Your Favorite National Park

Discussion in 'Outdoor World' started by Azimuth, Feb 20, 2018.

  1. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    No threads or discussions in here...I guess we all don't go outside...lol.

    I thought I would try to start something in this area.

    Post up your favorite National Park and why. Pictures also help too. For those that are not in the US that don't have National Parks, just post your favorite outdoor area or even better your favorite UNSCO World Heritage site (we don't have very many in the US, and many are already National Parks)

    I will start with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here is a picture I took there up near Clingman's Dome back in July of 2017:
    [​IMG]
    I used to live in Knoxville and now live in Nashville. We usually go about once every other year. Although there was a time when I was going about once or even twice a year, but kids will slow you down.
     
  2. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Just came back from Sequoia National Park. Awesome big trees guys.
     
  3. Dotard

    Dotard Acquaintance

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    Olympic National Park. Beaches, rain forest, epic hiking, camping. Such a variety, so quiet and peaceful and close to nature. Not even close for me, it's my go to.
     
  4. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Too many to list. I was cursed with growing up in Florida (was never a beach guy), but blessed that my parents' preferred vacations were to fly somewhere, rent a car, and then visit all the National Parks nearby.

    I love the canyons in AZ and UT. I have been a couple times. Usually fly to Vegas and rent a car.

    Zion Canyon - great hiking and vistas, not as crowded as other more touristy parks. Had one of the best lunches I ever had sitting on a rock outcropping right over a raging part of the river.
    [​IMG]
    Bryce Canyon - the closest it comes to walking on Mars without going there.
    [​IMG]
    North Rim of the Grand Canyon - usually less crowded than the more popular southern rim. More trees, slightly cooler weather, still spectacular.
    [​IMG]
    Mt Rainier in WA - one of my earliest memories was visiting Mt. Rainier when it was snow covered still. My grandfather would have to stomp down on the snow to make steps for me since my feet were so tiny and I just sank. Plan to get some glacier training one day so I can climb to the summit in his honor.
    [​IMG]
    As for World Heritage Site, I am enamored with Mt. Fuji in Japan. I climbed it for my 38th birthday a couple years ago. I can't say it was a pleasant climb (tsunami hit Japan, causing it to rain heavily on my 6 hour hike up volcanic rock...), but it was worth it when I made it to the top (my avatar pic is one I took when I made it).
    [​IMG]
     
  5. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    Gorgeous pictures! I hope to just a couple of those at some point.

    Thank you for sharing!
     
  6. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    The Smokies are the only National Park I've been to. Sad, huh?

    I do love those mountains, though:

    [​IMG]
     
  7. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Just to be clear, I found those on the internet. I do have pics I took myself, but they are on an offline harddrive right now.
     
  8. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    That works too!
     
  9. Kunlun

    Kunlun cat-alyzes cat-aclysmic cat-erwauling - Friend

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    Is it weird that my first mental answer to the question "What's your favorite national park?" was "your mom"? Sitting in my office quietly chortling like a pig dressed in a lab coat...

    Anyhoo, Sequoia was great, Grand Teton was awesome. There's a lake up there, Jenny Lake, and by that lake is a church. Where the altar would be is simply a great window to a view of the three peaks and the sky...
     
  10. jowls

    jowls Never shitposts (please) - Friend

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    [​IMG]

    Walls Of Jerusalem NP in Australia.

    Or Mount Field NP. It has the tallest flowering plants in the world, eucalyptus regnans.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 20, 2018
  11. SoupRKnowva

    SoupRKnowva Official SBAF South Korean Ambassador

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    Glacier National Park in Montana is easily the best Nation Park I've ever been too. I havent been in years, but damn is it pretty up there...
     
  12. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Oh man, Jenny Lake. Did a breakfast horse ride there way back when. Beautiful area. Thanks for the memory!
     
  13. winders

    winders boomer

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    One word: Yellowstone
     
  14. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    Yeah, Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, or Montana in general kicks ass for epic scenery.

    Passing through Bear Tooth Pass on my way to Yellowstone's North East entrance.
    IMG_20130805_152352_573.jpg

    In between Cooke City and the Yellowstone's NE entrance.
    IMG_20130805_174340_861.jpg

    I've been through all the entrances except the East. In 2013 I had a National Park pass and cruised through 2-3 times a month, weather permitting. I love the rugged raw wilderness of the NE section the most.

    I didn't take many pictures, I was too busy ripping through and soaking up the majestic mountain scenery. There was a simple primal sense of being in Yellowstone... I almost expected to see a Pterodactyl swoop over the next ridge, or a Woolly Mammoth crashing through the tree's.

    I miss you Montana !!!
     
  15. TMRaven

    TMRaven Friend

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    Arches and Bryce.
     
  16. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    The two that I've been to are Olympic National Park near Seattle and Yosemite. Hiking up half dome while wearing worn down Feiyue's is one of the scariest things I've ever done.
     
  17. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    Arches and Death Valley are my faves. I've been to lots of them, but for me nothing beats feeling like spiderman scrambling on the crazy sandstone features in Arches and lying on a picnic table at night feeling like you can see every star in the sky in Death Valley.
     
  18. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    There are a few places in the States I always tell people that they need to see. Primarily Yosemite (or the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California) and the New Hampshire White Mountains at peak fall season.

    Here's a few photos I've taken.

    John Muir Trail, Ansel Adams Wildness, just outside of Yosemite, August 2017:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    White Mountains, New Hampshire, October 2016:

    [​IMG]

    Acadia National Park in October 2017:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2018
  19. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    There's a running joke amongst Montanans:

    When someone from out of state that you don't care for asks about Montana, tell them the eastern half of the state is magnificent.
     
  20. captkirk

    captkirk Khan's BFF

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    Joshua Tree. It's like another world with the funkiest trees. Good climbing, not "valley" climbing like in Yosemite, but decent.

    [​IMG]
     

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