Today celebrates National Public Lands Day!
Started in 1994, “It celebrates the connection between people and green space in their community, inspires environmental stewardship, and encourages use of open space for education, recreation, and health benefits.”
Get outside and celebrate this day!
Visit a national park for free today, volunteer outside at a local park, and enjoy time outside!
Happy 129th anniversary to Sequoia National Park! On this day, President Harrison signed legislation creating America’s second national park. It was the first national park created to protect the giant sequoia trees from logging. In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt added the Kings Canyon National Park to Sequoia to have these national parks operate jointly.
We visited Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park about eight years ago. Enjoy a few photos from our visit there.
The Ash Mountain Entrance:
Tunnel Rock (original granite tunnel was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and this narrow passageway was the only route through until the highway was widened in 1997. You can still walk underneath or on top of the rock if you can hike up it):
Giant Forest (large sequoia grove):
General Sherman (largest living sequoia tree standing about 275 feet tall):
John Muir reflected that giant sequoia groves are “not like places, they are like haunts.” Happy 129th, Sequoia National Park!
Parents and teachers of 4th graders in the United States, get your free national park pass for this school year! Yes, a free pass!
Every Kid Outdoors created this program to encourage 4th graders and their families to get outside and discover our national parks system for free.
The pass works now through August 31, 2020. The pass includes all children under 16 and up to three adults or one vehicle if driving. You must bring the paper pass as electronic ones don’t work. Passes cannot be transferred to anyone else.
Parents can get their 4th grader’s pass by having your 4th grader complete an online activity and then print out your park pass. Click here to start the online process.
Educators can get a paper pass for each student in their 4th grade class. You need to download an activity and then print out the paper passes for your students. Educators, click here to begin the process to get your students their free park passes!
If you have or teach a 4th grader, make sure to get your free park pass and enjoy our national parks!
One of the highlights from our trip happened by surprise. In Yellowstone National Park, we caught Castle Geyser erupting while literally standing next to it.
Most people think about Old Faithful when they picture Yellowstone National Park. However, Yellowstone has 500 amazing geysers and some 10,000 thermal features to check out!
Castle Geyser has the largest cone geyser and may be the oldest geyser in that area. It’s named after looking like an old castle.
While the geyser’s eruption pattern has changed over time, it now goes off about every 12-14 hours unless it has minor eruptions which throw off the pattern at times.
The water eruptions from this castle shoot hot water up to 100 feet into the air for about 20 minutes! And then it blows some hot, noisy steam for around 30-40 minutes. The entire eruption can last about an hour.
We caught this eruption one day in July while visiting there. Our family loved it! Definitely a highlight from the trip!
Enjoy some photos and a video of this really cool geyser!
At the end of July, our family journeyed to the Grand Teton National Park to celebrate our 15th anniversary where we got married!
We loved seeing this special national park again and also sharing it with our two kids.
Steve and I got married in the Chapel of Transfiguration in the national park. This rustic chapel was constructed in 1925. We love this little, lodgepole pine chapel with that amazing window framing the Teton Range!
Enjoy some photos of our visit to the chapel. ❤️
Definitely stop by this beautiful and historic chapel if you’re in the Grand Teton National Park!
P.S. More vacation posts coming!
On this day 55 years ago, Congress established the Wilderness Act. Congress wanted to protect undeveloped and wild areas as an enduring resource for the American people. Today, this act protects 111 million acres of wilderness.
This act created the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and immediately designated 54 areas into this system. Some of the first wilderness areas created included Bridger Wilderness in Wyoming, Ansel Adams Wilderness in California, and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. Today, the National Park Service makes up about 56% of the land under NWPS with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management areas making up the rest.
Many benefits exist today from this land conservation including providing habitats for wildlife; clean air; clean drinking water; boosting local economies with tourism and recreation; and providing some really amazing places to escape and appreciate this great land here!
Go enjoy this anniversary and get out in the wilderness today!
