Like most Americans, I love our national parks. I grew up in an outdoorsy family, so it's no surprise that I always wanted to be a national park ranger. In fact, when I was in college, I applied for a seasonal job with the National Park Service. I didn't get the job (darn it!) so instead I "settled" for being a BLM ranger in the Colorado Rockies.
Actually as things turned out, I'm really glad I became a BLM ranger instead of working for the National Park Service because I had a lot more freedom and independence, and yet I worked in an area, the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, that was, I thought, more beautiful than any national park in America. I spent six seasons working as a BLM ranger and loved it. It didn't pay much but it was the most enjoyable job I've ever had.
But I've always been fond of national parks, like I say, and during my lifetime I've visited about half of the 411 national park "units" in the country (i.e., national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, etc.). Whenever I take a road trip, if there's a national park unit nearby, I usually make a detour to check it out, especially if I've never been there.
I visited 36 national park sites on my road trip in 2016, the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service, and described each visit in this website. Here are the parks I visited:
Red text indicates my first visit to the park:
Washington
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Park: News: April 3, 2016
- Olympic National Park: News: April 29, 2016
California
- Redwood National Park: News: May 14, 2016
- Death Valley National Park: News: May 18, 2016
- Joshua Tree National Park: News: May 23
Arizona
- Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: News: May 24, 2016
- Chiricahua National Monument: News: May 25, 2016
- Fort Bowie National Historic Site: News: May 25, 2016
Texas
- Big Bend National Park: News: May 26, 2016
- Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park: News: May 27, 2016
Oklahoma
- Washita Battlefield National Historic Site: News: June 8, 2016
New Mexico
- Capulin Volcano National Monument: News: June 9, 2016
Colorado
- Great Sand Dunes National Park: News: June 10, 2016
- Curecanti National Recreation Area: News: August 25, 2016
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park: News: August 25, 2016
- Mesa Verde National Park: News: August 30, 2016
Utah
- Arches National Park: News: September 1, 2016
- Canyonlands National Park: News: September 4, 2016
Wyoming
- Grand Teton National Park: News: September 4, 2016
- Yellowstone National Park: News: September 8, 2016
- Devil's Tower National Monument: News: September 11, 2016
South Dakota
- Badlands National Park: News: September 11, 2016
Minnesota
- Voyageur's National Park: News: September 16, 2016
New York
- Saratoga National Historic Park: News: September 27, 2016
Maine
- St. Croix Island International Historic Site: News: September 29, 2016
- Acadia National Park: News: October 1, 2016
Maryland
- Antietam National Battlefield: News: October 24, 2016
Virginia
- Prince William Forest Park: News: October 25, 2016
- Petersburg National Battlefield: News: October 25, 2016
North Carolina
- The Blue Ridge Parkway: News: October 27, 2016
- Kings Mountains National Military Park: News: October 31, 2016
South Carolina
- Cowpens National Battlefield: News: October 30, 2016
Georgia
- Andersonville National Historic Site: News: November 1, 2016
- Jimmy Carter National Historic Site: News: November 1, 2016
Florida
- Dry Tortugas National Park: News: November 17, 2016
- Everglades National Park: News: November 27, 2016