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momwise
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We're back from a wonderful "field trip" to Mesa Verde,CO, home of the Ancestral Puebloans (they're not referred to as Anasazi anymore according to a park ranger), who migrated south in the 1400's and are now the Hopi, Zuni and Navajo people (the Anasazi are not considered "missing" anymore, which is why they are now called Ancestral).
We hit one of the most wonderful museums I've ever seen on the way to Mesa Verde; South Park Mining Town in Fairplay. This place has 32 original mining town buildings, 4 of them in the original spots. There are over 60,000 artifacts filling them up. Just the drug store is so wonderful we are planning to go back and see it again. I found out when I returned home that some of my grandfather's (small town dr. from the 20's-60's) office tools and bottles are there.
Chari.....I couldn't go into the dentist's office 
Anyway, what Nat'l Parks have you vacationed at? We always have the most wonderful vacations at these places. We've been to Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, Dinosaur Nat'l monument, Gr. Canyon, and Mesa Verde and as a child, Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park, Zion, Arches and Brice Canyon.
If I could spend the whole school year at these places I'd be happy but I have to settle for every fall. I'd love to hear your recommendations and start planning!
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Chari
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How funny, Gwen........I was just checking the active topics for a moment..........thinking about my prayer request for a month long trip I am leaving on a week from tomorrow....(will post it soon)...and I see your post..........hmm.....I am going to TWO NPs in about two weeks.......what does Gwen have to say???
And, then, you even gave me a personal comment.........I was MEANT to look at this post 
also......my dh was saying last night.....think about what it would have been like in the old days, getting your teeth fixed  blech!
I do not blame you for not wanting to go into the dentist's office........yech!
so, back to your original post: not sure if I can remember all of them.......there are not that many...my mind feels blank, as usual 
so, we are about to go to Yosemite and Sequoia NP, with Willa and family!!
We have driven around Olympic NP........WOW!!......and Shenandoah, too. An I have driven through Hot Springs NP.
Redwood NP..............I just LOVE going here! We go once a year. Anyone want to join us next time?
One in Utah.....but I cannot remember which one.....
I THINK we went to the Petrified forest one in AZ when I was a pre teen......
Carlsbad caverns in NM.......same trip as above.....
memories are faint....... 
Crater Lake NP on my honeymoon, 20 yrs ago........really need to get the kids there.......it is barely over 3 hrs away........what am I waiting for???
Hmmm.........we have not been to too many.......I better get on it!  I think I will start next week!
Fun question, Gwen!
BTW..............my root canal went well, thanks for prayers....and thanks to arnica......hardly any soreness or pain. Now, pray I will not need antibiotics.
Thanks!
__________________
Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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MaryM
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momwise wrote:
| Anyway, what Nat'l Parks have you vacationed at? I'd love to hear your recommendations and start planning! |
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Gwen, you'll probably be sorry you asked (and I hope this doesn't look obnoxious). I've been to a lot. We always try to visit any National Parks/Monuments that are along our travel routes. Some I saw as a kid, because my father worked for the Bureau of Land Management which is part of the Department of Interior. The Department of Interior also oversees the National Park system so my dad was really into visiting those sites when possible- plus we lived in a variety of places around the country (mostly West though) so had an opportunity to see some of the off the beaten path parks/monuments. He gave me a love for our NP system. Some of the sites we have only been through and others we have actually spent more time. The parks since they are bigger generally have more to offer and the longer stays are possible. A couple hours or a day at many of the others (monuments, historic sites, battelfields) is sufficient to see the sites. Then there are the National Historic Trails, Byways, Riverways that you can visit one site on it or travel the length.
