As a kid, a visit to a park was something I looked forward to. Back then, I just thought of a park as a place with swings, slides, merry-go-rounds and other play equipments. Then came amusement parks, water parks and a variety of theme parks with their own truck loads of fun. It is much later in life that I started thinking of parks as natural areas.
When I came to U.S, I was fascinated by the National Park Service (NPS), which preserves natural and historic areas, while making them accessible to the public. Staying in central California, it was easy to drive to numerous parks and make full use of the one year national park pass that we had purchased. After moving to Austin, the busy-ness of life enclosed us for a while in the center of Texas. Eventually, the love for national parks resurfaced and we visited a few more including the two in Texas.
Many of these parks are world famous and swarmed by visitors. As much as I loved visiting the parks that were in the popular list, I also enjoyed the visits to those parks which I had thought would not be interesting. In fact, each has its own character and something unique to showcase, be it a distinctive landform, a peek into history, or biological and geographic diversity. The National Park Service ensures adequate information to plan the trip based on one's level of physical fitness and length of stay. There are a wide range of activities suited for an adventurous rock climber, an enthusiastic biker, an avid hiker, an ardent horse rider, a laid-back stroller, or even a limited mobility or wheelchair bound person.
When I saw the FindYourPark initiative started by NPS as part of its centennial celebrations, I started thinking of all the parks that I have been fortunate to visit. Out came the park booklets collected over the last decade along with memories including those from parks where we missed to collect or save the booklet. Like the circle formed by these informative and picturesque pieces of paper, my mind runs in circles as I try to answer the question from the NPS FindYourPark movement: Have you found your park ?
The goal of this initiative by NPS is to encourage more people, specially the millennials, to visit these national treasures or any natural park. If you need ideas, check out this link. It could be an urban park, a small green belt or even something that makes one admire the history of a place. By encouraging folks to share their stories, pictures and experiences, they are trying to bring the intangible benefits that these parks provide. From promoting a healthier and active lifestyle, adding a sense of calmness, admiring nature's artwork, or getting a better perspective, parks help us in more ways than we realize. The aim is to have more people ask this question so it keeps echoing and reaching those who have not heard it before. So, let's keep asking each other "HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PARK?"
When I came to U.S, I was fascinated by the National Park Service (NPS), which preserves natural and historic areas, while making them accessible to the public. Staying in central California, it was easy to drive to numerous parks and make full use of the one year national park pass that we had purchased. After moving to Austin, the busy-ness of life enclosed us for a while in the center of Texas. Eventually, the love for national parks resurfaced and we visited a few more including the two in Texas.
Many of these parks are world famous and swarmed by visitors. As much as I loved visiting the parks that were in the popular list, I also enjoyed the visits to those parks which I had thought would not be interesting. In fact, each has its own character and something unique to showcase, be it a distinctive landform, a peek into history, or biological and geographic diversity. The National Park Service ensures adequate information to plan the trip based on one's level of physical fitness and length of stay. There are a wide range of activities suited for an adventurous rock climber, an enthusiastic biker, an avid hiker, an ardent horse rider, a laid-back stroller, or even a limited mobility or wheelchair bound person.
When I saw the FindYourPark initiative started by NPS as part of its centennial celebrations, I started thinking of all the parks that I have been fortunate to visit. Out came the park booklets collected over the last decade along with memories including those from parks where we missed to collect or save the booklet. Like the circle formed by these informative and picturesque pieces of paper, my mind runs in circles as I try to answer the question from the NPS FindYourPark movement: Have you found your park ?
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| #FindYourPark |
The goal of this initiative by NPS is to encourage more people, specially the millennials, to visit these national treasures or any natural park. If you need ideas, check out this link. It could be an urban park, a small green belt or even something that makes one admire the history of a place. By encouraging folks to share their stories, pictures and experiences, they are trying to bring the intangible benefits that these parks provide. From promoting a healthier and active lifestyle, adding a sense of calmness, admiring nature's artwork, or getting a better perspective, parks help us in more ways than we realize. The aim is to have more people ask this question so it keeps echoing and reaching those who have not heard it before. So, let's keep asking each other "HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR PARK?"
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