Awarded the 2009 Silver Medal in the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation's annual Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition: the first and only travel book devoted solely to immersion travel—volunteering, living, and learning trips within the United States! This book will absolutely changes lives and the way you think about travel in the United States. Designed to be a resource and idea book, this guide provides practical information about immersion travel; special considerations and costs; how to plan and take vacations, sabbaticals, side trips, and more. There are chapters filled with candid, warm stories from travelers who have been there, done that. It's exciting to visit a national park, but it's a lifetime experience to live inside one for an extended amount of time. Help others and enjoy yourself by biking and building homes across the country. Learn the fine art of making an authentic Windsor chair. Work as a caretaker and live in a lighthouse. Care about returning the wolf to its natural habitat. Play in the High Sierra Mountains backpacking and camping.