"America's Icon is a Century Old" - Time Out #48

Later this month (August, 25th) our incredible National Park System (NPS) turns 100 years old.

Thank you President Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir for your incredible insight to spearhead creating this century-old priceless organization

When I was a young child, my beloved father, Col. Breedlove, began introducing me to these American jewels with via our extended road trips all over the USA in our then UN-air-conditioned vehicles. Because I was always so excited to see and experience a new location , I barely remember ever complaining about the heat. Today, the excitement of experiencing travel is still with me, but I have come to expect creature comforts such as a/c.

Alas, the aging of this American.

But enough about that, and on to the topic at hand.

I have not visited all 416 units of the NPS, but have marveled at many of them. What I will attempt to do in this week's journalistic adventure, is cover six of the best, dividing the US map into areas, and choosing a site for each location to briefly describe. Hopefully, these sketches will tempt you, my reader, to get out and experience these absolute American treasurers.

Let's begin in the northeast. The choice is Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert, ME.

This one holds an extra special place in my heart since my older brother, C.H., and wife, Chris, have maintained a home there for many years. It's a beautiful log home, too, and keeps with the natural decor of the area. In season, Acadia is so full of adventure for nature lovers whether it be hiking up Cadillac Mountain and being treated at the summit to the magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean below, or enjoying the delicious Sunday popovers in the historic Jordan Pond House restaurant. You may also choose to walk along the rocky coastline, including witnessing the power of the sea crashing into Thunder Hole. Several million folks escape the big city congestion and heat of the northeast each summer by flocking to Acadia. If quaint towns are your fancy, too, nearby Bar Harbor certainly fills that bill for a multitude of reasons.

Next location would be the southeast, and the choice, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL.

A gigantic river of grass is the absolute best description of this natural wonder in the far southern tip of the Sunshine State. Our visit enjoyed the area's common mode of transportation, an airboat ride through the swamps. Thank goodness for the headphones because these watercraft are incredibly loud, and, thus, they are incredibly powerful. Ours seemed to magically push us across the shallow waters, enabling us to view the many alligators, snakes, water fowl, fish, amphibians, and a myriad of strange plant life. The Everglades is such a unique place, Americans can only hope the constantly encroaching human civilization ,and the subsequent issues of people vs. environment; the two factors are able to reach an adequate co-existance.

On to the north, and incredibly isolated Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, ND.

As I was seeing all 50 states, my trip to North Dakota was #49 on the check list, Wisconsin being #50. The North Dakota outing was an ol' fashion road trip with an longtime friend and fellow physician, Dr. Ron Orman, Billings, MT. He had retired from private practice a few years earlier. Dr. Orman and I drove his suv, traveling from his home, many miles east to the park. Talk about remote....this park is REMOTE. It has several units (divisions), principally a southern one and a northern one (near Wafford City).. We drove to both sites, but spent much more time in the southern one, near Medora. The landscape of western North Dakota where the park is located tells volumes about our former Rough Rider President Roosevelt. Living there in the hills, canyons, wildlife, among Mother Nature, really shaped him into the man who was so unique later in the White House. Really strange, too, as he had spent many of his younger years in New York City.. His named park is truly the wild frontier, even in this 21st century.

South to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, NM.

This was a spring break, 10-day, almost 3,000-mile, driving trip with Debbie and the 3 Breedlove children in the trusty GMC Suburban years ago. Caves have always fascinated me This one is almost in a class by itself. The variety of guided tours given on-site by the NPS , the gigantic size underground including several of the so-called rooms, the enormous bat out migration at sundown and the in-cave living lifeforms are all marvelous. All that, plus the stark contrast with the arid, vast desert above ground and the cool, sometime moist conditions hundreds of feet below the surface are all so mind-grabbing..

Northwest to Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA.

Another 5-person Breedlove family experience that took 2 weeks, and covered Washington and Oregon. Our visit to this park occurred on its west side, more specifically the Hoh (as in area Native American tribe) Rain Forest. Olympic gets an incredible amount of moisture, and our nature walk through this section was like Alice traveling to Wonderland. Thick moss, strange trees, huge banana snails, frogs, and bizarre plant life at every turn. It was almost like the clock had been turned back to the dinosaurs, and we were there. Strange and exciting at the same time.

Lastly, southwest, and Sequoia National Park, Three Rivers, CA.

If you want to be absolutely overwhelmed by the largest living things in the world, this is your place.

These redwoods are totally beyond written description.

Another family adventure, we actually stayed in the park at the Giant Forest location where the biggest trees reside; the General Sherman, Grant, etc. Talk about take your breath away when you walk under them, and what little breath you still have after trying to frame one in your camera lens, is made less when you realize many of the trees are over 2,000 years old. Understand the appeal of these beauties? The NPS led outings there are very well done and informative. That, of course, is on par for most everything the NPS sets out to do.

So, why the hesitation???

Pick one, and you can't possibly go wrong.........