Remember Paul Simon's 1975 hit, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover? I've revised the words for today's world:
Slip on a pack, Jack / Jump off the New span, Stan
Stay away from that grizz, Liz / Pay attention to me
Catch the tour bus, Gus / Don't make no big fuss!
Just cruise on the bay, Kay / and set your soul free
There must be 60 ways to visit your National Parks! (Complete reimagined lyrics are at 60 Ways lyrics )
In the chaos wrought on our world by Covid, people are searching for a new normal, and are flocking to nature to rebalance themselves. Increasingly, they head to our National Parks - a recent Destinations Analyst survey found 55% of the public wanted to visit a National Park. This has swollen crowds so much that some popular parks (like Yosemite or Rocky Mountain) now require visitors to reserve a ticket to enter, or to enjoy a popular feature. However, other parks are largely unknown to the public, getting a small fraction of the visitors the 'Crown Jewel' parks attract.
I have identified unique ways to see each of the 63 National Parks. Starting next year, I will explore each park and blog about the adventure, letting people vicariously experience the parks - showing the diversity that the parks have to offer - and get visitors thinking of new ways to travel, new parks to see. Hopefully the unusual adventures - surfing in Alaska? Slogging through a slough in the Everglades? Hiking to a lodge not serviced by roads? - will inspire people to plan their own adventures.
When the journey is complete, I plan on producing a coffee-table-style book, highlighting the beauty of the parks, and telling the stories of the people - the rangers, the staff, and the visitors - that make up the parks.