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When I retired in the summer of 2010, there were two things Max and I wanted to do. One was to spend a month at the house in TinCup, CO. The other was to drive up to northwestern Montana and visit family. Well, somewhere along the way ours plans sort of grew in scale.
We decided that we would turn our trip to Montana into a tour of the National Parks in the Western and Northwestern part of the states. Since we were driving up to Montana, it just seemed like the natural thing to do. Make a big, giant loop going north to Montana and then west to Washington. From there we headed south through Oregon and California, then turn east to go through Arizona and finally back to Santa Fe, NM.
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Glacier National Park

We packed the car and off we went. We drove close to 7,000 miles. Went to over 15 National Parks and Monuments. And had one of the best trips of our lives.
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Old Faithful

It is almost impossible to describe everything we saw and did along the way. But rest assured that the days were filled with wonder and amazement. The National Parks are some of our countries greatest treasures. Everyone, regardless of age, should make a point of seeing as many of these parks as possible.
Some can be visited and seen in a day and for others, several days should be set aside to see all the wonders the parks contain.
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So if you have the time and the inclination, visit the National Parks. There are parks in virtually every state in the Union. Some are small and some, like the Grand Canyon seen to the right, are enormous. All are worth a visit. Information on the parks can be found through the National Parks Service websites. Just google the park to learn all you need to know before visiting.