Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

A New Natioanl Park

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • A New Natioanl Park

      As of yesterday, the US has added a new National Park to the NP system, bringing the total up to 61. The spending bill signed yesterday included a provision to change Indiana Dunes from a National Lakeshore to a National Park. Not sure if there is funding for a better sign. I guess Indiana was feeling left out in the NP department so their legislators lobbied for this change. Frankly, the other three National Lakeshores are much better than ID. I wonder if MI and WI will also lobby for this "upgrade". MI already has IRNP, but that is only "sort of" in MI. WI has none so AINL could be next. At only 15,000 acres, IDNP it is one of the smallest NPs so there won't be many hiking opportunities. With a few new NPs coming on line in the last few years, I thought I should do another accounting of how many I've been to. For me I've been to Badlands, Bryce, Everglades*, Glacier, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smokey Mountains, Haleakala, Indiana Dunes*, Isle Royale, Joshua Tree*, Kings Canyon*, Mesa Verde, Mt Rainier, Petrified Forest*, Rocky Mtn, Sequoia, Shenandoah, Wind Cave, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion. That's 23 out of 61. Only 38 to go. Of those, I'd maybe put Arches, Acadia, Denali, and Hawaii Volcanoes at the top of the list. I marked in Bold the parks in which I have spent the night. I marked with italics the parks where we stayed outside the park and took day trips in. The rest were ones we visited while driving on the way to someplace else. Also, in honor of Roger Maris, I put an asterisk by a few in my list. If I went to JTNP, IDNP, and PFNP before they were classified as NPs can I still count them? Also there are two I think I've been to, but am not sure. In 1970 we took a family vacation and visited Sequoia NP. We then drove to Sacramento, so we probably took the road north out of the park which would have gone through a little bit of KCNP (but I was only 11 years old at the time). Also about 10 years ago we visited some of the Everglades, but I don't recall if we were actually inside the borders of the NP or not. But I'm counting it an you can't stop me.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().

    • OK, here is my list...

      Grand Canyon
      Kings Canyon
      Lassen Volcanic
      Sequoia
      Yosemite
      Redwood
      Rocky Mountain
      Everglades
      Yellowstone
      Grand Teton
      Acadia
      Great Smoky Mountains
      Shenandoah
      Badlands
      Zion
      North Cascades
      Olympic
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • odd man out wrote:

      Also about 10 years ago we visited some of the Everglades, but I don't recall if we were actually inside the borders of the NP or not. But I'm counting it an you can't stop me.
      We attempted to visit Everglades National Park on 1/1/199? but were turned away at the entrance by the one Park Ranger who apparently was deemed necessary even though the government was shut down.

      Wasn't a total loss of a trip as we found "Robert Was Here" on the way and had the most amazing fruit shakes.
    • Trillium wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Also about 10 years ago we visited some of the Everglades, but I don't recall if we were actually inside the borders of the NP or not. But I'm counting it an you can't stop me.
      We attempted to visit Everglades National Park on 1/1/199? but were turned away at the entrance by the one Park Ranger who apparently was deemed necessary even though the government was shut down.
      Wasn't a total loss of a trip as we found "Robert Was Here" on the way and had the most amazing fruit shakes.
      "robert is here" is great (i grew up in homestead) and make it point to go there whenever i'm in town.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      Trillium wrote:

      We attempted to visit Everglades National Park on 1/1/199? but were turned away at the entrance by the one Park Ranger who apparently was deemed necessary even though the government was shut down.Wasn't a total loss of a trip as we found "Robert Was Here" on the way and had the most amazing fruit shakes.
      "robert is here" is great (i grew up in homestead) and make it point to go there whenever i'm in town.
      obviously memory is a bit hazy. LOL

      We visited there 2 or 3 times, that first time attempting to visit the Everglades and then on subsequent trips to the Keys, we would always detour to get those awesome shakes.

      So, you're saying 'Robert is here' is still in business?
    • Trillium wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      Trillium wrote:

      We attempted to visit Everglades National Park on 1/1/199? but were turned away at the entrance by the one Park Ranger who apparently was deemed necessary even though the government was shut down.Wasn't a total loss of a trip as we found "Robert Was Here" on the way and had the most amazing fruit shakes.
      "robert is here" is great (i grew up in homestead) and make it point to go there whenever i'm in town.
      obviously memory is a bit hazy. LOL
      We visited there 2 or 3 times, that first time attempting to visit the Everglades and then on subsequent trips to the Keys, we would always detour to get those awesome shakes.

      So, you're saying 'Robert is here' is still in business?
      you can get your key lime milkshake :) any day except Thanksgiving or Christmas.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      Trillium wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      Trillium wrote:

      We attempted to visit Everglades National Park on 1/1/199? but were turned away at the entrance by the one Park Ranger who apparently was deemed necessary even though the government was shut down.Wasn't a total loss of a trip as we found "Robert Was Here" on the way and had the most amazing fruit shakes.
      "robert is here" is great (i grew up in homestead) and make it point to go there whenever i'm in town.
      obviously memory is a bit hazy. LOLWe visited there 2 or 3 times, that first time attempting to visit the Everglades and then on subsequent trips to the Keys, we would always detour to get those awesome shakes.

      So, you're saying 'Robert is here' is still in business?
      you can get your key lime milkshake :) any day except Thanksgiving or Christmas.
      Wow, one my trips back home I going to have to make it down there. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I went to college at Valparaiso University which is just down the road from the Dunes. At the end of our Freshman Orientation Week, the school sponsored a trip to the beach for the whole freshman class. The buses dropped us off an we were told the beach is "just down this trail". They didn't tell us we had to go up and over their biggest dune. It was a hot August afternoon so getting over was tough but the run down to the beach was a blast. All of the chaperones were waiting there for us because they took the bus to the parking lot by the beach (wimps).