I have been fortunate to have visited many of our amazing national parks, from Acadia National Park in Maine, USA, in the East, down to Everglades National Park in Florida, and across the country to Joshua Tree in southern California, and Redwoods National Park in northern California.  But of all the national parks I have visited, few match the incredible raw beauty of Yosemite National Park in the Western Sierra Nevada of central California.  In Yosemite, you can find amazing vistas, wonderful hikes, six waterfalls of over 300 m or 1000 ft (including the tallest in the country, Yosemite Falls), and massive walls of granite rising over 900 m (3000 ft) from the valley floor.  I had traveled to Sacramento, CA for a scientific meeting, but managed to squeeze a few days in California after the meeting to explore Yosemite, and Sequoia National Parks.  As so often seems to be the case, I did not have enough time, but even a few days wandering around these very special landscapes is better than nothing.

Yosemite was first established as a protected area by Abraham Lincoln when he signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864.  John Muir, along with others, helped lobby for a much larger protected area, which was finally created in 1890, though the State of California retained control of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove (of giant sequoia trees) until 1906.  Today, the Yosemite includes over 3,000 square km (almost 1,200 sq. mi) of incredible scenery, a complex and diverse landscape of mountains, steep cliffs and granite walls, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and, the Maripose Grove of giant sequoias. Almost 95% of the park is designated as wilderness.  Yosemite National Park is also a very busy place.  In 2019, Yosemite was the 5th most visited national park with about 4.5 million visitors.  Fortunately, most visitors spend most of their time in the 18 sq. km (7 sq. mi) of Yosemite Valley, where there are shuttles, shops, a hotel, etc.  I tried to spend my time hiking and taking photographs.  I was unable to get reservations for a campsite at one of the campgrounds in the Valley, which includes Camp 4, made famous by the rock climbers who often spend weeks camping here and climbing the incredible granite walls which really make Yosemite special (check out movie "Valley Uprising" for a history of rock climbing in Yosemite).  I camped in Wawona Campground near the South Entrance to the park, though I spent most of my time in the Valley.  The hiking is amazing in the Park, with over 1,300 km (800 mi) of trails, just be ready to do some climbing.  One day I hiked the Yosemite Falls Trail all the way to the top, 11.6 km (7.2 mi) of mostly switchbacks, climbing 825 m (2700 ft) from the valley floor near Camp 4.  The hike was a challenge, but the views, even some along the hike, were amazing.  In addition, I wandered around the Valley, hiked a lot more, took a spin on my mountain bike, and even had a beer at the iconic hotel, The Ahwahee.  I did not get to see the Mariposa Grove, which is actually very near the South Entrance, as the area was closed for a large-scale restoration project during my visit in 2016.

For many, Yosemite is best known for its massive granite walls, including El Capitan, with 914 m (3,000 ft) of near vertical granite.  Yosemite is one of the most famous rock climbing destinations in the world.  El Capitan, The Nose route, was first climbed in 1946 by Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore.  It took them 47 days.  The first free ascent of a major route on El Capitan was not The Nose, but the Salathe Wall, which was free climbed by Todd Skinner and Paul Piana in 1988.  The Nose was first free climbed by Lynn Hill in 1993.  Then on the 3rd of June, 2017, Alex Honnold completed the first free solo climb of El Capitan, the Freerider line, in 3 hours and 56 minutes, documented in the award-winning movie, Free Solo.  Honnold again made history, this time with a partner, Tommy Caldwell, when they set the speed climbing record on El Capitan, The Nose, on June 6, 2018, 1:58:07.  I climbed a bit in my youth, so I can at least appreciate, and marvel at these accomplishments, and the impressiveness of El Capitan, simply a massive wall of beautiful granite.  The beauty and grandeur of this place really has no rival, at least not from what I have seen and experienced.  Yellowstone is amazing, so is Glacier and Rocky Mountains National Parks, and many other parks and protected areas scattered around the US.  But there is something about Yosemite, especially the iconic Tunnel Views when first arrive in the Valley from the South, which is simply amazing, I need to go back.