Ones I remember visiting are:
National Parks
Arches National Park
Badlands National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Crater Lake National Park
Glacier National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Grand Teton National Park
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Hot Springs National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Kings Canyon National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Olympic National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Redwood National and State Parks
Rocky Mountain National Park
Saguaro National Park
Sequoia National Park
Shenandoah National Park
Wind Cave National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yosemite National Park
Zion National Park
National Monuments
Bandelier National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Chiricahua National Monument
Colorado National Monument
Craters Of The Moon National Monument and Preserve
Devils Tower National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Fort Sumter National Monument
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Union National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Minidoka Internment National Monument
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Petroglyph National Monument
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
White Sands National Monument
Wupatki National Monument
Washington Monument
National Historical Parks
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Independence National Historic Park
Pecos National Historical Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park
National Historic Sites
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
Chimney Rock National Historic Site
Fords Theater National Historic Site
Fort Laramie National Historic Site
Golden Spike National Historical Site
Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Salem Maritime National Historic Site
National Battlefield Parks, Military Parks, Battlefields, Cenmeteries
Manassas National Battlefield Park
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park
Shiloh National Military Park
Vicksburg National Military Park
Antietam National Battlefield
Big Hole National Battlefield
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Antietam National Cemetery
Fredericksburg National Cemetery
Gettysburg National Cemetery
Yorktown National Cemetery
National Memorials
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
Fort Clatsop National Memorial
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Unites States Marine Corp War Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
National Recreation Areas, Seashores, PArkways, Trails
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Presidio of San Francisco
Assateague Island National Seashore
Cape Cod National Seashore
Blue Ridge Parkway
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Oregon National Historic Trail
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
My favorite is probably Yellowstone/Teton NPs. I know you usually go in the fall. That is my favorite time - lots of animals, not many tourists, lodging rates are afforable at the lodges. We went in early October a few years ago and had the best time.
Other favorite NP/NM are Glacier NP(gorgeous and still more prisine), Carlsbad NP(lots of fun - caves & bats- I have always wanted to do the breakfast with bats), Great Smoky Mountains NP (one of the most beautiful places I have even seen for autumn color), Sequoia/Kings Canyon (the size of the trees is awe inspiring), Olympic NP (very different, rainforest plus the ocean). I love the National Seashores we visited on the east coast as kid. The National Trails and Battlefields are so full of history - I enjoy those immensely.
The National Parks are the ones that more people hear about. But some of the lesser known Monuments are great. Some of my favorites of those in the west are Craters of the Moon NM (Idaho), Fort Clatsop (Oregon - where Lewis and CLark overwintered in 1805 - great living history)Bent's Old Fort NM (know you've been there!), Bandelier NM(New Mexico), Fort Laramie NHS (maybe we can take a field trip up there )
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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MacBeth
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Mary M.,
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
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MaryM
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MacBeth - didn't mean to shock you!
Also, this reminded me that I have been meaning to post a site which is part of the National Park Service. It's called Teaching with Historic Places. Gives great ideas for teaching linked to historic sites (includes many more than just NHS). You can search by
Location/State
Theme
Time period
National Standards for History
Lots of great info and lesson plans.
This summer on our big loop trip through Idaho, Oregon and No. California included a visit to Crater Lake National Park (beautiful) and Minidoka Internment National Monument (I'll post something in the history thread on that - we did use the above mentioned Teaching with Historic Places for that)
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Chari
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WOW, MARY!!
I did not know all of those monuments, etc, count
I can add more to my list......but it sure is focused on the WEST! I hope as my youngest ages.....we will explore more eastward....I would really like to get up to Elaine's and see Glacier NP!
So, here is more to add to my list......and now I feel better about what we have seen! So, now, to catch up to my hero: Mary!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
California National Historic Trail
Fort Point National Historic Site
Presidio of San Francisco, CA
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Vancouver, OR,WA
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
San Francisco, CA
Oh! I HAVE been here......when I was a kid:
Joshua Tree National Park
Southern California between I-10 and Hwy 62; headquarters in Twentynine Palms, CA
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
the Mojave Desert, AZ,NV
Lava Beds National Monument
Tulelake, CA
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Eleven States: , ID,IL,IA,KS,MO,MT,NE,ND,OR,SD,WA
Lewis and Clark National Historical Park
Astoria, OR
Lincoln Memorial
Washington, DC
Manzanar National Historic Site
Independence, CA
National Mall
Washington D.C., DC
National World War II Memorial
Washington, DC
Old Post Office Tower
Washington, DC
Oregon National Historic Trail
Various States, ID,KS,MO,NE,OR,WY
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, CA
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Various States, CA,CO,KS,MO,NE,NV,UT,WY
President's Park (White House)
Washington, DC
Presidio of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
San Francisco, CA
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
Washington, DC
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington, DC
Washington Monument
Washington, DC
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Whiskeytown, CA
here's to more national exploration!!
