The treasure that are our National Parks
I still remember the first time I went to a National Park. I was 12 and we had moved to Miami from New York when I was 10. I had joined a scout troop and every year we would go camping in the Everglades National park. Think on that a moment. Here's an inner city kid from Queens, and he's in the middle of a prehistoric landscape with all kinds of wildlife and yes, Alligators.
It made a lasting impression that lead to a life long love of all things nature, and a desire to visit all the National Parks. We as Americans can enjoy these wild settings because sometime in the past, someone thought gee, we should set these aside so all future generations know what wonders they hold.
So it is that Jan and I have set out to visit as many of our National Parks as BucketQuestRV will take us too.
Last year we saw Yellowstone, Grand Tetons. The Bad Lands, and we have visited others before such as Mammoth Caves, Hot Springs, and Yosemite. So this year we start off our travels to the parks with Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
This park is amazing , I just wish I had the words to articulate the awe I felt taking it all in. The landscape reminds me of the Bad Lands and there were even more Buffalo then we saw at Custer State Park, and that's hard to believe.
As we drove back to the RV at night, after the amazing encounter you'll see a little bit of on the video below, I could not help but feel a sense of gratitude. First for those who had the foresight to set these lands aside, and also for being able to walk among nature, as many have done so over the years, knowing my great great grandkids will also have that chance.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park Video
Hope you enjoyed the Video!
Historical Facts
On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established.
Today the National Park System encompasses 423 national park sites in the United States. They span across more than 84 million acres, with parks in each state and extending into the territories, including parks in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Guam.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only U.S. national park named after a person—America's 26th president and was established in North Dakota by Harry S. Truman in 1947. It encompasses 70,488 acres spread across three units.
And as always, thanks for coming by, we will see you on the road.
Frank and Jan.
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