The Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a spectacular sight to behold, with its virtual rainbow of colors found in the walls of the canyon. But the most amazing sight is not, however, the canyon itself. It is at night that you really appreciate the beauty of the natural world. It is the fact that you are at between 7,000 and 8,000 feet and there is little pollution around. You take a drive out to one of the distant viewing points, and wait... maybe 15 minutes or so. There are no sounds, just the sound of the wind russling through the trees, or a distant coyote or bird calling out. But besides that, you hear and see no human presence. After the 15 minute wait, you're eyes have started to adjust, and you look up. You wonder if you are hallucinating, or have died and gone to heaven. Above you, billions upon billions of stars have appeared, the Milky Way is visible from horizon to horizon. Now you do realize how small and insignificant the Earth really is. You just sit down on a rock by the rim, looking up. After awhile, your neck gets tired and you lay back on the ground, its a bit chilly this evening, but you don't notice the cold. Instead you are lost in your own thoughts and wanderings through the endless stars above you. Most nights it is quite easy to see shooting stars flying overhead, and you have stopped counting the number you have seen this night. Then maybe your thoughts go to past explorers... perhaps some Spanish Conquistador sat on this very rock, dumfounded by this giant canyon in front of them, and also looked up at the stars. But the explorers of the past probably didn't think too much of the sky like that, there were no city lights back then, every night was as special as this. They just didn't believe it to be special because thats the way it was every night. The thing is, its not that way anymore, you will rarely find a place this remote that you can have no city lights visible, with air this clear. So I ask you to sit there, and look up when you visit the Grand Canyon, and realize why we need to protect the enviroment.
The first National Park founded in the United States, or even the world, was Yellowstone National Park. It was founded in 1872 by an act of Congress to protect the largest concentrations of hydrothermal features found in the world. It is almost ironic that 128 years later that the park is not known mainly for its geologic features, but for its diverse, wild populations of animals. It is thought to have the single most diverse amount of animals found in the world.
The rest of the 19th Century did not see the formation of many more national parks or monumnets, but quickly after the turn of the century, it became quite clear that something had to be done to help preserve both natural and historical landmarks for the enjoyment of our kids. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter, as he was ready to leave office, shocked Congress and much of the world with the massive addition of nearly 10 national parks or preserves to the Alaskan wilderness. This is only matched by President Clinton's recent addition of Wilderness areas and national monuments all over the West.
It is the goal of this website to provide people with a plethora of information and history on National Parks and Monuments found in the Western United States (including Alaska). Most of the information presented is first hand knowledge and experience, with some information (mainly history) taken from other sources. This site is a not for profit website, with all the fees paid for out of my own pocket. It is my goal to encourage people to visit our national parks and enjoy them, because if we do not instill in our children the beauty and importance of these parks, they will not be around for our grandchildren.
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Alot of information on this website is taken from government websites and are for informational purposes only.
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