Al Agnew Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 Speaking of bucket lists, I'm sitting here trying to think of how many national parks I've visited, and how many I want to visit in the future... Starting from the west and going east, I've been to these... Denali, Alaska Gates of the Arctic, Alaska Kenai Fjords, Alaska Olympic, Washington Mount Ranier, Washington Crater Lake, Oregon Redwood, California Joshua Tree, California Grand Canyon, Arizona Petrified Forest, Arizona Sonoran Desert, Arizona Saguaro, Arizona Zion, Utah Bryce Canyon, Utah Capital Reef, Utah Canyonlands, Utah Arches, Utah Glacier, Montana Yellowstone, Wyoming Grand Teton, Wyoming Mesa Verde, Colorado Rocky Mountain, Colorado Great Sand Dunes, Colorado Badlands, South Dakota Voyageurs, Minnesota Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee-North Carolina Shenandoah, Virginia Everglades, Florida Acadia, Maine And several national monuments...and several more national wild and scenic rivers. I gotta see Yosemite yet, and Lassen Volcanic.
fishinwrench Posted October 3, 2009 Posted October 3, 2009 There's so much I'd like to experience yet. All of my travels have (for one reason or the other) been limited to the Eastern half of the U.S. and Canada, I think I've been everywhere I want to go on the Eastern half but I've never been out West, except for a quick 3 day Tournament jaunt to lake Havasu,AZ. in which I got totally skunked.
eric1978 Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Speaking of bucket lists, I'm sitting here trying to think of how many national parks I've visited, and how many I want to visit in the future... Starting from the west and going east, I've been to these... Denali, Alaska Gates of the Arctic, Alaska Kenai Fjords, Alaska Olympic, Washington Mount Ranier, Washington Crater Lake, Oregon Redwood, California Joshua Tree, California Grand Canyon, Arizona Petrified Forest, Arizona Sonoran Desert, Arizona Saguaro, Arizona Zion, Utah Bryce Canyon, Utah Capital Reef, Utah Canyonlands, Utah Arches, Utah Glacier, Montana Yellowstone, Wyoming Grand Teton, Wyoming Mesa Verde, Colorado Rocky Mountain, Colorado Great Sand Dunes, Colorado Badlands, South Dakota Voyageurs, Minnesota Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee-North Carolina Shenandoah, Virginia Everglades, Florida Acadia, Maine And several national monuments...and several more national wild and scenic rivers. I gotta see Yosemite yet, and Lassen Volcanic. You're a lucky man, Al. I've only seen three on your list. I'm guessing some of your trips were probably meant for "research," but you saw them all the same. You live a good life.
Al Agnew Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 You're absolutely right, Eric, and don't think I don't realize how fortunate I've been. I actually saw 6 or 7 of them on my honeymoon, which was a three week jaunt throughout the West. Some I first saw before or after art shows...there was a big national show for a number of years in Seattle, and we drove up there several times, taking our time going and coming. The national parks are some of the very best places to see "real" wildlife. We have a cabin that's only a half hour from Yellowstone, so it and Grand Teton are my most visited parks...I visit them multiple times each year. I've watched wolves in Yellowstone, seen my share of bears both grizzly and black, photographed big bull moose in Grand Teton and bighorn sheep rams in Yellowstone, along with elk, mule deer, coyotes, foxes, and the other day I even got a picture of a weasel. We've done hikes up to 12 miles per day off the beaten path in both parks, fished a bunch of the trout streams in Yellowstone and the Snake River in Grand Teton. Glacier has even more spectacular scenery than Yellowstone, but wildlife watching isn't as good, except for mountain goats. Rocky Mountain is probably the very best park to see all kinds of huge bull elk--Yellowstone used to be, but the elk population seems to be down considerably there. We were in Yellowstone today. Snow was falling at times, and the animals were mostly lying low. We saw hundreds of bison, a few pronghorns, a couple herds of elk, some mule deer, and a couple eagles. And that was a disappointing day for wildlife viewing!
eric1978 Posted October 5, 2009 Posted October 5, 2009 Saw the Everglades when I was a kid, and backpacked both the Rockies and the Smokies. The Ken Burns doc has me wanting to backpack Yosemite and Sequoia really bad. I'll get there one day. Until then, I'm happy to have the Ozarks. It's better than what most people have, and I feel fortunate just to not live in Nebraska.
Members tanvat Posted October 5, 2009 Members Posted October 5, 2009 I thought the series was pretty good - like others, I thought there was a bit too much focus on Yosemite. Pivotal as it was, it just kept showing many of the same scenes over and over - but the history was/is fascinating. Parks are great in their own right, but my favorite thing about the Nat. Parks is that everyone goes to them. This leaves the adjacent Nat. Forest Wilderness Areas relatively deserted - with some boot leather and sweat, you can see the same stuff as in the parks and not see another soul for days at a time.
skeeter Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 Ken Burns' "The Civil War" was, by far, his best documentary thanks mainly to the late Shelby Foote. It was like you were there, alive, in the first person. This one on the Nat'l Parks was so boring and disappointing it was impossible to watch. The same old, same old black and white photos over and over and over glorifying Yosemite and Muir. Muir's history was interesting but after a while you've said it all ! As much as I like, enjoy and respect Ken Burns this was just too sleep inducing to bear. I thoroughly enjoy the National Parks and we are very lucky to have had forebearers with the foresight to create them but Mr. Burns, surely you can make things more interesting for the viewer ?
eric1978 Posted October 8, 2009 Posted October 8, 2009 Ken Burns' "The Civil War" was, by far, his best documentary thanks mainly to the late Shelby Foote. It was like you were there, alive, in the first person. This one on the Nat'l Parks was so boring and disappointing it was impossible to watch. The same old, same old black and white photos over and over and over glorifying Yosemite and Muir. Muir's history was interesting but after a while you've said it all ! As much as I like, enjoy and respect Ken Burns this was just too sleep inducing to bear. I thoroughly enjoy the National Parks and we are very lucky to have had forebearers with the foresight to create them but Mr. Burns, surely you can make things more interesting for the viewer ? "The Civil War" was a killer documentary. I bought it, watched it four times, then sold it since it was worth like 80 bucks. I didn't know Shelby Foote died. He was great in that.
flipper Posted October 18, 2009 Posted October 18, 2009 I totally enjoyed the parks documentary. real good show!!
ozark trout fisher Posted October 18, 2009 Posted October 18, 2009 I totally enjoyed the parks documentary. real good show!! Agreed. I thought it was awesome.
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