# National Parks



## Lawrence00 (Jan 18, 2022)

I used to own the National Parks DVD series.

Would like to visit most of them.

While I am unsure if I have visited any of the official parks, I have driven from Missouri to California by both the northern and southern route, driven through Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia to Florida and back.

Visited Wisconsin's Devil's Lake, Redwood Forest, the Lost Coast, down through Oklahoma through Texas - Galveston - South Padre Island.

I haven't even gotten started.


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## Manatee (Feb 10, 2022)

Enjoy them, they are great to visit.  Canada has some nice parks also.


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## Alligatorob (Feb 10, 2022)

National Parks do make good targets to visit, and while driving to them you will pass near many National Monuments, State Parks, National Forests, etc. most well worth visiting also.  Be sure to look around, and have fun!


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## Signe The Survivor (Feb 10, 2022)

National Parks make for such a beautiful and even some tranquil places to visit.


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## Murrmurr (Feb 10, 2022)

And there are lots and lots of awesome State Parks, too.


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## dobielvr (Feb 10, 2022)

Old Faithful...Yellowstone.


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## Devi (Feb 10, 2022)

I've been to Yosemite in California; just gorgeous.

And Sequoia National Park in California. There's nothing like the smell of the sequoia trees. I still remember it.


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## OneEyedDiva (Feb 10, 2022)

Very cool Lawrence! I hope you'll be able to add more to your list. I'd love to have been able to do something like that with my husband, perhaps in a rented R.V. but we just never got the chance.


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## mrstime (Feb 10, 2022)

I love the Southwest of the US, there are several fantastic National Parks there. But do the Grand Canyon first, because if you do it last you will just see a big hole in the ground.


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## Alligatorob (Feb 10, 2022)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Very cool Lawrence! I hope you'll be able to add more to your list. I'd love to have been able to do something like that with my husband, perhaps in a rented R.V. but we just never got the chance.


Hey Diva, its not too late for you, go!


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## Signe The Survivor (Feb 10, 2022)

Rocky Mountain National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Mesa Verde National Park 
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park


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## OneEyedDiva (Feb 10, 2022)

Alligatorob said:


> Hey Diva, its not too late for you, go!


Thank you for the encouragement but I don't drive anymore. I've been thinking of taking a long distance train trip. This Amtrak plan seems to come with complications though and it would get to be expensive. I noticed they've removed the choices of how many days and segments one can travel. Plus at this point where we are with COVID, I wouldn't want to travel in coach.  I'd want a roomette which is not available for these *USA Rail Pass plans: https://www.amtrak.com/deals-discounts/multi-ride-rail-passes.html*


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## retiredtraveler (Mar 10, 2022)

Lawrence00 said:


> Would like to visit most of them.
> I haven't even gotten started.


Get going! Wife and I are pretty 'single threaded' in our interests and have now hiked into the thousands of miles in NP's all over North America over 45 years or so. It's pretty much 90% of our travel. Our honeymoon was hiking in the Canadian Rockies. We go back to the Canadian Rockies about every 4 years. Other favorites are Tetons, Glacier, Smokies. We're in our early 70's and are starting to slow down. Trying to keep doing those 3000+ foot hikes up and down in the mountains is getting more difficult. We're looking to make things easier in the future and start going out to the Maritimes (such as Newfoundland) for easier hiking.


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## JustBonee (Mar 10, 2022)

The Western US  seems like a giant  National Park!  ....   have been to so many..   Love   Zion,  Bryce,   and all in Arizona and Utah.  
Yellowstone,  Yosemite  are  gorgeous  too.


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## Gaer (Mar 10, 2022)

Yellowstone Nat'l Park
Sequoia Nat'l Park
Yosemite Nat'l park
Glacier Nat'l Park

IMO, Nothing better!


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## JonSR77 (Mar 10, 2022)

The National Parks are wonderful.  I would highly recommend actually contacting the national park you want to go to, prior to going.  Take a little time, do a little research.  Can greatly enhance your visit.  Also, sometimes parks have some kind of natural problem...some flooding or fire.  And sometimes they are really in a state of repair and not the best time to visit.


I have been to:

The Grand Canyon
Yellowstone
Badlands
Black Hills
Glacier
Olympic
Zion
Bryce...

all wonderful. Badlands not the best park for hiking. More like hiking for a real pro, than an average Joe like me. Did see a bald eagle though. He flew directly above me, maybe 20 feet above me...for several minutes.

Here's a video of a hike through the Hoh River Valley, part of Olympic. I hiked there in 1980. It is an actual temperate rain forest (Washington State).


