Happy 100th Birthday to National Park Service

On August 25th, 2016 the U.S. National Park Service celebrates 100 years. We want to help celebrate the #NPS100 Birthday with our own Top Ten Lesser Known National Parks that are all featured in our educational board game Snapshots Across America.

#1-Mammoth Cave National Park
Kentucky

Our Top Lesser Known National Park is the largest discovered cave system in the entire world, with new passageways being constantly discovered. Archaeological evidence that has been found show that natives explored parts of the cave at least 4,000 years ago. Numerous guided tours take visitors to different sections of the cave, as well as additional "wild cave tours" are available to the advanced spelunkers.

Mammoth Cave National Park Website:

http://www.nps.gov/maca/index.htm

#2-Everglades National Park
Florida

The Everglades National Park protects the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. It provides a critical natural habitat for many endangered species including the Manatee, American Crocodile and the Florida Panther. Visitors that come to the 1.5 million acre park enjoy hiking, biking, canoeing or tours through the many different habitat areas.

Everglades National Park Website:

http://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm

#3-Mesa Verde National Park
Colorado

Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. It preserves over 4000 archaeological sites including over 600 cliff dwellings and is the largest archaeological site in the entire United States. The structures made out of sandstone blocks using adobe mortar have been fairly well preserved due to being built under the protecting cliff overhangs called alcoves, which also protected those who lived in the dwellings. 

Mesa Verde National Park Website:

http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

#4-Kenai Fjords National Park
Alaska

Kenai Fjords National Park was established in 1980 on the Kenai Peninsula on the Southern central coast of Alaska. It contains 38 identified glaciers, which have carved out the many rugged ocean inlets. One of the popular activities are cruises that offer views of the glaciers and many aquatic wildlife including seals, sea lions, porpoises, humpback whales and orcas.

Kenai Fjords National Park Website:

http://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm

#5-Mount Rainier National Park
Washington

Mount Rainier National Park was the 5th U.S. National 

and establish in 1899. Mt. Rainier is an active stratovolcano that is 14,410 ft. high and is currently covered by over 25 glaciers. 97% of the Park is protected as wilderness, but it is popular for hiking and mountaineering.

Mount Rainier National Park Website

http://www.nps.gov/mora/index.htm

#6-Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is also celebrating 100 years this August having been established August 1, 1916 and is one of the tourist attractions featured in the educational board-game Snapshots Across America. It is home to one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and extends from sea level up to at elevation of over 13,000 ft high.

#5-Mount Rainier National Park
Washington

#7-Glacier National Park, Montana

Native Glacier National Park, with just over 1 million acres, is home to 26 current glaciers, and offers some of the most rugged mountain terrain in the U.S. It is well known for its majestic 53 mile long "Going to the Sun Road" which takes travelers through the heart of the Park, as well as hiking and back-packing trails.

Glacier National Park Website:

http://www.nps.gov/glac/index.htm

#8-Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas

Native Americans had visited the Hot Springs for thousands of years before Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited the area in 1541. It was first established by the United States Congress in 1832 as the Hot Springs Reservation as the first Federally protected natural area in the U.S. Numerous spas and bath-houses still offer soothing hot springs. It is one of the attractions that players can "visit" as they travel around the game-board map of the United States in the educational game Snapshots Across America.

Hot Springs National Park Website:
http://www.nps.gov/hosp/index.htm

#9-Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

You can "visit" popular attractions like Crater Lake National Park by traveling across a
game-board map of the United States "by car, train, boat or plane".

Scientists say that over 7,000 years ago, a large volcano blew up in an eruption that was approximately 150 times bigger that Mount St. Helens in 1980. A lake formed in the collapsed crater and is one of the most pure water lakes in the world.

