East From Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park, California

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Looking east from Olmsted Point is the tiny blue splash of Tenaya Lake among glacier-carved domes of white granite. This view, more than any other, captured for me the primeval grandeur of Yosemite. Yes, even more than looking up the Yosemite Valley at Half Dome and El Capitan.

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Mount Rainier From Coal Creek Mountain, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

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Mount Rainier, aka Mount Tacoma, as seen from the US 12 pass on Coal Creek Mountain, more than 15 miles away. I call it "Tacoma-San."

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Diablo Lake, North Cascades National Park, Diablo, Washington

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Looking roughly south, this small piece of Diablo Lake in North Cascades National Park is green because of glacier-ground rock particles suspended in the water, much like rivers in the Canadian Rockies.

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Rogers Pass, Glacier National Park, British Columbia, Canada

Three days after rainy Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park (Canada) was just as rainy. I basically just drove through on the Trans-Canadian Highway through Rogers Pass. Again, pretty but not photogenic.

One cool thing was that the highway is roofed in places to protect drivers from avalanches!

BTW, I technically went through Mount Revelstoke National Park after this, but as I could see even less – nothing but the road in front of me, really – I didn't take photos and don't even count it as a visit.

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Kootenay River, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada

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Why is the Kootenay River so blue? I don't have a definitive answer, but it seems to be three factors, typical of rivers in the high Canadian Rockies.

1. There is little sediment or chemical leaching from the hard Precambrian rocks that comprise the Canadian Rockies
2. The water hasn't filtered through much forest on its way off the peaks, therefore gaining little sediment or dissolved tannins
3. Colloidal calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the water has optical properties that enhance the tendency of deeper water to reflect a blue / cyan / turquoise color.

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Raptor Nest, Hungry Horse Reservoir, Flathead National Forest, Montana

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Small against the Flathead Mountains and Hungry Horse Reservoir in Montana, an eagle or osprey nest is perched atop a pine trunk, like the head of a nail.

I camped near here over the weekend after driving through Glacier National Park.

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Tour Buses at Logan Pass, Glacier National Park, St Mary, Montana

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These red, old-timey tour buses are heading west up the Going-to-the-Sun Road, approaching the top of Logan Pass, at Glacier National Park, Montana.

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Sawtooth Range, Choteau, Montana

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The Sawtooth Range, a portion of the Rocky Mountains, rises above sage and short grass prairie near Choteau, Montana. Just north of here is the Blackfeet Nation.

I'm on my way north again, heading to Glacier Mountain National Park. I'd intended to end the Milkweed journey there, the destination of Liz's last big road trip. But then I realized fall and snow would be coming soon to the US-Canada border, so I'd better go on up. Afterward, I'm heading west to Washington, then south along the Pacific Coast.

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Grand Teton National Park, Moose, Wyoming

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The Grand Tetons were so gorgeous that I camped across from them for a week in Bridger-Teton National Forest.

I only left because I ran out of food and water. How could you get bored of a view like that! Coco and Tiarra never get bored of chasing the ground squirrels, either.

This is the last post I'll be making until fall. I'm exhausted from touring National Parks, so I'm taking the summer off. I'll be hitting the road again after Labor Day.

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Late Evening, Buffalo Bill Reservoir, Cody, Wyoming

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The East Entrance to Yellowstone National Park passes through Cody, Wyo., Buffalo Bill State Park, and along the Shoshone River and up the Wapiti Valley.

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Little Missouri River Valley, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota

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Young Teddy Roosevelt became manly hunting bison in the Dakota Territory. Now at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, bison roam unmolested through campgrounds.

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Kabetogama Lake, Voyageurs National Park, Orr, Minnesota

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When I briefly visited Voyageurs National Park in mid-May, it was raining and barely above 50° F (10° C). The cold and darkness drove me west to sunnier climes.

I did my duty, leaving a milkweed seed ball at this site. But that's what it felt like: a duty. I did not tarry, I did not enjoy.

