World traveler Stephen Farrar comes online to present the first of a series of programs on the U.S. National Parks. This session will provide an overview of the National Park Service, the differences between National Parks and National Historic Sites, and where you can visit these treasures locally and across the country.

This is the first of a 5 part series on the National Parks through December. Please register for this event on our calendar to receive a Zoom link.

Historian Walter Stegner was specifically referring to our National Parks when he used the phrase “America’s best idea”, but the governing body of our country’s conservation and preservation efforts, the National Park Service, is actually charged with maintaining far more than just the 62 US National Parks.  In the initial talk in our Armchair Traveler series of virtual visits to our magnificent parks, our adventurous presenter Steve Farrar will distinguish between the variety of conservation units (419 in total) under the stewardship of the National Park Service.  Steve uses images of well-known examples to help clarify the distinctions between National Recreation Areas and National Seashores, National Monuments and National Memorials, National Historic Parks and National Military Parks – you get the picture.  We will then be treated to a collage of coming attractions as Steve walks us through several of his favorite scenic wonders and activities that the Parks offer us.

Our presenter, Steve Farrar, grew up in the Boston suburb of Medfield, MA and experienced his first National Parks as an impressionable 14-year-old on the way to the 1969 National Boy Scout Jamboree in Idaho.  The 5-day bus trip from Salt Lake City included stops in Grand Teton NP, Yellowstone NP, and Glacier NP which sparked a fascination with natural beauty that has evolved into Steve’s life-long passion for visiting our National Parks.  His adventures exploring 61 of the 62 parks include hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, scuba diving the coral reefs of the Virgin Islands, camping among the wolves on Isle Royale, scaling rock faces in Yosemite, and climbing to the summits of Mount Rainier and Denali.

  Steve’s pictures and stories of his travels are sure to stoke your personal wanderlust, so come prepared to be inspired!