Photo Essay: National Park Pass

Before taking two of my friends on a two week travel extravaganza, I did the one thing that had to be done. I bought my first national park pass, $80 via the USGS website. I had done some traveling in my time, but my two friends were from Florida. People from South Florida don't usually take road trips, since basically it takes a full day just to get out of their own state. They could both count on one hand how many states they had been too. Ricardo being from Puerto Rico, and Rina from Peru, I felt it was my American duty to show these two around a bit. I do this a lot. I can't stand it when i meet someone new and realize they have no traveling under their belt. People that have no want or need to travel I honestly cannot even befriend. It's just in my nature to get out and not stay in one place for too long. See The World, as the band Gomez sings.

Before we took off, it came to my attention event though i had been to three countries and most of the states, that I had not actually stepped foot in a National Park. I blame this bit on my family of course, growing up we were more of a Dollywood type of travel caravan. It's in all honesty what we could afford, which is completely okay with me as by the time i came along (my mothers 4th and last child) at which she was only 25 years old. You cannot do much traveling with four kids at the age of 25 I'm sure, let alone travel all over the United States. I'm actually really okay with it because I would rather travel in my adult life and remember all the places I have been. I'm sure if my family traveled when i was young I wouldn't have remembered any of it.

First things first, Google maps. I go straight to this before i plan any trip. I mark the general cities i want to visit Zoom in to look at what national parks are along the way. After i get my general route down i then go to roadtripamerica.com and check out the state maps and see what kind of quirky things will be along the way. I then go to emporis.com and check out what kind of cool buildings are in each city I'm visiting. I figure out how long the trip will take, how much the cost of gas will be, the mileage, and when we will be driving and where we will be sleeping. I print out pictures of all locations, make an itinerary in a leather bound book and send it off to whoever is going with me on vacation.

Now Ricardo and Rina were shocked to see their books come in the mail. When they looked through them they realized that we would be driving through 18 states, over 5,000 miles total and it would take only 2 1/2 weeks. We ended up visiting over 15 national parks and monuments on that trip, and since 2007 my friends and I have been completely addicted to seeing National Parks. There is a reason this land was put aside by our countrymen to make national parks. It is some of the most beautiful scenery you will ever see. So get out there, buy a park pass and see as many as you can, you will not regret it. My current plans are to sell every materialistic thing in my life that I don't need and head out west to start working in national parks. A little bit here a little bit there, and then soon everywhere.