By Peggy DePersia, Guest Blogger

Whenever I pass through an ‘entrance’ route to a national park, I get goose bumps of anticipation. I have learned to understand that I am guaranteed to experience something special: a sighting of a unique creature, a spectacular scene of a natural wonder, an amazing artifact, or an exhibition of a cultural phenomenon.

From ‘Thunder Hole’ in Acadia National Park on the far eastern seaboard of Maine to ‘Hurricane Ridge’ in Olympic National Park in the far northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington, natural wonders abound. The treasures of our national parks are not limited to the glories of the natural world; they include cultural and historical ‘grand slams’ as well.

I must admit that as a youngster, it was often difficult for me to sustain awe. In fact, I’m not sure the word awesome was part of my vocabulary. Awesome was not the over used word it sometimes seems today. Yet, awe inspiring and wondrous are the words that easily come to mind when admiring the ‘holdings’ of our national park system. And, they’re available to everyone; one just has to ‘get there’.

We were just passing through the park in a day trip sort of way, actually two ‘day trips’; a peaks and valleys kind of roaming at the end of the ‘season’. I could easily imagine children splashing in the shallows of Crescent Lake within sight of their caretakers lounging in the adirondike style chairs on the nearby shore.

I had no trouble envisioning a game of hide and seek in the shadows of the large pine trees or, maybe, a frisbee toss in the open areas ringed with very quaint, gabled, one-story guest cabins. I must have stepped back in time for a moment dreaming about the vacation activities between the end and start of school year; it was a delightful reverie.

I must have stepped back in time for a moment dreaming about the vacation activities between the end and start of school year; it was a delightful reverie.

I will not suggest that you need to be at the Crescent Lake Inn in the state of Washington to enjoy a leisurely lunch over a halibut sandwich but, you’ll probably never have one better; the halibut arriving daily as it does (during halibut season) out of the Alaskan waterways. All I can say is: YUM! To complete the picture, add a glass of crisp, Washington State white wine and fun conversation with a longtime friend. Perfect!

Peggy is a retired art instructor who loves to explore the connections between art and life, particularly with her camera toting sidekick, her husband.