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
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: Saguaro National Park
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: 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
- Not yet: 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
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 […]
Lava Beds National Monument
On one of my solo rides through northern California. I made a stop at Lava Beds National Monument. The landscape was made up of mile after mile of rugged volcanic terrain shaped by ancient eruptions. This is a view of the lava fields in the early morning light, dotted with cinder cones created by the […]
Pipe Spring National Monument
In the dry desert landscape of northern Arizona, Pipe Spring National Monument preserves a precious resource in the American Southwest, water. The national springs flowing here made life possible in a harsh environment where dependable water sources were often separated by vast distances. Located close to the Arizona-Utah border, Pipe Spring became an important stopping place for Native peoples, travelers, […]
Navajo National Monument
Hidden deep within the sandstone cliffs of Northeastern Arizona, Navajo National Monument preserves some of the most beautiful and best-preserved ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the American Southwest. Built into enormous natural alcoves high above the canyon floor, these ancient stone villages seem to emerge directly from the rock itself. Located near the Four Corners region, the monument […]
Manzanar National Historic Site
The landscape leaves a lasting impression before you ever read the history connected to it. Surrounded by the stark mountains of California and swept by winds that stir dust across the barren ground, the isolation itself becomes part of the story. Standing here, it is impossible not to feel the harshness of the environment and to imagine what life must have been […]
Kalaupapa National Historical Park
Visiting Kalaupapa National Historical Park was one of the more difficult and emotional National Park sites I have experienced. This was another journey that I made alone, and perhaps that solitude added to the feeling of reflection that stayed with me throughout the visit. Reaching Kalaupapa is part of the experience itself. I flew in on a small plane, […]
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
The deep blue waters and forested mountains of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area create a peaceful landscape in northern California. Located near Redding, the park blends mountain scenery, clear lakes and remnants of California’s Gold Rush history into one setting. At the center of the park is Whiskeytown Lake, a reservoir created in the 1960s as part of the […]
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
I looked forward to visiting Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site expecting to find a trading post filled with Native crafts, handmade rugs, jewelry and traditional wares. I pictured something frozen in time. This was not simply a museum display created for tourists. It was still an active trading post serving the local Navajo community and is recognized as […]
Great Basin National Park
Driving to Great Basin National Park felt like chasing something that kept moving farther away the closer we got. This is one of the most remote National Parks in the lower 48 states, tucked into the isolated desert and mountain ranges of eastern Nevada. I remember the endless highways stretching across the Nevada desert, mile after mile […]
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
The Big Island of Hawaii is a place where the power of nature is impossible to ignore. Among this rugged shoreline near Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the land feels raw and unfinished, shaped by fire, lava and the constant pounding of the Pacific Ocean. Here we are standing on black volcanic rocks with waves crashing against the shoreline. Hawai’i […]
