America's Backyard - A Celebration of the National Parks System

"National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst." - Novelist Wallace Stegner

Today is the start of National Parks Week, which means entrance to them is free; so if you live near one, stop reading right now and go spend time in it.  You can always read this blog later.  Each year, National Parks Week prompts me to reflect on their importance, have gratitude for those I have been able to visit, and made some recommendations.

Why are National Parks important?  As a small government conservative with a strong anti-federalism streak, why do I adore this one part of the federal government and approve of it owning and operating 85 million acres of land?  To quote Aaron Sorkin's line from The West Wing's debate episode, "There are times when we are fifty states and times when we are one country."  If you would rather I quote a real person, here are the thoughts of the first director of the NPS, ""The parks do not belong to one state or to one section...The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona."  Some features are so spectacular that preserving them is the responsibility of all our citizens, not just those of the state the encompasses them.  Every year, when I file my taxes, I find myself wishing that I could check boxes for where I would like my tax money spent.  If I could, I would certainly include the preservation of these glorious sites along with national defense and highways.

In my life, I have been fortunate to visit a number of our National Parks.  My dad was an amateur photographer for most of my life, so our vacations involved places to photograph.  That meant arriving in an area with several parks and going to as many of them as possible during a week.  While I'm not sure it is possible to visit all 418 National Parks sites (including 60 parks, dozens of battlefields, several trails, and over 80 monuments) while still living a regular life with a job, I have visited 50 sites in 18 states, if we count D.C. as a state.  I hope I will have the opportunity to visit even more.  While I'm sure you are hoping I will discuss each of the 50 I've seen in great detail, I'll limit myself to five or six.

Yellowstone
This is the park that started it all, which is fitting because it is not just beautiful; it is unique.  There is nowhere else in the world with the amount and variety of features that Yellowstone National Park contains.  From geysers and hot springs to waterfalls between the sulfur lined canyon walls that give it its name, there is no park with more to offer.  This is also the park that started my love of National Parks.  I was fourteen when I first visited, and there are photos of the Grand Geyser and Mammoth Hot Springs that I took that year hanging on my living room wall today.

I recommend spending a full week in Yellowstone, but that might not be possible for you.  If you only have one day, see the geysers.  There is a huge variety, from small and pretty to large and impressive.  They are all awe-inspiring, but DO NOT miss the Grand Geyser, which goes 300 feet into the air.  If you have two days, do the upper loop road on the first day and the lower loop on the second.  

Arches
Arches National Park in Utah is not the most celebrated park, but it should be on your list.  If I could spend just one more week in only one park, it would be this one.  Over time, the wind has picked up sand and carved arches out of rock walls.

If you have limited mobility and can only look at what you can see from the road and overlooks, you can spend one day in this park.  However, if you want to see it well, you need to do a little hiking.  Most of the hikes are easy to moderate, and they are worth the time and effort.  My favorite of the easy hikes leads to Sand Dune Arch.  This arch is hidden between other rock formations, so when you reach it, you feel like you are inside.  The temperature is about 10 degrees cooler than everywhere else, which is a relief in the heat of Southern Utah.  Because of the hidden nature of this arch, the sand doesn't blow away, leaving a sand dune under your feet.  

The most famous arch in the park is Delicate Arch.  It is on the Utah license plate.  There are three ways to view it.  The lower viewpoint is a short easy walk from a parking lot, but you see the arch from a mile away and below.  The upper viewpoint is a slightly more difficult hike, which includes some stairs, but you get a clear view.  The best view is to hike to the arch itself, a moderately strenuous hike of three miles up slickrock with a scantily marked trail.  If you can do it, it is absolutely worth the view.  If you are a photographer, plan to spend some time here.

Grand Canyon  
Everyone should see the Grand Canyon before they die.  There's no other way to put it.  This is one of the most spectacular sites in the world, and pictures will never do it justice.  Even April, the most cynical character in Parks and Recreation says, "I'm trying to find a way to be annoyed it.  I'm coming up empty." 

Unless you are a hiker, two days at the Grand Canyon gives plenty of time to see everything you want from the overlooks at different times of day.  Make it part of a larger trip.  There's a whole lot to do in the area, including Zion and Bryce.  

Carlsbad Caverns
Will Rogers called this "the Grand Canyon with a roof over it."  

New Mexico is a place where everything is spread out, so there's a lot of driving.  The park is entrance is 20 miles from the nearest town.  Even the entrance road is 7 miles long.  When you get there, however, you park your car and spend your time at very pleasant temperatures under the ground.  You can take an elevator down if you wish, but if you have good knees, I recommend the hour-long walk down the Natural Entrance Trail.  It is paved and has handrails and steep in places.  You see so much of the cave this way that you won't see if you take the elevator down (take the elevator back up, though).  

