SuZan Klassen

Happy birthday to our National Park Service!

Our National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. We’re all invited to the party.

You don’t have to wait until the 25th to celebrate. You can participate right now by visiting a national park near you. Here’s a link to centennial information:
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/index.htm

Click on this interactive map. Choose a state on the map. A list of national sites to visit will open. Every state has at least one nationally designated site.

Click on individual parks for details regarding any centennial events or special things to do at the location of your choice. You’ll also find helpful information such as directions, hours, seasons, fees, etc.

Even the postal service has gotten into the celebration with 16 new stamps featuring national parks.
For Your Children
As part of the centennial celebration, the park service has prepared a Junior Ranger Activity Book. Get your pdf copy: https://www.nps.gov/kids/pdf/Centennial-JrRangerBooklet.pdf

Your children can take their completed booklet to any national park visitor center. They’ll receive an official Junior Ranger Centennial Badge.

If you’re unable to take it to a visitor center, your children can still participate. Mail their completed booklet to:

National Park Service
National Junior Ranger Program Coordinator
1201 Eye Street NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Make sure to include your return address. The park service will return your child’s book along with the official ranger badge.

Travel Tip — Make a Good Memory
It doesn’t have to be an expensive trip to make a good memory. Nor do you have to travel great distances. If a trip to a national park isn’t feasible, try a state park closer to home.

My parents took me to a simple roadside park when I was a child. My imagination stirred as I stared at wagon wheel ruts carved deep into the prairie sod.

History came alive for me—the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Santa Fe Trail. Suddenly they were all real.

I imagined the people traveling those trails—so many people with so many wagons. The ruts were the evidence they left behind—still visible after all these years.

What memories have you made? What memories will you make with your children or grandchildren?

Until next time…Travel Light,
SuZan
© 2016 SuZan Klassen