My Bucket List: National Parks

Now, not everyone’s bucket list will look the same. That’s the idea of a bucket list, it caters to your wants and needs. Here are a few of mine, and a picture of one I’ve recently.

1. Yellowstone NP – Idaho, Montana, & Wyoming
   • as big as Rhode Island & Delaware combined.
   • 200+ waterfalls located within
   • also home to 500 active geysers
2. Glacier NP – Montana
   • obviously home to several glaciers
   • and mountain goats are a symbol of the park
3. Great Smoky Mountains NP – North Carolina & Tennessee
   • basically the most visited park
   • some of the oldest mtns in the world
4. Zion NP – Utah
   • temperatures can sometimes get below -20 degrees
   • 4.3 million people visit each year
   • also has a subway
5. Grand Canyon NP – Arizona
   • generally creates its own weather
   • there is a town in the canyon
   • missing 950 million years worth of rocks
6. North Cascades NP – Washington
   • 260 prehistoric sites
   • as a matter of fact, native americans inhibited first
7. Denali NP & Preserve – Alask
   • both visible 200 miles away and has 600 earthquakes per year
   • originally named “Mount McKinley”
8. Shenandoah NP – Virginia
   • previously the largest black bear refugee in the state
   • cemeteries located inside the park
   • surprisingly, the oldest rocks found in Virginia are within the park
9. Olympic NP – Washington
   • still protects the largest remaining blocks of old growth forest
   • its rainforest of the west side receives 150 inches of rainfall annually
   • also has National Natural Landmark (Point of Arches)
10. Grand Teton NP – Wyoming
    • features the smallest bird found in North America
    • Grand Teton Mountain Range is the youngest range in the Rocky Mtns
    • however, 2.7 Billion year old metamorphic rock called Gneiss makes up most of the range
11. Yosemite NP – California
    • presently the home to a 3000 year old tree known as the Grizzly Giant which grows in the Mariposa Grove
    • first people called themselves the “Ahwahneechee”
    • but experiences a Mediterranean Climate
12. Acadia NP – Maine
    • offers the highest views on the east coast
    • created by private land donations
    • overall, one of America’s smallest national parks
13. New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park – Louisiana
    • Created in 94 to celebrate the origins and evolution of jazz
    • therefore jazz is America’s most widely recognized indigenous music art form; performance and appreciation of jazz is worldwide.
14. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve – Louisiana
    • established in 1907
    • melting pot of ethnicities, nationalities, traditions and cultures.
    • also protects natural and cultural resources in the historical diverse Louisiana Mississippi River Delta