There are 62 national parks administered by the National Park Service (NPS), the parks we are celebrating this week, amazing places for outdoor adventure.  But in addition to the parks, there are national seashores (10 of them) which are also administered by the NPS, including one of my most favorite places in the US, Cape Lookout National Seashore.  Cape Lookout National Seashore, 56 miles of mostly deserted barrier islands along the coast of North Carolina in the US, is really an extension of the Outer Banks, which includes another national seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  Cape Lookout was designated a National Seashore, administered by the Park Service, in 1966, though it had been visited by locals for decades.  Cape Lookout is separated from the mainland by Core Sound, and is made up of three barrier islands, North Core Banks, which includes Portsmouth Village (which is now essentially a separate island), South Core Banks, and Shackleford Banks.  The last inhabitants of Portsmouth Village departed in 1971, but many of the buildings which made up the village have been preserved; daily ferry service provides access.  Shackleford Banks is best known because of the presence of a herd of wild horses called Banker horses, a breed of wild horse found on a few barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks.  Shackleford Banks also supports the only true maritime forests on the Seashore, and is easily accessible by daily ferry service from either Beaufort, or Harkers Island.  Or, you can take your own power boat out, beach it on the shore, get stuck for hours, like we did one year.

I have spent most of my time on South Core Banks, accessible by kayak, as I did one year, or by ferry out of Davis, NC.  While both North and South Core Banks are undeveloped and uninhabited, both have a small clusters of primitive cabins for rent, maintained by the Park Service.  Camping on the beach is free, though the ferry will cost you.  And since you can drive on the beach, finding a nice place to pitch your tent or park your 4WD camper is easy, just have to watch for turtle nests and nesting birds.  Beach camping can be tough, it can be hot, windy, and you get sand everywhere, in your tent, in your coffee, in your hair, and in every human orifice.  But it it so worth it, waking up on what often seem like a desolate beach, looking out at the Atlantic Ocean, waves crashing on the shore, and often birds, everywhere.  The ferry out of Davis brings you to a dock at the Great Island Cabin Area, where you will find a small park office, which only sells ice, gas and non-highway diesel, and a cluster of 26 primitive cabins.  You then simply have to deflate the tires on your truck down to about 18 psi, lock in the 4WD, and head for the beach.  There simply is nothing like camping on a beach, especially one with so few people.  I always went during the summer, and while it can get busy on weekends, I always felt almost alone, especially late afternoon and evening when the beach traffic subsides.  The real busy season is during the fall, when the red drum are running.  Cape Lookout, while popular with folks like me, is best known as a fishing destination, and during the fall, the red drum are running and every cabin is booked.  It is not uncommon for fishermen to haul 40 lb drum out of the surf.  But, late summer and fall is hurricane season.  The islands are frequently hit by hurricanes, including Hurricane Dorian which struck in September 2019; cabins at Long Point on North Core Banks are still closed due to damage caused by Dorian.

I have been to Cape Lookout many times, camping mostly though I have stayed in a cabin for one night before catching an early ferry off the island a couple of years (cabin #24 is wonderful).  While the cabins do not have any electricity, there is a stove and hot showers (oh boy!) powered by small propane tanks.  I prefer to camp, drift off to sleep with the sound of waves crashing on the shore, and wake to brilliant sunrises over the Atlantic.  Summer storms can be scary, especially when in a small tent, sand is everywhere, and it is always windy.  But, it is challenge that makes for a more meaningful experience, a more meaningful adventure.  I love Cape Lookout, a very special place.

​   

I first became interested in the Grand Canyon long before I was finally able to visit in the summer of 2017, after reading a book by Colin Fletcher.  Colin Fletcher is probably best known as the author of the Complete Walker, the first comprehensive "backpacker's bible" which I used as my guide to life in the wilds for many years.  But it was after reading Fletcher's The Man Who Walked Through Time (1963), about his solo, unsupported hike of the entire length of the canyon through the park, mostly in the canyon, that I longed to visit the Grand Canyon, "The Big Ditch", really see for myself what Colin Fletcher experienced during his hike.  And, once I was finally there, able to peer over the edge into this monstrous canyon, I not only more fully appreciated the insanity of what Colin Fletcher did, but also appreciated the true awesomeness of this spectacle.  The canyon, created by the Colorado River, and almost 70 million years of erosion, is 446 km (277 river mi) long, up to 29 km (18 mi) wide, and 1.6 km (1 mi) deep.  This is a impressive place, just the scale of which takes your breath away, an awesome product of nature. 

