Love Letter to the National Park Service

National Park Service You look AMAZING for 100 years!

The National Park Service has been getting a lot of press lately. Faced with a gag order from the newly elected 45th, they took FLOTUS Michelle Obama's advice , "When they go low, we go ..." well, not high, but HI-larious! Here is a good summary

This has started a flood of wonderful memories from the National Park Service. Most of them are from my adult years. As a child I expect we spent many trips in NPS land, but for me it was just where my parents took me. Now as an adult I recognize the vision of Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and others to preserve these lands for me. I hope in 100 more years, they will still be here for all of us.

 And now for the love letter:

• Joshua Tree with my Mother-in-law : On a trip to California, either right before or early in our marriage, we took a day trip out to Joshua Tree NPS. I vividly remember hearing her memories of my husbands childhood and her soaking in the dry, fresh air. She loved this spot. It made her feel alive and young. 
• Yosemite with my Husband: Another trip, early in our relationship, the two of us drove to Yosemite NPS for a quick trip. No planning we grabbed a loft hotel outside the park and wandered in. I am still convinced I got a preview of heaven in those days. The sky, the trees, the rocks, the mean deer. Incredible. 
• Grand Canyon (North & South) with my Step Kids: Another trip out to California, started with a long detour out to the Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon South and then Grand Canyon North. We still joke about my husband's panic as we ran around Bright Angel Point. 
• Grand Canyon (South), Palatki Heritage Site and more with my son: This year we went back to the Grand Canyon by way of Phoenix. The drive was mind blowing! Mostly because of the many National Forests and National Monuments. Going from desert to snow, from high elevations to not as high. Amazing. My son keeps saying this is his best trip ever. 
• Acadia with my Extended Family: In June of 2015 we spent a week on Bar Harbor, Maine. Since it was off season, we had the run of Acadia NPS . We are counting the days until we can return and see it in other seasons. If there is perfection on earth, it is in Acadia and has a Popover warmed up for you. 
• Too many historic sites with my Imagination: FDR, Vanderbilt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Tredenar Ironworks, Stonewall Jackson, Antietam, Mall of Washington, Fort Sumter, Guilford Courthouse, Overmountain, Kings Mountain, Carl Sandburg Home, Lyndon B Johnson, Mission of San Antonio, and the list goes on.  If you ever drive with my husband, watch out. He can't resist the magic of the brown historic signs. We have made memories up and down I95 just by following a whim. My knowledge has been expanded and I am a better citizen because of the countless volunteers and staff at the NPS.

Thank you National Park Service. Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for being you and preserving us.

- G
 
Want to follow the humor of the alternative-NPS, check out their twitter account and here. 
And for music, I can't think of anything better then "Big Yellow Taxi" (original Joni Mitchell, this version Counting Crows) "Don't it seem to go that you don't know what you got until it is gone"