The National Park Challenge

 So I'm adding a new category to this blog, in the hopes that it might get me writing a few more things more often. It's simple enough category, and it's all about a goal... and the goal is simple: 

I want to travel to all of the National Parks in the United States in my life. 

Yup. It's that simple. And yet it's not. So, let's start with the basic. 

The Parks

There are 63 National Parks in the US as of January 1st, 2022 - when I'm writing this. I've already been to 18 of them before, though 4 I probably should go back and revisit, cause I was only driving thru quickly and didn't get a chance to do much. The remaining 14 I've seen most everything I wanted to see, and would be OK not looping back to them again without a reason. 

Of the 45 parks I still need to visit, 30 of them only require me to literally get in my truck and start driving, albeit some are a fair distance. Of the 15 left after that 7 of them require a fairly long flight to either Alaska, Hawaii, or American Samoa first - and then I can drive to the park. 4 of the remainders require a flight, a drive, and a boat trip, and the final 4 require a flight, a drive, another flight, and then an amount of backcountry work involving planes, boats, and hiking. 

My List:

So, as you can see I've got a ways to go. I think what I'm planning on doing for this blog's sake is trying to cover parks I've been to in the past, post some pictures or something, and then use that as my reference for "I've been to that park". I've never been one much for remembering my NPS 'Passport' book, but I do normally take pictures. 

Anyhoo...

That's really it for now. This is my plan. I've written it down, let's see how things go. I'll be back thruout 2022 providing updates. Most will likely be short and sweet, some might be more detailed. Good luck to me.