Destination Feature: National Parks of the American West
Reflections: On Iconic Wildscapes
It was as early as 1893 when the American Pulitzer Prize-winner Wallace Stenger claimed that our National Parks were “America’s best idea.” Indeed, in just twenty one years since the establishment of the first park, Yellowstone, the visionaries of the day knew that memorializing North America’s iconic landscapes was the right move to preserve the quickly disappearing riches of wilderness. One of my favorite pastimes is to visit the National Gallery of Art’s collections of Albert Bierstadt paintings of the same era, vast canvases where he captured the breathtaking scenes of the west in incredible detail, bringing them back east to mesmerize audiences. Artists and explorers such as Bierstadt helped bring preservation to the forefront of conversation.
Summer is high time for visiting these national treasures, and with reservations at the famous park lodges having been available (and many long since sold-out) for the past 6 months – it is also prudent that you begin planning your own National Park adventure now. When the stressors of everyday life and tumultuous events clutter your outlook, it is imperative to know that America, the Beautiful is still very much something to be celebrated, regarded, and remembered. And perhaps it is at our National Parks that this can be done best: vast spaces of peace, of beauty, of wilds that remind us of what our continent used to be and what our adventurous and diverse spirit remains...Continue Reading the Editor's Note
A Grand (Road) Tour of the National Parks of the American West
Our Most Ambitious Edition yet: Your Guide to Crossing the Western United States
View our Guide 🗝️Map: Encircling the Western US
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Stay: The Green O, Western Montana
Stay: Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge, Southern Oregon
On Location: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Kansas
"Crossing the United States, it was my first feeling of limitless expanse as if being on The Oregon Trail itself..."
Story time! 🗝️See & Stay: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Southern Utah
Stay: Dunton Hot Springs, Southwest Colorado
Resources and Intel
Intel: Pet-Friendly National Parks
The rules on where Fido can and cannot go. Read more.
Intel: Required National Park Reservations & Annual Passes
Be sure to check your reservation. Read More.
Intel: Best Timing to Visit a Park
Be wary of visiting Yellowstone or Yosemite in Winter! Read More.
Insiders: Craig and Kathy Lopus
An intrepid couple who travel the US Parks via Recreational Vehicle.
Hop on BoardMusings
Read: John Muir's 1897 Case for Saving America's Forests - The Atlantic
For Dreaming of: A Forested Land that Once Was. Read more.
Read: A Trio of Native Experiences
For Dreaming of: The Struggles and Wisdom of North America’s Original Peoples. Read more.
Watch: "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" by Ken Burns
For Dreaming of: “America’s Best Idea.” Read more.
Taste from Afar: Mitisam Cafe Cookbook
For Dreaming of: The Diversity of First Nations Cooking. Eat something good.
Beauty: Badlands National Park, South Dakota
In the infinite expanse of the dry prairies, bison huddled close to the dirt road, posing for our unexpected American ‘safari.’
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Destination Feature: Washington DC
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Destination Feature: Portugal Beyond Lisbon
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Destination Feature: Cape Town, South Africa
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