Can ANYONE possibly have seen more than Mary????
I love your "few" words" MacBeth! Great icon! 
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Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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MaryM
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Chari wrote:
I did not know all of those monuments, etc, count |
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I figured they all count since you can include them in the Passport to your National Parks.
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Mary M. in Denver
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momwise
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MaryM wrote:
| Gwen, you'll probably be sorry you asked |
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Gee Mary, maybe you inherited your high energy level from your dad?
Actually I've been to quite a few of those you listed, including the Grand Tetons and Great Sand Dunes. I went to many of the Utah and Colorado parks as kid also. My dad was a geology/rock hound and we were always digging for quartz and topaz among other things.
When I was 12 we made the big family vacation "back east" and hit many of the historic landmarks including lots of battlefields; I just can't remember which ones.
For historical field trips I prefer the living historical sites. Maybe we can get Mary G. down to the South Park City Museumnext summer!
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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momwise
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MaryM wrote:
| Colorado National Monument |
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What's that?
Really, what I'd like to know is how you remembered all those? HAve you kept them written down since childhood? Or did your parents?
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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MaryM
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momwise wrote:
MaryM wrote:
| Colorado National Monument |
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What's that? |
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The one just outside of Grand Junction. Colorado NM
momwise wrote:
| Really, what I'd like to know is how you remembered all those? Have you kept them written down since childhood? Or did your parents? |
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No, I just copied an on-line listing this morning of all the parks and monuments and then deleted the ones I had not been to. I wouldn't have remembered all of them without looking at a list. Probably three-quarters of the ones I listed I have visited or re-visited as an adult. We lived in Virginia for 3 years when I was a teenager so everything we saw while I was back there I remember pretty well. We also lived a few years in New Mexico so saw lots of the SW ones multiple times. Mostly my childhood was in Oregon/Idaho so visted a lot of Utah, Wyoming, and Montana sites then (as well as again with my kids). I actually do have really vivid memories of my childhood and my dad took tons of photos and super 8 movies, so we have watched footage of vacations a lot. I went to grad school in Indiana and my husband and I did lots of driving around the midwest and east during breaks. My husband's family is in California so we've done many there multiple times or try to add at least one new one each time.
Oh, yeah, and we do keep track through the Passports that the kids have had since they were little.
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Mary M. in Denver
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MaryM
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A picture book alphabet of the National Parks. Tons of information so it's of interest even to older kids even though it's an alphabet book.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Kelly
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I think I'll go download that list of parks and monuments,too! I was wondering HOW IN THE WORLD you could remember all those names! I've been to quite a few of them, too (tho not as many as you, Mary, I think you win the award ), including quite a few in the South and South East, so now you have my curiosity piqued. When we were growing up, my grandparents and parents always took us on what they called, "Educational Tours". You know you've been around a lot when you recognize the HOTELS along the roads! I've tried to carry on this tradition with my children,too (tho I've never been so brazen as to tackle, say, the Al-Can Highway, like my grandparents, or Death Valley, cooking an egg on the hood of their non-airconditioned car, like my wacky parents!)
Next year we're doing the Westward Ho! Tour yet again, and I intend to put Fairplay on the itinerary. Thanks for the hint, Gwen. We loved Mesa Verde, too, tho I hated driving up that big hill. Made me seasick.
One of the places we really enjoyed last Westward Ho! trip was Jerome, Arizona. The State Park, and the old town of Jerome, were both very interesting.
