So I watched the last installment of the Ken Burns Nat'l Parks series yesterday. I liked the series better as it went on. Anyway, it got me thinking that it would be nice to share some experiences in the parks that everyone has had, and national parks that people have been to.
I had an excellent time in October 2006 at Mammoth Cave NP in Kentucky. It was raining, pouring, and had been for 24 hours. My boyfriend and I decided to go there on the way back from the Smokies. Anyway, taking a cave tour on a rainy fall afternoon--there is no better place to be, IMHO.
Anyway, what I remember most from the caves were the 2 interp rangers that gave us the tour. One was a very fit, trim, older guy, probably in his seventies. He was a local man which a wonderful Kentucky accent, who had been caving in the area since he was a child. He told us some stories about that. The other ranger was a SIXTH GENERATION cave interpreter! He his ancestry included some that were slaves, and some that were free, and every generation of his family since 1800 had worked in the very cave system in Kentucky. He told us some stories of some of his relatives in earlier times.
I haven't been to too many NP, but the ones I have been to have made a great impression on me. GSMNP, what more can I say? Mammoth Cave. Kenai Fjords. I would like to go to Isle Royale and Voyagers, someday too.