Category Archives: US National Parks 100th Birthday

National Parks Birthday – 100 This Month! (Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota)

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In celebration of our national park’s 100th birthday, here is Stu Patterfoot at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

Bison and wild horses roam the park. It was here in a parking lot, where I overheard a man asking a park ranger if he could put his granddaughter on the back of one of the bison walking though the lot so he could take a picture. I was very impressed by the young ranger’s calm no and explanation why not. Me, on the other hand, standing behind the grandpa, had popped open my eyes at his comment and dropped my jaw to the pavement. It would have taken me he’d asked that question, it would have taken me several minutes to respond.  But then grandpa complained that the animals weren’t fenced in and why did they let them roam around if they were so dangerous? Well, they are fenced in, only the fences are miles and miles long. So: No sitting on the bison! Really. Don’t even get close. (In the photo below, Stu was only this close because he was inside a van. See the side mirror over his shoulder? Yeah. Don’t get close to wild animals. People are gored every year.)

Inside the park, it’s not just the animals, nor the human history of the area, but also the land itself. Just when you (I) think you’ve (I’ve) seen about every rock formation in the world (across these wide and varied United States), along comes an interesting sight. Take a gander at the size of this perfectly round naturally formed “pebble”.

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National Parks Birthday – 100 This Month! (Wind Cave National Park)

Posted on by under National Parks, Nature, Setting, Travel Writing, US National Parks 100th Birthday, writing

In honor of our US National Park’s 100th birthday later this month, here are some shots of Stu Patterfoot visiting Wind Cave National Park in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. This was the first cave in the world to be named a national park. (Thank you, Teddy Roosevelt.) The park is nearly 34,000 acres on the surface with plenty of wildlife, but below ground it includes one of the world’s largest cave system. It is famous for the calcite boxwork formation which is quite rare and stunning.

Visit our national parks this month.

P.S. Towards the end of August, all national parks will be free for four days!!!!

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National Parks Birthday – 100 This Month! (Blue Ridge Parkway – US National Parkway)

Posted on by under National Parks, Nature, Setting, US National Parks 100th Birthday, writing

Here is Stu Patterfoot along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a National Parkway maintained by the US Parks Service. The road passes through several states. These were taken in North Carolina.

When I was a child, my father drove us home for a bit on this road. It is windy, hilly, and the speed limit is 35-45 mph. My father could hardly wait to find a way to exit it, curing the entire time because he couldn’t go fast. Decades later, my husband and I visited the Parkway. We savored every moment on the windy, hilly, gorgeously scenic road and did not want the journey to end. Stu Patterfoot liked it, too.

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National Parks Birthday – 100 This Month! (Rocky Mountains National Park)

Posted on by under National Parks, Nature, Setting, US National Parks 100th Birthday, writing

In celebration of our National Parks Birthday later this month, here is Stu Patterfoot in Rocky Mountains National Park in Colorado.

The park is enormous, and two photos can hardly capture the millions of places to stop for photogenic moments. Rocky Mountains National Park is an awesome landscape for fantasy stories, especially when you hike back into the wilderness (on trails) to when you can see or hear no sign of human life except for yourself (and companions).

Oh, and summertime is the best recommended time to visit, as some roads may be closed in the snowtime.

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National Parks Birthday – 100 This Month! (Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore)

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In Celebration of our National Parks Birthday which turns 100 on August 25th, here are shots of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is named such because if the dells rock formations along the Lake Superior coast, but there are also the dunes to climb, the many, many waterfalls to hike through woods to see. Blues and greens. The water is very clear. Greens and blues and clear. And lots of water in many forms.

Granted, these are summer shots, which is a great time to head north to this national treasure. If you go in winter, you would have another wonderland scene, but the predominate color then would be white-white-white. Also, mind, that although the water looks inviting, only if you are of polar bear descent should you attempt a dip into cool Lake Superior – any time of year.

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National Parks Birthday This Summer – Sleeping Bear Dunes

Posted on by under Nature, US National Parks 100th Birthday, writing

100 years ago this August, Teddy Roosevelt starting designating places as National Parks.

Here is Stu the Rabbit at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan.

The land is mostly sandy, covered in woods. Some of the dunes going down to Lake Michigan are hundreds of feet tall. Most are gradual, wood-covered sand hills, until some dune grass, then sand only at the water. There are miles of beach, some rocky, most sandy. Some of the beaches are deserted (by humans) even in the height of summer tourist season.

Enjoy your National Parks this summer.

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National Parks Birthday Coming This Summer

Posted on by under Nature, US National Parks 100th Birthday, writing

 

On August 25, 2016, the National Park Service turns 100.

In college I was an armchair traveler as I took a course on the geology of our National Parks. I then decided I wanted to do more than just read about the land and see slides of all these places. I wanted to visit them. My original family wasn’t much for traveling for pleasure. One spring we went to Washington DC. That was about as close as we came to national parks although we did spend time outside, down on the farm and out boating on Lake Erie.

For the past nearly 40 years, we Carlsons have enjoyed many of our wonderful and varied US National Parks through the years.

When we lived in SD, I made a stuffed bunny to take to national parks to photograph for a book. The book(s) never happened, but blogging has. Although I have about 100 shots at each park, you shall now be the recipient of some of these National Park/Memorial/Seashores images with Stu the Rabbit.

Stu at Mt RushmoreStu at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota