by Lorry Patton

National and State Parks are found throughout the world. Initially, they may have been created to protect bits of wilderness for our pleasure, but no longer. Today they protect valuable flora and fauna and even on occasion lifestyles and culture. Regions of rainforests, glacial lakes, cemeteries, parkways, aboriginal land use, battlefields and monuments are under the National and State Parks jurisdiction.

Traveling through our national and state parks is like going on a rewarding field trip. Not only do we discover the diversity of our wildlife and landscape, we also learn to appreciate our relationship to the nature of things.

National and State Parks are exceptional destinations, especially appealing to seniors who love to study our planet’s history and beauty through hands-on explorations, entertaining and informative lectures, and real-life visual aides.

The first national park in the world was the Yellowstone National Park in the United States. It was set aside in 1872. Next was the Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It was established in 1885.