Visiting any national park is always a big deal to me. Along with being beautiful, these parks have an extra layer of magic to them knowing that they’ve been designated as national parks and that we’ve committed to preserving them as forever places. With the pandemic receding, I’ve been back to traveling more and would love to visit (and revisit) some of these amazing places.
To show my love of the National Park System, I made a series of small paintings celebrating the parks I’ve been to and the ones I’d like to go to next:
The park I would most like to revisit is the Grand Canyon. When I first saw the Grand Canyon, I instantly recognized that (in the best way possible) nothing in my life matters. It really put my life into perspective and I saw the world beyond myself and beyond human history. Those exposed layers of earth got me in touch with the amazing fact that we’re standing on a rock floating in an infinite space. I’d like to get back in touch with that feeling.
With five visits so far, I’ve been to the Everglades more than any other national park. This painting shows one of the many egrets I saw there this January in Shark Valley, a bird and alligator filled section of the Everglades that has an amazing 15 mile bike loop.
The most dramatic national park I’ve been to is Yosemite. And that’s saying something since all the national parks are dramatic. The 4,000 foot cliffs, giant waterfalls, fields and river are stunning. It might be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Sequoia National Park is nearby and equally stunning with its giant trees.
Acadia is the closest national park to me and I loved how varied the landscape is - on a short hike you’ll pass a beautiful lake, go through the forest and then abruptly be on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
More Parks to Visit
Below are a few of the national parks I have yet to visit but I painted since they are on the top of my list for where to go next. Let me know if you’ve been and have any tips!
MY STORE: NATIONAL PARKS DIGITAL DRAWINGS
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