8) Zion

Visited: Sunday, July 19, 2009

Zion is a gorgeous park - that is entirely too hot in July. Of all the parks we have visited, I think we got the least out of Zion. I'd really like to go again in Autumn.

However, we stayed at the Cliffrose Lodge, just outside Zion - which feels like it's inside the park; spending the evening in the garden, looking up at the cliffs as the sun set was a wonderful experience.

7) Glen Canyon Dam

Visited: Sunday, July 19, 2009

Perhaps my greatest regret during our trip last year was spending more time at Hoover Dam than at Glen Canyon Dam. Because even the most commercial of the national parks isn't as commercial as Hoover Dam.

So getting back to Glen Canyon Dam is high on my list of things to do. What little time we spent there was quite enticing - but we were on our way elsewhere...

6) Grand Canyon

Visited: Saturday, July 18, 2009 -> Sunday, July 19, 2009

You know, I really doubt there's anything useful I can say about the Grand Canyon that's not been said. Well, except that the time we were there there were a _lot_ of bees around, and that the good was disgusting. (Well, the soft serve ice cream was OK. Everything else was inedible.) Of course, one doesn't visit the Grand Canyon for the food or the insects, but for the views - which are incredible. I'd definitely recommend staying at the Grand Canyon; you avoid the bad traffic, and the bus service isn't bad within the park.

But the Grand Canyon was also where I started to realize two things:

1) I prefer the parks focused on people or things to those which present nature. It's not a black and white preference. I like them all, really. It's just that I'm more taken by history than by nature.

2) I prefer smaller parks to larger ones. Really, this is a consequence of the smaller parks being less commercial. As much as I'm looking forward to visiting Acadia in a couple of weeks, I'm even more looking forward to visiting St. Croix Island. In the West, there's a fairly easy way to discover if a park is popular - look at the Western National Parks patches. If there's a patch - it's a _small_ park.

5) Sunset Crater Volcano

Visited: Friday, July 17, 2009

I recently watched a nice show on the national parks of Hawaii; the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has a lot of appeal to me in no small part due to our experience here. The results are much further removed from the eruption here, but in some ways more spectacular for it. It's easy to see the results of the eruption, but there are also fascinating plants throughout the park as well.

This park was on our "possibly visit" list, which we mostly ignored because of how many things were on the "must visit" list. This was the first time we explicitly visited a park because of our experiences with other national parks.

4) Painted Desert / Petrified Forest

Visited: Thurday, July 16, 2009

This is, essentially, 2.5 national parks in one.

First - assuming you start from the North - is the Painted Desert. There's not a huge amount to do, but it's a beautiful drive. Then after a nice little segment of Route 66 - just before you pass under 40 - there are various ancient settlements; not a full park's worth, but fascinating nonetheless. Finally, it's the petrified forest, with its fascinating fragments. If I ever get hold of a time machine, one temptation will be to visit the petrified forest back before it was picked over by early tourists; according to Mark Twain in Innocents Abroad, it's a special skill of Americans.

This isn't my kind of national park - I'm more interested by people and events - but it's gorgeous, and not to be missed. Preferably not when it's 100 degrees out.

One suggestion, if you're going: stay at the Wigwam Hotel in Holbrook. It's cheap, it's small but comfortable, and it's a classic experience.

3) Hubbell Trading Post

Visited: Thursday, July 16, 2009

If the Saint Louis Arch isn't the starting point of our journey, this certainly was. We did not take the tour, in no small part because of the abundance of grasshoppers and our sons' overreaction to them. But we did look around, and the trading post is simply fascinating - it reminded me of the trading post at Camp Butler, from my time in Boy Scouts, but with a variety of beautiful Native American art available in addition.

It's a unique experience - and not far from the Painted Desert.

2) Harry S Truman National Historic Site

Visited: Friday, July 10, 2009

Well, kinda. We were _there_. We stopped in the visitor's center. And that was it. Unfortunately, we had previous plans - a trip up to the Pony Express Museum in Saint Joseph. Fortunately, the Pony Express Museum was very enjoyable. But the Harry S Truman National Historic Site is firmly on the list of places we must get back to; fortunately, I wanted to return to Kansas City anyway.

1) Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

Visited: Monday, July 6th, 2009

(Or, as it's better known, the Saint Louis Arch.)

This is far from the first US National Park I visited; neither was it the first Megan and I visited. But it was the start of our quest. By the end of the month, we started looked for _more_ national park sites to visit on our journey, in spite of the fact that we had too many things already on the itinerary.

So, _other_ than a trip to the top of the arch - very enjoyable and worthwhile, but too crowded to want to spend a lot of time up there - what is offered?

There's a wonderful movie about the building of the arch. Actually, this is a common feature of national park visitor's centers - the films shown aren't all winners, but all of them are worthwhile, and some of them are incredible. This one stood out for me, in no small part because of the engineering accomplishment.

And at the arch - that's about it. Nice souvenir area - but it feels more commercial than most.

We didn't get to visit the nearby Old Courthouse; next time for sure.

The Quest

I have created this blog to document the quest that Megan and I have embarked upon - to visit all of the US National Parks. Now, we aren't campers, and not big hikers (though not opposed to a reasonable trail or three if it's not 100 degrees out), so anyone wishing to hear about those experiences will be out of luck here.

Unlike my gaming blog, I have decided to leave this blog open to anyone to read. I would greatly appreciate it if you would add a comment to this post if you read this blog, as I'd like to know just who is reading.