National Parks – Off to See the View

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

By: Anne Barnhorst July 12, 2018July 9, 2018

Indiana, National Parksflag pole, hike, history, junior ranger, lincoln boyhood national memorial, museum, national memorial, national park, national park service, president abraham lincoln, walk3 Comments

Long story short: I’M A JUNIOR RANGER AT LINCOLN BOYHOOD NATIONAL MEMORIAL!!!!! I’m not excited or anything… 😀 Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is very history based, so I thought the best way to learn about the memorial was to do the Junior Ranger Activity book. In order to become a Junior Ranger you have to…

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

By: Anne Barnhorst May 2, 2018April 30, 2018

Indiana, National Parksbog, hike, Indiana, indiana dunes, national lakeshore, national park, sand dune, trail, winter3 Comments

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is unique because it is a patchwork of protected lands broken into sections by harbors, factories, towns, and the state park. The beaches it protects are very popular with sunbathers and families in the summer. The winter brings great views and draws smaller crowds. The patchworkness of the park (yes I…

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst April 18, 2018April 16, 2018

National Parks, North Carolina, Tennesseeadventure, great smoky mountains, hike, national park, North Carolina, Road-trip, Tennessee4 Comments

Shawn and I made a super quick trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park on March 31 – April 1 2018. I had never been before which is surprising because we live only 5.5 hours away (turns out its more like 7 because of construction traffic) and Shawn hadn’t been since he was little kid.…

Saguaro National Park – Rincon Mountain District (East)

By: Anne Barnhorst January 3, 2018January 8, 2018

Arizona, National ParksArizona, dust devil, saguaro cactus, saguaro national park, sonoran desert, tuscon4 Comments

Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona is split into two districts by the city of Tuscon: Saguaro East – Rincon Mountain District and Saguaro West – Tucson Mountain District. I visited the Rincon Mountain District in 2014 while working at my internship in Phoenix. It was my first of many weekend day-trips to explore the…

Mammoth Cave National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst November 1, 2017January 8, 2018

Kentucky, National Parkscave tour, hike, Kentucky, louisville, mammoth cave, national park, toast on market2 Comments

Mammoth Cave National Park, located in Kentucky, is the longest known cave in the world. There are over 400 miles that have been explored underground so far. Individuals started giving tours of the cave by candle light as early at 1816. Now many of the tours given by Park Rangers use electric light. Jess and…

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst October 20, 2017June 26, 2018

National Parks, Ohioakron, cleveland, cuyahoga valley, dog friendly, hike, national park, national park week, Ohio, Road-trip, waterfall3 Comments

I was surprised to learn that there is a National Park in Ohio (apparently Ohio is actually really awesome place to go hiking, I just never knew it till this year). Jess and I planned a road-trip to visit her sister in New York and Cuyahoga Valley National Park was on the way (the interstate…

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst September 22, 2017June 26, 2018

National Parks, North Dakotacampground, medora, national park, North Dakota, park ranger, theodore roosevelt3 Comments

It surprised even myself, but Theodore Roosevelt National Park is now one of my top five favorite National Parks and my number 1 favorite for viewing wildlife.

Glacier National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst September 18, 2017January 8, 2018

Montana, National Parksbucket list, glacier, glacier national park, hike, Montana, national park, travel5 Comments

Glacier National Park, located in northern Montana, was the first International Peace Park – Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park – and is an International Dark Sky Park. Visiting Glacier National Park has been at the top of my bucket list for a very long time now. I planned our entire 2017 two week road-trip around Glacier…

Yellowstone National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst September 8, 2017January 8, 2018

National Parks, Wyomingbear, bucket list, camp, campground, grant village, national park, Wyoming, yellowstone2 Comments

Yellowstone National Park was the first National Park to be established. It amazes me that people in 1872 were concerned about preserving land for future generations to come. I visited Yellowstone National Park with my parents and grandparents back in 2005 and this year I decided it was time to visit again and focus more…

Grand Teton National Park

By: Anne Barnhorst September 5, 2017January 8, 2018

National Parks, Wyomingbucket list, grand tetons national park, national park, Road-trip, Wyoming6 Comments

I was awe struck when I first caught sight of the Grand Teton range from U.S. HWY 26. One instant I’m driving along looking at a forest of pine trees and the next I was looking at mountains so massive I literally thought I was seeing a mirage.