I am 75 years old and have visited every one of these parks in my lifetime. I have returned with my parents, my kids, and grandkids. It makes me very sad that all the parks have become so over crowded that you need reservations just to enter some of them. This video makes a virtual visit possible and is probably the best video ever made. Excellent narration throughout. Thank you very much for what may be my last visit to each of these places. I am forever grateful to the countries leaders who had the forethought to set each of these places aside for protection so they are here for generations to come. A great and proud, truly American thing to do! It is shameful that mankind cannot spend more time enjoying places like this and less time fighting senseless wars. Thank you for a very enjoyable video !
@@skaycgoldenridge What I do get is your wonderfully rude response. I guess my point was that he said more of mankind should enjoy it and they must be if it's booked out 6 months in advance!! That's crazy and understandably frustrating. I'm truly sorry I upset you so. Have a great day and take care ❤
You are so lucky to have seen all of these national parks David and your family too. I live in Australia and am now in my 70's also and I know I will never see any of them ever...so enjoy on my behalf.
as someone who visited yosemite back during covid when we needed reservations, i am honestly happy about the reservations coming back next year for yosemite. having reservations really limited the amount of people that are there and allowed us to really enjoy the park. not just see seas of cars, people and more of the beautiful nature and HEAR more of the nature; not just humans and cars. it was amazing!
In my opinion the National Parks system is one the greatest attributes of our country. We might disagree on practically everything else but I think most Americans share a strong sense of pride and appreciation for the natural beauty of this country. It’s our responsibility to protect and preserve what was here before us.
Well said. I totally agree with your apparent respect & appreciation for the importance and beauty of the Natural World, and what reserves we have in the National Parks & Monuments. As for most of us sharing a strong sense of that - I so very much certainly hope so. I feel it is vitally important. Our very future survival may very well depend on it.
My dad took me all over these parks I miss him passed 30 years ago when I was 19. I'll always remember the times we were able to travel, he showed me the beauty of America.
My soul can’t stop watching and listening to this. I must experience this before I die. I’m in the process of converting my SUV into a camper now and about to begin my journey soon.
How’s it going? I hope you have set off to enjoy these parks. We go two or three times a year, all the way from England. Nothing like these parks, utterly magnificent.
I have watched many series about the National Parks and Shelton Johnson brings them to life like no one else can. His descriptions transport me there every time.
The West is the best. I live down South and there is nothing beautiful down here. I've been out West and believe me its absolutely beautiful out West. Excellent video..
I do not agree, the south has Great Smokie Mountain, Mammoth Cave, Acadia National park, the whole Appalacian mountaln range, and lets not forget the Everglades and Big Cypress, all are very beautiful, just as beautiful as any parks and wildlife parks
Just gorgeous documentary!!! I've been dreaming of a Western visit trip, .......none of my friends & relatives dare, .... I do,........one day!!!!! Shalom!!!! ❤
I like your video, so it help me to imagine as if i am travelling at those picturesque, magnificent places. Such scenic views out there. I'd like to visit those spectacular parks one day... Btw I am watching you from Russia
So beautiful! Lucky me got to grow up at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Now I'm in Oregon and love living in a natural treed area only 50 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Got to go out there with grandkids the other day and we had a great time. Nature is gorgeous - What a wonderful world.
We enjoy Three Sisters. Take our dogs. We are in Eastern Washington state. Close to Yakama Res. My reservation is in SD. I sweat, powwow and do ceremony with them.
Thanks Nancy. Glad you enjoyed it. The West really is full of amazing landscapes. We can’t get wait until the travel ban ends and we can get out there and film again.
To anyone watching who has never been to one of these parks, all I can say is make it a priority in you life to visit a least one. You'll never regret it, only regret not going before. For me it was life changing. Like feel like a child going to Disney every time I go to one of these parks.
I don't know who needs to read this but we are all going through tough and difficult times, Don't give up. You are here for a reason. You matter. Just don't give up whatever you're going through. I love you.
Amazing video with remarkable insights from Shelton Johnson and his fellow rangers. Mr. Johnson’s commentary inspired me to purchase his book, “Gloryland”, a historical novel incorporating the awe and history of the National parks as viewed through the eyes of a buffalo soldier in the 1870’s.
