Celebrating National Park Week! Where Will You Go?

This week we celebrate National Park week! This was meant to be a quick post showing where we’ve been and where we want to go…

But I also wanted to take a moment to reflect on what a gift these parks are.

Whether it’s a National Park, or National Monument, or National Forest or National Seashore, there’s a sense of wonder that overcomes me when we spend time in these places. It’s wonderful to step away from “the real world” to be surrounded by huge trees, ancient rock formations, grand vistas, living wildlife and ancient tiny fossils… it’s a chance to breathe, to learn, to challenge yourself.

On our trip we’re trying to visit some of the most beautiful parts of this country – starting with the National Parks. We’ve lived in California for decades so we’ve already been to Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon NP, , Redwood NP, and Death Valley NP, as well as Cabrillo and Devil’s Postpile National Monuments. The list goes on. In previous trips we’ve been to Yellowstone NP, Gettysburg National Battlefield, Cape Cod National Seashore… all were special and all for very different reasons.

So on this, our big trip, we have aimed to see many others (and plan to see more)

To celebrate National Park week here’s a review of some of some the places we’ve been to so far…

These places are special. Saved and protected from industry and development, the National Parks offer a place to be in nature, have adventures, learn, and experience something far removed from modern life. It’s a special thing to spend day, a week or just an afternoon in one of these special places. When you can, make the effort to visit a National Park… bring a friend, your family, your children… or just go by yourself and experience someplace you never have before.

Which parks have you been to? What’s on your bucket list?