National Parks

We've been watching the Ken Burns National Park Series on PBS and have been thoroughly enjoying it. We as a family believe strongly in the National Park System and are thankful to live in a country that has such diverse natural beauty AND a government that had enough foresight to give it to all of us. Thank you Teddy Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot, and John Muir. Their tireless efforts have given all Americans (and our visitors) a gift that is "priceless". Our protected lands. The National Parks, Forests, Nature Preserves, and Wilderness Areas. Get out and enjoy "YOUR" backyard. It is unbelievably beautiful. When we visit our parks we feel that we are simply exploring our OWN backyard. Albeit, a very large backyard. Con, while watching the program made the remark, "How many national parks did we visit on the trip?" (2008 4-month RV trip) So, Con and I sat down and made the following list. It is what we came up with as best we could remember: Appalachian National Scenic Trail NY,PA,WV Arches National Park Moab, UT Badlands National Park Southwestern, SD Big Cypress National Preserve Ochopee, FL Big Thicket National Preserve Beaumont, TX Boston National Historical Park Boston, MA Canaveral National Seashore Titusville and New Smyrna Beach, FL Canyonlands National Park Moab, UT Cape Cod National Seashore Wellfleet, MA Capitol Hill Parks Washington, DC Carlsbad Caverns National Park Carlsbad, NM Castillo De San Marcos National Monument St. Augustine, FL Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network VA Crater Lake National Park Crater Lake, OR Cumberland Gap National Historical Park VA Delaware National Scenic River Devils Tower National Monument Devils Tower, WY Eisenhower National Historic Site Gettysburg, PA Ellis Island National Monument NJ,NY Everglades National Park Miami, Naples, and Homestead, FL Fort Sumter National Monument Charleston Harbor, SC Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Washington, DC Fredericksburg National Cemetery Fredericksburg, VA Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park Fredericksburg, VA Gateway National Recreation Area NY,NJ George Washington Birthplace National Monument Westmoreland County, VA Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg, PA Gettysburg National Military Park Gettysburg, PA Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon, AZ Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Breeze, Florida and Ocean Springs, Mississippi , FL,MS Hovenweep National Monument Blanding, UT Korean War Veterans Memorial Washington, DC Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC Manhattan Sites New York, NY Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park Woodstock, VT Mount Rushmore National Memorial Keystone, SD National Mall & Memorial Parks Washington, DC National Parks of New York Harbor Northern New Jersey and New York City, NY National World War II Memorial Washington, DC Natural Bridges National Monument Blanding, UT New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park New Bedford, MA New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park New Orleans, LA New River Gorge National River WV Petrified Forest National Park AZ Pony Express National Historic Trail UT Prince William Forest Park Triangle, VA Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River Southwest Texas, TX Salem Maritime National Historic Site Salem, MA San Antonio Missions National Historical Park San Antonio, TX Shenandoah National Park the Blue Ridge Mountains, VA Statue Of Liberty National Monument NYC, NY Thomas Jefferson Memorial Washington, DC National World War II Memorial Washington, DC White Sands National Monument Alamogordo, NM Washington Monument Washington, DC Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park, ID,MT,WY I lost count. But of note is the fact that all of the NPS sites aren't actually parks as we commonly think of it. For instance, the National Jazz Park in New Orleans in no way resembled a park. So, the parks not only embrace the natural beauty of the nation, but also our diverse cultures. So, then Con looked at the list and said, "Glacier isn't on the list." I reminded her that we didn't visit Glacier National Park during the 2008 Corps of Discovery trip. She thought that was a "hideous" omission and she demanded a list to correct the lack of Glacier being on our National Park list (Con's favorite park of all, but she is a University of Montana alumnist). So, the following list includes NPS sites that we have visited, but not during the 2008 Corps of Disovery Trip. Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail the Island of Hawaii, HI T&C Bandelier National Monument Los Alamos, NM T&C Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Fort Smith, MT,WY T&C Bryce Canyon National Park Bryce Canyon, UT T&C Capitol Reef National Park Torrey, UT T&C Craters Of The Moon National Monument & Preserve Arco, Carey and Rupert , ID T&C Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Coupeville, WA T,C, A, H Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Washington D.C., DC H Fort Frederica National Monument St. Simons Island, GA T Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Vancouver, OR,WA T, C, A, H Glacier National Park Northwest Montana, MT T&C Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, AZ,UT T&C Golden Spike National Historic Site Brigham City, UT T&C Grand Portage National Monument Grand Portage, MN T Grand Teton National Park Moose, WY T&C Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Hilo, HI T&C Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Porter, IN T&C Jamestown National Historic Site James City County, VA H Jewel Cave National Monument Custer, SD T&C John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Kimberly, OR T&C Joshua Tree National Park CA T&C Kalaupapa National Historical Park Kalaupapa, HI T&C Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park Kailua-Kona, HI T&C Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park Seattle, WA T, C, A, H Lake Chelan National Recreation Area Stehekin, WA T&C Lake Meade National Recreation Area the Mojave Desert, AZ,NV T&C Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area the Canadian border going to Coulee Dam along the Columbia River, WA T, C, A, H Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail ID,MT,OR,WA T, C, A, H Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Astoria, OR T, C, A, H Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Crow, MT T, C Mesa Verde National Park Cortez and Mancos, CO T, C Mount Rainier National Park Ashford, Enumclaw, Packwood, Wilkeson, WA T, C, A, H Nez Perce National Historical Park four states, ID,MT,OR,WA T & C North Cascades National Park Marblemount, WA T, C, A, H Olympic National Park Port Angeles, WA T, C, A, H (Home for us) Oregon National Historic Trail Various States, ID,OR T & C Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes, CA T, C, A, H President's Park (White House) Washington, DC H Pu`uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park Honaunau, HI T, C Ross Lake National Recreation Area Newhalem, WA T, C, A, H Rainbow Bridge National Monument Rainbow Bridge National Monument, UT T, C Saguaro National Park Tucson, AZ T San Juan Island National Historical Park Friday Harbor, WA T, C, A, H Timpanogos Cave National Monument American Fork, UT T, C Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail IL T, C Wind Cave National Park Hot Springs, SD T, C Zion National Park Springdale, UT T, C Most of our visits were in our pre-kid days andare represented as "T, C" (Tony, Connie) Some of our visits were as a family: T, C, A, H (Tony, Connie, Audrey, Hannah) But, a few of the visits were by Hannah as part of her People To People Trip to Washington, DC in 2007 (she was in the fifth grade at the time). H (Hannah) It's a sizable list, but there are numerous omissions. Such as parks in Alaska and Colorado (other than Mesa Verde). So, we still have a few trips ahead of us, as well as in our rear view mirrors. And, then again are our visits to the Canadian National Parks. Absolutely beautiful and in some ways MORE spectacular than our own (Banff National Park, and Jasper for instance). I always said that once you visit Glacier and Yellowstone, then you should visit Bann NP in Canada. The scale of this park is astounding. Hmmmmmmmm. Where to go next?