Saturday, August 8, 2009

First Family going to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park

This is coupled with President Obama's town hall meeting in Montana, next week.

The First Family is taking a vacation before their vacation.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday the president, First Lady Michelle and the kids are heading west on Aug. 14 for a long weekend to visit Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National parks. Just days later, the First Family travels to Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Mrs. Obama and her daughters have already made two overseas trips this summer. Gibbs talked about the westward swing - intended to highlight the national parks - at his briefing, where he offered up Obama's week ahead.

On Sunday the president flies to Guadalajara, Mexico, to attend the North American Leaders summit. Tuesday, Obama touches down in Portsmouth, N.H.- an area where he spent a lot of time in advance of the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary in 2008 - for a town hall on health care reform. Obama hosts a reception Aug.12 for his new Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

On Friday, Aug. 14, the First Family will visit the Bozeman, Mont., area. On Aug. 15 they will travel to Yellowstone, Wyo., and Grand Junction, Colo. They will then travel to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, Ariz., on Aug. 16, and return to Washington, D.C., on Monday, Aug. 17. The First Family's visit to the national parks occurs during a free weekend for our national parks.

Obama has been to the parks before, Gibbs said. "I know he's been to Yellowstone, because he tells a story of coming to visit his grandparents that I believe includes both stops at Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, coming from Hawaii." read more here....

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