Task #22: Visit all the National Parks in the continental United States - UPDATE #2

Updated 8/2012

Here's info on the original post which explains why there might be some missing.

Visited But Don't Remember Clearly and/or Would Like To Revisit: (6)

Acadia (Maine), Badlands (South Dakota), Black Canyon (Colorado), Bryce Canyon (Utah), Canyonlands (Utah), Zion (Utah)

Visited and Remember Clearly and/or Visited Post-College: (19)

Crater Lake (Oregon), Death Valley National Park (California), Glacier National Park (Montana), Grand Canyon (Arizona), Grand Teton (Wyoming), Great Smoky Mountains (North Carolina/Tennessee), Joshua Tree (California), Mesa Verde (Colorado), Rocky Mountains (Colorado), Yellowstone (Wyoming), Hot Springs (Arkansas), Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio), Mammoth Cave (Kentucky), Kings Canyon (California), Sequoia (California), Lassen Volcanic (California), Redwood (California), Shenandoah (Virgina), Yosemite (California)

Still Need to Visit: (20)

Arches (Utah), Big Bend (Texas), Biscayne (Florida),  Capitol Reef (Utah), Carlsbad Caverns (New Mexico), Channel Islands (California), Congaree (South Carolina), Dry Tortugas (Florida), Everglades (Florida), Great Sand Dunes (Colorado), Guadalupe Mountains (Texas), Isle Royale (Michigan), Mount Rainier (Washington), North Cascades (Washington), Olympic (Washington), Petrified Forest (Arizona), Saguaro (Arizona), Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota), Voyaguers (Minnesota), Wind Cave (South Dakota)

Looks like I need to make a trip to Utah... and maybe one that also includes AZ/New Mexico. Also, I need to finish off the Pacific Northwest.

It's time to sit down and plan these out... and then figure out how to afford it!

Elkhorn Slough Safari

One of my besties went on this Safari at Elkhorn Slough as part of a birthday gift. She's an aspiring birder, but also managed to catch an ADORABLY cute picture of a sea otter. I immediately wanted to spot and capture (on 'film') a seriously adorable sea otter. Timing ended up working in our favor on my road trip, and we booked ourselves on a Sunday morning safari.

It was the best money I ever spent. Captain Yohn is one of those characters who is thoroughly enjoyable to hang around and listen to. He's a bit prickly in a charming way but has lots of facts and knowledge on hand, and he also has a naturalist on board to give us a history/science lesson while we're wildlife spotting. Plus he uses the kids and some adults to keep stats on wildlife for research purposes. It was a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit chilly, 2 hours spent in the slough. And worth every second. I can't wait to go back.

[Mom - sorry, there are bird pictures but they're really cool. Please look.]

But me, I was there for OTTERS. I took 1200 pictures (thank you 32 GB SD card). Luckily we got  more than a few 'close' encounters with the second most cute and adorable creature on the planet (sorry, pandas still win):



 





Caught one chowing down:





This bird was hoping for scraps:







I cannot stand the cuteness:







We also saw these:



And a whole MASS of sea otters:





And a sea lion looking upside down:



Sea hares (bred for neuroscience research) used to breed here:



Sleeping harbor seals:



Awake harbor seals:



Don't mess with the brown pelican:





To see the rest of the 164 pictures, click here. Really - there are some really good close-ups of sea otters and other slough creatures in all their cuteness.

L - SO glad you recommended it and I MUST go back again!!

Redwood National Park

Redwood National Park is actually a lot more piecemeal than some of the larger land mass parks. Redwood is constructed a little like Cuyahoga Valley - you go in and out of the park instead of being in the park 24/7 once you're within the park boundaries. And there are several state parks that also help make up this park. In fact, Redwood is always referred to as Redwood National and State Parks. 

Plus, there are phenomenally large and beautiful trees. Once upon a time, in an acting class, I did a scene from a play called "Redwood Curtain" - so I would've wanted to visit, regardless of my National Parks project.

We did a few drives on our way south; including a morning hike in the Northern California chill and the Avenue of the Giants.