Grand Canyon National Park was created in 1919, and is huge, containing 4,926.08 square km (1,217,262 acres), diverse biologically and geologically, and busy, very busy.  In 2019, the Park was again the second busiest (after the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina), with 5.97 million visitors.  The park is divided into the South and the North Rims, and there are big differences between the two areas.  The South Rim is more accessible, and much busier, and has a much drier environment.  The North Rim is higher in elevation, wetter, colder (with much more snow during the winter), and with more vegetation.  The North Rim is also not nearly as busy as the South Rim, but still with plenty to do.  I visited both, but only camped along the South Rim at Desert View Campground, a great campground with 50 first-come, first-served campsites (I stayed at site 24, wonderful!), about 40 km (25 mi) east of the Visitor's Center.  This drive is actually great, lots of pull-offs, vistas and short hikes.  While I stayed along the South Rim, I biked out to Hermit's Point from the Visitor's Center, hiked part of the Rim Trail, and spent most of an afternoon exploring the rim of the canyon not far from the campground, including a visit to the Watchtower at sunset.  The North Rim was much more chill, and the campground was full, but I found a fantastic little campsite in the Kaibab National Forest just north of the Park, quiet, and free.  We (me and my van) camped there two nights.  I spent a whole day exploring the North Rim,  I hiked out to Bright Angel Point, and hiked the loop made up of the Transept and Bridle Path Trails.  I also drove out to Point Imperial, and even out to Cape Royal, hiked around a bit, took a lot of photos, absolutely gorgeous views.  I definitely did not spend enough time in this park, and did not get anywhere near the river, the hike down would probably kill me, so then to have to hike back up, nope, no way.  I guess I could have hopped on a mule for the ride down, and back up, but that just felt like cheating.  Next time.  I really enjoyed my time here, though as is most often the case, I did not have enough time to really explore what Grand Canyon National Park has to offer, you probably need a week, if not more.  But I was always on the move, other places to visit and explore, and always too much time behind the wheel of my van. 

​And while you're in the area, and especially when you drive from the South Rim up around to the North Rim, be sure to stop at the Navajo Bridge on the Colorado River, before the river heads into the Canyon.  The river is beautiful there, and I was fortunate to see a couple of California condors, one of the rarest birds in the world, flying over the canyon not far from the bridge.  Apparently there is a condor nest in the cliffs above the river.  Also, if you happen to be heading into Page, AZ, maybe on your way to the parks in southern Utah, be sure to stop at Horseshoe Bend, a beautiful, though very busy spot along the Colorado River, beautiful.

​

Today is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, with the first Earth Day being celebrated on this date in 1970.  Even in these challenging and difficult times, it is always important to never forget about our Mother Earth, she of spectacular beauty and splendor, supporting us, and millions of other species, and containing natural wonders just waiting to be explored, to be experienced.  I have been very fortunate over the years to visit some amazing places, awesome places filled with amazing landscapes, breathtaking beauty, and incredible biodiversity.  But I am worried, very worried, about the future of the natural world.  We are in trouble, and the coronavirus is only one problem we face today.

On this day, I am reminded of a quote by David Orr, part of which I often included in my lectures in classes such as Environmental Science and Conservation Biology. 
David Orr (1991, part of an essay adapted from a commencement address): "If today is a typical day on planet Earth, we will lose 116 square miles of rainforest, or about an acre a second.  We will lose another 72 square miles to encroaching deserts, as a result of human mismanagement and overpopulation.  We will lose 40 to 100 species and no one knows whether the number is 40 or 100.  Today, the human population will increase by 250,000.  And today we will add 2,700 tons of chloroflourocarbons to the atmosphere and 15 million tons of carbon.  Tonight, the Earth will be a little hotter, its waters more acidic, and the fabric of life more threadbare."

It has been 50 years since the first Earth Day, and 30 years since David Orr uttered the words above as part of a commencement address to  the graduating class of 1990 at Arkansas College.  Where do we stand today? How much progress have we made in reducing pollution, protecting biodiversity and habitats, and limiting human population growth?  While some progress has been made, the answer to this question is that we are not doing well, and the situation is actually much worse, even dire, when you look at data.

• According to the World Wildlife Fund, we are currently losing 18.7 million acres of forest annually, or 51,000 acres per day.  In the Amazon basin of South America, 17% of the most diverse forest habitats on the planet have been destroyed since the first Earth Day 50 years ago.
• We are also losing habitats to desertification. According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, 12 million hectares (46,332 square mi) of arable land is lost to drought and desertification each year.
• Since 1900, the mean abundance of native species in terrestrial habitats has declined by at least 20%, and the situation for aquatic species is even worse.  By 2019, approximately 1 million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction in the near future according to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).
• Globally, the human population is adding 220,000 people per day, over 150 people per minute.
• We have made progress in terms of the emissions of CFCs, thanks to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty signed in 1987, designed to phase out emissions of CFCs.  And while emissions have decreased significantly for years, until 2013, when emissions began to grow.  And we are not doing well at all when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.
• As combustion of fossil fuels continues at an alarming rate, 2016 was the warmest year on record (according to NASA and NOAA), 2019 was the second warmest on record, and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have occurred since 2000.  February 2020 was the second warmest February on record, and the same for March.  And so far, 2020 to date (January through March) is the second hottest year on record.  Global energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide in 2019 was estimated to be approximately 33 gigatons, or 9.041 tons per day.
• In summary, we are not doing very well, and some might argue, that we have made very little progress in protecting natural habitats and all the species which call these habitats home since David Orr spoke the words above, and maybe in some ways, even since the first Earth Day 50 years ago today.

