A term synonymous with Quest is “Odyssey?”  Our friends at Merriam-Webster define the word as, “an intellectual or spiritual wandering or quest.”  See, one defines the other.  As mentioned earlier, I had a goal to visit America’s National Parks, and that meant all of them, not just the 63 whose titles have “National Park” attached as their classification/suffix.  In 2016, I was getting close. I sensed the finish line. That must have been how Henry “Hank” Aaron felt in 1973 as he chased Babe Ruth’s all-time homerun record of 714 round-trippers?  Finishing the season with 713, “Hammering Hank” had to wait until the fourth game of the 1974 season to hit number 715.  Who remembers the three national television networks (yes, there were only three back in the ‘good ole days’) switching over to the Atlanta Braves game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, so the entire country could witness Baseball history?

As of December-2016 there were 414 park units.  My tally stood at 404.  I made a vow to finish my spiritual wandering in 2017.  The fruition of my quest did not have quite the national magnitude as Aaron’s homerun, but it had high personal significance.  These visits to our national parks have educated me more about our country’s history than I remember being taught in elementary and secondary schools.  This would be the “intellectual” part of Webster’s definition.  I am told by friends and family my connection to our national parks is religious-like.  Most would say traveling to the four corners of America and most points in between is ‘planned’ spiritual wandering.  As Annie Savoy in Bull Durham believes in the Church of Baseball, I suppose I believe in the Church of National Parks.  So, an Odyssey as well as a Quest?  An emphatic “Yes.”

Not to be left out of the discussion, what about the word “Adventure?”  Merriam-Webster says, “an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks.”  Everyone at some point in their life is faced with an adventure, either planned or unexpected.  Walking the Brooks Falls trail solo in Katmai National Park was an escapade.  Every turn on the paths could have resulted in a personal introduction to one the park’s big, furry residents, and I am not talking about those with an adjective of “cuddly” applied.  Talk about a risk, and, yes, maybe a stupid one at that.  Most National Park units are perfectly safe, especially compared to the wilds of Katmai.  Visitors have little to worry if they follow park rules and use level-headedness.  For example, jumping in the water and swimming with alligators in Everglades National Park, or getting out of one’s car to pet bison in Yellowstone National Park, is easily classified as “lack of common sense”.  Some of the parks I will be revisiting in 2023 offer adventures, if danger and risk are requisites for one’s sortie.  The Balconies Cliff Trail in Pinnacles National Park and Angels Landing in Zion National Park will not be lenient just because I am on a Quest to visit all the national parks.  Preparation is required before crossing the boundaries into their lands.  Exercising prudence during the visits will be paramount. Let’s get ready to roll.