Western Region
American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada.
American Samoa
- Not yet: National Park of American Samoa
Arizona
- Visited: Canyon de Chelly National Monument
- Visited: Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
- Visited: Chiricahua National Monument
- Visited: Coronado National Memorial
- Visited: Fort Bowie National Historic Site
- Not yet: Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
- Visited: Grand Canyon National Park
- Not yet: Hohokam Pima National Monument
- Visited: Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
- Visited: Montezuma Castle National Monument
- Visited: Navajo National Monument
- Visited: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
- Not yet: Petrified Forest National Park
- Visited: Pipe Spring National Monument
- Visited: Saguaro National Park
- Visited: Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
- Visited: Tonto National Monument
- Visited: Tumacacori National Historical Park
- Visited: Tuzigoot National Monument
- Not yet: Walnut Canyon National Monument
- Not yet: Wupatki National Monument
California
- Visited: Cabrillo National Monument
- Not yet: Castle Mountains National Monument
- Visited: César E. Chávez National Monument
- Not yet: Channel Islands National Park
- Visited: Death Valley National Park
- Not yet: Devils Postpile National Monument
- Visited: Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site
- Visited: Fort Point National Historic Site
- Visited: Golden Gate National Recreation Area
- Visited: John Muir National Historic Site
- Visited: Joshua Tree National Park
- Visited: Kings Canyon National Park
- Not yet: Lassen Volcanic National Park
- Visited: Lava Beds National Monument
- Visited: Manzanar National Historic Site
- Visited: Mojave National Preserve
- Visited: Muir Woods National Monument
- Visited: Pinnacles National Park
- Visited: Point Reyes National Seashore
- Not yet: Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
- Visited: Redwood National and State Parks
- Visited: The Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park
- Visited: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
- Visited: Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
- Visited: Sequoia National Park
- Visited: Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
- Visited: Yosemite National Park
Guam
- Not yet: War in the Pacific National Historical Park
Hawaii
- Not yet: Haleakalā National Park
- Visited: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
- Not yet: Honouliuli National Historic Site
- Visited: Kalaupapa National Historical Park
- Visited: Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
- Visited: Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
- Visited: Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site
- Not yet: World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument
- Visited: Pearl Harbor National Memorial
Nevada
- Visited: Great Basin National Park
- Visited: Lake Mead National Recreation Area
- Visited: Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
- Visited: Death Valley National Park
Recent Posts
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
More than 900 years ago, the landscape north of what is now Flagstaff, Arizona, changed dramatically. The ground opened and lava began pouring across the land while volcanic ash and cinders were thrown high into the air. When the eruption ended, a new cinder cone rose above the surrounding terrain: Sunset Crater, the youngest volcano […]
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Some of the most remarkable accomplishments in North America were built long before Europeans arrived. Montezuma Castle National Monument preserves one of those extraordinary achievements: a five-story cliff dwelling that has stood for more than eight centuries. Montezuma Castle National Monument was established on December 8, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt under the newly enacted […]
Cabrillo National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument, overlooking the entrance to San Diego Bay, commemorates a defining moment that changed the course of history. Cabrillo National Monument was established on October 14, 1913, making it one of the earliest units of the National Park System. It honors the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, who, on September 28, 1542, […]
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
In the heart of the Sonoran Desert, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument preserves one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the American Southwest. Long before Europeans arrived, this region was home to a sophisticated farming society that transformed the desert into productive agricultural land through an extensive system of irrigation canals. For more than […]
Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site
On the northwestern coast of the Island of Hawaiʻi, near the small community of Kawaihae, we visited Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site. The massive stone structure in this photograph is one of the last major traditional Hawaiian temples built before Western influence dramatically changed life on the islands. Remarkably, these walls are original, not a […]
Cabrillo National Monument
At the southern end of the Point Loma Peninsula, Cabrillo National Monument overlooks the Pacific Ocean, San Diego Bay, and the city beyond. The views alone make this a beautiful place to visit, but the location also preserves several important chapters in the history of San Diego and the West Coast. On September 28, 1542, […]
Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park in California is one of America’s most spectacular mountain landscapes. Although the area was first protected as General Grant National Park in 1890, it was expanded and redesignated as Kings Canyon National Park in 1940 to preserve the deep canyon carved by the Kings River and the surrounding High Sierra wilderness. […]
Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park, established in 1994 near Tucson, Arizona, preserves one of the most recognizable landscapes in the American Southwest. It is home to the nation’s largest cactus, the giant saguaro, a plant found naturally only in the Sonoran Desert. Some of these remarkable cacti live for more than 150 years and can grow to […]
Redwood National Park
Redwood National Park in northern California preserves one of the world’s most extraordinary forests. Established as a National Park in 1968 and expanded in 1978, the park protects the tallest trees on Earth, along with ancient prairies, oak woodlands, wild rivers, and nearly forty miles of rugged Pacific coastline. As remarkable as the coastline and rivers […]
Joshua Tree National Park
Our family traveled to Los Angeles, and while our daughter attended a yoga event, Marty and I made the drive east to Joshua Tree National Park to explore and hike. Here the landscape itself becomes the destination. Established as a national monument in 1936 and redesignated as a national park in 1994, Joshua Tree preserves […]
Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site
America’s only Nobel Prize winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, made his home at Tao House during the height of his writing career. In this secluded retreat overlooking California’s San Ramon Valley, O’Neill found the peace and inspiration to create many of the works that secured his place among the giants of American literature. Between 1937 and 1944, he wrote […]
Tumacácori National Historical Park
This Spanish Catholic mission stands near the site first visited by Jesuit missionaries in 1691. Located in the Santa Cruz River Valley of southern Arizona, Tumacácori became one of a chain of missions established to serve the indigenous O’odham people and extend Spain’s presence into the northern frontier of New Spain. This site includes this restored Franciscan church […]