The situation is made even worse when you look at what the Trump administration is doing to roll back environmental protections in the US.  For example, according to the New York Times, the Trump administration has rolled back 95 environmental rules and regulations since he took office.  They are attempting to withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, they have lifted the ban on drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, they have changed the way the Endangered Species Act is applied to protect threatened species, and they have rolled back if not totally eliminated pollution protections for freshwater including many wetlands and temporary streams.  We are moving in the wrong direction in this country, and some of the damage inflicted on natural habitats will be permanent.  This assault on our natural habitats and biodiversity cannot continue, must not be allowed to continue.  What is bad for the environment is bad for us, and we have known this for years.

The time is now for bold, decisive action to protect the Earth, and all those who call this planet home, including us.  "Nature does not need us, but we need nature."   The clock is ticking, now is the time for action, innovation, inspiration, and significant change.  The world is now suffering through a brutal viral outbreak, one which has already killed almost 180,000 people worldwide.  And the more we learn about the virus, its origins, the more we understand how our impacts on the natural world, on other species, is in part to blame.  We are living in difficult and scary times, but now is not the time to get distracted, complacent.  The next environmental disaster is already here, climate change, and the global impacts of the damage which will result will make our current problem seem almost trivial.  Please, today, don't forget our "Spaceship Earth", our Mother Earth, who supports us, sustains us, and gives so much awe-inspiring beauty and joy.  Please celebrate Earth Day, in any way that you can.  Let us work together to not only keep one another safe and healthy, but also do the same for planet Earth as well.

​

I threw these three parks together in one post as, well, I visited one after the other, all of which are in southern Utah.  I started at Capital Reef National Park, before moving due west as the crow flies (but not as the Sprinter travels) to Canyonlands, which is only 16 to 24 km (~10 to 15 miles) southwest of Arches National Park.  Arches is just up the road from Moab, Utah, hot place when I arrived in the summer of 2017.  I mountain biked late one morning just north of town, air temperature was just over 40 degrees C (105 degrees F), brutal but fun.  These are three national parks all within an easy days ride of one another, different but the same, beautiful, majestic, and raw.  All three parks are on at least part of the Colorado Plateau, "high desert", so not much rain, but lots of mesas, buttes, canyons and rocks.  Oh, I do miss the desert.

Like many national parks, Capital Reef was first designated as a national monument, in 1937.  And while it took quite a few years, Capital Reef became a national park in 1971.  While not a huge park at 978.95 square km (241,904 acres), the combination of canyons, domes, towers, cliffs and arches offer much to explore.  Much of the park is dominated by the Waterpocket Fold, a huge geologic feature, a rocky spine 160 km (nearly 100 mi) long, part of which is preserved in the park.  The rocks of the Fold are over 65 million years old, the result of a chunk of the earth's crust being thrust up by tectonic activity.  I camped here one night, in the Fruita Historic District along the Fremont River, biked the Scenic Drive until I ran out of pavement, hiked, explored, and thoroughly enjoyed Capital Reef.  This was a park which was never really on my "must see" list, but I really had fun here, though hot and dusty, Capital Reef is a hidden gem.

Canyonland National Park, .... I did not spend enough time in, and round, this beautiful park.  The park is actually pretty large, 1,366.2 square km (337,598 acres), and is divided into four districts, The Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and the rivers, the Colorado and Green Rivers which join together in the park, the Confluence.  The rivers are what makes this park, as they carved out a complex landscape of canyons, mesas and buttes, and the rivers provide life-giving water to the diverse flora and fauna of yet another desert park.  I camped only one night in the park, the Island in the Sky (Willow Flat) Campground, a small campground with only 12, first-come, first-served campsites.  And, the campground is within walking distance of the Green River Overlook, spectacular in the late afternoon sun.  I also hiked out to Murphy Point, it was hot, and I was glad that I had plenty of water.  Oh, and potable water is only available at the Visitor Center.  I would definitely like to get back to Canyonlands one day, maybe during the off-season, fall or winter, get into the backcountry and really explore.

