In 1872, Ulysses S. Grant created our first national park - Yellowstone. And ever since then, special places around the nation that need to be protected and preserved have received that designation.
Last year, my husband and I hit 11 of them. Some with kids, some without. And I can tell you that every single one was gorgeous. The scenery, the wildlife, the everything was just unbelievable.
I cannot adequately cover each of them in just a paragraph, but I’m going to do my best to give you quick highlights.
Yosemite
I was not adequately prepared for the grandeur of this one. In fact, I was lobbying to skip it. We were only in California for three days, and all I really cared about was seeing the Sequoias and the Pacific Ocean. I felt like trying to squeeze Yosemite in was overkill. But my husband was insistent, and thank God he was. I am so in love with this place. I would visit it over and over and never tire of it. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, and I cannot wait to take my kids back here. And we only got to spend three hours driving the main loop. I could spend a year here and be completely content.
Sequoia
I have been dying to see these trees my whole life. I’m a certifiable tree hugger and I have longed to wrap my arms around General Sherman for decades. Technically, it’s got a fence around it - and it was probably not my best choice to jump that fence, but it was one of those things I would have regretted my whole life, so I did it. The enormity of that tree is inexplicable. It looks big from the other side of the fence, but standing close enough to touch it, it’s even more massive. Touching it felt like touching all 2,000+ years that it’s been alive. If you haven’t seen them, you must.
Arches
Did you know Utah is like, gorgeous? Yeah, I didn’t either. It looks all pretty in pictures, but, really, you have no idea. I’d go back in a heartbeat. Heck, I’d move there. We camped just outside the park and spent the morning checking out the big, easy to get to ones. The kids climbed all the way up into double arch, and we were super sad we didn’t have the time to hike up to Delicate Arch. Next time, we will make sure to leave more time for this amazing park.
Canyonlands
I’m sure the Grand Canyon is, well, grand and all - but Canyonlands is pretty freaking great too. We only had time to drive the main loop, but we are already planning a trip back to camp in the hard-to-get-to back reaches of the park.
I’ll post more about the other parks we visited tomorrow. If you live near any of the parks from today, please, go enjoy them for me. Ohio is a little sparse on it’s National Park gorgeousness…
Wow, gorgeous photos!