How I fell in love with the National Park Service

I did not grow up in a camping family. Sure, I took the occasional Girl Scout cabin “camping” trip but I did not spend the night in a tent until I was 18 when my college roommate convinced me to join her on a spring break camping trip in Florida. She had a lot more experience with camping so I trusted her with planning a fun week in the “great outdoors.” She booked the perfect campsite outside of Panama City Beach in St. Andrews State Park. We could see dolphins jumping and swimming as we made S’mores over our campfire. This was a very different vacation than I had ever experienced. Traditionally, I was not drawn to outdoor exploring. My favorite vacation spots included New York City and Disney World. However, this spring break introduced me to a different type of trip: one that included hiking and nature instead of ticketed entertainment and city-scapes.

I attended college in a very outdoorsy city. Chattanooga, Tennessee is known for its gorgeous waterfront park, easy access to hiking trails, and nature-loving adventure seekers. While living in Chattanooga I developed an interest in outdoor activities. I began exploring the nearby mountains and hiking trails and even tried whitewater kayaking. Moving away from home also helped me gain an appreciation for an incredible natural attraction that had been waiting in my backyard my entire life: The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Growing up I had visited the park a few times for various family hikes and school activities. However, since it was only about an hour from my house, I frequently took this park for granted. Despite being free and being the most visited national park in the country, I never thought to plan weekend hiking trips with friends during high school. Fortunately, as my interest in exploring the outdoors expanded I began visiting the park more. I took hiking trips with my college friends and planned camping trips with Austin. I began to understand what a unique treasure it was to have access to so much beautiful protected land within a short drive from where I lived.

However, although I knew the Smoky Mountains were considered a National Park, I did not understand the scope and scale of this designation. I did not visit my second national park until I was 23. As Austin and I were planning our honeymoon we knew we wanted to incorporate some outdoorsy elements. We decided on an Alaskan cruise, since this would be the perfect balance of adventure, relaxation, and natural beauty. We happened to choose an itinerary that included a visit to Glacier Bay National Park. After doing some research I learned that cruising was one of the only ways to experience this park. This quickly became the most anticipated day of our honeymoon trip. We reserved two spots in the adult only “Sanctuary” for our day in Glacier Bay. I was so excited with the day arrived that I made Austin wake up early so we wouldn’t miss any of our time in the park. When we arrived at the Sanctuary we were kindly told that we were too early and we wouldn’t be cruising through the park for a few more hours (oops, sorry Austin!) We visited the pop-up visitor’s center and relaxed until it was time to find our spot in the Sanctuary. Finally the time came and we were gliding past gorgeous glaciers while sipping on hot chocolate and mimosas.

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As obvious as it should have been, it was not until later that I truly connected my Tennessee hiking trails to the chilly, white wilderness of Glacier Bay. Until Alaska, I had only associated the term “national park” with winding hiking trails through wooded mountains. However, I learned that the calving glaciers and aquatic life I saw in Glacier Bay were also protected under the same service that allowed me to enjoy a completely different ecosystem in Tennessee. I began to wonder what the other national parks had for me to discover. I started to research the National Park Service and learned that the United States has 59 designated National Parks and numerous National Monuments, National Forests, and National Historic Sites. I felt like I had tapped into a whole new world! There were so many places I had never before considered visiting but I now knew I needed to explore. I was finally beginning to appreciate America’s true national treasure: our protected natural landscapes.

A few months after our honeymoon, my family began planning our winter break trip. We had all signed up for the Disney World marathon so we were deciding how we wanted to spend our additional time in Florida. Traditionally, I would have voted for a full week in Orlando. However, I now knew there were other fantastical lands to explore outside of the Magic Kingdom. One of my best friends (coincidentally the roommate who took me camping freshman year) had told me about the Everglades National Park. I decided to check how far this park was from Orlando and was excited to learn that it would only require a short drive to visit my third national park. I convinced my family and we decided to incorporate a day trip to the Everglades into our Florida vacation. This trip further expanded my love of the National Park system and again proved to me that America is comprised of vast and unique ecosystems.

During the summer of 2016 my budding interest turned into a full-fledged love affair with the National Parks Service. Austin landed an internship with a company in Los Angeles and we began planning for our summer in California. We knew we wanted to make the most of our multi-day road trip so as we mapped our route I located all of the national parks along the way. We worked four national parks into our week-long drive. Four! That more than doubled the amount of parks I had visited during my entire life. We stopped in Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion National Parks. At this point I was hooked. I knew I would spend the rest of my life visiting as many of these special natural escapes as possible.

During our summer we also had the opportunity to visit Yosemite, Death Valley, and Sequoyah National Parks. While I left for California as a casual park visitor, I ended the summer with 10 parks to my name and a thirst to explore all that the National Park service had to offer. During the past year I have ventured to four additional Parks: Mammoth Cave, Mount Rainer, Badlands, and Crater Lake. I also have a trip planned to my 15th Park, Olympic, next month. Realizing my love for the National Parks has only increased the joy I experience when traveling. While I will always enjoy urban exploring, nothing quite compares to the feeling of seeing a unique natural landscape for the first time. The Parks are a true treasure and should be protected and celebrated for generations to come. Even if I fulfill my new goal of visiting every US National Park, I will never truly feel that I have finished visiting these parks. There is always something new to see, hear, do, and experience in the Parks and I will be chasing these adventures for the rest of my days.

#thoughts