We all have our own little things we like to do when we think about what positive ways we can impact the environment. Some people recycle and that’s where it stops as far as protection for this big beautiful rock we call home. Then we have people that compost, crunchy moms that cloth diaper, people who live off the land to do their part in reducing their carbon footprint. All of these routines are awesome and I personally look for ways to do better all the time.
But on this Earth Day I want to talk to you about my favorite branch of government: The National Park Service. Our country often has so much hate fueling speech and social media. Divisions between the people and actions of those in power are often humiliating when we think of how other countries must view us. But despite all of the nasty politics, we have gorgeous national parks. We have parks in almost every state and many states have multiple. The diversity of the parks is amazing from swamps to glaciers, from naturally made canyons to man made structures, we have so much to see. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it to each national park. I highly doubt I will because some of these places are legitimately difficult to get to but I owe it to myself to cross as many off the bucket list as I can.
My husband and I started working on our travel adventures even before we were married and we have continued to work to get to amazing places ever since. 2021 was an amazing travel year for us. We visited Texas, Tennessee, California, Utah, Nevada, and Alaska. We knew we wanted to go far and wide because our goal was to get pregnant and start a family which we have successfully done as we now have a beautiful baby girl who will be turning two months old this weekend.
My whole point: go visit a national park, get the annual pass to visit as many as you can for a year, follow the nps on Instagram- do something about living in a beautiful country. Whenever you visit a park, the admission fee goes to preserving the park and maintenance. If you do get the annual pass, it does go to the same budget and you’ll have access to every park for a year. The going rate for a pass is $80. However for seniors, active military, and fourth graders there are discounts or free passes!
Make your bucket list and get out there. Explore, love, and appreciate Earth.
Enjoy the Journey,
Jojo
Journeys With Jojo 