I was raised in Port Angeles, Wash., up against the Olympic National Park! What a blessing! Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful, jagged mountains, Like Grand Tetons, been there as well I lived in Estes Park , Wow! I've been to Glacier NP, Yellowstone NP as well. Our nation is blessed beyond measure...and, i have been too. 😊👍💕 If you get the opportunity to visit even one National Park...be sure to go. Even visiting/viewing just ONE, you are blessed 😊💕 Thank you for the memories...and, sharing other places i have not visited 🙂
Olympic is included, and one of my personal favorites - I honeymooned in Olympic and have filmed Olympic several times since. But of course in a 1 hour DVD or Blu-ray you can't do justice to any one park. I do hope we've inspired people to visit and better appreciate the special nature of what these public lands are and mean to so many Americans and the world.
Beautiful, majestic, I love it. Seeing beautiful natural scenes I, at times find intoxicating, I can't see enough. This video was beautiful and so well pirated, all the way. Well done.
1975 my friend and I hopped in my Camaro and took I-75 south to I-70 west and didn't stop much until Denver. We turned around after looking at Delicate Arch, had to work in two days. Since then I go somewhere out there at least every three years or so. So much scenic beauty everywhere in the mountains and deserts of the west!
One thing America did right was our national parks. Not many places on earth can match them in pure beauty. If not the prettiest on earth. Yeah some places have spots but the American parks are 100's of miles of nothing but beauty.
I am lucky enough to have visited some of these places and they will remain with me always. Seeing this majesty in person is just too spectacular for words and I encourage everyone who can to do so.
In 2013 I took a month long solo driving tour of many of the Western National parks, from the Grand Canyon north to Glacier (including Monument Valley and both the south and north rim), and also Olympic National Park and Nevada's often overlooked Great Basin National Park and I added Silver Falls State Park just east of Salem Oregon. I went to Silver Falls because of a recommendation someone gave me while I was at Yellowstone. I made up my itinerary as I went along but generally followed a south to north route, then south and finally west from Grand Teton to Silver Falls. I included Bryce and Zion national parks. I almost had to skip Zion--a rare August severe rainstorm hit and caused massive flooding and rock slides in the park, and I was stuck at the eastern entrance to the tunnel as I traveled between Bryce and Zion. The park rangers told me the storm was epic, a 100 year flood event, and there were still large boulders on the main road. I was stuck at the tunnel for almost two hours, had to wait until the next morning to take the tram tour of Zion, as a mist was still falling, but then the sun came out. I saw Capitol Reef NP in 1999 in Utah, Yosemite in '89, and Crater Lake last in '94, and often went to Redwood Natl park, once a California Native.
Silver Falls was a good recommendation, as someone living in Oregon myself anyway. There's a lot of places in the Pacific Northwest that could (or should even) be worthy of national park status but aren't. Silver Falls State Park, actually, could have been a national park-there was a movement long ago to make it one anyway. Other national-park like (on par with) areas in the PNW that I'd recommend would be: - Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, all the way east to Rowena Crest (not just Multnomah Falls) - Central Oregon Cascade Volcanoes (Three Sisters Wilderness, Sparks Lake/Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, McKenzie Pass Scenic Byway/Dee Wright Observatory, and Newberry National Volcanic Monument) - Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument - Mt Baker (Artist Point) and Washington Pass, on either side of North Cascades National Park - Painted Hills and Blue Basin in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument - Cape Perpetua Scenic Area and Bandon coast on the Oregon Coast - Smith Rock State Park - the Alvord Desert and Steens Mountain - the Owyhee Canyonlands and Succor Creek State Natural Area - Palouse Falls State Park - Snoqualmie Falls Of course no PNW trip would be complete without the crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest: Mt Rainier National Park. This is probably the most stunning place in the entire PNW.
This video filled me with great emotion watching it. So well scripited and beautiful photography. I had to share on my Facebook page, hoping friends will watch it. I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit a few of these stunning National Parks. I have taken my children to visit some of them. They were so inspired they have gone back on their own to visit again. I hope to visit them all before I pass. Currently 64, after hubby retires we plan to take a little trailer and travel. Thank you for this.