If you are at Carlsbad between late May and early October, do yourself a favor and stay until sunset for the Bat Flight Program.  I know it sounds like it will be creepy and horrible, but it is awesome.  I thought I would hate it.  I had images in my head of bats screaming over my head.  It is nothing like that.  There is an amphitheater built around the natural cave entrance.  The ranger presentation is informative and interesting, but the place becomes silent when the bats start exiting the cave.  Because this species of bat can't get enough lift with their wings to come straight out, they fly in circles, making a spiral of bats as they exit the cave and fly off into the sunset.  The only thing you hear for several minutes is the flapping of wings.  Just trust me.  Stay.

My last two recommendations are in Alaska and Hawaii, so I know this is a stretch for most people.  Please know that I understand how privileged I am to have seen these.

Denali
Alaska is a rugged place and travel can be complicated. It is that ruggedness, however, the makes Denali one of the most beautiful places in America.  Named for the mountain the American government named Mt. McKinley, Denali National Park covers six million acres of land.  There is only one road, and you can only take your car on part of it.  Official park buses are required on most of it.  The road is also only open for part of the year, so plan carefully.

The bus requirement seems limiting at first, but you will find that you are glad you can look out the windows and take pictures while someone else does the driving because there is so much to see.  The narrated tour buses are more expensive than the transit buses, but if you have made it to Alaska, don't let that stop you.  The tour guide we had was amazing and stopped any time someone thought they saw an animal.  In her words, "We'd rather stop and be wrong than not stop, so shout if you think you see an animal.  If it turns out to be a rock, we will ooh and ahh and take pictures of the rock."  The day we were there was pretty overcast (in fact I never saw the mountain), but because it was so cloudy, the animals were out foraging.  We saw grizzly bears, dall sheep, elk, deer, and caribou.  

Haleakalā
This park IS a volcano.  Booking a sunrise tour is going to sound crazy, but you are only losing one night of sleep for a once in a lifetime experience.  A bus will pick you up at your hotel around 2:30 in the morning to take you to the top of the mountain.  It's freezing cold up there and will be rather hot by the time you get back down, so pack accordingly.  Get into a spot where you can see the crater and put your camera in burst mode.  When the sun rises, it looks like it is coming out of the crater.  

After the sun is up, spend some time hiking around, but be careful.  You are at very high elevation, so you will be short of breath with little exertion.  Give yourself time.  The low amount of vegetation will make you feel like you are walking on the moon.  Some tours bike back down the mountain, but I thought those were crazy people.  

You may not live near one of these amazing parks, but there are parks in every state.  If you can't get to a national park this week, there are state parks too.  If nothing else, just get outside.  Look at the sky; get your hands in some dirt.  Do something to enjoy nature.  That's why the parks exist, even if you can't get to one during National Parks Week.

National Parks Week

It is National Parks Week, and all my students know that I just love national parks.  I even have an entire wall of my classroom devoted to them.  This is a small part of that wall.  It grows every year because my family also loves national parks, and my dad loves photography.  We hit at least one every year.

As a person who is generally mostly conservative, I am prone to think the federal government should not be involved with things unless it has to be.  There are some things that require federal management, like defense.  There are probably some conservatives that wouldn't think parks should fall under federal jurisdiction, but I am not one of them.

If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon, you may understand that it is not just an Arizona treasure but a national treasure.  There are certain parts of the country that should be set aside for everyone to see, photograph, and enjoy.  This is why I am with Ron Swanson (of Parks and Recreation) when he says, "National Parks are the only part of the federal government worth a thing."  I'm with Ken Burns when he says they are America's Best Idea.  Protecting unique and beautiful areas of the country for the enjoyment of everyone in the country is how I like my taxes spent.

In honor of National Parks Week, please allow me to recommend a few of my favorite parks for their uniqueness and/or their beauty.

Yosemite - Yosemite National Park in central California is one of the most stunningly beautiful places I have ever seen.  Unless you are a hiker, you probably won't spend more than a day in the valley itself, but it is close enough to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and San Fransisco to spend some time in the area.  I am not married, but I remember thinking it would be a lovely place for a honeymoon.  If you are a super hiker or rock climber, it has everything.

Carlsbad Caverns - This park is in New Mexico, and it would require quite a bit of driving to get anywhere else.  I am recommending spending a day or two there because of its uniqueness.  While you can take an elevator down to the bottom of the cavern, I really recommend spending a few hours to take the walk down.  It is not strenuous, and it is an incredible way to experience the cave.  The temperature is lovely, and you see things you obviously would not if you just take the elevator.  If you go to Carlsbad, take this advice.  STAY FOR THE BAT SHOW!  I wouldn't have thought I wanted to do this, but it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  When a half million bats come spiraling out of the cave at sunset, you will not want to miss it.

Grand Canyon - No parks recommendation list would be complete without the Grand Canyon.  Its beauty and grandeur cannot really be put into words.  Whether the weather is clear and sunny or a storm is rolling in, whether you are there at mid day or sunset, you will get completely different views standing in the same spot.  There are a variety of animals; we saw a deer in the parking lot.  Everyone should experience the Grand Canyon before they die.  While you are there, take a couple of hours to visit Meteor Crater.  It is a state park nearby, and it is quite interesting.  The Apollo astronauts even did some of their geological training there.

Monument Valley - This is not technically a national park as it is on a Navajo reservation, but I couldn't leave it off my list.  Don't take your car down.  The money you spend on hiring a guide be worth the suspension work you will save on your own car.  They do not pave the road.  Monument Valley is the single most impressive place I've ever seen.  Stay until sunset when the monuments turn fiery orange with blue and pink and gold in the sky.  They have a wonderful visitors center, restaurant, and gift shop if you have to wait a while for sunset.

Arches - If I could revisit one park and spend an entire week hiking, it would be arches.  While you can see a lot from your car on the main loop in just one day, you will not get to the truly cool part of arches without getting out and hiking a bit.  Delicate Arch is the image you see on Utah license plates, and takes a couple of hours to hike up to the best view of it.  It is totally worth the hike, but plan your times well.  You don't want to do it mid day in the summer as there is zero shade on the hike.  Drive all the way to the end of the road on the map, and you are a five minute hike from my favorite part of the park - Sand Dune Arch.  I have a photograph, but it doesn't do the experience justice.  The arch is hidden away (kind of inside another rock formation), so all the sand that came out of it as at your feet.  It is so fun to take off your shoes and wander around in this spot.  It is also about ten degrees lower temperature than anywhere else in this park.

Parks Near Arches - Don't have a lot of time but you want a lot of national park bang for your buck.  Bryce Canyon, Zion, Canyonlands State Park, and others are not far from Arches.  Drive another half day to Monument Valley.  You can easily plan a week around Arches without spending the entire week IN Arches.  All these parks are very different from each other, so you get a lot of cool park exposure.

Denali - This park is in Alaska, so I know it is unlikely you are just going to hop in the car or RV and go there.  However, if you like photographing wildlife, this is THE park for you.  Take the wildlife viewing bus ride with the park rangers.  Get near a window if at all possible.  In 8 hours (including lunch), we saw mule dear, big horn sheep, grizzly bears, herds of caribou, ground squirrels (I think - some kind of ground mammal), etc.  The ranger would have been worth the trip even if we hadn't seen anything.  My only complaint about Denali is that I never saw the mountain.  It was pretty overcast the few days we were there.  However, I think that is why the animals were so active; so I'll take the trade off.  I'd like to go back sometime and photograph the mountain.

Yellowstone - When I retire from teaching, I want to work in the Yellowstone gift shop.  This park, located mostly in Wyoming is unique.  I imagine that when people discovered Yellowstone, they probably thought they had wandered into Hades.  Boiling water shooting out of the ground with a smell of sulfur would conjure those thoughts.  Yellowstone is more than just geysers, but you don't want to miss the geysers.  Old Faithful is famous for its regular schedule, but it is not the most impressive or the most beautiful geyser there.  Daisy Geyser is lovely, and Castle Geyser has created an interesting home for itself.  DO NOT MISS GRAND GEYSER!  Trust me on this.  While its schedule is not as predictable, it is worth the wait.  A chat with a park ranger will usually narrow down the time pretty well because those guys know things.  There are also beautiful hot springs, mammoth mineral formations, and stunning waterfalls surrounded by a yellow-walled canyon (hence the name Yellowstone).  They have an incredible variety of animals, from bison to moose (and perhaps a bear or two if you are lucky).  There is almost nothing there you won't want to photograph.

We have seen others, and there are many you might not think of.  Did you know, for example, that Alcatraz is a national park?  The Statue of Liberty is too.  While we are at it, Mt. Rushmore is awesome, but every part of South Dakota that isn't Mt. Rushmore is even better.  Spend a couple of hours at Rushmore, and spend the rest of the week everywhere else.  Lots of battlegrounds and homes of famous people are also National Parks.  America's "backyard" covers 85 million acres.    Visit the park website to plan your next American Adventure.  It is well worth the trip.