Each year the National Parks bring in millions upon millions of visitors, Americans (Westerners, Easterners) and Foreigners, all alike, in that all are really just looking see the world in a different light. Usually they come seeking delight, or to bask in the inspirational power of these natural treasures—the sights, sounds, smells and feels that could only have been created over countless millennia—treasures that can be found no place else on Planet Earth! 

The parks we've set aside over the past 125 years as National Parks, hands down, offer the visitor some of the world's most spectacular geographic, topological, geologic and natural sights you can see—anywhere in the world!

National Park Service Protects Our Outdoor Wonders

But there are even more special treasures to be found in America that the NPS works diligently to protect. These include the

• National Monuments,
• National Wildlife Preserves and
• National Historical Sites.

Recently a Documentary has been aired on PBS called, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea", narrated by Ken Burns, in which we see the beauties of nature, the open spaces, green, lush landscapes, flowing rivers and cascading waterfalls, in all their grandeur and glory.

National Park Service Extends a Friendly Invite!

The National Parks Service is currently running a campaign to try to increase the number of visitors that come to not only their Parks, but also these other great attractions listed above! There are numerous National Monuments, Preserves and Historical Sites (all of which, by the way, GettingOutside.com is working hard at cataloging, describing, rating, and also beginning conversations about—so members can join to tell the world what they think of the parks). We want to share a very special one with you now, because NPS has recently shared the story with us:

In Roosevelt, Arizona, not far from Flagstaff, you will find a region of desert that offers visitors a breathtaking array of unforgettable, perhaps even unimaginable scenery.

At Tonto National Monument you will encounter the imagery, color and light of the desert like you've never seen before. Here's how they describe the park's natural features, comparing them to a champion gymnast "diving, tumbling, and rising into the air [...] arms [raised] in yogic postures. Spring wildflowers transform the land with purples, pinks, and reds. Nature, with its feats and beauty, shares the stage with what humans have made."

Yet nothing artificial can compare to the majestic glory and inspiring countenance of these desert rock faces, rolling red hills and rocks carved before humans ever even began to pick up a tool to shape the earth. This National Monument is certainly, as they say, "one for the ages;" and it is a testament to the incredible power nature has: To change the world.

Come here or stop by and visit any of the National Parks Service's attractions—

___________________—but only if you desire to be inspired!