America's National Parks

Figured if I typed out all the national parks, that would help me learn and remember and know where they are. 

The top 10 US national parks:

1. Yellowstone National Park (WY/MT/ID): America’s first national park, celebrated for its geothermal wonders (like Old Faithful), vibrant hot springs, and abundant wildlife
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Yosemite National Park (CA): Iconic for its towering granite peaks (Half Dome, El Capitan), ancient giant sequoias, and spectacular waterfalls. 
Zion National Park (UT): Known for its towering, steep red sandstone cliffs and thrilling hikes through the Virgin River in "The Narrows". 
Glacier National Park (MT): Features pristine alpine lakes, jagged glacial peaks, and access to the spectacular Going-to-the-Sun Road. 
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ): A massive, awe-inspiring gorge renowned for its layered bands of colorful rock and unmatched scenic vistas. 
Rocky Mountain National Park (CO): Offers dramatic alpine landscapes, sweeping vistas of the Continental Divide, and abundant wildlife just outside of Denver. 
Grand Teton National Park (WY): Famous for the striking, jagged Teton Range rising from the sagebrush flats and pristine lakes like Jenny Lake. 
Acadia National Park (ME): The premier park of the Northeast, combining a rugged, rocky coastline, dense pine forests, and granite peaks like Cadillac Mountain. 
Olympic National Park (WA): A diverse wilderness boasting three distinct ecosystems: wild Pacific coastline, temperate rainforests, and glaciated alpine peaks. 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN/NC): The most visited park in the system, renowned for its misty, green rolling ridges and rich biodiversity. 

There are 63 national parks. There are also national historic sites, national scenic trails, national recreation areas, national military parks, national seashores, national monuments, national historical parks, national battlefield parks, and national historical trails.

National parks by state: 

Alaska: Denali, Gates of the Artic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kenai Fjords, Kubuk Valley, Lake Clark, Wrangell-St.Elias

American Samoa

Arizona, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Saguaro

Arkansas: Hot Springs

California: Death Valley, Channel Islands, Joshua Tree, Kings Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia, Yellowstone 

Colorado: Black Canyon, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Rocky Mountain

District of Columbia (no parks): Ford's Theater, FDR Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, MLK Jr Memorial, National Mall, Jefferson Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington Monument, WWII Memorial. 

Florida: Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Everglades

Hawaii: Haleakala, Volcanoes

Idaho: Yellowstone

Indiana: Dunes 

Kentucky: Mammoth Cave

Maine: Acadia 

Maryland (no parks): Fort McHenry

Michigan: Isle Royale

Minnesota: Voyageurs

Missouri: Gateway Arch

Montana: Glacier, Yellowstone

New Mexico: Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands

Nevada: Death Valley, Great Basin

North Carolina: Great Smoky Mountains

North Dakota: Theodore Roosevelt 

Ohio: Cuyahoga Valley

Oregon: Crater Lake

South Carolina: Conaree

South Dakota: Badlands, Wind Cave

Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains

Texas: Big Bend, Guadalupe Mountains

Utah: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Zion 

Virgin Islands

Virginia: Shenandoah. Non-parks: Blue Ridge Parkway, Fredericksburg

Washington: Mount Ranier

West Virginia: New River Gorge

Wyoming: Grand Teton, North Cascades, Olympic, Yellowstone

There are no national parks in Georgia, but sites run by the National Park Service include:

Andersonville National Cemetery

The Appalachian Trail

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

Cumberland Island

Fort Frederica

Fort Pulaski

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield

Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park

Ocmulgee Mounds

The Trail of Tears

Windy City

MW&MC are in Chicago for a wedding. 

Yesterday they went to see the Cubs in Wrigley Field.

Will wore my 30 year old jersey from Cubs Fantasy Camp.

Cubs won by two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, we're keeping the girls. 

Millie helped Ceil bake bread - the S and M shaped bread rolls on the stove behind Millie. 

CHIPPER JONES [SABR Bio] his birth name, familiar only to a few, was sarcastically chanted by fans at Shea Stadium and later Yankee Stadium. “LAR-ee!”, “LAR-ee!” [Larry Wayne Jones] became the Bronx mantra. He nevertheless dispatched his appointed duties very well at the old Yankee Stadium, batting .368 with a 1.104 OPS & 4 HR in 66 regular-season plate appearances. Chipper’s MVP year was 1999. In 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001 he was on the NL All-Star team, but not in 1999. He was also an All-Star in 2008, 2011, & 2012. Jones is the only player who had more than one multi-home run game against Randy Johnson. The two games were, to the day, exactly one year apart. Jones took Johnson deep twice on both 05-Sep-1999 and 05-Sep-2000. In his career, Randy Johnson gave up more HR (6) to Jones than to any other batter.

