that don’t allow you to reach out and touch anyone with a wireless device. Take for example, California’s Death Valley. Seriously, the place is 3,000 square miles of dry, desolate desert, yet it is still one of the most visited spots in the nation.
If you are looking for peace and quiet (real peace and quiet) think Death Valley. The park is filled with amenities, including a visitor’s center, natural wonders, and incredible backdrops for ideal family photos. What it doesn’t have is wireless service, which means no ringing cellphones and no vibrating BlackBerries. Count it among one the only places in the country that you can truly escape to for a peaceful retreat.
Okay, maybe you don’t want to spend your summer vacation melting in temperatures that exceed 115 degrees. Point taken. But don’t despair, there are other, shall we say, more desirable places without mobile-phone coverage that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In fact, did you know that some of the country’s most beautiful parks and forests, including Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, Washington’s Olympic National Park and California’s Yosemite National Park, have either spotty service or none at all? (That’s a hint to all of you who are married to cellphone addicts.)
Getting back to Death Valley—the National Park Service has a warning on its website which reads: “Cellphones do not work in Death Valley!” What will work are cameras… you’ll need one to capture the moment when your teen or spouse is forced to release the death grip they normally have on their cellphones and BlackBerries. And just think about how wonderful they will look standing on a stretch of Western scenery that is virtually unparalleled. The question is: will they be smiling?
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