🌲 Celebrating National Park Service Founders Day 🌄

Today marks National Park Service Founders Day—a tribute to the stewards of our wildest wonders. This day honors the Park Service and its tireless efforts in conservation and preservation. Whether you’re hiking alpine trails, boating through mangrove forests, or simply soaking in the silence of a desert sunrise, remember: it’s the dedication of Park Service employees that makes these experiences possible. They are the quiet heroes behind every trail marker, ranger talk, and protected vista.

There are 63 designated National Parks, but the full scope of the National Park System is even more breathtaking. With 433 unique units—including monuments, historic sites, lakeshores, and seashores—it spans over 85 million acres across all 50 states and U.S. territories. Listing them all would take a lifetime… and maybe that’s the point.

🌿Where I’ve Wandered: Parks That Left Their Mark

I’ve only scratched the surface, but here’s my growing list of parks visited:

• Denali
• Glacier Bay
• Grand Canyon
  

  On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

• Petrified Forest
• Rocky Mountain
• Everglades
  

  American Alligator- Everglades- Photo credit Deb Neumann

• Haleakalā
• Hawai‘i Volcanoes
  

  Kilauea glows- photo credit Deb Neumann

• Acadia
• Yellowstone
• Great Smoky Mountains
• Badlands
• Wind Cave
• Grand Teton
  

  Oxbow Grand Teton- photo credit Deb Neumann

 

Each one left its mark—whether through wind-sculpted stone, volcanic steam, or the hush of ancient forests.

🌄Future Footprints: My Park Bucket List

If I get the chance to travel again, Utah is calling. With its “Mighty Five”—Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion—it’s a dream itinerary of red rock cathedrals and star-studded skies. I’d love to do a trip that takes them all in, one canyon curve at a time.

So tell me—how many National Parks have you explored? And which ones are still on your list?

Remember the next time you step into a National Park, pause for a moment. Feel the crunch of pine needles beneath your boots, the hush of canyon winds brushing your cheek, the scent of sun-warmed stone or salt-laced air. These places aren’t just scenic—they’re sacred. They hold stories written in rock, whispered by rivers, and guarded by those who believe in preserving beauty for generations to come.
Whether you’ve wandered through geyser steam or stood beneath ancient redwoods, each visit is a thread in a tapestry of shared wonder. Let’s keep weaving it—one trail, one vista, one grateful breath at a time.