RV Lifestyle One of the highlights of our snowbird lifestyle is touring America’s national parks. Like Canada’s system of national parks and historic sites, America’s parks are a great national resource – places where nature, history, geology, art, culture and wildlife are protected and preserved forever. From scenic to sensational, history tomystery; from the cool forests of Sequoia National Park to the barren heat of Death Valley, to the remote Capitol Reef National Park, to South Carolina’s Congaree National Park (the largest old-growth forest in the southeastern United States) – there’s something for everyone. Literally. You can visit volcanoes, glaciers, white sand beaches, dinosaur fossils, giant trees, vast deserts, rain forests, caves and many other things, including some which you may not have believed existed. In addition to the 58 designated national parks, National Park Service sites include national monuments, national recreation areas, national lakeshores and seashores, national historic sites, national battlefields, national scenic and historic trails, national rivers, national preserves and national memorials. They’re all “national parks,” even if they aren’t called National Park in their official name. Homing in on just the 58 national parks that reported visitation in 2015, recreational visits totalled 75.3 million, besting the 1997 record of 69.5 million. We’ve contributed to this trend, having visited 22 national parks during our snowbird travels. And why not?We’re all familiar with the spectacular beauty of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Arches, Glacier, Great Smoky Mountains and Grand Canyon national parks. Over the course of the last century, the National Park Service has protected America’s wildest, most historically significant and culturally important locations, and transformed them into 407 parks. The National Park Service turned 100 years old in August, thanks to President Woodrow Wilson who signed the Organic Act of 1916, but few presidents have done as much for conservation as Teddy Roosevelt. The 26th president set aside more than 93 million hectares of federal land to help preserve the wonder of places such as Crater Lake, Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon. Fondly coined “America’s best idea,” the U.S. National Parks network stretches fromAlaska to Florida and Hawaii to Maine and is now made up of 409 parks. One’s favourite parks are always a matter of taste. I’m partial to the famed Southwest parks and monuments. From the Temple of Sinawava in Zion, to the delicate hoodoos of Bryce, to the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef, toThe Island in the Sky in Canyonlands, to the Fiery Furnace in Arches; there is much to see and at which to marvel. Then there is the Grand Canyon. But that’s not remotely all. There’s Big Bend in Texas, Shenandoah in Virginia, Joshua Tree in California, Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee, Acadia inMaine and, of course, Yellowstone. National parks aren’t just summer destinations. Many parks see significant visitation during the fall and winter months, offering everything from wildlife to fall foliage to cooler temperatures. While every national park has its own charm, here is my list of National Park Service sites with great appeal for snowbirds during their autumn and winter travels. America’s National Parks For Canadian Snowbirds National parks come in all sizes and shapes, offering nothing if not variety. Story and photos by Rex Vogel 32 | www.snowbirds.org
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx