Happy #Pride! *We support folks exercising your freedom of speech. Whichever side of the rainbow you’re on, please keep a civilized discourse as the true and respectable citizens of the virtual world and 🇺🇸 Please don’t be a public nuisance. For those announcing the unfollowing, we thank you for boosting the post’s algorithm, sincerely. : : #NationalParkGeek : : ・・・ At the end of the rainbow, there’s a herd of bison 🌈 📍Indigenous land of the Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, Crow, Flathead, Gros Ventre, Nez Perce and other tribes ••••• Thank you @rob.phillips.photography for the capture ••••• Bison Gold . . . . . . #wyoming #explorewyoming #visitwyoming #grandtetonnationalpark #grandteton #grandtetons #tetons #teton #naturephotography #naturelovers #nationalpark #wildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlifeplanet #travelphotography #travel #rainbow #bison #buffalo #hiking #hikingphotography #sony #sonyalpha #landscapephotography #nationalparkgeek #findyourpark

It’s a double #parkiversary day! @grandtetonnps joined the National Park Service on this day in 1929. Here’s some amazing vistas from our ambassador, @nationalparkpatchlady! : : #NationalParkGeek : : 🗺- In @grandtetonnps, you are on Cheyenne and Shoshone land. #findyourpark : : #GrandTetonNationalPark #grandteton #grandtetons #teton #tetons #wyoming #FindYourPark @usinterior @nationalparkservice #usinterior #experienceyouramerica : : #nationalparkgeek @nationalparkgeek @national_park_photographer #bestoftheusa_nationalparks @bestoftheusa_nationalparks #seekmorewilderness #bestoftheusa_nature #bestofthe_usa #national_park_photography #nationalparkmag #nationalpark #iflnps #travel #travelwithmoon #nationalparkservice #longexposure_shots #yes_busa #thatswy #explorewy #jacksonhole #jacksonwyoming

#NationalParkGeek Ambassador @wexplorations took in a perfect Everglades vista this weekend. Make sure to tag us in all the adventures you’ve had! : : ・・・ I usually say @evergladesnps is the hardest national park to photograph in. I don’t resent it for that; I respect it. The Everglades is subtle. The Everglades is challenging. High sawgrass prevents you from getting a glimpse of the landscape, save for at specific “windows” or gaps in the brush. The animals can be rare and taciturn. This weekend? Easy. : : This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls. - John Muir : : : : 🗺 - In @evergladesnps, you are on Seminole and Miccosukee land. #FindYourPark : : 📸 - shot on a #sonya7riv, #shotwithhoya’s polarizer with a 70-300 mm lens. ISO 100, f22, 1/100 secs. Edited in #Lightroom. #flickrfeature : : 📍 #Everglades #evergladesnp @friendsoftheeverglades @tropicalaudubon @nationalparksfl #evergladesnationalpark #floridaexplored #miami #florida #shareevergladesphoto @evergladesnps ##hashtagflorida #fcvoters @fcvoters #roamflorida 🖼 - #landscape #landscapephotography 🏞- #usinterior #experienceyouramerica #nationalparkgeek #nationalparkwonders #flickr #flickrfeature #travelwithmoon #nationalparkservice #yes_busa #sonyalpha #bealpha : @sonyalpha @Lightroom @flickr @NationalParkService @USInterior @nationalparkgeek @bestoftheusa_nationalparks @national_park_photographer #bealpha