Saturday: kinda overdid it. Drove to Alpharetta for two 20 cent milkshakes at Steak & Shake. On the way back through Roswell I drove thru Dairy Queen for the 50 cent Lemonade Cooler milkshake. Then straight to the sauna at the gym. Filled up the kiddie pool, which the girls enjoyed immensely. 

While I think the shorter 747s look better than the longer ones, I can understand why Air Force One needs to use the longer model. Pretty sure this new plane was placed on order during Trump's first term not by him, but because the current AF1 had been in use since the 1980's. Many like the new paint job, though I prefer the light blue, designed by First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

Being All Things to All Men

I Corinthians 9:22: To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 

My Christian friends that I see that are taking one side and shutting down / shutting out / blocking out those with opposing views - is this the life Jesus wants us to live? Taking a stand that half the population disagrees with? How does this lifestyle jive with this verse? Sadly, some may even disagree with my pastor's statement...

On Tuesday VP JD Vance went on The View, Glenn Beck, The Five, and Gutfield. Maybe other shows as well. Last week he was on Jesse Waters. He’s not afraid to discuss issues with anyone, and he does so with graciousness and respect. 

Will JD be the 2028 Republican nominee, or will it be Marco Rubio? Will Latinos who previously voted Democrat cross the aisle to support their countryman? I just hope voters are not turned off by Vance and Rubio's bold Christian values. 

Denison on the Giants who wrote Bible verses on their caps.

Thursday: doctor, Dollar Tree, Longhorn with Shawn, Lee, and Reid, Dairy Queen for the 50 cent lemonade cooler, Kroger, and Publix.

Friday: two Goodwills, Dairy Queen, McDonalds, BP, Dollar Tree, haircut, and a sauna at the gym. Later to WalMart.

Do the Braves Need More Pitching?

You can never have enough pitching. Ever since Bobby Cox returned to Atlanta from Toronto, as GM, the organization has made it a priority to draft and develop as many young pitchers as possible. A much better method than to trade for or sign as a free agent. 

Sure the Braves need more pitchers. They always do. That said, exactly how many starting pitchers do they currently have?

Starting pitchers: Sale Holmes Lopez Ritchie Elder Perez

Injured: Strider Schwellenbach AJSS Waldrep 

That’s ten starters, not including rookie sensation Didier Fuentes. That’s why I had no problems with GM AA not trading prospects for a starting pitcher this past offseason. 

I saw a trade proposal where the Braves up three prospects that I’d never heard of. I wouldn’t mind that kind of trade. 

Also missing time with injuries: Acuna, Baldwin, Murphy, Harris, Kim, and Profar. Add the four injured starters, and that’s ten front line players missing chunks of time. No wonder they're finally cooling off, you think?

Albies and Baldwin and Acuna leading the NL All Star voting, with Olson trailing Freddie at first base. Cool All Star posters the Braves graphics department put out this year.

WILLIE MAYS  [SABR Bio] Though no official box score survives to validate it, Retrosheet has uncovered a  game account indicating that 17-year-old Willie Mays—playing for the Birmingham Black Barons—hit his first professional home run on 11-Aug-1948 off veteran Negro League pitcher Chet Brewer. Mays clearly recalls Brewer drilling him in the arm with a fastball in his next plate appearance. The impact was so severe it sent Mays to the ground in tears, an incident often cited as a “welcome to the league” moment for the future Hall of Famer. Mays received a telegram from Brewer later that said “Dear Willie. Sorry. Whitey”.  Whitey was Brewer's nickname. Going up to bat in the 12th inning of Game 2 of the 1973 World Series, Mays reportedly told Oakland catcher Ray Fosse, “Ray, it's tough to see the ball with that background. I hope Rollie (Fingers) doesn't throw me any fastballs.”  Believing Mays couldn't catch up to the heat, Fosse called for a fastball, which Mays promptly hit for a single over Finger's head to drive in the go-ahead run in a 10-7 Mets victory. It would be the final hit of  Mays' major league career.

I was never a big Roger Clemens fan. Racked up Cy Young awards while sucking on steroids, jumping from the Red Sox to Jays to the Yankees to the Astros. But it blew my socks off when he came to the support of the Christians taking a stand on the Giants.

I make it a practice to not watch the college World Series, so me watching three of the Dawgs games in Omaha has probably put the hex on them. Can’t believe Tim Kurtz didn’t make it out to Omaha.

Glad Carolina won the Stanley Cup, since Matthew has been following them all year. He’s constantly wearing their jerseys - he has 2 or 3 different Canes jerseys, plus two other hockey jerseys. He’s becoming a regular Uncle Joey. 

Denison: how a mother prevented an attack on our nation’s capital.