Surprising Experiences In America’s National Parks

The initial 30 summers of our marriage were devoted to wandering the United States in a series of four Volkswagen campers. These underpowered camping versions of the iconic Volkswagen Microbus served as ideal summer homes for a young (at the time) couple wanting to see America on the cheap.

Our first VW camper, a 1967 model, was unable to make the minimum speed limit headed west against the wind on I-80 in Wyoming. Each summer we departed home in May when school was out and returned a couple of days prior to the beginning of another year of teaching.

A marriage either grows strong or collapses with lengthy road trips in a VW camper. Ours survived.

The trips nearly always included visits to numerous national parks that offered memorable experiences, including some that proved quite surprising. Viewing Old Faithful Geyser was certainly memorable, but not surprising due to having previously seeing numerous pictures and videos of one of America’s most famous landmarks.

We have found it is the unexpected experiences that prove particularly memorable. During a 2011 visit to Big Bend National Park an adult mountain lion sprinted a short distance behind us while we were standing at the entrance to the Chisos Mountains Lodge registration building talking with the general manager.

On a 2007 visit to Golden Spike National Historical Park we by chance arrived on a day in May when the park was celebrating the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Utah Governor John Huntsman arrived riding the replica of Union Pacific’s Jupiter locomotive and announced
Golden Spike would be featured on the Utah quarter to be minted that year.

At Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, Alaska, during a 1983 road trip in a 1978 VW camper we enjoyed a 4th of July celebration that included a small parade with a couple of the community’s citizens pulling a wagon holding a baby and a sign that read “Help Populate Skagway.”

There were numerous other pleasant surprises during our many years of national park visits. Here are five we consider among our most surprising and memorable. Keep in mind travelers have different likes and expectations, so our choices might not provide you with the same sense of wonder as they did for the two of us.

1. Enveloped by starlight in Canyonlands National Park – During a 1970s journey in our second VW bus, a 1971 air-cooled model that offered a prolonged view of the scenery when climbing mountains, we spent several days camping in the Needles District of Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. The days were blazing hot with minimal shade and the only available water was from an ancient U.S. Army tanker truck parked in the sunlight.

At the conclusion of an evening campfire program the flames had burned down to orange embers but no one seemed to want to leave. We all sat staring in wonder at the night sky. Under darkness of a new moon the Earth seemed awash in starlight. We watched in silence as satellites glided overhead and shooting stars flashed across the sky.

The evening program in Canyonlands National Park took place under the most amazing night sky the two of us would ever experience.

2. Moonlight Walk in Devils Tower National Monument – Nearing the end of a 3-month road trip visiting national parks and their lodges in the summer of 2011, we stopped for two nights of tent camping in Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming. At the time we were on our way from multiple nights in Yellowstone National Park to Cedar Pass Lodge in Badlands National Park. Devils Tower was home to our favorite national park campground that we had visited a couple of times prior to the impressive monolith gaining prominence with the 1977 movie release of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Following a morning hike through the park’s prairie dog town to the visitor center at the tower’s base we noticed a posting for a ranger-guided evening “full moon walk.” This was too good to pass up, so following dinner (most likely slices of Spam and baked beans) we joined about a dozen other campers and tagged along with a park ranger into the gathering darkness.

Near the conclusion of the walk the group hiked up a hillside and at the crest was met with one of the most gorgeous vistas ever: the full moon glowing brightly a short distance to the left of Devils Tower. Sadly, we had forgotten our camera, but the scene continues to glow in our memory.

3. Rowing across the Border in Big Bend National Park – Shortly before departing on a 2015 trip to Big Bend National Park we learned the park’s Mexican border crossing had reopened after being closed for a decade. We had previously visited the park that is bordered on the south by the Rio Grande River on several occasions but were unaware the park had a formal border crossing.

During our third day in Big Bend we drove from the lodging area to the park’s Port of Entry Building. Producing our passports for park Ranger Brittney Mitchell, we were offered some guidance before walking down a path to the gravel riverbank of the Rio Grande. There we waited for transportation to Mexico that turned out to be a rowboat powered by the arms of smiling Mexican resident Carmello who rowed across the river to pick us up. Round trip in the rowboat was $5 per person, paid in cash upon arrival on the Mexican shoreline.

During the short trip across the river we were treated to musical entertainment by boisterous singing originating from a bluff overlooking the river courtesy of the chief entrepreneur of this international low-tech transportation operation. Upon arrival we paid another $5 for a mile-long mule ride into the small Mexican community of Boquillas, where we roamed the streets and dined on tacos and Mexican Coca-Cola at a small restaurant. The border-crossing experience alone was worth the trip to Big Bend.

4. Standing in the Footsteps of Hundreds of Thousands of Pioneers Who Crossed the Continental Divide – South Pass in southwestern Wyoming is a gradually sloping saddle-shaped mountain gap where in the 1800s hundreds of thousands of pioneers on their way to Oregon and California crossed the Continental Divide. The pass was named to differentiate it from the northern route taken in the early 1800s by Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery.

We have visited South Pass on three occasions, each time while following the Oregon Trail National Historic Trail from its initial departure location in Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. South Pass visitors are a sparse commodity even though the pass is one of the most important historic landmarks in America. During our third visit to South Pass in 2021, with only the sound of the wind to disturb the silence, a pair of adult elk and their two calves raced down a nearby fence row. The adult elk soared gracefully over a connecting fence while their calves came to a sudden halt and began searching for a way through.

Shortly after the calves had discovered an opening and were on their way, a herd of antelope galloped along the same fence row in the opposite direction toward the Wind River Range. This proved the most memorable and surprising experience of our entire 2,400-mile trip. South Pass is a magical place that offers travelers a near spiritual experience. At least it did for the two of us.

5. Broiling in Death Valley National Park at a 4th of July Celebration – In May 1996 we set out from our home in Valdosta, Georgia, on a three-month road trip devoted to gathering information and photos for the first edition of a book about America’s national park lodges. By early July we had visited 12 lodges and were driving through Las Vegas on our way to Death Valley National Park for a two-night stay at Furnace Creek Ranch (now “The Ranch at Death Valley”). During previous summer trips we had crossed Death Valley, but never stayed overnight due to the oppressive heat. Following a tour of upscale Furnace Creek Inn (now “The Inn at Death Valley”) that at the time was closed during the summer months, the general manager invited us to an employee 4th of July celebration scheduled for the following day.

Based on the temperature we were experiencing, it was difficult imagining how anyone could survive such an event. The morning of the 4th started with a parade of decorated golf carts normally utilized on what is described as the world’s lowest elevation (214 feet below sea level) 18-hole, 70 par course. Following the parade we all strolled to a grassy area where hamburgers were being grilled. With a temperature that day of 124 degrees the burgers could have easily been cooked on the pavement.

The celebration included a variety of games and we are proud to report the two of us won a prize of two squirt guns by finishing first in the three-legged race. On a day when gloves or a towel were needed to open a car door, the celebration that came as complete surprise turned out to be great fun and the most memorable experience of the three-month trip.

David and Kay Scott live in Valdosta, Georgia, and are authors of “Exploring the Oregon Trail: America’s Historic Road Trip” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at
blog.valdosta.edu/dlscott