national park system

Grizzly Bears 🐻

While I love a number of animals, I wanted to briefly highlight one of my favorites today. And one that I am hoping hoping hoping to get a glimpse of on our next trip to Yellowstone National Park. I am talking about grizzly bears. Good job if you read the title to this blog post and guessed it! 😉 Today, grizzly bears only live in western Canada and northwestern United States.  Grizzlies once roamed North America from Mexico on up to Alaska and from California across to the Great Plains. Grizzlies gained protection in 1975 by getting listed on the Endangered Species Act. These massive animals are a subspecies of the brown bear. Grizzlies weigh around 700 pounds and on their hind legs can stand about 8 feet tall. That’s huge! Yet, about 75% of their diet comes from berries. That’s a lot of berries every day to keep these big bears happy!  In addition to their grand size, their color ranges from very light tan to dark brown. They have a very large shoulder hump and extremely long claws. Grizzlies surprise many people with their agility and speed as well as with their intelligence. Grizzlies can run up to 40 mph! In addition, grizzlies have a strong intellect and solid memory! Did you know that the mama grizzlies give birth during hibernation? I cannot imagine giving birth in a winter den! They are some strong females! And these mamas fiercely protect their cubs! I know that many mothers out there can relate to fiercely protecting our children. I definitely channel my inner grizzly at times! Humans stand as the main predator of grizzlies. These very intelligent and unique animals play a huge role in our ecosystem and deserve to stick around for our future generations.  I love that our national parks provide a safe place for these beautiful animals (as well as many other animals)! And I’m crossing my fingers to see one (at a safe distance) during our next trip to Yellowstone National Park! For lots more information on grizzly bears, click here.

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Indiana Dunes National Park

Recently, we visited Chicago and Indiana to see family and show the kids some fun there. During this trip, we visited a national park! And we got see a newly designated one! Indiana Dunes National Park sits along the southern shore of Lake Michigan in northwestern Indiana. This national lakeshore became a national park as of February this year. We checked out the visitor center first and our kids become junior rangers there! As I’ve mentioned, you definitely need to check out the junior ranger activities at our national parks! Great way to get the kids involved and learn something! At the center, we read up on the park, watched the short history film, and even bought our youngest a junior ranger vest and hat. 😍 I love learning cool facts about the park like the fact that Lake Michigan took form 11,000 years ago when the Wisconsin glacier began to melt. We headed to the shoreline and parked by the Kemil Road Access Point. We enjoyed seeing the lake and let the two kids skip some rocks. We had to drive over and check out the park’s most dynamic dune, Mount Baldy. Mount Baldy stands 126 feet tall. To see this powerful dune, you need to take a short, fun trail to reach the beach from the parking area. It’s a fun little hike! If you’re in the Chicago or Indiana area, check out our 61st national park and the first national Park in Indiana.

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National Trails Day 👣

Happy National Trails Day today!  Today kicks off the Great Outdoors Month of June! Did you know that there are over 18,000 miles of trails in the national park system? And did you know that there are 158,000 miles of trails in national forests and grasslands? So, we have lots of trails to explore in the United States! Enjoy this day and month and find a trail to enjoy!  Happy National Trails Day! 👣☀️

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Place of the Week

Click on the Place of the Week tab above here or the link on Mondays now for our national site of the week! The national park system has 419 national areas including national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. Each week, that page on this blog will highlight one of the national areas and give you a link for more information. Check out this week’s place of the week and then come back on Monday for the next one! Happy Monday!

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Bark Ranger Day

As part of National Park Week, today is Bark Ranger Day. Let’s take a guess what this might mean…..bark….like dogs! BARK actually stands for: Bag your pet’s waste Always wear a leash Respect wildlife Know where you can go. These are four great points to remember when bringing your pet to a national park. Enjoy a photo of our first dog, Ranger, at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.      

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Friendship Friday

Everybody needs a friend! Even the national parks need friends. As part of the National Park Week, today marks Friendship Friday. The national parks need our time by volunteering and our donations to help continue these great treasures. You can help by supporting one of more than 200 philanthropic organizations that partner with national parks nationwide.  In addition, many national parks have nonprofit associations linked to them. In addition, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of our national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Take a moment to check out one of these friend organizations of the national parks today! Happy National Park Week!

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Throwback Thursday

National Park Week now brings us Throwback Thursday! History and memories are made each day at the national parks.  Take a moment to reflect on one of your own favorite national park memories today! Enjoy a photo of my own Throwback Thursday of the national parks of a pretty special day in my life: Happy National Park Week!

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Wild Wednesday

National Park Week brings us to Wild Wednesday today! Embrace the wild side of the parks! To celebrate this day, go wild! You can go on a hike in the wilderness; check out some wildlife; enjoy some wildflowers; check out the night wild skies; or learn about the wild within the national parks. Embrace your wild side! Happy National Park Week!

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