What's the 411?

Currently, there are 411 units in the National Park system, containing parks, battlefields, historic sites, monuments, etc.  Our family and friends already know this about us, but Steve (my husband) and I are trying to get to all 411 sites (or more if they are added) in our lifetime.  This was a hobby we found together when we drove across the country, from Baltimore to Malibu and back, in 2012.  Everyone thinks of the obvious parks, like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, but what we learned in our trek across the country is that there are so many hidden gems in the park system.  This brings me to the blog...

I do post pictures on my Facebook page of all our trips, but this blog is going to serve as more of a diary rather than just posting the pictures.  The other thing I hope this blog accomplishes is that the beauty you see in the pictures of these wonderful places, and the fun experiences we have, encourages others to get away from those beach vacations and visit the awesome places our government has preserved for us.

Steve and I actually leave for Utah in just a couple days for our Spring Break trip.  Thankfully, the weather seems to be more "spring-like" than snowy there.  But this trip got me thinking because we are about to go back to our 2nd repeat park (the first repeat park was Glacier in Montana, and when you see pictures, you'll know why).  Arches National Park is our second repeat park.  In 2012, we went there in late June when it was 112 degrees outside.  I ended up with heat exhaustion and because of that, we couldn't hike to the marquee spot in the park - Delicate Arch.  We always said we would come back to Arches in the spring when the heat is much more manageable and I'm happy to say we are actually doing it!

So, stay tuned for blogs from Utah!  I'll also try to add some blogs about our past trips to catch you up on all of our really fun travels.  Bonus on this trip to Utah:  we're hitting park #200!  :-)