Most Memorable Things in 2021

06Dec21

Like most everyone else, my travels in 2021 were limited, but I did have a couple of trips out west to visit and revisit some national park sites.

Here are a few highlights of those trips.

I don’t know how I missed the Little Niagara section during my previous visit to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area (above photo) in Oklahoma. This was a delightful spot to stop and walk around. It’s a short walk to the beach and a small waterfall where people of all ages were enjoying the cool waters on a hot day.

On another previous stop, this time at Fort Laramie National Historic Site, I had the most delicious root beer in my life. I just had to duplicate that experience and once again, the root beer didn’t disappoint.

Throughout the summer, the media highlighted how crowded the national parks were during COVID. Many of those stories highlighted Arches National Park and during my visit this summer there were lots of people and cars to navigate around. But I was able to enjoy several hikes out to the sandstone arches in almost complete solitude.

You can hike to all three main attractions in Natural Bridges National Monument. Two are a fair jaunt and with temperatures in the triple digits, I passed. Fortunately the third natural bridge was close to the parking lot. The up close and personal look at the Owachomo Bridge wowed me. I was able to walk directly underneath the archway and peer skyward to a spectacular view.

So many times I am the only visitor to many of the national park sites I go to. I thought that would be the case at Aztec Ruins National Monument. It’s not conveniently located near an interstate and it was just minutes before closing time by the time I parked my car. I was pleasantly surprised to see several visitors to Aztec Ruins, many of whom brought their children along to see this important historic site.

Canyonlands National Park is a truly amazing park with rock formations on par with anything else in the National Park Service. That alone would be enough to make this list as does the chance encounter I had with a pair of Iowa State newlyweds who sought me out after seeing me get out of my car with ISU license plates.

My most frustrating “visit” to a national park site came several years ago at Capulin Volcano National Monument. Driving at least an hour out of my way, I got to the site just as a major thunderstorm with golf ball size hail hit the park. The road to the top of the volcano was closed and I had to leave empty handed. This time I double checked the weather and was able to complete my visit to Capulin Volcano.

\Getting to national park sites isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. Many, like Capulin Volcano, are out of the way. So is Chaco Culture National Historical Park. But what makes Chaco Culture more of a challenge is the 20 miles of gravel road with so many pot holes it was difficult to drive more than 20 mph. Getting to the end and seeing this spectacular park was worth the effort – even if I had to drive the same way back.

Many of these entries have talked about second chances. Another one occurred during my second visit to Cedar Breaks National Monument when I hiked the South Rim Trial, stopping at Spectra Point Viewpoint and a vista unmatched most anywhere in the National Park Service.

Last, but certainly not least, was another hike, this time at the Kolob Canyon section of Zion National Park. If you don’t remember this past summer, it was brutally hot all over the country and particularly in the Las Vegas area where I endured 112 degree temperatures. It wasn’t quite that hot in Zion but it was hot enough that I actually turned around before completing the five-mile round trip on the Taylor Creek Trail. Rarely do I just give up on a hike – but it sure beat the alternative which was probably heat exhaustion.

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