Not THAT Kind of Mall

The National Mall

February

What is the name of the park that contains these familiar
landmarks?

OK, so this month's selection is pretty simple, too. But what a lovely twilight photo of three of our nation's landmarks -- with a big pizza pie of a moon to boot!

Did you know:

• These landmarks were established as a national park in 1965.
• This park contains some of the oldest protected park lands in the National Park Service.

Of Course

Grand Canyon National Park

January

Name this national park with its huge contrasts.

January kicks off with an easily recognizable landscape. (I promise they'll get tougher as the year moves on.) This is one of the national parks I have visited. (I was there in 2004.)

Did you know:

Temperatures here can range from below zero to above 100 degrees.

Some of the driest desert areas in this park get very little rain while other areas average around 12 feet of snow per year.

National Parks

Yellowstone

This year's calendar features a national park for each month. Of the 12 pictured, I have been to just two.

The National Park Service, whose job it is to protect and preserve these national treasures, will celebrate its centennial in 2016.

Yellowstone (pictured at left) was our first national park and is widely considered to have been the first in the world. President Grant established it as a national park in 1872.

Zion National Park

 Zion National Park (pictured at right), located in Utah, was established as a national park in 1919.

I will be posting January's entry in a day or so.

Aloha

Mokulua Islets

December = Kekemapa

What is the name of these two islets off the coast of Oahu?

Located less than one mile off the windward coast of Oahu, these two islands are commonly called "the Mokes" or the "Twin Islands". They are a part of the Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary and activities on them are strictly regulated by law.

Local surfers ride the waves on both sides of the larger island (on the left), and kayak tours to both are popular, though the smaller island (on the right) is off-limits to visitors.