Continuing in this post, I'm going to outline the National Park Service Units I have only visited as a child with my family. I hope to re-visit most of these sites some day as my memories of many of them are quite hazy.
Glacier National Park
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
Date of visit: Summer 1994?
Website: www.nps.gov/glac
Location: Montana
Entrance Fee: $25 per car
Type of Trip: Daytrip as part of Western US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 9
Review: One of the "crown jewels" of the National Park system, Glacier National Park has attracted lots of attention in recent years because of the rapid shrinking of its namesake glaciers. The thing I remember most about Glacier was driving over Going-to-the-Sun Road, a 50 mile road that is a feat of engineering through some of the most stunning alpine passes to be found on the American continent. I distinctly remember sitting in the backseat of the car on the passenger side and being able to look out my window straight down the side of the mountain....I didn't like that so much! I'm glad my dad is a good driver :) But I do remember the scenery on the drive. And I think we stopped at a chalet somewhere in the park, and it was snowing lightly -- a novel thing for the middle of summer for an Iowa girl. Glacier is on my list of parks to go back and hike ASAP.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Players: Jenny, Jenny's cousin & Jenny's grandma
Date of Visit: Summer 1996?
Website: www.nps.gov/grsa
Location: Colorado
Entrance Fee: $3 per adult
Type of Trip: Daytrip while passing through Colorado on way to New Mexico
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve has the tallest sand dunes in North America. It is truly a unique experience to climb up sand dunes and slide down them right here in the United States. We stopped at this park on a trip to the Southwest with my grandma. My cousin and I had a great time here. It was really hot and I remember how hot the sand was on my feet. And it is much harder to climb up a sand dune than it appears! I look forward to taking Jackson here someday.
Little Bighorn National Monument
Players: Jenny, Carole, Steve & Jenny's sisters
Date of visit: Summer 1994?
Website: www.nps.gov/libi
Location: Montana
Entrance Fee: $10 per car
Type of trip: Day trip as part of Western US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: Little Bighorn National Monument used to be known as Custer Battlefield, named after the inept but dashingly mustachioed George Armstrong Custer. In 1876, Custer, a Civil War veteran, decided that he would attack a Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho force nearly three times larger than his own. Needless to say, all five of the companies Custer commanded were killed to the last man, including Custer himself. The battlefield itself is covered with markers, white marble representing the places where the Federal soldiers fell, and red granite to represent the warriors. Many of the Federal soldiers are buried nearby in the cemetery. Mostly, I remember looking at all the markers all over the battlefield and wondering why war is ever a good idea.....that, and it was really windy out there. I admit that I don't really know too much of the history of the Indian Wars in the American West; will have to do some reading before I make it back to Little Bighorn.
Mt. Rushmore
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole, & Jenny's sisters
Date of Visit: Several times
Location: South Dakota
Entrance Fee: Free, but it costs $11 to park
Type of Trip: Day Trips
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: On the face of it (har de har har), Mount Rushmore is rather odd. I mean, there are four dead white guys' heads carved into the face of a mountain. However, upon closer inspection, Mount Rushmore is actually quite a feat of engineering and dedication, not to mention its location in quite a pretty area of the United States. The Black Hills are a place that sort of surprise you that they are there; coming from Iowa, you drive and drive and drive and drive across the emptiness that is South Dakota and then, all of a sudden, you are driving up pine-lined highways and looking out from the bluffs of the Black Hills. One of the things that I could not get over the first time I went to Mt Rushmore was how blue the sky appeared. I also remember learning all about Gutzon Borglum and his project of carving the faces into the mountain. It took more than 14 years for the project to be completed and Borglum actually died prior to its completion. The four presidents sculpted on the mountain are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt; all were chosen for their role in preserving the Republic and expanding its territory. Originally, the figures were supposed to be full busts, but money ran out so only the heads were completed. The project was begun in 1927, and when you think that much of the sculpting was done via dynamite, the artistry and engineering become evident. In addition to the carving, there are hiking trails at Mount Rushmore -- one more reason why this is South Dakota's #1 tourist attraction.
Petrified Forest National Park
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sister and grandparents
Date of Visit: Summer 1988?
Location: Arizona
Entrance Fee: $10 per car
Type of Trip: Day trip as a part of a family trip to California
Park Passport Stamps Available: 4
Review: Petrified Forest National Park preserves several trees that have been petrified, or turned into rocks. The petrified trees are situated in the colorfully-banded badlands of the Painted Desert. I remember thinking the trees that had turned into rocks were really cool, and I remember the vivid colors of the Painted Desert. My family, to save money, brought along picnics when we went on road trips. At the Painted Desert, we stopped for a picnic and our bread for PB&J turned to toast before we could even start to eat -- that is how hot and dry it is there in the summer! I bought one of my only souvenirs on the trip at the Petrified Forest, a piece of petrified wood (probably from somewhere else). That is all I really remember about this park.
Yosemite National Park
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole, Jenny's sister & grandparents
Date of Visit: Summer 1988
Location: California
Entrance Fee: $20 per car
Type of trip: Day trip as part of a family trip to California
Park Passport Stamps Available: 9
Review: Of all the parks in the National Park System, Yosemite is the one I most long to go back to as an adult. It is here, high in the Sierra Nevada, that John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, and others began the promotion and lobby for the creation of the national parks system in the United States. Muir called the Sierra Nevada the "Range of Light" and I have a very vague recollection of why that would be so. I remember standing on the valley floor of Yosemite, looking up at the waterfall...and I have a very fuzzy memory of a picnic somewhere else in the park....and that's it. I know that Yosemite includes much, much more than just the Valley itself and I itch to return to do some real hiking in the high country.
No comments:
Post a Comment