Crater Lake National Park Website
http://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm

#10-Theodore Roosevelt National Park

North Dakota.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park is featured  on one of the game cards for
the educational board game Snapshots Across America

In 1903 John Muir gave then President Theodore Roosevelt a tour of Yosemite National Park. President Roosevelt, after experiencing Yosemite and several other National Parks that year, would become one of the greatest political advocates and a primary supporter of  the National Parks. He later signed legislation that established five additional National Parks, and designated 18 National Monuments during his Presidency.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park recognizes the Ranches he established there before becoming President, and honors his accomplishments as the President who helped build what would become the foundation for the National Park Service.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Website:
http://www.nps.gov/thro

Snapshots Spotlight: Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite from Andrew Julian on Vimeo.

Snapshots Spotlight:

Yosemite National Park

I wanted to share a video I came across that really shows the “Heart and Soul” of one of America’s Greatest National Parks. Yosemite Valley was designated by Congress in 1864 as a protected land area under the control of California as the World’s first official State Park. Yosemite National Park was later established in 1890, and was the third most popular National Park in America with 3,882,642 visitors during 2014.



While I have visited several of America’s great National Parks, I still haven't been to Yosemite. But after seeing the grandeur of this magnificent video by Andrew Julian, it is definitely now on my "bucket list" to do some day.

There is no naration. Just the power of images of some of the greatest scenery in the United States... set to music. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but a video like this is worth many more. I love the fact that not only does this story show amazing landscapes, mountains, lakes and waterfalls, but people enjoying nature. I think it is summed up by a quote from John Muir, one of the greatest proponents of Yosemite National Park, and a co-founder of the Sierra Club.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people
are beginning to find out that going to the mountains
 is going home; that wildness is a necessity;
and that mountain parks and reservations are useful
 not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers,
but as fountains of life.”

John Muir, "Our National Parks", 1901

If you love the beauty of nature and the outdoors, hopefully this will be one of the most soul inspiring stories, lasting only 3 minutes and 19 seconds you will ever see on the internet.

Yosemite National Park is one of the many popular tourist attractions featured in the educational geography game, "Snapshots Across America".

Follow our blog for more Snapshots Spotlights about the many great tourist attractions featured in the educational boardgame, Snapshots Across America. 

For more information about Snapshots Across America, and the new updated edition to be release this coming Summer 2015, follow us on Twitter or Facebook

Snapshots Spotlights: US National Parks

Visitors observing the magnificent grandeur of the Grand Canyon National Park from
Mather Point on the South Rim. National Park Service Photo by Michael Quinn

Snapshots Spotlight 

US National Parks: An American Treasure

In the 2009 PBS documentary series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns eloquently describe our National Parks: “They are a treasure house of nature’s superlatives---84 million acres of some of the most stunning landscapes anyone has ever seen…. But they are more than a collection of rocks and trees and inspirational scenes from nature…. [They are] where countless American families have forged an intimate connection with their land—and then passed it on to their children”.¹

The first concept for setting aside large preservations of land of natural and cultural beauty is attributed to American painter and writer, George Catlin. During the 1830’s, Catlin travelled extensively through much of North America on an endeavor to capture the images on canvas of North American Indians and the wilderness they lived in. In 1842 Catlin published writings chronicling his adventures and suggested that the government should preserve what he called “a Nations Park” that would preserve and showcase the “pristine beauty and wildness… where the world could see for ages to come”.^2,3

Yosemite National Park. The view of El Capitan on the left, Bridal Viel Falls to the right and Half Dome in the distant center.
Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0.

     As other travelers, painters and writers explored and witnessed the spectacular scenery of the expanding United States, the interest in preserving the majestic natural beauty of those areas grew. The first such area was Yosemite Valley, which in 1864, California Senator John Conness sponsored legislation which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. That set aside Yosemite Valley as a protected land and under the control of the State of California, would become America’s first designated State Park. Later the Yosemite Valley would become part of the larger Yosemite National Park.²

Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular attractions in Yellowstone National Park,dwarfs visitors watching from nearby. National Park Service photo by Jim Peaco

The very first official National Park established in the United States, as well as the World, was Yellowstone National Park. During 1869-71, several expeditions ventured into the remote area of the territories of Wyoming and Montana. David E Folsom, Henry D. Washburn and Ferdinand V. Hayden had each explored the Yellowstone area and publicized their amazing geologic documentation of the many geysers, as well as other geothermic and geologic features present in the area. However since the proposed park was in a US territory rather than a state like Yosemite in California, it was established as a National Park under the protection and administration of US Federal Government. The bill passed Congress in 1872 and was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.²

In 1875, Mackinac Island, located on Lake Huron in the state of Michigan, was designated as the second US National Park. However in 1895, it was transferred to the State of Michigan and become a State Park. In 1890, three National Parks were established in California: Yosemite, Sequoia and General Grant (which later became part of Kings Canyon National Park in 1940).²

Between 1899 and 1919, many other National Parks were established:

• Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, 1899
• Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, 1902
• Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, 1903
• Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, 1906
• Glacier National Park, Montana, 1910
• Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 1915
• Hawaii National Park, 1916, (Later split into Hawaii Volcanoes and Haleakala in 1960)
• Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, 1916
• Mount McKinley National Park, Alaska, 1917 (Later became Denali National Park in 1980)
• Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 1919
• Zion National Park, Utah, 1919.

President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationalist John Muir during a tour of
Yosemite National Park in 1903.
Photo from The National Parks: Shaping the System, National Park Service.

One of the greatest advocates for the establishment of Protected National Parks was conservationist and a founder of the Sierra Club, John Muir. Muir first travelled to the Yosemite Valley in 1869 to take a job working in a sawmill. However, his life was forever transformed by the natural beauty and grandeur he witnessed there. He has been described as the “patriarch for both the idea of wilderness preservation and the development of National Parks”.⁴

John Muir became instrumental in aiding the preservation of land for seven National Parks. In 1903 he gave President Theodore Roosevelt a tour of Yosemite National Park to see many of the magnificent views of the scenery there. President Roosevelt, after experiencing Yosemite and several other National Parks that year, would become one of the greatest political advocates and a primary supporter of  the National Parks, signing legislation that established five additional National Parks, and designated 18 National Monuments during his presidency.¹

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful, not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”  John Muir4

      The National Park System has grown significantly since it was first established. Currently there are 59 US National Parks that are a beautiful treasure of diverse gems scattered across 27 states and two US Territories. California has the most of any state with nine, Alaska is next with eight, Utah has five and Colorado with four.⁵

So why go visit a National Park? Sometimes just witnessing the immense beauty of nature can offer a great peace, strength and clear perspectives in life. Great people with an appreciation for some of the most awe inspiring places have gone before us to preserve these remarkable works of nature for us to see, value and appreciate. Experiencing and witnessing those magnificent National Parks, will give us the courage, the strength and the determination to continue to support, preserve and pass on those majesties of nature to the many future generations to come. So help support and preserve an American Treasure! Visit a National Park!

Snapshots Across America features these game cards:

 

     

Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon National Parks have also been featured on the new U.S. Mint America the Beautiful Quarters that were released in 2010.

Follow us for more Snapshots Spotlights about the many great tourist attractions featured in the educational boardgame, Snapshots Across America. New edition to be released Summer 2015.

Sources:

¹Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. PBS Documentary Series aired 2009. Companion Guide. Alfred A. Knopf. New York. Print. 2009.

²Barry Mackintosh. The National Parks: Shaping the System. National Park Service-U.S. Department of the Interior. Washington, D.C. Print. 1991. Web.

³George Catlin. Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Conditions of the North American Indians. Wiley and Putnam. New York. Print. 1842. Web.

⁴John Muir. Our National Parks. Houghton Mifflin and company. Boston-New York. Print. 1901. Web-Library of Congress.

⁵The official Website of the National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/index.htm.
US Department of the Interior. Washington D.C. Web.

Copyright 2015, Sandell Games.