The National Parks: America's Best Idea
Have you been to a national park lately? Sometimes we overlook these vacation destinations as we head toward locations with better advertising budgets, like Las Vegas, the beach, or a cruise.
We’ve just spent a few days in Colorado and took some time to tour 2 different national parks (stay tuned for detailed posts with pictures). Both were breathtaking in different ways, and we could enjoy them as either drives, hikes, or a combination of the two. No matter what your age or physical condition, there is a way for you to appreciate a national park.
Most of us take for granted that they exist, but there is a great story behind the creation of the national parks system. Ken Burns, the documentary filmmaker behind the series on jazz and baseball, spent 10 years making The National Parks: Amercia’s Best Idea, a 6-part series on PBS beginning September 27, 2009.
You’ll also recognize some of the voices in the documentary, since celebrities like Tom Hanks and John Lithgow have lent their voices to the project and Peter Coyote is the narrator.
There are a whole host of activities and resources to go along with this documentary.
- Enjoy a free day at any national park on September 26, 2009. You’ll get a sneak peek of the film.
- Share your stories about adventures in national parks here. You can include text, photographs and videos.
- Purchase the DVD (or borrow it from your library) on October 6, 2009. The DVDs will include behind-the-scenes commentary with the filmmakers, a music video, and more stories.
- There are 21 musical compositions in the film with an accompanying CD.
- For those who want even more, there is a companion book written by Dayton Duncan that is already in stores.
Find out more at the PBS website. For those of you without a television, you can try to find this documentary on www.hulu.com. I often find PBS programming here, but I do not know for sure if this will air here or not.
What is your favorite story in a national park? How long has it been since you’ve been to one?
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Betsy Talbot writes about carving the lifestyle you want out of the life you already have. When she’s not writing, she’s paring down, saving up, and getting ready for a year of travel with her husband Warren.
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We just returned from a cross-country drive from Eastern Tennessee to Los Angeles, and visited Mesa Verde National Park in southern Colorado. Not only was it fantastic- beautiful, inspiring, fascinating, and unusual- but the cost was only $15 to get in and park and explore the cliff dwellings built by Native Americans over a thousand years ago.
National Parks were a brilliant government project that worked and lasted, preserving these places for generations to enjoy. They’re a budget vacation only because of their low cost. I would take a national park over Las Vegas any day. It actually depresses me sometimes that so many people would rather go to Las Vegas than any of the natural wonders we’re so lucky to enjoy in the U.S.
I agree, Angela. My friend Joan commented in Facebook that seniors age 62 or older can get a year-long pass to all the parks for only $10 – a steal!
Thanks for the tip on the Ken Burns documentary. Definitely going to check that out. Posted a link to this post on my blog today:
http://myyearwithoutspending.blogspot.com/2009/09/free-museum-and-national-public-lands.html