JT Spunk | Photography

The Most Unique Park In The Usa?

The word unique will have different meaning to different people, and not all will agree on which park is the most unique. I have found one park that just struck me as unique. I wonder if you will agree.

Visiting the National Parks, National Monuments, Wilderness areas and State Parks in the United States can be an adventure. I’ve been visiting, climbing, hiking and taking photographs in these parks for years. Certainly, I could say that almost every park is unique. I am an outdoors type of person and enjoy the fresh air, sunshine and incredible views. These parks are wonderful for people who enjoy these types of activities:

• Hiking

• Camping

• Cycling

• ATV

• Scenic Drives

• Horseback Riding

• Wildlife

• Rafting

• Fishing

• Hunting

• Canyoneering

• Photography

• Water sports and boating

• Caves and exploring

After all these years of traveling and exploring the hardest part always seems to be the research time. I’ll visit website after website finding the parks or areas of interest that I want to explore, then onto researching where I’m going to stay. Then to the task of mapping out the travel time details to make the trek comfortable as I go from the first location to the next activity, to the accommodations and so on. To solve this inefficiency a group of us outdoor enthusiasts have been creating a website with all the National Parks, National Monuments, State Parks and Wilderness Areas all located in one forum message board for adventure travelers to read, share and post their trip reports. I invite you to visit. We bought the web domain name adventurezonetours and have been busy loading basic data for each location. Now it’s all in one place.

So, which park do you think is the most unique? I have always just loved Glacier National Park in Montana and have been drawn back for visit after visit. But, in the last couple of years I seem to be changing my mind. I’ve been turned onto Zion National Park in Utah and the slot canyons of the southwest. Zion Canyon is just awesome. I have also recently taken my first journey into the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument also known as GSENM. It was really just a quick trip through the monument on one of the remote wilderness roads that crosses from near Kodachrome State Park to Southern Utah, near the Arizona border. It may turn out to be the most unique. Which park do you think is most unique?

All those hours of loading data in the adventurezonetours message boards gave me a chance to see parks, monuments and wilderness areas in the USA, and some areas I have not visited. One park stood out as a bit unique to me. It is in Michigan and I have not visited it. I doubt that you have visited it either! The park is a state park called Meridian – Baseline State Park. It is not open to the public, so how could we have visited it? Here’s the link for information about this state park. Check it out!

Meridan – Baseline State Park

So, I guess since this park is not open to the public, it has struck me as very unique. Would you agree?

The Meridan – Baseline State Park is 88 acres and preserves a marker that was used for the Michigan Survey. In general here is what the marker preserves.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, there were only thirteen states. The territory of land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River were in question.

The new Continental Congress was asking these states to give up any claims of ownership of these lands to the federal government. Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut all claimed large chunks of this land. A large chunk of Michigan had been chartered to Virginia from King James in 1609, at the time this was the Northwest Territory. In 1787 a territory was established by congress in what is now Michigan. After a new territory grew to a population of 60,000 free citizens, it could petition Congress to become a state. This new state could then have all the rights of the original 13 states. At that time a survey would happen and thus, in 1815 two men were hired to establish accurately the location of the base line and the principal meridian which are preserved by this marker.
About the Author

Bob Therrien is a travel writer and has traveled all over North America. He currently operates the Outdoor Travel Message Boards website at
AdventureZoneTOURS.com
He invites you to visit, share, and post your outdoor recreation travel details.

Cascades on the Virgin River in the fall, Zion National Park, Utah, United Photo Mugs Cascades on the Virgin River in the fall, Zion National Park, Utah, United States of America, North America….

Close-up of golden autumn leaves in the Zion National Park Photo Mugs Close-up of golden autumn leaves in the Zion National Park, Utah, United States of America, North America….

Cottonwood by the Virgin River, The Pulpit, Zion National Park in Autumn, Utah, Photo Mugs Cottonwood by the Virgin River, The Pulpit, Zion National Park in Autumn, Utah, United States of America, North America….

Temple of Sinawava, Zion National Park, Utah Card 5 x 7 inch premium quality folded paper greeting card. Places & Cities greeting cards & photo cards are available at Greeting Card Universe. We will mail the cards to you or direct to your loved ones. Look no further than Greeting Card Universe for your Places & Cities card needs. This paper card includes the following themes: photography,  zion, and national park. Utah cards from Greeting Card U…

Photo Jigsaw Puzzle of TUW7127 from Robert Harding $24.99 Photo Puzzle, TUW7127. Zion National Park, Utah, United States of America, North America. Chosen by Robert Harding. 10×14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5×7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab….

Photo Jigsaw Puzzle of TUW7162 from Robert Harding $24.99 Photo Puzzle, TUW7162. Zion National Park, Utah, United States of America, North America. Chosen by Robert Harding. 10×14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5×7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab….

Photo Jigsaw Puzzle of TUW7112 from Robert Harding $24.99 Photo Puzzle, TUW7112. Landscape near Zion National Park, Utah, United States of America, North America. Chosen by Robert Harding. 10×14 Photo Puzzle with 252 pieces. Packed in black cardboard box of dimensions 5 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 1 1/5. Puzzle image 5×7 affixed to box top. Puzzle pieces printed on RA4 paper at 300 dpi. This item is shipped from our American lab….

