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.