Leave Only Footprints: My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park

I read this one as one of my bookclub's choices. Conor Knighton is the author, who embarked on the ultimate road trip to the National Parks. As a balm to his heartache following a broken engagement, Knighton decides to pitch to CBS his idea of visiting all sixty-three designated U.S. National Parks. He got the idea in 2015, as he knew the year 2016 marked the 100th year since President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act on August 25, 1916, creating the agency to oversee national parks. E.g., the perfect time to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the National Park system. Knighton planned to visit, film and produce each park visit as a travel and educational feature to air over a 52-week period - with some of the visits grouped together in the episodes. Now, to map out his plan. Rather than going from coast-to-coast in successive order, which one would think was most logical, Knighton had to think like a television producer and develop his itinerary based on themes. He went to various destinations based on their features. Think Mountains. Waterways. Coastline. Deserts. Caverns. Volcanoes. And even one National Park not in the U.S., but in unincorporated American Somoa. I learned a lot about our national park system, and enjoyed the journey. And this book reinforced that one need not travel afar, when there is so much beauty and majesty to experience at home. It certainly makes me appreciate the foresight of preserving our land, for all.

This definitely made me want to check out more of the national parks