Fabulous Friday Finds - Ken Burns "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"

Here at "Life Lessons 101" I've been trying to figure out how to share some of the things that I come across and my enthusiasm for them with my (growing number - yeah!) of readers. I've struck upon the idea of a weekly entry called "Fabulous Friday Finds" where I'll tell you all about some thing that I think is a must see/try/do. If you have anything you'd like to share, just drop me a line and I'll check it out!

So, for our inaugural Fabulous Friday Find, I present:

Ken Burns' documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea"

I'm a HUGE fan of the National Parks and have even considered completing the Iron Butt Assocation's National Parks Tour on my motorcycle! The parks are amazing snapshots of the beauty of the United States. Many of the sites were rescued and protected from developers decades ago and we as a country are richer for it.

This summer Troy and I ventured out west and visited a few of the parks. Being from the flat state of Indiana, it's hard to describe and fathom the heights, depths and sheer vastness of places like the Grand Canyon, Zion and the Mojave desert.

For us, these are tourist destinations complete with running water, indoor plumbing, snacks whenever we want them and cute little gift shops where we can buy souvenirs to show we were once there. But can you imagine what it was like for those original European settlers of America to stumble upon the Grand Canyon for the first time? They were hearty folk and I'm sure even they had to have been daunted by that!

I've only been to a few of the parks, but I'm sure I'm done watching Ken Burns' documentary (check your local listings for Sunday evening on PBS) on the beauty and knowledge of the historical places all around us, I'll have my bags packed and be half way out the door to see them.

The National Parks are most certainly a Fabulous Find!