This is where I did my first backpacking trip 50 years ago at the tender age of 6. I’ve spent my life exploring and enjoying our public lands all throughout our nation. As an educator I brought students out into some of those places and saw the joy nature and wild places brought them.
Sincerely,
Joshua Tree National Park
This iconic park preserves portions of two spectacular desert ecosystems. The Colorado Desert in the eastern portion of the park features natural gardens of creosote bush, ocotillo and cholla cactus. The higher, slightly cooler Mojave Desert offers dazzling vistas of Joshua trees and yucca. The vast park also contains spectacularly sculpted formations of a type of rock known as monzogranite and is a mecca for rock climbers around the world.
State(s): California
Established: 1994
“They protect while also providing access to nature for all of us and for many in our country they are the first or only way they connect to the natural world. Rangers and all other park staff and public land employees are essential to the success of millions of people’s experiences. Thank you to all for what you do!”
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