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## ElCastor (Mar 10, 2022)

I live a few miles from California's Muir Woods National Monument-- a lot of redwoods -- awesome. But if you are in the area, and want to save a few bucks, go for a walk in Larkspur's Madrone canyon. Free parking, no admission, and great redwoods. The Emporio Rulli cafe on Larkspur's main drag serves a terrific Cappuccino and has an amazing mural that belongs in a museum.


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## JonSR77 (Mar 10, 2022)

ElCastor said:


> I live a few miles from California's Muir Woods National Monument-- a lot of redwoods -- awesome. But if you are in the area, and want to save a few bucks, go for a walk in Larkspur's Madrone canyon. Free parking, no admission, and great redwoods. The Emporio Rulli cafe on Larkspur's main drag serves a terrific Cappuccino and has an amazing mural that belongs in a museum.


I've been to Muir woods, wonderful.  Also Sequoia and the other one...I think it is called Redwoods.  Those trees are incredible.


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## dobielvr (Mar 10, 2022)

ElCastor said:


> I live a few miles from California's Muir Woods National Monument-- a lot of redwoods -- awesome. But if you are in the area, and want to save a few bucks, go for a walk in Larkspur's Madrone canyon. Free parking, no admission, and great redwoods. The Emporio Rulli cafe on Larkspur's main drag serves a terrific Cappuccino and has an amazing mural that belongs in a museum.


Once upon a time....I had a gfriend that lived in Larkspur.  I'd take the train to visit her.  I think it took me to Emeryville, then caught the bus to S.F.

She took me to a lot of places, and one of those places was Muir Woods.  We hiked around there...till we came to Cascade Falls?  Not sure if I'm remembering that right.  Cascade something.  Muir Woods was awesome though.

This was prob 1969-70's.

We had to look out for ticks.


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## jujube (Mar 10, 2022)

What impressed me most about Muir Woods was the silence.  If you got lucky enough to have some space apart from others, the silence was otherworldly. 

I was stretched out on my back looking up through the trees thinking (with apologies to Longfellow), "this is the forest primeval."


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## ElCastor (Mar 11, 2022)

dobielvr said:


> Once upon a time....I had a gfriend that lived in Larkspur.  I'd take the train to visit her.  I think it took me to Emeryville, then caught the bus to S.F.
> 
> She took me to a lot of places, and one of those places was Muir Woods.  We hiked around there...till we came to Cascade Falls?  Not sure if I'm remembering that right.  Cascade something.  Muir Woods was awesome though.
> 
> ...


Cascade falls is about 20 miles north of Muir woods. Marin county has a lot of interesting places to visit and hike. A favorite spot for the wife and I to walk is Blackies Pasture, a park and soccer field, in the town of Tiburon. Blacky was an old cavalry horse who retired here and lived in the pasture for many years -- fed carrots by kids on the way to school. When he died he was buried in the pasture and a life size bronze statue was erected in his honor. I love that place.


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## dobielvr (Mar 11, 2022)

ElCastor said:


> Cascade falls is about 20 miles north of Muir woods. Marin county has a lot of interesting places to visit and hike. A favorite spot for the wife and I to walk is Blackies Pasture, a park and soccer field, in the town of Tiburon. Blacky was an old cavalry horse who retired here and lived in the pasture for many years -- fed carrots by kids on the way to school. When he died he was buried in the pasture and a life size bronze statue was erected in his honor. I love that place.
> 
> View attachment 212605


I remember Tiburon.  Didn't go there.  But, I loved seeing the Marin area.  Sausalito and the houseboats.
Now that I think about it more, my friend lived in Kentfield?  We had gone to a little mall area there in Larkspur.

My sister lived in Mill Valley for awhile.  That was nice.


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## Packerjohn (Mar 11, 2022)

What I love about the National Parks, National Monuments or anything away from the city is the fact that you are away from the city.  Away from the traffic, the horns, the crowds, the zombie people starring at their smartphones, the traffic lights and the exhaust fumes that can cause cancer if you breath them everyday for years on end.

Sure can't beat being in one of those parks, listening to the wind in the pine trees, the lovely birds singing their heart out, the stars shinning in the night, sometimes seeing a comet flying across the heavens, breathing air that does not carry urban pollution and being visited by Skippy the squirrel or that greedy blue jay looking for a fee handout.


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## ElCastor (Mar 11, 2022)

dobielvr said:


> I remember Tiburon.  Didn't go there.  But, I loved seeing the Marin area.  Sausalito and the houseboats.
> Now that I think about it more, my friend lived in Kentfield?  We had gone to a little mall area there in Larkspur.
> 
> My sister lived in Mill Valley for awhile.  That was nice.


Mill Valley and Southern Marin are nice -- very nice. Unfortunately San Francisco, and most of the East Bay, are getting increasingly crime ridden, and not a place I would want to make my home.


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