Shenandoah National Park

            The next National Park I will discuss is Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.  I want to share this because it is the closest to home.  So if you haven’t been already, maybe you can check it out the next nice day we have.  Shenandoah National Park is a little over two hours away, so it could make for a pretty nice day trip.  I have visited Shenandoah National Park a few times growing up, places like Skyline and Luray Caverns, also the Natural Bridge with my family. 

            The park has a long strip of road called Skyline Drive.  The road starts in Front Royal, Virginia and runs for about 105 miles, the entire length of the park.  The park also includes 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  For those who don’t know, the Appalachian Trail runs from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia.  The trail is approximately 2,184 miles long.  The are over 500 miles of trails in the park all together.

            Along Skyline Drive there are plenty of stops to be made.  Two stops of which I already mentioned and are well worth checking out, Skyline Caverns and Luray Caverns.  The park is also home to many waterfalls, nine of which can be accessed from trails leading off of Skyline Drive.  The park also offers campsites (backcountry or campground) and resort lodging or cabins.

            With lots to offer and close to home, Shenandoah National Park is a great place to send the day with family or friends.  

Yosemite: Sam

            This last National Park I will talk about, is probably the one I’m most excited about.  Though I have been all over California, I have not been to this National Park yet.  A park so magnificent, so majestic, that over 3.2 million people visit this famous 7 square mile valley each year. A park as big as Rhode Island. A park known for having hundreds of flowing water falls, cliff that tear open the sky, creatures that come in by the thousands, groves of giant trees, and endless miles of trails.  A park carved out by the power of ice known as glaciers. That park as you’ve already seen in the title is Yosemite National Park.

            Yosemite National Park was not the first National Park, but it was the park that inspired the idea.  The area gained popularity, before becoming a National Park, in the mid 19^th century.  This time period was known as the California Gold Rush.  In 1851, a group of “white” men entered the valley searching for gold.  They were attacked by a group of 200 Ahwahneechees Indians, this was known as the Mariposa War.  The park got its name from the Indian word "yohhe'meti" which translates to “ they are killers”.  After the gold rush was over and the park was established in 1916 tourism began to increase.  With the addition of all-weather roads, tourism skyrocketed.

            Yosemite offers so many activities from hiking, rock climbing, fishing, camping, biking, skiing, and so much more.  With over 800 miles of trails to hike, thousands of lakes and 1,600 miles of streams to fish, 350 miles of scenic road to drive or bike, Yosemite makes for a great family vacation or adventurous expedition.

Hawaii: Hele mei hoohiwahiwa

            Ever since I was a child, I’ve had an obsession with the great outdoors.  I’ve also had an obsession with adrenaline.  So I guess it makes sense that dangerous things seem fun to me, skydiving, riding my bike, skateboarding, etc.  It’ always been childhood dreams of mine to see a tornado, volcano, bear, wolf, crocodile, anything dangerous.  With that being said the next National Park I want to discuss is Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.  Hawaii is another state I haven’t been to yet.

            Volcanoes National Park Ion the main island of Hawaii.  The park offers scenic hiking through lush tropical rainforest.  The park currently has two active volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa.  Mauna Loa is the world’s most massive volcano standing at 13,677 feet above sea level.  Hawaii Belt Road used to be a beltway going around the park, but you can’t really call it that anymore due to previous eruption covering portions of the road in lava.  The weather in the Hawaiian Islands is always pretty consistent making it a great place to visit all year round.  The weather hardly reaches above 90 in the summer and barely dips below 60 in the winter.  The water temperature is averaged around 77 during winter and 83 during the summer.

            When in Hawaii visiting Volcanoes National Park I think I’ll head to the beach and try to learn how to surf.  I’ve never been on a surfboard before so I think it’ll be fun to try.  Also my mother went a few years back and she said on her visit she got to swim with sea turtles.  Needless to say, I am very jealous.  Turtles are my favorite amphibians.  I think Hawaii would make a great couples retreat instead of a family vacation but who knows. 

Acadia National Park, Be The First To See The Sun Rise

The next National Park I want to visit soon is Acadia National Park in Maine.  I really want to visit the park sometime in the fall when the weather is cool and the trees are starting to turn.  I have not yet been to Maine and I look forwarded to going with all Maine has to offer.  Though I’m not a big fan of lobster, but I wouldn't mind eating a freshly caught one right off the shore.  Maine is the largest lobster distributor in the United States. While on the trip I grab some Vermont syrup, and New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” attitude.

            Now back to the park, Acadia National Park was established July 8^th 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.  At that time the park was named Seiur de Monts National Park, and was named again later as Lafayfette National Park after Marquis de Layafette, a French supporter of the Revolutionary War.  Finally in 1929, the park was named Acadia National Park.

            Unlike my last few posts about the Everglades National Park and Katmai, Acadia National Park would be a great family vacation.  With no extreme weather, excluding winter, Acadia normally has cool temperatures. In 1945 10,000 acres of the park was burned down due to forest fires during a dry summer. The park offers oceanside trails for hiking and biking.  The park also has mountains, lakes and pine forests.  The park even has the original gravel carriage trails funded by wealthy philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr.  The park offers some great views where the ocean meets the rocky shoreline.  Acadia National Park is actually one of the first places to see the sunrise in the United States.  Maybe one cool fall day I’ll see you at Acadia National Park.

