Update 23: November 15, 2021
New River Gorge National Park: September 30-31, 2021 (Location 88 on the
Map)
Gateway Arch National Park: October 1, 2021 (Location 89 on the
Map)
Indiana Dunes National Park: October 2, 2021 (Location 90 on the
Map)
During an 1800-mile blitz, Jeff hit the three National Parks in the midwest and northeast that were created after the road trip ended. All were previously in the NPS system, but not as National Parks: New River National River, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. All became National Parks in 2019-2020. Admittedly, the main purpose of this short trip was to still be able to claim visiting all the National Parks in the lower 48. After this trip, Jeff was only missing White Sands National Park in New Mexico. (See next update).
As with the National Park visits during the 2006-2007 road trip, hiking and collecting memorabilia were high on the list. In all our park visits, we collected a photo of the park's entrance sign, a stamp in the passport book, and a pin. You can now order pins online, but we collected all of ours honestly, by visiting the parks.
At New River Gorge in southern West Virginia, Jeff visited the bridge that carries cars 876 feet above the river, hiked along the sandstone cliffs that hold 1000+ rock climbs, and gazed down on the river that boasts up to Class V rapids.
Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, primarily features the arch itself and a large museum that tells the stories of St. Louis' role as a jumping-off point in the expansion into the western US.
At Indiana Dunes, Jeff met up with his cousin from Ohio and drove the length of the park, stopping occasionally to hike through and over the dunes to the shores of Lake Michigan.
For photos from New River Gorge National Park,
Click Here
For photos from Gateway Arch National Park,
Click Here
For photos from Indiana Dunes National Park,
Click Here