GET OUTTA HERE! Check out national gems

Check out national gems

Here's a sweet summer treat. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently announced that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments will be waived on the weekends of July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16.

That's right - no fees to enjoy our national gems, from Rocky Mountain National Park to Mesa Verde National Park, from Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, to the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, from Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site to Dinosaur National Monument.

And that's just a few of the ones in Colorado. Think Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico, Canyonlands National Park and Zion National Park in Utah, Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park in Montana - there's a whole country full of sites, including Puerto Rico.

Get a complete list of parks and monuments to visit for free on the National Park Service Web site, www.nps.gov/findaparkfeefreeparksbystate.htm, and get on the road to a magnificent free weekend.

Enjoy Estes Park history

Estes Park's history is firmly rooted in ranching, a heritage it has celebrated annually for more than 80 years with its annual Rooftop Rodeo, a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association-sanctioned event. This year's non-stop, rip-roarin' cowboy action runs July 7-12.

Nightly professional rodeo performances beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Stanley Park Fairgrounds combine with Mutton Bustin' competitions for kids, a parade through downtown Estes and a dance. It all adds up to lots of excitement, with saddle bronc riding, steer wrestling, calf roping, team roping, bareback riding, barrel racing and bull riding.

The celebration begins with a parade at 10:30 a.m. July 7, complete with marching bands, groups on horseback, floats, unique automobiles, rodeo royalty and more. Gates to midway fun open at 5:30 p.m., with face painting, western music, a mechanical bull and more.

On July 11, catch the country-western "Queens" dance, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. at the Estes Park Conference Center, when everyone dresses in their best Western finery and dances up a storm. Woody Purcell and the Snowy river Band will provide the rockin' tunes for the evening.

General admission seats cost $15, $5 for ages 3-11. Box-seat tickets are $20 for all ages. Get more information and tickets at estesparkcvb.com, or by calling 1-800-443-7837.

For a more personal rodeo experience, reserve a Behind the Chutes tour scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 3-11.