And finally, I got to visit Arches National Park, a very busy place with over 1.6 million visitors a year (2018).  The park is actually pretty small (310.3 square km, 76,679 acres), at least compared to Canyonlands, and is very accessible to most people.  The only campground in the park, in the Devil's Garden area was closed when I visited, as were many pull-offs.  But I still was able to hike and explore the many rock and sandstone arches for which the park gets its name.  There are over 2000 natural stone arches in the park, along with all kinds of other rock formations.  Devil's Garden has a campground (51 primitive sites), and lots of hiking trails, most of which take you to a diverse array of beautiful arches, from the longest, Landscape Arch (light opening 93.3 m, ~306 ft), to the smaller, ground-level Pine Tree Arch, at the end of a side trail.  The park was very busy when I was there, traffic was actually bad, but again, I saw, and photographed lots, even if I was never really alone anywhere in the park.  Again, Arches is worthy of another visit, but definitely in the off-season.

John Muir, considered by many to be the "Father of the National Parks", was born on the 21st of April, 1838.  It is important during National Park Week to celebrate his life and legacy.  John Muir co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892, and was instrumental in the creation of Yosemite as a national park in 1890.  Muir fell in love with Yosemite, and it is easy to understand why.  John Muir, writer, activist, environmentalist, philosopher, and explorer died in California in 1914 at the age of 76.  His legacy lives on, in the Sierra Club, and in Yosemite National Park, a very special place.  These are unsettled and difficult times, but maybe also a good time to think about the words of John Muir.
"Come to the woods, for here is rest. There is no repose like that of the deep green woods. Here grow the wallflower and violet. The squirrel will come and sit upon your knee, the logcock will wake you in the morning. Sleep in forgetfulness of all ill. Of all the upness accessible to mortals, there is no upness comparable to the mountains." ("John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir", 1938) 

​

I was very fortunate to visit Joshua Tree National Park in southern California in March, 2019, on my way back from a month spent wandering around the Baja, Mexico.  Joshua Tree started as a national monument in 1936 before becoming a national park in 1994.  Currently, the park includes 320,763 hectares (792,623 acres) of desert habitat, at the confluence of part of the Colorado Desert with the southern end of the Mojave Desert.  While the landscape is definitely desert, Joshua Tree supports an amazing amount of biodiversity, including almost 750 species of vascular plants, annuals, trees and shrubs, and cacti.  Besides the awesomeness of just being a desert, the area offers great recreational opportunities, especially hiking and climbing.  The area is a mecca for rock climbers, with over 8000 climbing routes and 2000 boulder problems; Joshua is a world-class climbing destination.  I camped three nights at the Ryan Campground, one of the first-come first-served campgrounds; my site, #10, was great, even if a tad busy with a short sport route bolted up a nice rock wall at the back of the site.  It was spring in the desert when I visited, cool almost cold at night, but always sunny and warm during the day, definitely shorts weather.  A superbloom of spring annuals was underway in parts of the park, and the joshua tree itself was flowering.  Joshua Tree has suffered some abuse of late, especially during the government shutdown which ended in late January just before my visit.  There are so many special places to visit in the US, including many national parks.  Joshua Tree is one of those special places, the vegetation, the animals, the rocks, and the climbers having fun on those rocks, beautiful place worthy of a visit.  Put this park on your list.

​

National Park Week began yesterday, 18 April 2020, and runs through the 26th.  And unfortunately, most national parks around the US are closed, strange and difficult times.  But, this does not mean that we should not still celebrate "America's best idea", even if our visits must be mostly virtual these days.  Let us celebrate National Park Week regardless of whether we can visit these amazing landscapes, beautiful and majestic, filled with incredible species and habitat diversity, in person, or if only in photographs of past adventures.  These are special places.  I have been fortunate enough to visit 22 of the 62 national parks scattered around the country (plus a bunch of national seashores, monuments, lakeshores).  Over the next week, I hope to show you some of what I experienced and witnessed at a few national parks I have been able to visit, my way of celebrating National Park Week, but also my way of escaping our current situation, getting out to revisit some of our incredible national parks.

And of course, we have to start our visual journey at the beginning, our first national park, Yellowstone.  Yellowstone is huge, diverse, both in terms of species, and in terms of physical and geologic landscapes.  Yellowstone is all about geothermal activity, and is much more than simply geysers.  This is a busy place, though because of its size, it is relatively easy to escape the crowds, and explore.  You must visit Yellowstone National Park at some point in your life, it is a must, it is worth it.