Alaska
- Not yet: Alagnak Wild River
- Not yet: Aniakchak National Monument
- Not yet: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
- Not yet: Cape Krusenstern National Monument
- Visited: Denali National Park
- Not yet: Gates of the Arctic National Park
- Visited: Glacier Bay National Park
- Not yet: Katmai National Park
- Visited: Kenai Fjords National Park
- Visited: Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
- Not yet: Kobuk Valley National Park
- Not yet: Lake Clark National Park
- Not yet: Noatak National Preserve
- Visited: Sitka National Historical Park
- Visited: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
- Not yet: Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve
Idaho
- Visited: City of Rocks National Reserve
- Visited: Craters of the Moon National Monument
- Visited: Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
- Not yet: Minidoka National Historic Site
- Not yet: Nez Perce National Historical Park
Oregon
- Visited: Crater Lake National Park
- Visited: John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
- Visited: Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
- Visited: Oregon Caves National Monumen
Washington
- Visited: Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
- Visited: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
- Visited: Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
- Not yet: Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
- Not yet: Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
- Not yet: Manhattan Project National Historical Park
- Visited: Mount Rainier National Park
- Visited: North Cascades National Park
- Visited: Olympic National Park
- Not yet: Ross Lake National Recreation Area
- Visited: San Juan Island National Historical Park
- Visited: Whitman Mission National Historic Site
Recent Posts
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Fort Vancouver was once the administrative headquarters and principal supply depot for the Hudson’s Bay Company’s vast Columbia Department. From this location on the north bank of the Columbia River, the company directed an enormous fur-trading network that stretched from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific and from Russian Alaska south toward California and Hawaii. […]
Whitman Mission National Historic Site
I had known the story of Narcissa Whitman long before I visited this site. I remember reading about her to my daughters when they were growing up—the young missionary who crossed the continent with her husband, Marcus, in 1836 to establish a mission among the Cayuse people in what was the Oregon Country. Visiting Whitman […]
City of Rocks National Reserve
City of Rocks National Reserve in southern Idaho preserves a landscape of enormous granite formations, towering spires, narrow passages, and weathered rock walls that seem to rise unexpectedly from the surrounding countryside. The unusual formations inspired the name “City of Rocks,” because early travelers thought the rocks resembled the ruins of an ancient stone city. […]
Kenai Fjords National Park
Sweeping from a rugged coastline to glacier-crowned mountains, Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses more than 600,000 acres of wilderness on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. During our stay in Seward, we had the opportunity to experience this enormous landscape in two very different ways both from the water and from the land. Our first experience was a […]
Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve
Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve on Whidbey Island preserves a landscape where the history of the Pacific Northwest can still be seen in the land itself. Open fields stretch toward Puget Sound, historic farm buildings remain part of the countryside, and forests and shoreline surround communities whose stories reach back generations. In 1792, Captain George […]
San Juan Island National Historical Park
San Juan Island National Historical Park in Friday Harbor, Washington, preserves one of the most unusual stories in American history. Established as a National Historical Park in 1966, the park commemorates the peaceful resolution of a boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain that became known as the “Pig War.” Reaching San Juan Island […]
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
A few hours before we flew home from teaching in Oregon, we took a road trip to Fort Clatsop, part of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. What began as a simple side trip became one of those memorable moments where history suddenly feels very real. Standing at the place where the Lewis and Clark Expedition […]
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve was part of our 2014 trip to Alaska. We drove into the Wrangell area, and what I most remember is the vast and distant everything felt. This is not an easy part to access. Roads are limited and distances are long. Most of the park is still reached by small […]
North Cascades National Park
North Cascades National Park came into my travels during a visit to Seattle, where Marty was recording techniques classes. With a few hours to myself, I decided to make the drive, about three hours from the city, and what I found felt like stepping into another world They call this region the “North American Alps,” and […]
Olympic National Park
Olympic National Park is a place of incredible diversity: mountains, rainforest and rugged coastline, all within one park. My day here was oneI took on my own. At the visitor center, I remember learning about a predator in the park, and that gave me pause. It shifted my mindset that I wasn’t quite as confident […]
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
I took this ride to eastern Oregon solo, and what I remember is the isolation. The roads stretched on without interruption, the landscape opening wider with every mile. This is a different part of Oregon, far removed from the coastal side that most people know. There is no ocean here, not dense forest. I stayed […]
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
Another remarkable place that preserves a much older chapter of Earth’s story is Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument. Located in southern Idaho, along the Snake River Canyon near the small town of Hagerman, this landscape holds fossil deposits dating back 3 to 4 million years. This region was once very different. Instead of the dry terrain […]