Literally all of these places fill me with awe and I get quite emotional when seeing them let alone actually being there! The passion of the first ranger I have to say is so touching and I can hear the emotion in his voice, Id be the same if I had the privilege of working in places like this. I hope to one day at least get to one of them, I'm fascinated by Native American Indian cultures and I'd love to go to the red wood forests or Yosemite the most. It makes me very happy to know that even in eras of great destruction and greed that some places have at least been protected, its deeply saddening to know that they could of been swallowed up by development or human 'progression'. Its so important to protect them for the health of this planet and I feel a deep connection to the natural world and especially these places even tho I've never been but maybe.... just maybe one day
Well said. It is indeed scary to know what would have become of some of these places had they not been set aside. I am very thankful that we as a nation have devoted the resources to protect this amazing diversity of parklands.
Bullshit! And I say that because working as a ranger requires schooling and work to get there! It's not just a priviledge, its earned 100% and you could have done the same, but you didnt
@@GratefulOverlander alright 😂 who pissed on ur bonfire? Why so aggressive?. Classic RU-vid turning a completely passive comment into a huge deal 😂 I meant a privilege as in ur lucky not like privilege as in like being born into it or wotever. Also not everyone instantly knows wot they want to do with their life or how to to get there, u might do but that's not everyone else is it?
Very poor audio.i have struggled throughout the video to try to hear what's being said. Most of it I do not know what was said. You should redo it with better audio.
What's surprising in its' omission from this is Olympic NP, on the Washington State coast: it's like 3 complete parks, 65 miles of spectacular coastline, the only temperate rain forest in North America and the Olympic Mountains at its' center! Another item missing, in my opinion, is re: Glacier NP without reference to the companion Park across the border in Canada, Waterton Lakes NP. Its' a 3rd the size of Glacier, but it's stunningly beautiful . It's definitely worth a visit!in its' own right. In 1932, the 2 parks were combined via a treaty by the 2 countries as the World's first International Peace Park, to celebrate mutual respect between the 2
OOps! I misspoke - I scanned the list of Parks at the bottom of this page, but did not see Olympic NP listed - it is in fact HERE. but not included in the list. Oh well, my MISTAKE FOR THE YEAR!
@@vandalnonesuch8274 Yeah, well what they did miss is Mt Rainier National Park, perhaps one of the 5-10 most spectacular parks in the whole country! Mt Rainier was the 4th or so park to be designated, even. It was created in 1904, if I recall, making it one of the country's first national parks. I'd rank it far above Olympic as far as how stunning it is, though no forest parks besides Redwood National Park could compete with the old growth rainforests of Olympic, of course.
IN 1976 I WANTED TO TAKE THE 3 DAY MULE TRIP ONTO THE FLOOR OF THE NORTH RIM OF GRAND CANYON THE COST WAS $20. Unfortunately my Husband at the time was too frightened to do it, never marry a bankers son when you love nature.. Since then I've made 2 trips back to the canyon, 1 as my parents driver 2004 of the last vacation they ever took they were amazed and said why had they never traveled west before they were 73 & 76 years old. Then one on a return trip 1994 of a Pop Warner 2 hour National Football Game held in Northern California, driving from SW Florida to California and back to Florida with a stop in Ky to spend a night with my brother, 3 years later I & children moved to ky.. They won the National Game, my son was 12 years old, their team was called the "Bandits", driving 6,783 miles in 12 days with children 11,12,13,15 years old in mid-December, I had no time or money left to ride the mule. Maybe next time when I get rich, hopefully I won't run out of time, my age door is closing I'd love to take my Grandsons I'm raising 10,14,17. Truthfully, I'd love to take all 10 Grandsons and 1 granddaughter ages 9-17 & 1 almost 4 years old, it would make it the 4th generation journey to the beauty of the Great Grand Canyons.
I think we ALL just got a COMPLETE family TREE and family history from this lovely Grandma !! Hilarious and beautiful !! Cheers and love from Brisbane Queensland Australia 🇦🇺💞😎🌟🌈
Maybe one day I’ll be able to visit a park and see a glacier, and it’s awesome that so many have viewed glacier/s, but if I don’t see a glacier “with my own eyes”, I think I’ll be able to live my life.
A place filled with petroglyph I never hear mentioned much is the kabilib national forest norther Arizona. I spent a week there. Going off the trails. Almost every flat rock surfaces had them. Unfortunately the ones close to the road were vandalised.
