I really enjoy going to National Parks. I have been to a lot of them. Most, if not all, have been with my wife and family. This is totally tied to the fact that my wife loves to travel, and I enjoy the outdoors (to a point).
I have been to a lot of them over the years. I haven’t nearly hit them all, and I probably never will, but there is always a chance.
Here is the current list with how many times at each (as of today):
- Glacier – 3x
- Grand Canyon – 3x
- Painted Desert / Petrified Forest – 3x
- Casa Grande Ruins
- Saguaro – 2x (both areas)
- Chiricahua – 2x
- Glen Canyon
- Sequoia / Kings Canyon – 3x
- Yosemite – 5x
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison
- Dinosaur
- Great Sand Dune
- Mesa Verde
- Rocky Mountain
- Crates of the Moon
- Yellowstone – 3x
- Aztec Ruins – 2x
- Carlsbad Caverns – 2x
- White Sands – 2x
- Crater Lake
- Mount Rainier
- Olympic
- Grand Teton – 3x
- Arches
- Bryce Canyon – 2x
- Canyonlands
- Capitol Reef
- Cedar Breaks
- Zion – 3x
- Grand Staircase / Escalante – 2x
- El Morro
- El Malpais
- Chaco Culture (Chaco Canyon)
- Guadalupe Mountain
- San Antonio Missions
- The Alamo
- Big Bend
- Chamizal National Memorial
- Tonto Natural Bridge State Park
- Sunset Crater
- Wupatki
- Walnut Canyon
- Montezuma’s Castle
- Montezuma’s Well
As you can see there are a number that I have been to more than once. I really like Yosemite and Glacier. They really bring the bigness of the world to my mind. I find their landscapes enrapturing. I can always find something beautiful to look at.
I enjoy hiking and taking pictures at the parks. I like getting away from the people. I like finding the great views. I love getting to waterfalls. I don’t mind how long the hikes are either usually. My family and I always have to talk about them beforehand so we don’t overexert any one of us, but I am usually not the one we need to consider in that regard. But no matter the length of the hike I just enjoy that time out hiking. If I get to take my large format camera with me I am carrying up to 50lbs on my back, and while that does wear on me, I like being able to look for and take a picture while out. (the pictures in this posting are all taken with a large format camera).
I remember the first time “B” and I went to Yosemite, and we had the grand idea to climb half dome. Well, it was our first time really hiking, and needless to say we didn’t make it. We made it all the way to the top of NEvada Falls, and there was a storm moving in so we called it there and headed back (and ended up walking in the rain some). We did a bunch of long hikes on that trip. Then on our first trip to Glacier we did the full Grinnell Glacier Hike (boats only on the way back). I still remember getting all the way up and thinking, wow that was quite a hike. It was beautiful up there. And this is the reason we keep going back to these two parks.
I have been to a few of these at different times of the year as well. I have been to Yosemite twice in the winter. You can’t do as much hiking, but I got to do downhill skiing there and that was fun, and my wife got to ice skate outdoors. That was a blast. It isn’t as much fun as the summer in some ways, but it certainly is very beautiful. There just isn’t quite enough to do in the winter to make it a lot of fun, but it is still fun.
Being in nature wasn’t something I did much growing up, and as a result I am not a huge fan of camping, but there is certainly something about getting out in one of these parks and camping for a couple days. You get closer to being in the wonderful creation that God has blessed us with. I like waking up to nature being all around me. I don’t like the work involved to get setup and tear down, even if I am surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation.
Things have changed though over the years. The first time my wife and I went to Glacier we were able to enjoy the park without too many people (well Logan Pass was busy, but it always is). We were able to camp at Bowman Lake with no issues at all. The last two times we have gone it has been a zoo at times. Bowman Lake is hard to get to, and it was still overcrowded. It was too bad. There was less fun there. And I haven’t been recently, but now there is a reservation system to drive the Going to the Sun Road, and that is really too bad. That is an amazing road to drive, and to think you have to hope to get a reservation to enjoy it is a shame. I am glad people are going to the parks, but I wonder how many are enjoying the park versus people just going to “get that one picture I saw on Tik/face/chat”. The same is similar at Zion, Yosemite, and Rocky Mountain as well.
Another not so great experience was our trip to Chaco Culture (formerly Chaco Canyon). We got stuck there for an extra 4 hours due to a thunderstorm that took out the roads. We had to wait for the water to go down a little, and then we got permission to go through the “rivers” to get out. Chaco was pretty, but it made for a long day and as a result not the best memory.
I can’t stand some of these parks as well. I have been to Yellowstone 3 times and I can’t stand that park. After one time there I was like, yep, never need to go there again. The only reason I have been there 3 times is that it is between home and Glacier and it is right next to Grand Teton which I really like. Yellowstone smells, isn’t that pretty (except some of the colored pools), and is so crowded that you can’t do anything without people. I think of Yellowstone as the Disneyland of national parks. It has a bunch of stuff people want to do, but then they stand in line for hours (in their cars at Yellowstone) just to see it for a few minutes. It is such a waste. I am happy that people want to go there because then maybe they won’t go to other places that are more enjoyable. (but like I said above that is getting harder as well).
I must say that I think the best way to enjoy the parks is typically camping so you can get away from all the people, but camping is hard. I have written some on that before so I won’t go into that more.
So, everyone get out there. Go see a national park. But think of others while you are there. And more importantly think about what a wonderful creation God has given us to enjoy. So, treat it as a wonderful place. Treat it in a way that you want others to treat it.
And remember to leave nature in nature.