National Parks

xoxoxoBruce • Sep 21, 2018 8:49 pm
Where are they? Not In PA, but Philly has a National Historical Park.
Griff • Sep 22, 2018 9:33 am
American History Tellers podcast has a series on the National Parks, recommended.
captainhook455 • Sep 22, 2018 10:37 am
Were the NC side of the Smokies annexed by TN?
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 22, 2018 10:52 am
It says also NC.
sexobon • Sep 22, 2018 10:54 am
Dollywood, nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, is in Tennessee; so, all your Smokies belong to Tennessee!
BigV • Sep 22, 2018 9:17 pm
I've been to nineteen of them.
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 22, 2018 9:19 pm
39 of this list.
BigV • Sep 22, 2018 11:41 pm
Impressive!
glatt • Sep 23, 2018 11:38 am
31 of this list. Bruce is more well traveled than me!
Undertoad • Sep 23, 2018 12:15 pm
1 of this list
Carruthers • Sep 23, 2018 2:06 pm
Rocky Mountain

Wind Cave

Not a particularly impressive total, but I've visited each four times.
Does that improve my score? :)
sexobon • Sep 23, 2018 3:57 pm
You tied me for number of visits.

Grand Canyon
Petrified Forest
(Had a heck of a time carving my initials into a tree there.)
Death Valley
Pinnacles
(Anyone else?)
Redwood
Yosemite
Rocky Mountain
Great Smokey Mountains
Griff • Sep 24, 2018 6:30 pm
4
Redwood, Acadia, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone.

I've got work to do.
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 24, 2018 9:33 pm
It isn't the number of parks visited, it's the quality of the time spent there.
glatt • Sep 24, 2018 9:36 pm
I read somewhere that the average length of stay at the Grand Canyon is 3 hours.
Undertoad • Sep 24, 2018 9:48 pm
Jese Christ you guys don't raise the bar too high before I get to #2

Grand Canyon, people tell me it is a big hole
xoxoxoBruce • Sep 24, 2018 10:14 pm
Yes it is, but at the park it's about a mile deep and 9 miles wide, whereas the river is mostly less than 100 yards wide. That leaves a lot of landscape between rims, some of which is very impressive.

You can get a real good idea of it in 3 hours looking down from the lookouts on the south rim. You can get a better perspective hiking down part or all the way to the river.

I got a different perspective traveling by boat, from the park to Lake Mead, and hiking up various side canyons.
bbro • Sep 25, 2018 1:34 pm
Zero. I mean, I've been to the Smokys, but not to the park there. Considering I only ramped up my outdoor time this year, I think I'll have plenty of time to catch up. Maybe I should make it a goal to visit all of them by 50 (a little over 11 years). That sounds like a grand adventure!

This list looks like a good place to start: https://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-most-underrated-national-parks
Gravdigr • Sep 26, 2018 5:05 am
I think I've made an even dozen. Give or take.