I've been on the road too long, covering almost 24,000 miles (39,000 kilometers) since last September. It's come time to rest for a while.

I'll push on to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Tetons National Park. From there, I'll work my way slowly south to Arizona, then back to Texas. I'll finish the Milkweed journey in the fall by going up the West Coast.

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Mississippi River, Effigy Mounds National Monument, Harpers Ferry, Iowa

Past the Mississippi River's west channel from Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa, are middle islands, with the hills of western Wisconsin beyond.

The Effigy Mounds are a collection of funerary or ritual mounds, some shaped like animals, along the river. They were built over a millennium or more, and similar mounds are found throughout the Eastern Woodlands.

Taken by the history and beauty of the place, I placed a milkweed seed ball among three mounds. I now regret this. The Effigy Mounds are sacred to local Native American tribes whose ancestors are buried there.

Even today, they perform religious ceremonies at the site. And I just put a bit of my friend there, not considering their feelings. Shitty of me. You don't mess with other folks' family graveyards and memorial markers.

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Pine Beetle Devastation, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

This beautiful view in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo., is less beautiful if you look closely. About 2 in 3 trees are dead from a pine beetle outbreak.

I saw this sad effect of Global Warming was all through the mountains of north-central Colorado and southern Wyoming. A decade of warm years and drought weakened the trees, allowing the pine beetles to overwhelm them. It’s a world out of balance.

Hopefully, the mountain ecosystems will find a new balance. But I can’t help but be fearful. I’ve heard that in some Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada forests, the trees have stopped coming back after forest fires and other disasters. In other words, the ecosystems as we know them are dying.

Besides being inherently bad, it threatens human well being by reducing watershed capacity and increasing soil erosion. Not only that, but fewer forests means less carbon dioxide sequestration and oxygen production. It becomes an unvirtuous cycle.

I remember seeing these mountains green with trees. I hope my grandchildren – and your grandchildren – get the same chance.

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Snowy Tomichi Point, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

It surprises me that Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado isn't more famous. It's the most awe-inspiring canyon in the USA.

According to Duane Vandenbusche, author of "Images of America: The Black Canyon of the Gunnison," the canyon's is named "Black Canyon" because some parts only get 33 minutes of sunlight daily. I think it's also partially because of the dark gneiss rock that comprises most of the canyon.

Vandenbusche writes, "Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, darkness, and dread of the Black Canyon."

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Snowy Morning, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Driving all day from Moab, Utah, to Mesa Verde National Park, then to Alamosa, Colo., didn't help me avoid the blizzard. It blew all night with 60 mph winds! But I was consoled with this view of Great Sand Dunes National Park the next morning. Breathtaking!

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Needles Overlook, Canyon Rims SMRA, Moab, Utah

Not technically in Canyonlands National Park, the Needles Overlook gives a 270° view of the park’s Needles District. It’s about a 22 mile drive (one way) off of US 191, southwest of Moab, Utah. IMHO, the view rivals Grand Canyon’s rim.

At the canyon bottom below, you can barely make out the gray-turquoise of the Colorado River, which carved out Canyonlands and the Grand Canyon further south.

This is where I left Liz’s seed ball, rather than in the official borders of Canyonlands. But I don’t think she’d mind.

I would have totally missed out on this incredible place if it weren’t for Spenser, a traveling Mainer who helped me get Kennel un-snowbound a couple weeks ago. He recommended – just about insisted – I visit Needles Overlook. So glad I listened!

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La Sal Mountain Viewpoint, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

This is where Milkweed Memoir began. At this spot at Arches National Park in Sept. 2014, Liz and I started planning this journey and this blog. Only she was supposed to join me.

She was dying by inches from ALS (Lou Gherig’s Disease). One never knows how the disease will progress, but statistics said she probably had at most two years left. So we decided to go see a bunch of National Parks before she was too weak to travel.

