Tom Thrash

Stupidly, I just tried listing my National Parks visits in order of my first visit. On my first run through, I came up three short, but promptly recalled what trip was omitted from my list for two of them. Figuring out that last park though without referring to lists/maps?
It took a while...😂

I can't believe I thought my team was going to be better and bought a ticket to see them play yours! 😂

Yup. It works for comments too. Definitely some fun memories...

IG: Go to Profile, then Settings, then Activity, then Likes, then flip it to Oldest to Newest...fun to see some of those early Likes...

Very well done. Come back and host again, please. #ParkChat

Thanks! Yeah, it was funny, because I felt like I was on to some big secret during that drive. I would still like to see more of it the fall though. #ParkChat

A8 Since I mentioned the BRP, here are two pictures from it. I was there in later May 2021. I was a bit too early to see the rhododendrons blooming... #ParkChat

A6...Oh, not a fan of the heat. Early March visits to the Everglades and South Florida parks were quite more tolerable than they were even later in the month. #ParkChat :)

A5, well the BRP drive was amazing, with all of the flowers blooming from NC up to VA. Of course, it's famous for its fall foliage views, but the spring works quite well too--and the crowds were negligible. #ParkChat

Right, the bugs. They didn't ...um...bug me when I was there in April one year. #ParkChat

A4, I remember family trips to Civil War battlefields and the monuments in DC for spring break. I was grateful for the trips, but did appreciate them far more as I got older. #ParkChat

Yeah, it's such a big state. :)
#ParkChat

A3. Yeah, it's always a bit of a dice roll, but layers, good shoes, and, depending where I'm heading, micro spikes all come in handy. #ParkChat

Palo Alto Battlefield, Padre Island, and hopefully Big Thicket. :)
#ParkChat

A2. Well, spring is also the start of baseball season, and I do often couple NPS travel with ballpark travel. In fact, this April, I'll be visiting some of the ballparks in east Texas along with some of the NPS sites in the area. #ParkChat

A1 In recent years, New River Gorge and the Smokies are the two big National Parks I've visited in the spring. The timing just worked out, and I wanted to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway when things were blooming and avoid crowds. #ParkChat

Welcome, Natalie! #ParkChat

Please start such posts with
<Earworm warning>

😂

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And Rocky Mountain NP! How could I forget the mighty RMNP?

Same. Can't remember which, but I canceled one, and they told me that it was too late for a refund, and I replied that that was fine, but I didn't want to take a spot away from someone else.
#ParkChat

I always say take any opportunity to see any of them when you can, even if briefly, since you never know if/when you might get a chance to return.

A random thought struck me courtesy of a #ParkChat question last night.
Shenandoah
Great Smoky Mountains
Lassen
Yosemite

Those are the four National Parks I've visited a second time in these last 10 years after first visiting them over 20 years ago.

A2 I love this. "Figuring out"--yes, we may not know what's best just yet, but hopefully we can figure it out. #ParkChat

A1 With about 35 years of national park visits, there aren't a lot that I've visited at the beginning and ends of those ranges. More crowded? Sure, but thankfully nothing that some planning didn't help keep manageable in my experiences. #ParkChat

Go, Scott, go. Also, I may or may not have nudged him to do some of these quests, and he's completed just about all of them way before I have. 😂

Team USA on Instagram: "On top of the world. 🥇🥇 #WinterOlympics" 26K likes, 107 comments - teamusa on February 22, 2026: "On top of the world. 🥇🥇 #WinterOlympics".

Double gold!

www.instagram.com/p/DVEWt8TEVF...

What a game. What a win!!

Oh yeah, 3 on 3 for OT...this game deserves better than that.

I still say that the penalty loop in the biathlon is the best yet cruelest penalty in sports.