The US National Park System has 417 official units throughout the country including 59 National Parks, 87 National Monuments, 19 National Preserves, 51 National Historic Parks, 78 National Historic Sites, 4 National Battlefield Parks, 9 National Military Parks, 9 National Battlefields, 30 National Memorials and a number of other National sites including National Rivers, National Seashores, National Lakeshores, National Parkways and National Trails.
Bison relax along Lava Creek in Yellowstone while pronghorned antelope look on from the backgroundSumoflam and Cannons at Vicksburg National Military ParkTowpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley NP, Ohio
Officially, the National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.
Some of the scenic and colorful hills of Theodore Roosevelt National ParkA couple of my children at the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky in 1997Badlands National Park in SD
The NPS is a great blessing to the citizens of this country and all others that may visit. They have some amazing offerings and a road trip that passes by these is not a worthy roadtrip. These sites are the gems of our country!
Though I have visited all 50 states in the US, I have not been able to get to many of the sites. Of the 59 National Parks, for instance, I have only visited 28 of them and some of those were way before my travel blogging and photography days. Of all of the others, I have been to 77 of the nearly 350 sites. So, I still have a long way to go.
Grand Tetons along US 89 in March 2013Visiting Shenandoah National Park on Easter Sunday 2017Gettysburg Address Commemorative Sign, July 1998
That said, I have thoroughly enjoyed my visits to many of the National Parks, Monuments and other NPS sites. My personal favorites are Glacier National Park (Montana), Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming) and Yellowstone National Park (WY) — OK…I love the mountains!!
Following are some photos of some of the other NPS Sites that I have visited over the years. More are sure to come soon!! (In fact, just this past weekend — Easter weekend 2017 — I drove the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and got photos of the Easter Sunrise!!)
Easter Morning Sunrise 2017 in Shenandoah National ParkGrave markers of the US Calvary Soldiers that died at the Battle of Little Big Horn in Little Big Horn National Monument in MontanaSumoflam at Montezuma Castle National Monument in Arizona in 1983Visiting the Grand Canyon in 1983Dinosaur National Monument, Vernal, UTFamily at Sunset Crater National Monument north of Flagstaff in July 1993The Washington Monument and the US Capitol in Washington DC in 2016Visiting White Sands, NM in 2013Visiting Craters of the Moon in Idaho in 2013Entering Mt. Rainier National Park on WA 410 south of Greenwater, WAAgate Fossil Bed National Monument in NebraskaWith some family members and a friend at Glacier National Park (May 2005)Purple Mountain Majesties – Glacier Bay National Park, AlaskaMount Olympus and Olympic National Park in Washington as seen from Hwy 104One of the wild horses on the sand dunes at Assateague National Seashore in MarylandVisiting the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona with some tourists from the Isle of Man in 1983Sumoflam at the White House – July 1990Mt. Rushmore in 2013Family at the Lincoln Home in Springfield, Illinois, Summer 2001Visiting Yellowstone National Park in 2014Family at the George Rogers Clark National Historic Park in Vincennes, Indiana Summer 2001Capulin Volcano – part of the Capulin National Monument in New MexicoSome of the kids viewing the massive New River Gorge Bridge in New River Gorge National River, WV in August 1995Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, NY 1990Visiting Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1979. I have always enjoyed visiting old Indian ruins.Sumoflam at the Everglades in Florida in July 1990At the St. Louis Arch in MissouriAt Golden Gate Bridge in May 2015My son Seth at Wupatki National Monument in April 1992
The US National Park System has 417 official units throughout the country including 59 National Parks, 87 National Monuments, 19 National Preserves, 51 National Historic Parks, 78 National Historic Sites, 4 National Battlefield Parks, 9 National Military Parks, 9 National Battlefields, 30 National Memorials and a number of other National sites including National Rivers, National Seashores, National Lakeshores, National Parkways and National Trails.
