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?