Our National Parks - Part 2

As we continue our journey, remember the parks are

listed alphabetically by the name of the park.

Our first stop is the Petrified Forest which has large deposits

of petrified wood.  These fallen trees lived during the late

Triassic Epoch about 225 million years ago.  

The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the 

widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which 

the Painted Desert gets its name.  Both of these National Parks

are located near Holbrook AZ and you can visit them in one day

since the Painted Desert lies just north of the Petrified Forest.

We visited Rocky Mtn National Park when we were in Estes Park

Colorado for our granddaughter Megan's wedding in 2015.

Rocky Mountain National Park has the highest continuously paved roads

in North America  with Trail Ridge Road (Hwy 34) 

cresting at 12,183 feet above sea level. 

From the visitor center at the top of Trail Ridge Road, some of us

got out and headed down the Ute Trail for about 4 miles, while

a couple of others drove cars down to pick us up at the other end. 

My "All Trails" map shows you our route... we started

at the upper right  of the red line and after a short, gradual incline we 

headed to our out point at Poudue Lake (lower left).  

Click on any photo for a closer view.

Now it's all downhill from here...

No guessing which way the trail goes!!!

And the scenery was great all the way.

We're almost there.  "Drivers" await at the left edge of the photo.

This park is located in south-central Arizona, near Tucson

The Saguaro Cactus can grow  50 feet in a 200 year life span.

There are two parts to the park... The west side is a little

smaller than the east portion, but you can easily visit

and drive thru both in one day.  It was dedicated as a

National Park in 1994.

it's easy to take hundreds of pictures of these unique cacti 

because no two are alike...

and visiting at sunset is well worth the wait.

My brother Glen is posing by the General Grant Tree

in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park near 

Three Rivers CA.  It is the second largest giant sequoia tree

in the world.  The tree is estimated to be about 1650 years old

and also features the third largest circumference at ground level

measuring 107.6 feet.

The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and its 

broad valley to the west, and the rolling hills

 of the Virginia Piedmont to the east. Skyline Drive is the 

main park road, generally traversing along the ridge line of the mountains. 

 

There are 500 miles of trails including a section of the famous 

Appalachian Trail.  Rider and I took a short hike maybe a mile,

just to say we walked part of the Appalachian Trail...

We did drive most of the 105 mile Skyline Drive and enjoyed

the scenic 75 pullouts that overlooked  mountain peaks, gorges and hollows.

Sept 9 of 2009 we visited Yellowstone Nat'l Park near Cody WY.

It is the worlds oldest national park.  Artist Point was stunning to say the least.

In addition to Old Faithful,

the park has approximately 10,000 geysers and hot springs

and many colorful geothermal areas.

Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River.  

It flows northeast to its confluence with the Missouri River 

on the North Dakota side of the border, 

about 25 miles west of present-day Williston.

Yosemite Valley is the heart of the magnificent 1200 square mile

park that spurred conservationist John Muir and photographer

Ansel Adams to create some of their best achievements.  Yosemite Valley

is the home to Yosemite National Park.

The highest waterfall in North America drops 2425 feet

to the valley floor.  Yosemite was established as a National Park

in 1890.

We last visited the park in Aug of 2011 and enjoyed

a fabulous lunch at the  world famous Ahwahnee Hotel.

It was built by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company

and opened for business in 1927.  It is constructed of

steel, stone, concrete, wood and glass and is a premier example of 

National Park Service "rustic architecture".  It was also

declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

This is my reference book when we travel.  It not only

list our National Parks, but also includes National Preserves, 

National Reserves, National Memorials, National Monuments, 

National Historic Sites, National Historic Parks, National

Military Parks, National Battlefield Parks and National 

Battlefield Sites and National Battlefields, not to mention

National Recreation Ares, Lakeshores and Seashores,

Rivers and National Parkways.

And, it's  arranged by State.  As you can see, my copy is

well used... so why not turn a page and decide where you

want to go next.  Enjoy the ride and the sites and sounds of

the Amazing USA!!!

Our National Parks - Part 1

The other evening I was watching “Ken Burns National Parks” 

on TV  and that got me started on this National Parks Blog.

 

FYI Kenneth Lauren Burns is an American filmmaker known

 for his documentary films and television  series, many of which 

chronicle American history and culture.

 

He aid:   “These are the portals that allow us to visit the past. 

And, the people who fell in love with these places then got the

 Federal Gov’t to preserve them. 

Over the last 52 years, Don and I have visited almost all or our National

Parks.  We've missed a few in the far north of AK.

