I have learned lessons of vast enormity as an eager student in the discipline of getting up, getting out, and getting off the interstate. The importance of sojourning with friends in faraway places, feasting upon fruit right from the Earth and adventuring through the Parks while thriving on the cheap was inherited to me by those foresighted pioneers who set aside our wild lands many years ago. There is no freedom like that of delighting in southwestern sunsets, only camping gratis, snuggling, snoozing and snoring under the stars. This is how I experience America. The parks give me something to gape at other than a computer screen. Do something other than wonder. Become something I never fathomed I could be.
Sincerely,
Denali National Park & Preserve
Home to North America's highest mountain, Denali National Park and Preserve encompasses more than 6 million acres of varied settings.
State(s): Alaska
Established: 1917
“...Sitting on a rock next to the glow of the campfire…Grubby hands scooping beans right out of the tin can...Sharing laughter with pleasant company while engaging in the ritual “pull and pass” of whiskey...The warmth of a sleeping bag amidst the chilly canyon air… It is these very moments, which countless cowboys, hobos, friends, college students and artists have already experienced moreover glorified; that leave us not at a standstill, but moving to the fore. As I leave the wilderness and Alaska, I can only think that in these times of mass consumerism and nature-deficit disorder there is nothing more essential for a healthy society than our national parks and the stewards that protect our wild lands. The facts are thus: the NPS's budget (1/14th of 1% federal spending) keeps getting slashed, seasonal rangers never get any benefits or job security and now those formerly-thought-to-be-lucky permanent rangers aren't allowed to continue the important mission of the NPS because Congress can't do the job they're elected to do. Our last, great, undeveloped places of true freedom, solitude, beauty, silence and adventure are always on the chopping block and it saddens me more than words can express. ”
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Greetings from Denali National Park & Preserve
My partner and I started traveling full-time in November 2019, with a goal of visiting all of the National Parks. So far we have gone to 46/63 parks. We met in a hiking meetup at Pinnacles National Park. Then we traveled to Alaska and visited Denali National Park. We decided…
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Greetings from Denali National Park & Preserve
When we first arrived at Denali National Park, I climbed onto my brother’s shoulders, intently focusing on the clouds in the distance, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of the peak of Mt. McKinley (Denali). However, the clouds didn’t part that day, or for the next three days. Yet in…
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