Sarah and I have been inspired to start a new, big project. We love to travel and see other countries, but every time I travel across this country I realize how little I really know about my own. I've always been a huge proponent of our National Park system - it is the first, largest, and best in the world (despite what certain imbecile politicians have tried to do to it), and one of the greatest ideas this country has ever given to the rest of the world. The Park Service is approaching it's 100th Anniversary.
In that vein, Sarah and I have decided that we want to try to see every National Park and National Monument in the country. It's a tall order - there are nearly 400 parks across the country. Many I've been to, many I've never even heard of. We will only cross a park off of our list if we've both seen it (and Jackson), and if we've really seen it - no drive bye's. We have to get out of the car, hike, see, hear, experience. One of the NPR stories (linked below) really made an important point - only 10% of people who go to the Grand Canyon ever hike below the rim, and only 1% ever hike to the bottom. I am embarrassed to say that I am one of those 99%. That will change. So far, Sarah and I each have only seen about 11% of the parks. That too, will change.
Here is a great set of stories on the National Park System from NPR this past summer: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91890528
I've always loved visiting these places. Anytime we went on any trip, we always spent most of our time atone of these parks, whenever possible. All of the times we spent in Washington D.C. with my grandparents, we always visited as many as we could, along with the many museums, of course.
We're lucky in that we live in a place that has so many Parks and Monuments - I have no way to back this up, but I'd be willing to bet that the Philadelphia area has the highest concentration of Parks in the country (outside of Washington D.C. of course!), with the historical importance of the region. We literally walk into Valley Forge National Military Park all the time from our house. We walk by sites every time we go downtown. It's really great. http://www.nps.gov/state/pa/
Here is a list of the National Parks, Monuments, and other NPS sites, including the ones we've been to: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=f29e748b58ea235ad2db6fb9a8902bda
The 1st NP trip that we've taken since deciding to do this was our trip to Gettysburg. Sarah wrote a bit about it a few days ago, but I've since added a little more, including several pictures. Please check it out. IN the future, we'll try to be more thorough in our description of the place, but as you'll read, our time there was short.
While the principle purpose of this blog will remain to keep our friends and family updated with the goings-on in our lives, it will also serve to document our adventures in these wonderful parks. I very much hope that it will inspire readers to explore our National Parks as well.
Here is a list of the National Parks, Monuments, and other NPS sites, including the ones we've been to: http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=f29e748b58ea235ad2db6fb9a8902bda
The 1st NP trip that we've taken since deciding to do this was our trip to Gettysburg. Sarah wrote a bit about it a few days ago, but I've since added a little more, including several pictures. Please check it out. IN the future, we'll try to be more thorough in our description of the place, but as you'll read, our time there was short.
While the principle purpose of this blog will remain to keep our friends and family updated with the goings-on in our lives, it will also serve to document our adventures in these wonderful parks. I very much hope that it will inspire readers to explore our National Parks as well.
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