In two-and-a-half weeks, we traveled from Brownsville, Texas – nearly the southernmost point in the continental United States – to Glacier National Park on the Canadian border – and back again. We saw 17 National Parks, as well as other beautiful sites.

But the trip was so quick! Too quick.

The day we visited Arches, we drove from Farmington, N.M., to Salt Lake City, Utah. We stopped at Mesa Verde National Park as well. We only got to spend about an hour at Arches, enough to do the scenic drive and zip along to Salt Lake.

Passing La Sal Mountain Viewpoint, we began lamenting how quick the trip was. We started talking about how great it would be if, after Liz retired, we could spend about a week at or near each of the parks. As many as possible, anyway. Really take time to absorb the places, to grok them.

And being a marketing writer, I started pushing the idea of a blog about our travels, maybe a book deal. I started spinning the idea of endorsements from the wheelchair van and DME manufacturers. I sold it as a chance to do well by doing good and inspiring others.

But Liz put her foot down against any media interviews or other personal exposure, which would be necessary for such a scheme. She was a shy, private person.

Still, the idea of traveling more and more slowly – even in a wheelchair van, even lugging along a trailer of medical equipment – had captured our imagination. It was the seed of a plan.

Her disease progressed faster than we feared, however. She died exactly one year ago, March 19, 2015.

In the months before she died, I promised her I’d do this trip for her and take her ashes, mixed in milkweed seed balls, to every National Park in the Lower 48.

Now I’m here at the beginning place exactly a year after she died. I said a few words, toasted her with ice cream, and let loose a seed ball.

This trip and blog are a lovely memorial, I guess. That’s what people tell me. But I’d much rather have her here with me, seeing what I see. Death isn’t fair.

We humans may never escape death, but I believe that with hard work and funding, we will conquer ALS.

Please donate to The ALS Association. They are doing an amazing job of supporting both current ALS patients and primary scientific research into the disease.

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Rainbow Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

At over 9,000 feet and 20+ miles into the park, Rainbow Point isn’t nearly as photographed as Bryce Point, but it’s amazing in its own way.

From here, you can see the mountains and plateaus of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado – perhaps hundreds of miles!

Being there, I felt as if I were at the top of the world – maybe not even this world. In “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis, the heroes – Edwin, Lucy, and Eustace – enter Narnia at Aslan’s Mountain, which overlooks all of the Narnian world. That’s what Rainbow Point made me think of.

And because Rainbow Point feels like Aslan’s Mountain, and because it’s more quiet than the chief tourist attraction of Bryce Point, I laid a milkweed seed ball here. Liz would have approved, I think.

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Bighorn Sheep, Zion National Park, Mount Carmel, Utah

This is an actual photo – not a painting – of bighorn sheep resting on a slickrock outcrop along Zion National Park’s Mount Carmel Highway. But you can hardly be blamed for thinking otherwise.

First, the magnification is zoomed up to my little Kodak’s maximum. Second, the textures, lines, and colors of the Slickrock Country on Zion’s east side are … fanciful, faerie-like. While driving through, I, myself, could hardly believe I was in a real place of this world.

Perhaps Zion National Park isn’t quite of this world after all. Zion, to the Mormons (Latter Day Saints), who gave this region its English name, is a metaphorical as well as real place. It is the ancient city of Enoch, which was taken to Heaven and will return to Earth so that a temple will be built (rebuilding of Solomon’s temple?) during Jesus’ second coming.

I’m probably reading too much into this. It’s fanciful to think that one can walk in a place that straddles the gateway between Heaven and Earth, between the mortal and Faerie. Yet like Kolob Canyons yesterday, I can’t help but feel I’m in the presence of a power or powers greater than myself. The Earth throbs with life, even in each grain of sand. And the Wind whispers with the Sun.

There’s that purple prose coming out of me, like poison in a hot sweat! Well, you come here and see if you don’t feel the same!

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