National Parking: Now With a Whole Week of Celebrating!

Elk at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

 

 

I love our National Parks.    These parks capture some of the most beautiful spots in our country and preserve our history.  One of my most visit NP memories was in high school when Mom took my sister and I on a two week adventure in Wyoming.  We went white water rafting, hiking, wildlife watching and horseback riding.   That adventure whet my appetite to spend more time in the parks, getting stamped at every park I visited and finally working in Yellowstone for a summer.  

 

There are currently 401 parks all over the country and every American is within 100 miles of a park.   Check out this map to see where the park magic is close to you.  

 

And starting April 20 it is NATIONAL PARK WEEK!   A bonus 9 day week at that since it runs from April 20 - 28.    And next Monday-Friday, April 22-26, you can visit a park for free!  All entrance fees are waived.  

 

Random Fun Facts about our National Parks (from nps.gov)

•  In 1872 Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park (YAY!).   Yellowstone also has the world's largest collection of geysers.
• Wyoming is also the home of the first national monument:  Devils Tower...also featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
• In 1916 the National Park Service was created
• In 1933 Roosevelt creates the Civilian Conservation Corps, which created jobs as well as whole lot of trails in our parks
• In the 1940s, I could have been a special "lady ranger"
• Alaska single-handedly doubled the size (in land) of the park system...way to go Alaska!
• In 2004 the World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington DC
• Acadia National Park in Maine was the first national park east of the Mississippi
• Want to visit a park by boat or seaplane?   Try Dry Tortugas....it's 70 miles from Key West.
• There are only two parks in my home state of Wisconsin:  Effigy Mounds National Monument and Ice Age National Scenic Trail

Isn't it time that you loved a park?   
Are you visiting a park next week to celebrate?
What National Park do you want to visit next?

{my answers:  1) yes  2) possibly, Klondike Gold Rush Historic Park is in Seattle  3) I'd really like to go back to Yellowstone and Teton...it's been too long}

 

The National Park Love Continues with...
My Favorite Summer Job:  Yellowstone National Park
National Parking:  My Other Passport
National Parking:  Black Canyon of the Gunnison