Gotta vote with Mary on the natural wonder of the Grand Tetons. As a callow youth, I worked on a dude ranch there. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I hope my children all get to do that, too.
Has anyone ever visited Berlin Ichthyosaur National Park (I think that's the name)near Austin, Nevada? My ds is adamant that we go there next year. It's in the middle of nowhere. More like, on the far edge of the middle of nowhere! I'd love to know if anyone has seen it and if it's Worthy.
Kelly in FL
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MaryM
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Kelly wrote:
| Has anyone ever visited Berlin Ichthyosaur National Park (I think that's the name)near Austin, Nevada? My ds is adamant that we go there next year. It's in the middle of nowhere. More like, on the far edge of the middle of nowhere! I'd love to know if anyone has seen it and if it's Worthy. |
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Sorry, I have no knowledge of the park - had not heard of it. In looking for it found that it is a state park (not national) and you are right it is in the middle of nowhere. If someone is into dinos as your son is, it probably is worthwhile to see what is claimed to be the best giant marine reptiles deposit in the US.
Kelly wrote:
| Next year we're doing the Westward Ho! Tour yet again, and I intend to put Fairplay on the itinerary. Thanks for the hint, Gwen. We loved Mesa Verde, too, tho I hated driving up that big hill. Made me seasick. |
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Then you probably wouldn't like Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain NP or Going to the Sun Highway in Glacier NP- very winding with steep drop-offs.
Maybe we can see you on your "Westward Ho!"
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Mary M. in Denver
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momwise
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MaryM wrote:
Kelly wrote:
| We loved Mesa Verde, too, tho I hated driving up that big hill. Made me seasick. |
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Then you probably wouldn't like Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain NP. |
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That's where I sent our visitors from Eastern Canada (to drive over Trail Ridge Rd.) and after they returned here I found out they had never been in the mountains before. Their eyes were as big as saucers! It never occured to me someone from Canada hadn't been in the mountains before
MaryM wrote:
| Maybe we can see you on your "Westward Ho!" |
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Yeah.....hope we can do that Kelly!
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Gwen...wife for 30 years, mom of 7, grandma of 3.....
"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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Kelly
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That would be fun---meeting, that is, not driving the Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain NP!
Once we drove from LA to San Francisco on Scenic Highway 1. Someone had assured me it was: 1. quick---a mere 5 hours; and 2. not steep and windy. In retrospect, all I can say is, what kind of drugs was that person on???? We found ourselves, with darkness closing in, creeping along sheer cliffs that would have made Alfred Hitchcock's "Vertigo" filming team drool with envy (in fact,they probably DID use them for the film!). Fog, as thick as pea soup...no, THICKER, began to engulf our car. My children were throwing up from car sickness in the back seats. My knuckles were whiter than paste, and I was praying incessantly: Dear Lord, find us a hotel ASAP! Please! We rounded a corner, yet another one of those sheer-cliffs-plunging-300-feet-to-the-sea-corners, and found...a little blinking hotel sign. Thank you, God! I could hardly walk to the reception office when I pulled up the car. They had two rooms left, I signed on the dotted line without even asking how much they cost. Didn't care! I could barely hold the pen, for shaking. I'm sure the receptionist thought I was a nutcase. By then, I very nearly was. For a Flatlander, this experience was, as they say, "heinous"!
So, no, I don't think I'd really go for the Trail Ridge Road...  But I would love to meet up with fellow Catholic CMers along the way! I've done this in the past and it's always been a lot of fun. Will keep you posted.
Kelly in nice, flat, wide-open, sandy, Florida
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MaryM
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This survey on the state of National Parks in the US and Canada - Destinations Scorecard: National Parks - was interesting. It was done by National Geographic's Traveler magazine. They had a big write-up in our weekend paper about it since the Colorado parks didn't score that well. See where your parks rank.
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Mary M. in Denver
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: What Nat’l Parks have you been to?
