If you read part one of this story, you know who I am, what I'm trying to do and why I'm trying to do it.
For those of you just jumping on this crazy bandwagon, welcome to my life's greatest on-going adventure.
If you are new here, here's the basic gist: in 2014, I discovered my ultimate passion in life. I'm trying to visit the public lands that give our country the tagline, "America the beautiful." During my first visit to the Badlands of South Dakota, I learned that each of those 58 national parks in the U.S. could teach me something I didn't know before; a life lesson that could change me and make me a better person.
Thus, I began a quest to find each of those lessons.
Each park offers something different, but no lesson is more significant and/or no less meaningful than the last. Up until this point, I have been fortunate enough to acquire seven of the 58 messages the parks have to offer.
Continuing in my mission, I visited the following three parks that taught me the next lessons I will carry with me through the rest of my life.
4. Rocky Mountain National Park
There's a reason the Rocky Mountains inspired the songs of John Denver, the famous painting, "Lander's Peak" painting by Albert Bierstadt and countless other works of art: it's because the glory of the Rockies is truly beyond compare. They are a sight to behold and can humble anyone with their towering presence.
On the road trip home from my summer in Yellowstone National Park, my father and I decided to make a pitstop in this park for a hiking opportunity. After a summer in Yellowstone, I had learned to love everything about the national parks, and I didn't think my dad could appreciate these places in the ways I had learned to.
On the hike, I watched my dad become actively absorbed in the scenes around us. I saw true appreciation for the world surrounding us in his eyes. I knew he had fallen in love with this park just as much as I had.
I could feel the excitement in the air as we reached Alberta Falls at the end of our trail, and it was at that moment I learned what the mountains were echoing to me.
Rocky Mountain National Park taught me that I don't have to take this journey by myself; that these wonderful experiences and insightful life lessons are things I can share with the people I love.
Alberta Falls, Rocky Mountain National Park
Photo by Karley Nugent
My father has been with me in every park that I have been to in my quest so far, and Rocky Mountain taught me to appreciate that extra presence, not only in my journey, but in my life as well.
I am not alone in my unfathomable love for the incredible places I have seen and will see.
5. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
They may not be the tallest peaks, but there is something magical about the often blue-tinted mountains of the fifth park on my journey.
When I go to any park, part of my preparation is always studying the history and notable things about it. What stuck me most about the Smoky Mountains, is the fact that they are some of the oldest mountains in the world, if not the oldest.
Let me tell you, they definitely look good for the age of 545 million years old.
Knowing the facts is one thing, but being there and soaking it all in is a completely different experience. Throughout the duration of my visit to this park, I hiked along the trails in awe of the earth beneath me, knowing that it all existed so long before me, and longer before anyone.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park taught me the true power of the earth; it taught me to truly respect and admire the amazing planet I call my home.
These mountains are a reflection of how old our world is, and how beautiful it is as well.
Hiking in GSM
Photo by Karley Nugent
The earth is more powerful than we could ever hope to understand, and that kind of power demands our respect. Things that are insignificant could never last as long as the Smokies have, and this park taught me that.
6. Biscayne National Park
In case you're missing the pattern in the beginning of my story, let me give you the answer to the riddle: the first five parks I saw were all mountainous. Even the Badlands were hilly and rugged.
I am a mountain kid; although I grew up below sea level, I have always had an undying appreciation for the mighty mountains of the world...and I've never been a beach person. I never truly understood what the appeal of beaches was.
So when I first started planning my trip to Biscayne, I didn't think it was possible to enjoy this place as much as I had the first five milestones on my quest.
Yet again, a national park proved me wrong.
The thing about Biscayne is, 95 percent of this park is underwater, and it is a world completely different than our own.
Shipwrecks and coral reefs are just some of the incredible things to discover that await anyone below the surface of the brilliantly blue waters. It was unlike anything I had expected, and that was my sixth lesson.
Biscayne National Park taught me to be open-minded, because there are always new things to encounter no matter how well you think you know something.
I might not be overly enthusiastic if I'm going to a beach, but Biscayne taught me to look at things in a different light, because no two places are the same, and by actively trying to invest yourself in something, you'll see a whole lot more.
Photo by Kathy Nugent
Six lessons learned, 52 more left to find.
I love the adventure I'm on; I love not knowing where I'll go, what I'll do and, most importantly, what I'll learn next. That is why I'm on this journey; to let the world better me, so that some day, I can better it in return.
I hope you will learn to share your experiences, appreciate the earth and see things in different perspectives as well.
Until part three...
Happy exploring.
