National Parks Traveler

There are plants and insects named after special days of the calendar, such as this Halloween Pennant Dragonfly seen around Pickerel Lake at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Ranging from New Mexico and Colorado to as far north as Maine, this dragonfly gets its name from its orange-and-black wing coloration. BOO!! Happy Halloween!

Halloween is drawing nigh and even landscapes in units of the National Park System can look at bit spooky. The patterned salt flats at Death Valley National Park in California are no exception when the afternoon darkens because of heavy rainclouds. 

There are six campgrounds located within Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Each campground has its own amazing landscape views. The Savage River Campground offers dramatic views just a short walk away from the campsites. To read more about Denali's campgrounds, click here.

Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is a unit of the National Park System popular for its autumn "leaf peeping" opportunities. To read more about enjoying Shenandoah's fall colors, click here.

There's something to be said for pitching a tent beneath the stars at one of Yellowstone National Park's many campgrounds. You can read about those campgrounds by clicking here.

Aztec Ruins has some of the best-preserved Chacoan structures of its kind. The ceremonial Great Kiva is a semi-subterranean structure, over 40 feet in diameter. Great Kiva is the oldest and largest reconstructed building of its kind. 

They call people who enjoy viewing fall tree colors "leaf peepers," and there are plenty of leaf peepers at Shenandoah National Park when the weather turns cooler and the trees begin to show off their yellow, orange, and red finery.

"It has been more than 700 years since Walnut Canyon echoed with the voices and sounds of a robust pueblo community. Today, the Island Trail leads you back in time, and welcomes you into the world of the Native people archeologists call Sinagua. You'll experience 25 cliff dwelling rooms along the trail; and gaze at others visible across the canyon."

Microorganisms play a large part in coloring hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. According to the National Park Service, "The color of Emerald Spring comes from the inherent blue of the water combined with the yellow of the sulfur-coated pool. The water in this 27-foot deep pool is so hot (close to boiling) that only the most heat-tolerant thermophiles can survive. In sulfur-rich hot springs, such as Emerald Spring, some microorganisms use sulfur as their energy source. Byproducts from these reactions can be used by other microbes. This kind of “recycling” ties the various microorganisms into diverse functioning communities."

According to the National Park Service, "Capitan Reef is now recognized as one of the most well-preserved fossil reefs in the world ... Movement of faults over the last 20 million years caused a long-buried portion of the Capitan Reef to rise several thousand feet above its original position. This uplifted block was then exposed to wind and rain causing the softer overlying sediments to erode, uncovering the more resistant fossil reef and forming the modern Guadalupe Mountains. Today the reef towers above the desert floor as it once loomed over the floor of the Delaware Sea 260 to 265 million years ago."