The Explore All 50 States Project
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Here's a super cool opportunity I'd love to share with you dear readers!!! If you love to travel across the US like me and enjoy visiting National Parks and National Historic Sites more than likely you've got some amazing photos. In fact, one of your photos might even be good enough to be selected to be the image for the annual Federal Recreational Lands Pass. The National Park Foundation has partnered with a few … [Read more...]
Some of our most treasured and memorable sights are part of the National Park Service and this year in 2016, it celebrates it's 100th anniversary since being established in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson. The Park Service was established to preserve and protect America's national treasures for all of us to enjoy for generations to come. Of course we are all familiar with our most famous National Parks like … [Read more...]
All of Chincoteague Island is a beautiful natural wonderland but to really explore the natural habitat you must visit the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is not only home to the beautiful wild Chincoteague ponies, but a host of other wildlife and some incredible beaches. You can pop in for a quick drive through, or bring a picnic and make it a whole day affair. It's a wonderful place to relax as … [Read more...]
There is nothing that can prepare you for the solemnity and enormity of Gettysburg National Military Park. Visiting here was something I had looked forward to ever since taking on our goal of seeing all 50 states 13 years ago. But I could never have imagined what an incredible experience it would be with kids in high school-particularly enrolled in A.P. U.S. History. My kids and I would agree it was the highlight of … [Read more...]
Denali National Park is one of the most spectacular parks in the world and it's sheer size makes it difficult to see without spending a huge amount of time here. Denali, means "The high one" and is the Athabascan (the local native Alaskan village) name for Mt. McKinley. It has been a national park since 1917 and it is one of the last remaining places in the Unites States that we call wilderness. In doing our … [Read more...]
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum is worth a visit but be forewarned it was very pricey and lacked the rich and wonderful content of others places we'd been like the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis or the Little Rock High School Visitor Center. We weren't allowed to take any photos so sadly I have nothing to remember and nothing to share with you here. Probably the most interesting exhibit is a model of … [Read more...]
The Grand Canyon is the grand daddy of National Parks! So much to see and do here, and so little time-it's enormous and overwhelming. We drove around the South Rim not quite sure how to tackle it but taking in the enormity of the canyon below.. What really blew me away is that up until the Grand Canyon the land is completely flat open space and then all of a sudden there is this huge hole in the ground as far as your … [Read more...]
Zion National Park is so awe inspiring. This was the first National Park I'd ever been to in my whole life so I wasn't sure what to expect. Thankfully it was super visitor-friendly, with a shuttle bus that picks you up at the visitor’s center and does a big loop stopping at the major focal points in the park. You can hop on and hop off at any of the stops which is what we did and the bus driver gives a kind of … [Read more...]
How cool is it to simultaneously be in four states at once! You can do just that at the Four Corners National Monument which is administered by the Navajo Nation. Beware, it was about $3 per person to enter and the concessioners have a tendency to up their prices just because. After posing for photos on the monument marker we decided to peruse the stands. I wanted everyone to taste Indian Fry Bread to add to our … [Read more...]
Yellowstone National Park is America’s first national park, founded in 1872. One of the reasons the government decided to preserve this area as public land is because it holds the majority of the world’s geysers including “Old Faithful.” Geysers are created by steam generated by volcanic heat under the surface of the earths crust. The establishment of Yellowstone National Park inspired the creation of many … [Read more...]