Beautiful area! Unfortunately, petroglyph vandalism is a growing problem. Such disrepect for the land and the native american culture. Here is a recent video we produced on the subject. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9gq5Ji2AqfE.html
I first saw Yosemite by Rail Freight. Off season and cold, snow, and wonder , absolutely magnificent, does not describe in mere words the beauty of that area of the world. And No, Please pay attention to the Bigfoot , I mean bear warning signs.
There are many great comments posted here, but we must remember that these parks were created to prevent exploitation by profiteers, If left unprotected these wonder would have long ago been destroyed. I've managed to visit several of the parks mentioned here, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier, and the Bad Lands. As others have said; "If you have never visited ANY of our national parks, make an effort to visit a few". No matter where you live, you are within a day's drive of a national park, and can be visited over a long weekend. WE have to be vigilant concerning these places, otherwise they may go the way of Lake mead and Lake Powel, which destroyed parts of the Grand Canyon. Parks, like Yellowstone are becoming commercialized, taking away from their original intent, preservation forever. ;-)
At 60, I'm glad I was able to see some of these wonderful parks. But I'm torn apart by climate change, and what will happen to all of these places. The rock will remain. But the life is burning up, and drifting away in the wind. For those who haven't seen these lands, GO SOON.
The best thing the Hayden Expedition of 1871 to the Yellowstone Valley did was to include in their party, an artist and a photographer to document, in different forms, what the area looked like AND what it encompassed! Without those images shown to Congress, it's a guess as to what would have resulted! The exploiters might have ruined it and the park concept might have withered on the vine, so to speak.The whole world might have been a lesser place!
I am Lakota and the park ranger told it straight. At the end of the day……..all ethnic cultures have struggled. Humanity failed to recognize we are all…….one race. The human race and must come together in love. Only then…..will we live in harmony. Creator made all his/her children. When the Sacred Hoop of Life is mended….we will have peace! Free Lenard Peltier! The FBI lied and we died.
Yes, the western scenery has been celebrated in books, in movies, but way before all that media, and till today, the ancestors of the Native Indigenous People enjoyed it first. It was a good move on Teddy Roosevelt to make national parks, but it drove away many peoples that populated those areas.
Among the greatest western National Parks is Big Bend in West Texas. Geographically and historically part of the American western landscape. Don’t understand why it was excluded?
@@farstrider4592 Yeah, it was weird to not include Mt Rainier. It's one of the most spectacular parks in the country, and was one of the very first parks to be created too, established in 1904, I believe. It's up there among Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite.
When the glaciers of Glacier National Park are gone, and they will be if things continue as they are on the current trajectory, the name of the park will not change because it's glaciers that sculpted the entire place. That will never change. That's permanent.
Don't worry, the glaciers will return . . . in the thousand years or ten thousand year but they come and they go . . . If we live before the glaciers we would be weeping over their coming.
Keep on ignoring Olympic NP. When I worked there we loved the fact that nobody ever heard of us. Keeps the riffraff out so to speak. We wanted all that beauty to ourselves.
I must say that did creep into my mind, when you see vision of people wandering around by themselves ( understandably of course !) and you realise just how TRULY VULNERABLE a person is and just how EASY it is for them to disappear without a trace !! Between cryptids and accidents and BAD humans...the list is ENDLESS of what can happen !! Take care everyone and ENJOY , BUT be super alert with safety precautions !! Cheers from Oz 😎🇦🇺🐨
Everyone needs salvation here are the words of salvation please forgive me jesus im a sinner come into my heart and save me from my sin I no that you are the savior and I no that you died for me on calvary and I no that God raise you from the dead and you are alive and I thankyou for your salvation in Jesus holy name amen and its important to always ask for forgiveness everynite
What bearing does your " downer " comment have on this stunning video !! Unnecessary and un-called for !! Take your awful sermon elsewhere and don't ruin a beautiful video !! This IS NOT your own personal PULPIT lady !! Have restraint !! Good day !! 🙄
@@davidwellen830 - no, it was the worst thing I could say about this video. The distracting music spoiled the video for me and I couldn't listen to it because of that. Not sure why that should mean I can't visit these 'parks'. That's a very strange connection you made there