I'll be happy to utilize this new benefit:
The Department of Interior on Wednesday said the federal government is waiving fees on national parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands for anyone who has worked in the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, as well as immediate family members of fallen service members, beginning on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
“With the utmost respect and gratitude, we are granting veterans and Gold Star Families free access to the iconic and treasured lands they fought to protect starting this Veteran’s Day and every single day thereafter,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt said in a statement Wednesday.
In the last couple years I've visited Great Basin (no entrance fee), Bryce Canyon, Joshua Tree, and Yellowstone National Parks. Considering that I've only spent a grand total of 6 hrs in Yosemite (except for the time I drove through it on Highway 120 to get to the Eastern Sierra), I'll have to go there some time.
What are your favorite US national parks?
5 comments:
Yosemite, simply because I have a fond memory of scaring the sheisse out of my dare-devil brother climbing up to the falls.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park (Seattle) because it is the smallest park in the system. One corner of a city block.
Redwood, spent a couple weeks on the west coast when I was about 14 seeing this park and others and being amazed by the size of the trees. When I got back home to Ohio trees I thought were so big seemed so little.
Cuyahoga, it is one of the newest national parks and begins at the edge of my parent's backyard. A very unique park as it is surrounded by very urban areas (Cleveland & Akron) but the city and state planners from very early times set aside large tracts of land for parks. The National Park System made it a recreational center in 1974 and only made it a National Park in 2000.
Will I have to show the original of my DD 214 to claim this benefit?
Did you swing by Olympic National Park or Rainier National Park on your way to visiting your military child at JBLM a while ago?
Olympic isn't really a "drive through and look at the things" park, unlike many others (including Rainier). It has a few places as popular (and worth seeing) spots: Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rain Forest (with campground!), a few waterfalls. But to really "get" the area you have to spend some time in the woods.
I have a big soft spot in my heart for Redwood National Park. My father was born and raised in the area, and so I remember those gigantic, ancient trees soaring through the mist from when I was very young.
I drove down 101 on my way back from Victoria once several years ago. It was a beautiful drive, but I didn't get off the road at all except to stop at a beach and to buy some not-legal-in-California fireworks at a Native American's stand.
Canyonlands has my vote right now, although I have fond memories of the Badlands and burning lignite. John Wesley Powell must have had an interesting supply chain. The view of the Green River from the Island in the Sky mesa is amazing.
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