14 and looking to do more. And I've now done 56 of the NPS sites. Would love to do them all.

20 for me and I returned to many of those parks time and time again. Hoping to hit Arches and Mesa Verde again this summer.

Well, folks, it looks like I am at the low end of the thread at 10. Kind of sad - but I'm working on it! At least I have made it to some of the blockbusters from east to west like Acadia, Yosemite, Hawai'i Volcanoes, Zion, and the Grand Canyon (but not Yellowstone yet?! WHAT?) We'll be going to Crater Lake and Redwoods this summer. I also have been to many other NPS units, thankfully, including lakeshores and historic sites. I even worked for the NPS for a summer in Harpers Ferry, WV! :-)

With only two weeks of vacation from my job per year / being in the Midwest with less parks nearby, it's tough to check off the list with so many places to go - I also want to go abroad more, too. And similar to Jason Woerly above, though, my new wife and I will be starting a family within the next few years, which will probably curtail any traveling for awhile. Maybe we'll be like Earl after we retire and be able to accomplish more. I don't plan on sitting at home, that's for sure (assuming God-willing, health and money allow that).

40. More to come.

Hey Sparky,
Don't feel bad! I am amazed at how many people I personally know that haven't been to ANY of our Parks!! I am always shocked! If they have been to any of the parks, it's usually the Grand Canyon. I can strike up a conversation with someone and if the subject of vacations comes up, I always put in a plug for the Parks. My standard answer:
"Everyone should see Yellowstone at least once in their life!"

We are fortunate in that my husband gets 5 weeks vacation (of course we're older and he's been with the BNSF RR for nearly 30 years!). He is looking at retirement in *5 years and that's when we plan to hit areas that have been more off the grid (Pacific NW, Acadia, etc) for us since we live in Texas. Crater Lake is one we haven't been to yet but Lord willing, we will. As for kids, they have spent their vacations in the parks every summer, no Disneyland trips or such. They have hiked, jeeped, white-water rafted, you name it. I think our kids felt that was normal and it wasn't until they were older did they realize how blessed they were to be able to do things that the majority of their friends had never done! Our youngest daughter (23) will be leaving May 26th for Yellowstone and will be working there this summer in the Canyon area. We will be in Yellowstone for 3 days as we work our way up to Glacier for their Centennial. While in Yellowstone we plan to go hiking with her on one of her days off. Last summer, one of our older daughters, introduced her husband and our 2 grand-daughters to Yellowstone. We had a wonderful family trip and I am excited to see another generation experiencing the beauty of the Parks!

As for "sitting at home" once we retire, our oldest daughter has already told us she is going to have a micro chip implanted in us (like the ones they put in pets) so that she can figure out where in the heck we are!
PS
I just clicked on your name and saw that in a previous comment, you mentioned that you live in ST Louis!!!! I was born and raised there! I grew up in the inner city not too far from downtown. Our oldest daughter (the one with the idea of micro chipping us) lives in O'Fallon and we have other family that lives in St Charles County! SMALL WORLD!!

Hey Connie, I have wanted to go to Crater Lake for awhile. We're planning to spend two days there as part of our trip down the Oregon coast. So many guide books say to just drive around the rim only, i.e. get a quick look at the blue water and then leave. HUH!? From the park's website, it looks like there are many more interesting things to do there that I don't want to miss out on.

It is great to hear you are a fellow St. Louis native. We live near Lafayette Square now. The city has come a long way from what it once was. Next time you're back, come down from the westplex (as some folks on the news channel call the St. Charles communities) and check out the new Citygarden downtown as well as some of the neat restaurants that have opened for starters. Also, the former Highway 40 has been completely rebuilt, and it is slick!

Interesting that you mention your daughter working in Yellowstone this summer. My two sister-in-laws did the same in 2007 between their college semesters; they really enjoyed it.

Also, my dad just retired from BNSF. He was a conductor for twelve years. He is enjoying not having to work on call or live out of a hotel room anymore. ;-)

Hi Sparky,
Glad to see you saw my note. Crater Lake is amazingly beautiful from what I have seen. I was shocked once when we overheard a Ranger in Yellowstone say that *90% of the people see the Park from their cars!! Even fewer get out and actually walk around and as for day hikes, (our passion) practically non-existent compared to the overall volume of visitors! Fine with me actually, less people make it more enjoyable!

I LOVE the old Victorian homes in St Louis. (Probably why "Meet Me In St Louis" is one of my favorite movies!) I must admit, I haven't been in that area in a very long time. I grew up in the Hyde Park area, attended Holy Trinity school and then Rosati-Kain High School off of Lindell street. As a kid, I loved going to Cherokee Street as well as the Grand Street area (down by the water tower), my step-sister currently lives off of Pennsylvannia. My folks moved almost 20 years ago out of the old neighborhood (Palm Street) and out to Portage Des Sioux. I love it when restoration takes place and urban blight is transformed into a thing of beauty-there's such a rich history in St Louis!

We are hoping that working in Yellowstone this summer will provide our daughter with some direction, she's pretty much adrift right now.

Conductor, WOW Those guys have a tough work schedule! My husband is a Director for LARS (Load and Ride Solutions). He began as a Patrolman (Chicago then back to St Louis -he was a former St Louis County Police Officer), then became a Special Agent (Lincoln, Nebraska), Special Agent in Charge (Trinidad, Colorado). We came to Fort Worth in 1993 when he switched over from the Police side and became a Manager. Since being a Director, he doesn't have to work the derailments any more which is very nice!

Thanks for the exchange! It's fun talking to someone else from "The Loo" on here. I know you will have a wonderful time on your vacation! Do you have a site (blog, etc) where you can post your pictures? I just recently started my own travel blog so I can chronicle some of our vacations. I keep a journal while we are on vacation so it makes it easier to blog about.

38---Where I've been stuck since '06. My wife and I hope to get back out and hit the trails at some point. Besides marrying my wife, seeing the 38 that I have, has been the most rewarding thing that I have done in my life.