Happy Birthday National Park Service!

Arches National Park 2008

Arches National Park 1993

Happy 100th birthday to the National Park Service!  On this date in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill that created the National Park Service.  There are currently 413 units, 59 of which are designated national parks, overseen by the NPS.  If you know me or you've read my other travel posts, you probably know that I've been to all of the lower 48 United States (one day I'll check Alaska and Hawaii off my list).  Many of these family adventures included countless stops at NPS sites, including nearly 30 national parks.  

I became a Junior Ranger at Mesa Verde in 1993.  I purchased my first (because I now have two) Passport to Your National Parks at Fort Sumter in 1997.   I became a pro at stamping my passport and only wish I had it earlier in life! When I interned for the Indiana Department of Transportation in 2008, I used to take my lunch and eat it at the George Rogers Clark Memorial in Vincennes, Indiana. !  In 2011, I visited Fort Barrancas where my great great grandfather was stations during the Civil War.

Fort Sumter 1997

Sometimes visits are unplanned so you have to improvise.

Fort Barrancas, Gulf Islands National Seashore, 2011

One of the things I always do now when planning my own vacations is check to see what NPS sites are around where I'm going to be traveling.  I have always enjoyed their natural beauty, their immense history, and the unique memories created with my family at the parks.Here's to another 100 years!  Here's a few of my favorite snapshots from visits.  If you want to see a few more, check out my album of some pictures over the years.  Thanks to my momma who sent me some of our old pictures.  We have many, many more but these are the few we have digitized.

Niagra Falls 1992

Niagra Falls 2016

I put together this list a few years ago of the NPS sites I've visited. 

National Parks 

Arcadia National Park

Arches National Park

Badlands National Park  

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park 

Bryce Canyon National Park 

Canyonlands National Park 

Capitol Reef National Park   

Death Valley National Park  

Glacier National Park  

Grand Canyon National Park 

Grand Teton National Park  

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Hot Springs National Park 

Kings Canyon National Park  

Mesa Verde National Park 

Mount Rainier National Park  

Olympic National Park 

Petrified Forest National Park 

Redwood National and State Parks 

Rocky Mountain National Park 

Saguaro National Park 

Sequoia National Park 

Theodore Roosevelt National Park  

Yellowstone National Park 

Yosemite National Park

Zion National Park

National Monuments

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument

Cedar Breaks National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

Fort Sumter National Monument**

Hovenweep National Monument

Montezuma Castle National Monument

Natural Bridges National Monument

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Statue of Liberty National Monument

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Walnut Canyon National Monument

Wupatki National Monument

National Preserves

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

National Historic Parks

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

Boston National Historical Park

Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park

Colonial National Historical Park

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

Independence National Historical Park

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

Minute Man National Historical Park

Natchez National Historical Park

Saratoga National Historical Park

Valley Forge National Historical Park

National Historic Sites

Jamestown National Historic Site

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site

National Battlefield Parks

Manassas National Battlefield Park

National Military Parks

Gettysburg National Military Park

National Battlefields

Antietam National Battlefield

Petersburg National Battlefield

National Memorials

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memoria

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Lincoln Memorial 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

United States Navy Memoria

United States Marine Corps War Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Washington Monument (Didn't make it up in the monument)

World War II Memorial

Wright Brothers National Memorial  

National Recreations Areas

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

National Seashores

Cape Cod National Seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore

National Lakeshores

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

National Parkways

Blue Ridge Parkway

Colonial Parkway

George Washington Memorial Parkway 

Natchez Trace Parkway 

National Historic and Scenic Trails

Natchez Trace Trail

Old Spanish National Historic Trail

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

National Cemeteries

Antietam National Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery

Fredericksburg National Cemetery

Gettysburg National Cemetery

Other NPS Protected Areas and Administrative Groups

National Mall and Memorial Parks

White House (Never toured it)