We saw lots of trees, both alive and fallen:

  

This tree comes up to my waist:

The hole is about 5'2" in height - i.e I fit in there:

We found this banana slug who apparently eat everything but sequoia seeds:

And found this unknown creature on the end of a tuber:

Not bamboo, but certainly looked like it:

Discovered a snake in the crystal clear creek - scared the ever-lovin' out of me:

And when the fog burnt off, the rays of sunlight were beautiful:

We even saw an elk (not pictured is his harem of females):

For the rest of the photos, click here.

It is so nice to be in awe of such large trees and to realize just exactly how OLD they are! Amazing. Humbling.

Crater Lake National Park

So there's many stories here about Crater Lake. I have been there before, but I don't remember it. I was *cough* years old and according to my parents, they tried SO hard to get my nose out of my book and apparently failed, infuriating them.

I assure you, my nose was nowhere near a book this time. I had my camera poised and ready. And I saw things that even they didn't see during our last visit.

Let me start from the beginning - Crater Lake, once upon a time was a mountain. Then a massive volcanic eruption basically inverted the mountain into a basin and centuries of rain and snow filled the crystal clear caldera to form Crater Lake.  It is the nation's deepest lake and it is stunning in its blue beauty.

Our first stop was Vidae Falls - along the side of the road:



Our second waterfall visit was also our first, more tame, hike. This waterfall was only recently discovered. The trail is called Plaikni Falls, and it is well worth it. The waterfall is gorgeous and the wildflowers that bloom on its banks gorgeous:





And then, my companion, L, convinced me to do a CRAZY hike. He really wanted to hike down to see the lake. I'm really glad we did because the smoky haze from the nearby wildfires was drifting in and ruining our beautiful view. The Cleetwood Cove hike (down to the lakefront) is 2.2 miles and drops 700 feet in those 2.2 miles. It is crazy steep and we proudly re-climbed the trail in a surprising 45 minutes. And that's with generous stops and a very slow, snail-like place on our ascent. Mostly the stops had to do with rehydrating our mouths from the incredibly dusty trail.

Not only did we get to enjoy the crystal clear water but we also discovered that crayfish live there! I swear we (I) spent most of the time stalking crayfish:

  

Some are even blue:





After our rear-kicking hike, we drove around the rest of the rim and enjoyed views of Wizard Island:



Phantom Ship:



And the Pinnacles:





Crater Lake, though only 33 miles in circumference - the length of Rim Drive) is stunningly beautiful. I guess my parents were right about enjoying its beauty.

But I guess my then stubbornness lead to a greater appreciation as an adult and as photographer. Plus, I they hadn't.

Here are the rest of the pictures from my trip to Crater Lake.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Where do I start about Lassen Volcanic? I'd never heard of it before this project... and this, like Kings Canyon, is another sleeper hit of the National Park system. Lassen is gorgeous and we didn't even see half of it. Not because the park was big, but because it was half on fire.

Lassen was closed between Summit Lake and Manzanita Lake due to the Reading Fire. Still, that didn't deter us at all - we were counting on the park service to keep us safe. We still saw a lot and look forward to exploring more. Again, this is a park where a lot of the beauty exists in the back country, but  there's plenty for the road-tripper to see.

  

     

There are pinnacles, looking left over from the times that Lassen was a volcano. Actually, it still is. Lassen has been a national park since 1916, about 2 years after its eruption. Lassen Volcanic boasts a whole range of landscape and flora and fauna. We didn't get to see the Painted Dunes or the Cinder Cone, but we did get to see a bunch of geothermal areas including Bumpass Hell.

  

You could barely see the smoke from the fires:





There were flowers EVERYWHERE - meadows and meadows of fragrant purple flowers:

     

We found snow, at 80 degrees:



And beautiful lakes:



We even stalked a very shy marmot - who had been roadside, but fled when we backed up. We waited for what seemed like forever - but he posed eventually.

  

There's plenty more pictures here that you should check out. This is only a smattering of the beauty that is Lassen Volcanic.

I'm definitely looking forward to returning!

Also the closest we got a wildfire, Constantia Wildfire: