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...