Did you know that the National Park Service sites have a passport? It is a wonderful way of recording which National Park sites you have visited.  With a unique cancellation stamp for each park site one can get carried away with the excitement of the challenge to fill up a passport.  Each passport is divided into the regions of the Park Service system.  As such, you can fill up some regions (such as the mid-Atlantic region) with the cancellation stamp rather quickly while other regions prove challenging (i.e. the Western region).

I started my passport in 1990 during an epic adventure out west.  Subsequently, I purchased one for each of my children in 2001 when we visited the Everglades.  Filling up several passports with cancellation stamps is certainly on my list.  I look at my passports from time-to-time as a way to reminisce about the wonderful places I’ve been as well as a way to plan which park to visit next.  With 2016 being the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, several of the parks have created special commemorative stamps for the occasion.

Did you also know that there is a National Parks Travelers Club?  It’s a social club “whose mission is to provide networking and recognition opportunities for visitors to America’s National Park System.  The Club acts to support and expand appreciation of the U.S. National Park System.”  This club fulfills it’s mission in spades. In addition to an informative website where members post the latest and best information about park visits, they also have an annual convention with awards that recognize a number of categories: Lifetime Achievement, Lower 48 Special Achievement, Master Traveler,  and Flat Hat to name a few.

I became a member several years ago as a way to stay connected to like minded individuals who have a love for our parks.

Check it out at www.parkstamps.org