Overlooks

20May18

Every national park I have visited has had an overlook. As does most national monuments.

The overlook is a staple of those park units. They invariably offer a grand view of a scenic vista. National parks such as Grand Canyon, Zion and Rocky Mountains have an abundance of overlooks and the view from each seems to be more impressive than the one you just stopped at.

Overlooks are typically characterized by parking areas. The more popular ones – not necessarily those with the best views – typically have plenty of parking. This allows me a chance to stop, get out of my car, grab my camera and take a few photos.

Most times, these types of overlooks are actually a walk from your parking spot. I guess the engineers that planned these stops wanted you to have time to reflect on what you just saw as you make your way back to your vehicle.

The other, less popular overlooks, don’t get the hype or attention afforded their counterparts. They don’t have a fancy name or stripped parking spots. Instead these are small turnouts with space for one or maybe two cars. And while the popular sites will have multiple signage to tell you what you are looking at, at these overlooks you have to just use your imagination.

I try to be very selective on these overlooks. They are literally around every corner and sometimes within sight of two, three, even four other overlooks. If I stopped at every overlook in the Rocky Mountain National Park and spent even just five minutes at each, I would still be there. And my last visit was in November.

Anytime you stop at an overlook you risk interacting with people you will probably never see again. That is unless you’re going in the same direction and you both stop together at the next overlook.

That has happened to me on more than one occasion. After having to strike up a conversation with fellow tourists at three consecutive overlooks, I will drive right past the next one – even if the view is the grandest of them all.

Instead I’ll discretely turn around at the next overlook and head back once I know I won’t run into that tourist again.

Such are the lengths I will go through to view our national parks.

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