Taking a vacation may look a little different for you this year. Maybe you want to stay closer to home, or maybe you’d rather travel to a place with fewer crowds. Exploring a National Park (or 2) may just be the vacation you’ve been looking for!
The United States has established 62 unique national parks, plus another 350 national monuments, seashores, battlefields, recreation areas, parkways, etc. Our National Parks can be found in 29 states plus American Samoa and the US Virgin Islands. What I love most about the National Park system is that each one is so unique. What began with President Teddy Roosevelt as a way to preserve natural treasures has grown and expanded, ensuring that these beautiful sights will be enjoyed for generations to come.
When I think about visiting our National Parks, I remember road trips with my family as a kid. We would load up the car for 2 weeks and travel from park to park. Sometimes we would stay in the lodge and explore for several days, while other times would just stop for a couple of hours. However long we were there I know we would see something amazing. The best part of a road trip is what you might find on your way. Did you know that there is an extinct volcano in the NW corner of New Mexico? We didn’t either, but we stumbled across the Capulin Volcano National Monument on one road trip.
I can still remember the vastness of the Grand Canyon. It still amazes me that a river could carve out such a huge chasm. I’ll never forget climbing through ruins at Mesa Verde. It was hard for me, but that was how the inhabitants of the area entered and left their homes daily. One of my fondest memories was encountering buffalo in Yellowstone. We had to wait in traffic until they decided to finish crossing the road. When a buffalo wants to cross the road, he gets to cross the road!
I’ll never forget these memories with my parents, and I am glad that now I have the opportunity to make similar memories with my children. I know that we may never get to all of them, but there’s no better way to understand the beauty of this planet. Where will you go on your National Parks vacation?
