Saturday, April 2, 2011

He Unleashed A Beast

In the winter of 2001, Vol Fan and I took a vacation to South Carolina.  For reasons that I cannot remember, we chose to visit a couple of units of the National Park Service - Cowpens and Kings Mountain.  While at the visitor center, Vol Fan saw the National Park Passport book.  He thought it would be a fun way to document our visit.  I took some convincing but Vol Fan was successful in his convincing.

Since that time, I have visited every unit of the park service I have been near.  And some that I haven't been near.   In the last 10 years, these are the parks I have visited.

2001:
  • Kings Mountain NMP - Blacksburg, SC
  • Cowpens NB - Chesnee, SC
  • Stones River NB - Murfreesboro, TN

2002:
  • New River Gorge NR - Glen Jean, WV
  • Shiloh NMP - Shiloh, TN
  • Great Smoky Mountains NP - Gatlinburg, TN

2003:
  • Gettysburg NMP - Gettysburg, PA
  • Gulf Islands NS - Gulf Breeze, FL

2004:
  • Fort Davis NHS - Fort Davis, TX
  • Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River - TX
  • Big Bend NP - TX

2005:
  • Richmond NBP - Richmond, VA
  • Maggie L. Walker NHS - Richmond, VA
  • Petersburg NB - Petersburg, VA
  • Colonial NHP - Jamestown, VA and Yorktown, VA
  • Kennesaw Mountain NBP - Kennesaw, GA
  • DeSoto NMem - Bradenton, FL

2006:
  • Castillo de San Marcos NM - St. Augustine, FL
  • Timucuan Preserve - Jacksonville, FL
  • Fort Caroline NMem - Jacksonville, FL
  • Fort Matanzas NM - St. Augustine, FL
  • Cumberland Island NS - St. Marys, GA
  • Everglades NP - Shark Valley, FL

2007:
  • Cape Henry Memorial - Fort Story, VA
  • Biscayne NP - Homestead, FL
  • Big Cypress NPres - Ochopee, FL
  • Fort Donelson NB - Dover, TN
  • Wilson's Creek NM - Republic, MO
  • Ozark NSR - Van Buren, MO
  • George Washinton Carver NM - Diamond, MO
  • Ulysses S. Grant NHS - St. Louis, MO
  • Jefferson NMem - St. Louis, MO

2008:
  • Assateague Island NS - Chincoteague, VA
  • Andrew Johnson NHS - Greeneville, TN
  • Blue Ridge Parkway - Linville Falls, NC
  • Cumberland Gap NHP - Middleboro, KY
  • Guilford Courthouse NMP - Greensboro, NC
  • Obed Wild and Scenic River - Wartburg, TN
  • Big South Fork NR & NRA - Oneida, TN
  • Russell Cave NM - Bridgeport, AL
  • Little River Canyon NPres - Fort Payne, AL
  • Chickamauga NMP - Fort Oglethorpe, GA
  • Canaveral NS - Titusville, FL

2009:
  • Lake Mead NRA - Boulder City, NV
  • Grand Canyon NP - Grand Canyon, AZ
  • Wupatki NM - Flagstaff, AZ
  • Sunset Crater NM - Flagstaff, AZ
  • Walnut Canyon NM - Flagstaff, AZ
  • Montezuma Castle NM - Camp Verde, AZ
  • Tuzigoot NM - Clarkdale, AZ

2010:  (This is what 2 cross country road trips will do for you!)
  • Harry S. Truman NHS - Independence, MO
  • Brown v. Board of Education NHS - Topeka, KS
  • Nicodemus NHS - Nicodemus, KS
  • Little Rock Central High School NHS - Little Rock, AR
  • Fort Smith NHS - Fort Smith, AR
  • Oklahoma City NMem - Oklahoma City, OK
  • Petroglyph NM - Albuquerque, NM
  • Colorado NM - Fruita, CO
  • Arches NP - Moab, UT
  • Canyonlands NP - Moab, UT
  • Zion NP - Springdale, UT
  • Bryce Canyon NP - Bryce Canyon, UT
  • Pipe Spring NM - Moccasin, AZ
  • Petrified Forest NP - AZ
  • Sequoia NP - Three Rivers, CA
  • Channel Islands NP - Ventura, CA
  • Joshua Tree NP - Cottonwood, CA
  • Santa Monica Mountains NRA - Thousand Oaks, CA
  • Death Valley NP - CA
  • Manzanar NHS - Independence, CA
  • Kings Canyon NP - CA
  • Mojave NPres - Kelso, CA

2011:
  • Pinnacles NM - Paicines, CA
  • Joshua Tree NP - CA

If Vol Fan had known what a monster he would unleash, I wonder if he would have tried so hard to convince me?

2 comments:

Desert Survivor said...

Anything that gives you an extra excuse to travel has to be good! That's quite a collection of NPS units you've visited!

Let me know when you're ready to visit Great Basin National Park and I'll give you a personal tour!

Anonymous said...

Part of my vacation I'm planning is camping a couple of days in the redwoods in CA! The place is called Big Basin Redwood Park (?) near Santa Cruz.