We made a quick trip over to Colorado last weekend and visited Mesa Verde National Park. Perfect weather! Not too crowded! Nice!!! Here are a few more pics:

If you go, DEFINITELY get a guided tour. The park rangers are so knowledgeable and can answer most of your questions. The history of the area is fascinating.

Sadly, a lot of the area had burn scars because Mesa Verde is prone to lightning strikes and can receive up to 100 strikes in a 24-hour period during the summer. 70% of the park has been burned by wildfires since it was established in 1906!

One thing I love about blogging is having posts to reference anytime/anywhere. I’m going to use this post as my National Parks Bucket List and keep track of where we’ve visited and where we still need to go! So many! It will take a while to finish this big bucket list. But so fun!

LIST OF US NATIONAL PARKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

• Acadia National Park {done}
• Arches National Park {done}
• Badlands National Park
• Big Bend National Park
• Biscayne National Park
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park {done}
• Canyonlands National Park {done}
• Capitol Reef National Park {done}
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Channel Islands National Park
• Congaree National Park
• Crater Lake National Park
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Death Valley National Park
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Everglades National Park
• Gates of the Arctic National Park
• Gateway Arch National Park 
• Glacier National Park
• Glacier Bay National Park
• Grand Canyon National Park {done}
• Grand Teton National Park
• Great Basin National Park
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park {done}
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park
• Haleakala National Park
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park {done}
• Hot Springs National Park
• Indiana Dunes National Park
• Isle Royale National Park
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Kings Canyon National Park {done}
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Lake Clark National Park
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Mesa Verde National Park {done}
• Mount Rainier National Park
• National Park of American Samoa
• New River Gorge National Park 
• North Cascades National Park
• Olympic National Park
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Pinnacles National Park
• Redwood National Park {done}
• Rocky Mountain National Park {done}
• Saguaro National Park
• Sequoia National Park {done}
• Shenandoah National Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Virgin Islands National Park
• Voyageurs National Park
• White Sands National Park 
• Wind Cave National Park
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yellowstone National Park {done}
• Yosemite National Park {done}
• Zion National Park {done}

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!