Part 1: Have You Been to any of the US National Parks?

If you live in the United States and have never visited any of its national parks, you have not yet truly seen America the Beautiful. My hope is to pique your interest by sharing with you my own travel adventures here on steemit. Please "follow" me on my journey!

Part I: A Sneak Peek of some of the national parks and places you'll be reading about in my future blogs here soon.

Hot Springs National Park - Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our family was vacationing in Hot Springs, Arkansas when my husband I stumbled upon Bathhouse Row on Central Avenue, during an antiquing excursion in the city, two years ago. I was intrigued to learn that the impressive architectural pieces before me were actual bathhouses and that the entire place was part of a national park. According to history, Hot Springs National Park was the quintessential town spa back in the day, attracting people from all over the country who came seeking the healing benefits of hot springs. Although our visit to our very first national park was purely accidental, I believed it was meant to be. That same day, I bought my first national park passport and vowed to fill it with stamps in the future.

Here she is, my sweet travel buddy!

Hot Springs National Park is the oldest and the smallest park in the nation!

Hot spring on Bathhouse Row

Glacier National Park - Flathead/Glacier County, Montana

A couple months later, my husband was scheduled to go to Missoula, Montana for work. When he pitched to me the idea of me tagging along, heck, he heard no objections coming from me. Like a good wife, I grabbed that opportunity without questions asked.

Glacier National Park simply took my breath away. No picture or video could really capture the riveting haul up the side of the steep mountain (one false move could mean your end), the cloud-covered peaks that became one with the skies, the beautiful specks of tall waterfalls draping over them like sheer white curtains, the wild-like spread of fall on the trees as far as the eyes could see, the dramatic change in temperatures as we carefully stopped and got out of the car to take pictures and the miniature-like streams of vehicles in the valleys below that provided depth to the extremes. Oh, to see such grandeur for the first time in my life. Did I actually cry?

And we are off to see the glaciers!

I’m not one to brag, but the flight into Missoula was the scariest plane ride I’ve ever experienced in my life. Looking back now, I should have known, I was in for a real adventure!

Breathtaking Going-to-the-Sun Road

Sequoia National Park - Visalia, California

I love anything fat and nature. Fat babies, fat animals, fat trees. I love them all. Six months after meeting the Glaciers up close and personal, I had a rendezvous with the giants, better known as The Sequoias, in the state of California. If you love trees like me and my husband, this is the number one state I would recommend to visit. The Sequoias never disappoint. The added bonus to this adventure? You will positively feel slim next to these humongous beings. So, go and meet your new best friends!

A mandatory pose by the entrance before meeting the General Sherman.

The husband showing General Sherman his signature move ^_^

We tried giving General Sherman a hug, but he was just too fat around.

Yosemite National Park - Mariposa County, California

Just a few hours drive from the Sequoias is Yosemite National Park where the biggest granite rock formation I’ve ever seen called El Capitan is located. The chief of all rocks, El Capitan sits imposingly, north side of the Yosemite Valley. From afar, El Capitan doesn’t seem as intimidating as when you’re standing near its base, feeling insignificantly small like a little bitty ant. Apparently, visitors can go to the top of El Capitan and enjoy the vista from up there. Unfortunately for me and the husband, the road was closed for safety reasons at the time of our visit so our only choice was to skip that part of the fun. With no complaints, though. We saw enough that delighted all our senses.

Welcome to Yosemite!

Afternoon shot of Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View

Aptly named, El Capitan commands attention. Btw, if rock climbing is your passion, this place is the ultimate place to experience the thrill of a lifetime.

Well, that's all for now folks! Hope you liked this post enough to wait for Part 2. Please give me a reply/comment so I can follow you, too.

Get to know me at https://steemit.com/steemit/@joselyn-ism/hello-steemians ! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: All contents and materials used in this post are my own.