Zion National Park Impressions $7.26 In each glorious season, Randklev and Till capture Zion’s many striking features, from the meandering Virgin River to the stately Watchman. Zion’s majestic land forms and surreal colors come to life on the pages of Zion National Park Impressions. Lyman Hafen’s sensitive foreword details the history and magic of this unique national park, In this day and age we are bombarded by color images in such…

Zion Canyon: A Storied Land (Desert Places) $4.26 Zion National Park has served as the stage set for more than twenty-five movies, including, most notably, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It is also a popular tourist destination, boasting a visitor log of more than 2.5 million every year. During the summer months, tour buses rattle their way into the park almost hourly. Sightseers crowd polished-trestle-wood and river-rock inns, buy hand-wove…

Home On The Range $11.99 Photography By Miguel Angel Sfeir Younis Creative Adaptation By Denise C. Moore Edited By: Bonita Lloyd The book is English to Spanish. Translated By: Franklin Rico Denise Moore If you have never been close to buffalo before and want to learn what the photographer and I experienced in their beautiful environment. This book will …

Zion National Park Cave Photography Mousepad by CafePress $13 Keep your mouse rolling in style on our durable cloth top mousepad. A great gift for geeks, gamers, or anyone with a computer. Rubber backing prevents the mousepad from sliding. Machine washable. Photography Mousepad Keep your mouse rolling in style on our durable cloth top mousepad. A great gift for geeks, gamers, or anyone with a computer. Rubber backing prevents the mousepad from sliding. Machine washable.

Zion National Park Tour Guide Book $17.5 Explore the fascinating highlights, history, geology nature of Zion National Park with this entertaining, educational, pointbypoint Waypoint Tour complete with park insider stories, breathtaking photography detailed tour maps. Your personal tour guide for Zion travel adventure www.waypointtours.com Waypoints Include: 1) Zion 2) Zion Canyon Visitor Center 3) Parus Trail 4) Watchman Trail 5) Zion Museum 6) ZionMount Carmel Highway 7) Canyon Overlook Trail Court of the Patriarchs 9) Zion Lodge 10) Emerald Pools Trails 11) The Grotto Angels Landing Trail 12) Hidden Canyon Weeping Rock Trails 13) Temple of Sinawava Riverside Walk 14) The Narrows 15) Kolob Canyons 16) Bryce Canyon 17) Grand Canyon South Rim 18) Grand Canyon North Rim Author: Waypoint Tours/ Tours, Waypoint Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 52 Publication Date: 2009/02/27 Language: English Dimensions: 6.00 x 9.02 x 0.11 inches

W.W. Norton & Co Guide To Zion National Park $17.95 W.W. Norton & Co Guide To Zion National Park

Zion National Park: Impressions $11.26 In each glorious season, Randklev and Till capture Zion’s many striking features, from the meandering Virgin River to the stately Watchman. Zion’s majestic land forms and surreal colors come to life on the pages of Zion National Park Impressions. Lyman Hafen’s sensitive foreword details the history ???????????????????????????????????????????????? and magic ???????????????????????????????????????????????? of this unique national park, "In this day and age we are bombarded by color images in such proliferation it is easy to become complacent to their beauty. But as James Randklev and Tom Till have proven in the pages of this book, the utter magnificence of Zion National Park can still stop you in your tracks and cause you to wonder if such a place truly exists." Greer K. Chesher’s captions will give readers a deeper understanding of the geology and history behind this remarkable land.

Beautiful America’s Utah $21.72 New – Native Sena Flanders takes you on a personal tour of the Beehive State. Everywhere from Salt Lake to St. George, from Zion National Park to the Uintah Mountains. And all of it in outstanding color photography by the renowned David Schultz. If you are going to the next Winter Olympics, or simply planning to tour the scenic splendor of Utah, this is the book to take along.

Exploring the Southwest’s Grand Circle $0.99 Used – Richly illustrated with color photography, this interpretive guide follows the spectacular “Grand Circle” route through the Southwest’s plateau lands encompassing America’s highest concentration of scenic national parks and monuments. From the Grand Canyon to Zion and Bryce to the exquisite rock formations in Canyonlands, Arches, and the Navajo Tribal Park, visitors to this region meander through a fascinating world of geologic wonders and Ancient Puebloan culture. The revised edition fea

Exploring the Southwest’s Grand Circle $110.65 New – Richly illustrated with color photography, this interpretive guide follows the spectacular “Grand Circle” route through the Southwest’s plateau lands encompassing America’s highest concentration of scenic national parks and monuments. From the Grand Canyon to Zion and Bryce to the exquisite rock formations in Canyonlands, Arches, and the Navajo Tribal Park, visitors to this region meander through a fascinating world of geologic wonders and Ancient Puebloan culture. The revised edition feat

The Karadan Encounter $25.45 New – Courtney Sayers, a woman in her late fifties, needs an escape from her high-pressure job as an anesthesiologist. In an effort to clear her head, she decides to entertain her hobby of photography in the beautiful mountains of Zion National Park. As night falls during her drive through the desert of southwestern Utah, Courtney’s car hits something. Slamming on her breaks, she realizes she has hit what looks like a human being. As she stands over the injured, attractive man, he requests that

Zion National Park $34.95 New – Acclaimed and outstanding full-color photography is shown with memorable and breathtaking views of sites, wildlife, national parks and landmarks across the country. Includes detailed maps and descriptive text.

Zion National Park $123.28 New – Discover the beauty and grandeur of our country’s national parks. Full-color photography complements the text of these books, providing information about each park’s geology and history, as well as conservation issues, animals, and wildlife. This series explores and supports the standards “People, Places, and Environment,” as required by the National Council for the Social Studies; “The World in Spatial Terms,” “Places and Regions,” “Physical Systems,” “Environment and Society,” and “The U