Alaska, The Last Frontier

                ALASKA, The Last Frontier.  The next park I plan on visiting sometime in the future is Katmai National Park.  The park is located in the southern portion of Alaska.  I want to visit Katmai National Park because it is known for its highest population of brown bears.  Much like my last post about the Everglades National Park and wanting to see an alligator in the wild, I want to see a bear in the wild as well.  Another reason I want visit Katmai National Park is its Alaskan location.  My dream is not to visit every National Park but every state.   National Parks are just a great way to learn and see what each state has to offer, not one is the same. Alaska is one of the eleven states I have not yet been too.

                Katmai was established in 1918 as a National Monument and later in 1980 as a National Park.  The park is named after Mount Katmai, its centerpiece stratovolcano.  There are roughly fourteen active volcanoes and numerous archeological sites present in the park today.  Much of the volcanic activity is found in The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.  The name came from an eruption on June 6^th 1912; the valley was buried under hundreds of feet of two thousand degree ash.  Under the ash, a river that once flowed became steam seeping through the ash filling the valley with smoke.   

Recreational activities in the park include hiking, backpacking, camping, backcountry skiing, fishing, kayaking and boat tours.  Much like the Everglades National Park, probably not the greatest for a family vacation but more for the explorer type. 

Everglade National Park

            In my previous blogs I wrote about National Parks I've been to and the information about each park.  My next few blogs will be about National Parks I haven’t been to… yet.  I will also share information about each park so you can get a better understanding of each park and what they have to offer.

            The first National Park I want to talk about is the Everglades National Park.  I’ve also always wanted to ride on an airboat.  Incase you don’t know, the Everglades are in southern Florida.  It is larger area of marshland, swamp and forest.  It’s home to a vast majority of wildlife including around 350 species of birds, 300 species of fish, 40 mammals, and 50 reptiles.    I always had a special interest in reptiles, which is one of the reasons I want to go to the Everglades so bad. I’ve always wanted to see alligators in the wild.

            The park was established in 1934 to protect the remaining 20 percent of the vastly vanishing swamp due to the growth of the south Florida metropolitan area.  The park to this day is placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.  The park is home to thirty-six federally protected animals, including the Florida panther, two species of birds, five species of sea turtles, West Indian manatee, American alligators and crocodiles.  There is to be believed about 50 Florida panthers that live in the wild, putting them as one of the most endangered species on Earth.

           The Everglades only have two seasons, a wet and a dry.  The dry season is form December to April. Temperatures between this time are around the 50s to the mid 70s, and the humidity is low.  The wet lasts from May to November, temperatures and humidity usually remain above 90.  Storms during this time can drop 10 to 12 inches for rainfall, giving the area half the year’s fresh water in about two months.  Around one million people visit the Everglades each year; most of them come during the dry season when the temperatures are cooler and fewer mosquitoes.  You can camp in the park, fish as long as you have a state license, and hike on the provided trails.  Swimming is prohibited in the park due to alligators, snapping turtles, barracudas, water moccasins, sharks, and dangerous coral.

            The Everglades have a long way before it will ever be stable.  I wouldn’t recommend the Everglade National Park for a family vacation due to all the dangers.  But for the explorer types such as myself, the Everglades National Park sounds like one adventure, I know I can’t wait to go.  

Petrified Forest, Where Trees Turn to Stone

            This place is famous, for trees turn to stone.  Millions of years ago during the Late Triassic period downed tree gathered in river channels.  Overtime volcano ash, silica (silicon dioxide), was carried into these logs by water.  Eventually that ash turned to quartz and overtime replaced all the organic material in the logs.  And thus, the Petrified Forest National Park was born.  There are around 600 paleontology dig sites around the park. The desert landscape is about thirty mile from north to south and runs anywhere between four mile to twelve mile east to west.  Portions of the park run into the Painted Desert.  The average rainfall is about ten and a half inches.  During summer the heat can reach in the hundreds and the lows be below freezing.

            Now, I’ve never actually been through the park, which is located off Route 40, but I have been to the gift shop and nature center.  While walking around the gift shop I noticed a black light, which I thought, was pretty weird.  There were also all these plain white shirt with white designs on them, the shirts seemed pretty boring. Then I noticed the sign on the wall that said “UV Activated”.  I took one of the shirts and stuck it under the UV light and the designed started to change colors.  I thought it was the coolest thing, so I got one with a picture of an iguana with the Petrified Forest behind it.

            Though the parks history is really cool I wouldn’t suggest you go all the way there for the park as you can hike in the desert heat or drive around the paved loop for a few buck.  Stealing the petrified wood has become a huge issue, so if you want a piece you can buy it at the shops.  Fare warning, the petrified wood comes at a pretty high cost.  I do suggest stopping by the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert on the way to the Grand Canyon.