The National Parks : America’s Best Idea

With all of the talk lately about our “President” wanting to get rid of some of the designated National Monuments, I thought it was a great time to watch the documentary by Ken Burns about America’s National Parks… before they’re gone, damn you Mr. Trump!!!

I’ve been a HUGE fan of the National Parks system for a long time. I’ve been to several of them, and each one is better than the next!!! Even better when seen from my bike!!! Like the time we rode our bikes up and over “Going To The Sun Highway” in Glacier National Park, all the way down the Rockies and into Yellowstone. I’ve told many people that Yellowstone is one of the most amazing & unbelievable places I’ve EVER been to!!! Crazy cool things around ever corner!!!

Or pedaling through the desert to the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest… or stopping off at the Grand Canyon. It was my first trip through the desert during my cross-country bike ride from Los Angeles to Boston.

Or the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains… lush and green, beautiful mountains, waterfalls and scenic vistas.

So many amazing places that have been given National Park or National Monument status. I sadly must admit that I didn’t know the difference between the two before watching the documentary. But I do know… so I understand more fully what Mr. Trump is trying to take away from the American public. Something special that has been part of the American experience for decades!!!

I loved the documentary and would recommend it to everyone who loves nature, National Parks, or history. They go in chronological order as they show the creation of the system. The struggles , the patrons, the Presidents who fought so hard to keep them. It was amazing to find out more about the influences of those you’ve heard about for years… John Muir, Ansel Adam, the Rockefellers… and the creation of The Audubon Society and The Sierra Club. And the struggles the park system has gone through during The Depression, the World Wars and

 

from Gary Jackson: Fire When Ready Pottery http://ift.tt/2pN4Dmq