July 4th isn’t just Independence Day or the anniversary of the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, or the anniversaries of Vicksburg and Gettysburg; July 4th is also the anniversary of Stephen Mather’s birth, who was born in 1867. Mather would come to be the first director of the National Park Service, whose tireless promotion of the National Parks greatly expanded the number of parks and monuments in the United States and bolstered the nation’s growing conservation movement. Many National Park sites boast a plaque commemorating his influence and service to the National Park idea. Each plaque bears the phrase “There will never come an end to the good that he has done.” perfectly encapsulating Mather’s importance to America’s best idea. : : "Who will gainsay that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness.... He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks." - Stephen T. Mather, NPS Director, 1917-1929 : : 🗺- In @zionnps, you are on Pueblos and Southern Paiute land. Zion’s native name is Mukuntuweap. Zion is the name given to the canyon by American explorers. #FindYourPark 📸- @sonyalpha #sonyalpha #sonyalpha7riv, #shotwithhoya’s polarizer on a 70-300mm. Edited in @lightroom. #lightroom : : #zion #zionnationalpark #zionnps #utah #utahphotographer #utahphotographer #zioncanyon #utahrocks #visitutah #FindYourPark @usinterior @nationalparkservice #usinterior #experienceyouramerica : : #nationalparkgeek @nationalparkgeek @national_park_photographer #bestoftheusa_nationalparks @bestoftheusa_nationalparks #seekmorewilderness #bestoftheusa_nature #bestofthe_usa #national_park_photography #nationalparkmag #nationalpark #iflnps #travel #travelwithmoon #nationalparkservice #bealpha #longexposure_shots

Independence Day exists in many different places. First, and most simply, Independence Day exists in a place where it is THE paramount day of patriotic importance in America. July 4th is tantamount to our National Identity because it’s the nexus, the dividing line, and the flashpoint for creating America. Independence Day, in this respect, is America’s birthday; a day to be celebrated and commemorated and a day that undergirds the shared values of the American experience. Those values speak to our rugged individualism, our exceptionalism, and our perseverance in the face of adversity. Second, Independence Day exists in a historical space. July 4th was merely a single day in a long process undertaken by the Continental Congress to debate, draft, and declare a statement about the future of the American Colonies and Great Britain. Despite that, July 4th, in public memory has become the symbolic day when the process reached its zenith and the fate of the 13 colonies were inextricably linked and their victory was sealed. This is a function of ‘public memory’, which is not the most accurate brand of history, but rather, a teleological invention of the scholarship surrounding a greater patriotic narrative of the American Revolution. Finally- July 4th exists as a personal place of reflection for most citizens. And, recently, this space of reflection is deeply uncomfortable. How can we claim to celebrate a country with issues we are trying to solve? How can we feel joy over a date when there are pressing injustices associated with the nation? This is something I grapple with nearly every Independence Day. Often, my enjoyment and acknowledgement of this day comes with the realization that the struggle to change things is integral to the message of the holiday. The Founders sought right wrongs and changed the world they lived in. Isn’t that what we are doing, too? So, yes, celebrate 7/4. Celebrate the parts of it that show our struggles, our flaws, and our resilience. Celebrate not that we still have work to do but that we have the opportunity to do that work. Happy Independence Day, America. May your brightest and best days always be before you. - @wexplorations

Fireworks past at the National Mall. You should make it a plan for the future. ••••• Many thanks to NP Geek Ambassador Frank @frankleeruggles for sharing from his archives the goodness. ・・・ Happy Independence Day! #4thofjuly #washingtondc #lincolnmemorial #fireworks #uscapital @nationalparkservice @nationalparktrust @usinterior#wanderlust #usa #istagood #picoftheday #instapic #photooftheday #NPGeekAmbassador #nationalparkgeek #outdoorphotomag #pentax645z #pentax645ambassador @ricohpentax @ricohusa #mediumformat #79yearsproject #chasingthelight —— #nationalparkgeek #npgeekambassador #smallparksaturday

Independence Hall, Philadelphia PA. In this building the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both signed. America began officially here. 🇺🇸 •••••• Thanks to Lee @jinja.ninja_215 for the amazing night shot of Philly. Just gorgeous. ・・・ Where it all started! Happy Independence Day! 🎉🎆🇺🇸 . . . #philly #philadelphia #phillygram #instaphilly #4thofjuly #igers_philly #moodygrams #phillyprimeshots #agameoftones #photography #phillyframes #phillycollective #howphillyseesphilly #howiseephilly #visitpa #independanceday #killersworldwide #streetoftones #houseoftones #thestreetprOject #photographylove #capturestreets #myphillyphoto #streetgrammer #street_captures #citygrammers #bealpha —— #nationalparkgeek #smallparkssturday

