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The park had made some significant improvements from when we were there two years ago. New signs had been made, rangers had new uniforms, and a slick, color brochure had been published. The sign at left was near the headquarters in the village of Spas-Klepiki. |
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The sign at left was next to the entrance of the park headquarters. It says, "Nature - Our Home." |
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Yuri Temeshev is the director of Meschorskiy National Park. His office is in the village of Spas-Klepiki. From their he directs the activities that occur in the park. There is a small office staff, five main ranges, and 75 other rangers that manage the resources of the park. Under Yuri's direction, many improvements have been made to the park. We are standing in front of a hotel at the tourist base. |
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The park is divided into districts, each managed by a ranger. Here Yuri is standing next to one of the new signs that demarcates one of the ranger districts. The new signs were great improvement to the park. |
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The office of the director of the national park is rather large. At left, we are gathered in Yuri's office where he is providing information about the park. He provided us with a copy of the new brochure and also showed us part of a new video regarding park resources. |
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There
are several tourist bases in the park. The one shown at left contains
a hotel where foreign visitors may stay for several days. Behind the hotel
are barracks where school children stay who visit the park for ecology
and sport camps. 
The hotel contains a large cafeteria where the children and other guests
are fed. A sauna and gameroom are also located near the hotel. |
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Near
the hotel at the tourist base are locted five cabins like the one shown
at left.
Some have recently been remodelled. They contain two bedrooms, a kitchen,
a large bathroom with shower, a large eating room, and a spacious porch.
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Scattered throughout the park are tourist bases devoted to tent camping. Much like American campsites, they are filled with tents, fire pits, and playgrounds. These sites are used heavily by campers from Moscow. |
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Activities
in the Park
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photographs above are representative of our activities in the park as
well as features found in the park. We had the opportunity to go boating
on Great Lake ,
swim in White Lake, and stand in the Pra River. We visited a Folk Art
and Craft school where children came from the region to be trained to
produce such items. We participated in a dig
at an archeological site that contained bones and pottery fragments which
dated to 3,000 B.C. We helped construct a small log cabin
at a tourist camping base for children to play in. We visited a textile
manufacturing plant and associated store in Spas-Klepiki. We visited the
outdoor market in Spas-Klepiki, an old church in Seleznyeva, and gardens,
wells, and hay stacks in local villages. We also were shown an area where
sand had been extracted and then filled with water. And, we also had a
wonderful picnic on Pra River. |