The National Parks!
New Year, new explorations. I have to be honest; I haven't visited one of our 63 National Parks yet. Bing has this great catalogue of the National Parks and hotel/flight prices for each. Don't get too distracted by the beautiful photos of each park. It's too damn expensive for a college student to visit, well anywhere, right now. So instead, I'm writing about the parks from my cozy-already-expensive enough dorm. The previous series on this blog have covered rainforests, oceans, and the ecosystems in between. Here, the National Parks are their own unique ecosystems, far more complex than being simply described as just a grassland or just a desert. There's a reason why each park was designated as a government protected piece of land. Every park has history, distinct flora and fauna, and some beautiful crazy fun fact-esque aspect that makes these parks feel like other worlds. Before we dive into some of the spotlights on the National Parks, I want to provide some