After thinking I was way behind on my travels yesterday, “they” come up with another 50 More of the Most Famous Landmarks on Earth (Part 2).  So you add the latter fifty to the first fifty from yesterday’s post, and it becomes glaringly obvious I simply don’t get out much.

In this second set of places, I’ve got 47 trips yet to happen. So combining both lists, 93 worldly landmarks still await my arrival (and photography attempts).

Now if we were to take a deep breath and consider landmarks more local (instead of global), my attendance is much better when the “have-you-been-there” conversation turns to the National Parks of the U.S.

I definitely can count visited places on the list to a higher number than the “50 x 2 Landmarks”…and I needn’t worry about keeping tabs on my Passport! (just my gas card and/or boarding pass)

Here are the 58 National Parks in the National Park System:

Name ↓ Location ↓ Year Established ↓
Acadia National Park Maine 1919
National Park of American Samoa American Samoa 1988
Arches National Park Utah 1971
Badlands National Park South Dakota 1978
Big Bend National Park Texas 1944
Biscayne National Park Florida 1980
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Colorado 1999
Bryce Canyon National Park Utah 1928
Canyonlands National Park Utah 1964
Capitol Reef National Park Utah 1971
Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico 1930
Channel Islands National Park California 1980
Congaree National Park South Carolina 2003
Crater Lake National Park Oregon 1902
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio 2000
Death Valley National Park California,Nevada 1994
Denali National Park and Preserve Alaska 1917
Dry Tortugas National Park Florida 1992
Everglades National Park Florida 1947
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) Montana 1910
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 1919
Grand Teton National Park Wyoming 1929
Great Basin National Park Nevada 1986
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Colorado 2004
Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Carolina,Tennessee 1934
Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas 1966
Haleakala National Park Hawaii 1916
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Hawaii 1916
Hot Springs National Park Arkansas 1921
Isle Royale National Park Michigan 1940
Joshua Tree National Park California 1994
Katmai National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Kenai Fjords National Park Alaska 1980
Kings Canyon National Park California 1940
Kobuk Valley National Park Alaska 1980
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Lassen Volcanic National Park California 1916
Mammoth Cave National Park Kentucky 1941
Mesa Verde National Park Colorado 1906
Mount Rainier National Park Washington 1899
North Cascades National Park Washington 1968
Olympic National Park Washington 1938
Petrified Forest National Park Arizona 1962
Redwood National and State Parks California 1968
Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado 1915
Saguaro National Park Arizona 1994
Sequoia National Park California 1890
Shenandoah National Park Virginia 1935
Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Dakota 1978
Virgin Islands National Park U.S. Virgin Islands 1956
Voyageurs National Park Minnesota 1975
Wind Cave National Park South Dakota 1903
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Yellowstone National Park Idaho, Montana,Wyoming 1872
Yosemite National Park California 1890
Zion National Park Utah 1919

If you want to see other National Park information, then check out ‘List of areas in the United States National Park System” on wiki.ask.com.

I, for one, confused the National Parks with the other Park Service sites/areas. Places like National Monuments, Preserves, Historic Parks, Historic Sites, Battlefields, Recreation Areas, Military, Seashores, Lakeshores, Rivers, Parkways, Scenic Trails, Cemeteries, Heritage Areas, and Protected Areas are under the USNPS jurisdiction. They all are a part of the “National Parks”, but considered independent of those 58 Parks.

So far in life, here’s my bucket list completion in the National Park System. Places visited include:

  • 18 National Parks
  • 8 National Monuments
  • 3 National Preserves
  • 2 National Historic Parks
  • 2 National Historic Sites
  • 2 National Memorials
  • 2 National Recreation Areas
  • 1 National Seashore
  • 1 National Parkway
  • 1 National Historic and Scenic Trail
  • 1 National Cemetery

So maybe I haven’t been a total recluse. I set a life-goal to visit the other 40 National Parks before I go off camping in the heavens. God willing, I hope to have another 20-30 years to get those travels made and places visited.

I guess I better get started now, huh?

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