National Park Units
This quest is one of my bigger ones, and one my husband completed in 2019. It is to visit all of the National Park Units of the National Park System (there are currently 433). Scott had this quest when I met him and I said that was something I'd "never" do. But, in early 2016, I had to go to Washington, D.C. for a month for work. Scott accompanied me and we planned to go to some NPS units on the weekends. While Scott was out exploring units throughout the week, I was in my hotel room and decided to count up how many of the units I had been to already, which was around 100. Yup, that was all it took--my quest was born.
NPS Units Remaining (38 total):
Louisiana Trip - Planned January 2026
- Natchez NHP
- Cane River Creole NHP
Utah Trip - Possibly Spring 2026
- Golden Spike NHS
- Timpanogos Cave NM
Kansas City Trip - possibly spring 2026
- Harry S. Truman NHS
Baltimore Trip - Planned May 2026
- Hampton NHS
- Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad NHP
- Assateague Island NS
- Great Egg Harbor River
- Eisenhower NHS
- Catoctin Mountain
- Monocacy NB
- Cedar Creek and Belle Grove NHP
- Dwight D Eisenhower Memorial
- Maggie L Walker NHS
- Richmond NBP
- Petersburg NB
- Fort Monroe NM
Minnesota Trip - possibly July 2026
- St. Croix National Scenic Riverway
- Voyageurs NP
- Grand Portage NM
- Isle Royale NP
Montana Trip - possibly late summer/early fall 2026
- Big Hole NB
- Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS
Oregon Trip - possibly fall 2026
- Oregon Caves NM & Preserve
Great Smoky Mountains Trip - possibly spring 2027
- Andrew Johnson NHS
- Carl Sandburg Home NHS
Rivers Trip - possibly early-summer 2027
- Gauley River NRA
- New River Gorge NP & Preserve
- Bluestone NSR
- Booker T Washington NM
Finishing the NPS Site Quest - possibly mid-to-late summer 2027
- Delaware Water Gap NRA
- Middle Delaware NSR
- Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
- Martin Van Buren NHS
- Vanderbilt Mansion NHS
- Home of Franklin D Roosevelt NHS
- Eleanor Roosevelt NHS
Perry's Victory and Int'l Peace Mem'l
Since we were still ahead of schedule, we could fit in another NPS site for me, finishing off the Ohio parks. Scott had already been to Perry's Victory and …
James Garfield NHS Was More Interesting Than Expected
Leaving Pittsburg, we only had James Garfield NHS and several counties on our list to accomplish today. Honestly, I thought it would be kind of a boring day, …
2 NPS Sites, an Interesting Town, and a Ballgame
Baseball?!?! Yes, we had an interesting day - and this cover photo wasn't even from the town in which we saw the baseball game :) We started the day out at …
Friendship Hill and Fort Necessity - another 2 NPS sites
This was definitely a NPS-focused trip so I can mark off a bunch of NPS units, and this day was a three-fer. Friendship Hill NHS and Fort Necessity Nat'l …
Dayton Aviation National Historical Park
After Wilbur and Orville Wright proved to the world that flight was possible in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, they returned to Dayton to improve their airplane …
Hopewell Culture NHP
I'm really not the biggest fan of ancient native mounds. So, I was less than thrilled about having to visit Hopewell Culture NHP. Don't get me wrong, there is …
Marking Off Two Ohio NPS sites
We had to cancel/postpone our planned Canadian Rockies trip due to some unexpected medical issues for Scott that precluded him from going to elevation for …
An Afternoon in Grand Teton National Park
After spending a Morning in Yellowstone National Park, we drove the outer look through Grand Tetons National Park in the afternoon.
A Morning in Yellowstone National Park
Since we revamped our trip to spend an unexpected night with our friends in West Yellowstone, we further revamped our trip to spend the next night in Driggs, …