Many of them were seen on our 2008 “See the USA” in our Chevrolet 

(and 5th Wheel) when we took the long way to AZ, via Nova Scotia).  

We were on the road for 8 months and traveled 15,549 Miles.  

  

Not all states have National Parks, but there are a total of 58 National

Parks  in the continental United States AK and HI.   But don't worry, we're only 

going to stop at a few in the following states:

ME; AK; MT; AZ; WY; AR; WA; CA; WV &  CO. 

Just to keep you on your toes, they are listed alphabetical in this blog 

by the name of the Nat'l Park, not the state.

So that means we'll start in  ME at 

Acadia Nat'l Park and then move on to Glacier Bay.

 (Click on any photo for a close-up view.)

Glacier Bay AK is a Nat'l Park in AK which we visited

while taking an "Uncruise" in June of 2013, on this

  small cruise ship that holds only 70 passengers

with a crew of 35 to pamper us.

For example, the loweered a fleet of Kayaks so we could

paddle around a few icebergs. 

During an off shore guided walk, we discovered a chocolate lily

and walked among "Fox Glove" almost as high

as an elephant's eye.

Yes, there is a Nat'l Park in Essex, MT with a similar name.

It's called Glacier National Park (not Glacier Bay AK).

We signed up to see the sites of the park via a tour bus

in Sept 2 of 2009.

This allowed us to take more photos and I also shot

many hours of video.

This is the most photographed site

in the Park... Wild Goose Island in Saint Mary Lake.

And everyone who's been there will remember 

the Grand Canyon, a Nat'l Park located north of Flagstaff AZ

It reaches a depth of 6,000 feet and the distance from the 

North Rim to the South Rim varies from about half a mile to 18 miles!!! 

And as we headed thru WY on Sept 11, 2009

We found the perfect place to stop for the night...

"A room with a view" as the saying goes.  

Welcome to Grand Teton Nat'l Park near Jackson Wyoming.  The

tallest peak is 13,775'.

Another time, another Nat'l Park.  The year 2008, the place

Hot Springs Nat'l Park in Arkansas.  It is located in Hot Springs AR

and was dedicated as a public use park in 1880 and 

redesignated as a National Park March 4 1921.

The scenic drive up the mountain for a view of the city

was well worth the time.  We climbed to the top of the 

circular tower  to enjoy this spectacular early November display of color.

Mt McKinley National Park is located on the Parks Hwy 240 miles 

north of Anchorage and 125 miles south of Fairbanks.  Often called

Denali, which means the "High One," is the name the Athabaskan people

gave to Mt McKinley.  It is North America's highest peak with an

elevation of 20,320 feet and it "caps" the 600 mile long Alaska Range.

Mt McKinley National Park was established in 1917.

The first time we saw it was Oct 2, 1983 when we took

a site-seeing flight out of Talkeetna, AK in a 

small 1947  4 seater Cessna 185.  

While flying between mountain ranges 

it looked like the mountains were at the tip of the wings.  When

I asked the pilot about it, he said it was about 1/2 mile to each

of the mountains!!! Go figure.  We all survived and it was

a great way to celebrate son Erics 21st birthday.  Just in

case you'e been keeping track of him, he'll be 60 this year!!!

On June 29, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established 

Mesa Verde National Park to "preserve the works of man," 

the first national park of its kind. 

Mesa Verde National Park is in southwest Colorado near Cortez.

.It's known for its well-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings, 

notably the huge Cliff Palace shown above.  We've been here several times.  

 This photo was taken during our last visit... 6/3/21.

We had no idea this Nat'l Park was even here until we stumbled

across it in 2013.  It is located near Sedro-Woolley WA.  It contains

some of America's most breathtakingly beautiful scenery.  

Attractions include more than 300 glaciers,

incredible waterfalls & rivers, lakes, lush forests and diverse

flora and fauna.  

It was a late bloomer and established

as a National Park in 1968!!!

It is also known for it's 3 hydro electric dams which 

were designed to provide power for the city of Seattle.

So we walked the walk... across each dam, to see what

we could see and look over the edge of the dam.

Later we entered the town of Concrete,   FYI this community sprang up 

around the Washington Portland Cement Company (1905) and was named 

“Cement City.” After the Superior Portland Cement Company 

plant (1908) was built in Baker, it was decided to merge 

the two towns, and in 1909, after much discussion, the 

new community was renamed Concrete.

This was my favorite sign around town.  Don always 

has to get my mind straight about concrete and cement.

Cement is a product you use to create concrete. 

It is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, 

and is the most widely used building material.

Now that we have that solved... let's  move on.  

Stay tuned for Our National Parks - Part 2...