Our parks are full of superlatives. Here’s one of the deepest canyons in the system, let alone the entire world. Thanks to @clynchphotos for these great shots. : : #NationalParkGeek ・・・ On my most recent road trip I revisited this beautiful and highly underrated park. I had been a few years back but it was very last minute with little plan in place. This time I gave myself a bit more time to scope out some locations and settled on this overlook with the Gunnison ripping and bending through the massive canyon. What another stellar start to a trip and a nice way to ring in the unofficial start of summer in Colorado. : : • • • • • • • • #Nationalparkgeek #nationalpark #nationalparks #americasbestidea #findyourpark #goparks #nationalparkusa #nationalparkservice #nationalparkphotography #nationalparkadventures #nationalparkbucketlist #naturegram #nature #naturelove #naturelovers #protectpubliclands #bucketlists #instagood #travel #travelingram #travelgram #travelphotography #getoutside #exploremore #explorepage #outdoors #outdooradventures

Salty Sunday? 😂 we’d like to think so! : : #NationalParkGeek : : Thanks to @ignacia_photography_ for this fantastic shot. ・・・ Time for some adventure!! 🥾⛰️ Where’s everyone off too this weekend?! . . . #photography #photooftheday #love #instagood #instagram #photo #nature #picoftheday #like #photographer #beautiful #follow #art #fashion #travel #bhfyp #photoshoot #likeforlikes #instadaily #naturephotography #model #me #smile #style #instalike #happy #likes #myself

Our national parks are places of culture. Natural, more often than not, yes, but where our culture has struggled and grappled with itself. The magic of the national park system is that it encapsulates all of America- all of its ideas, all of its people, all of the diversity within that, and the struggles that come with it. That’s what makes the NPS, and this country, special. We look at our mistakes and try to learn from them. : : #NationalParkGeek : : Thanks to @jeffersonnationalparks for this great shot. ・・・ On this day in 1958, Senior Ernest Green became the first African American student to graduate from Central High School during its 149th commencement ceremony held at Quigley Stadium. Today, you can visit this historic site to learn more about the desegregation of schools, the Little Rock Nine and so much more. Find more information and plan your visit to @centralhighnps at nps.gov/lchs

If you're a photographer, you know there's a deeply special and downright magical feeling when you press the shutter, hear the lens snap shut, and just KNOW you got a shot that you absolutely love. That's this shot. It's a picture of a Barred Owl, my favorite species of owl, in my favorite place, Everglades National Park, at sunset, as the sun is streaming into Pahayokee Overlook and illuminating the cypress needles, transforming their deep green to an auburn gold, thanks to the diffusion of the light through the trees. Perfection. : : 🗺 - In @evergladesnps, you are on Seminole and Tequesta land. #FindYourPark : : 📸 - shot on a #sonya7riv with a 70-300 mm lens. Edited in #Lightroom. @lightroom. Full version on @Flickr #FlickrFeature : : 📍 #Everglades #evergladesnp @friendsoftheeverglades @tropicalaudubon @nationalparksfl #evergladesnationalpark #floridaexplored #miami #florida #shareevergladesphoto @evergladesnps #fcvoters @fcvoters #roamflorida 🖼 - #landscape #landscapephotography 🏞- #usinterior #experienceyouramerica #nationalparkgeek #flickr #flickrfeature #nationalparkservice #yes_busa #sonyalpha #bealpha : @sonyalpha @Lightroom @flickr @NationalParkService @USInterior @nationalparkgeek @bestoftheusa_nationalparks @national_park_photographer

#onthisday in 1864, President Lincoln officially designated Yosemite Valley as land that would be maintained and conserved by California, sparking what would one day become the National Park System. : : #NationalParkGeek - @wexplorations : : #Yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #yosemitevalley #California #yosemitenp #tunnelview #yosemitepark #yosemitenationalpark #california #californiadreaming #cali #FindYourPark @usinterior @nationalparkservice #usinterior #experienceyouramerica : : #nationalparkgeek @nationalparkgeek @national_park_photographer #bestoftheusa_nationalparks @bestoftheusa_nationalparks #seekmorewilderness #bestoftheusa_nature #bestofthe_usa #national_park_photography #nationalparkmag #nationalpark #iflnps #travel #travelwithmoon #nationalparkservice #yes_busa : : 🗺 - In Yosemite Valley, California, you are on Me-Wuk (Southern Sierra Miwok) land.