Readers share their best national park memories
— -- On Sept. 27, the six-part Ken Burns documentary series The National Parks: America's Best Idea will begin airing on PBS stations. To mark the occasion, USA TODAY asked readers to send us their best national park memories. Here is a sampling of what we received.
Words were unnecessary
I was living in Las Vegas a few years ago when my mother, who had been fighting cancer, asked to visit. Picking her up at McCarran International, I tried not to notice how gaunt and frail she looked. On the last day of her stay, I suggested we visit Zion National Park.
The park in late October was not crowded. A light breeze fanned our faces as we stepped off the shuttle bus. The late afternoon sun shone brilliantly in an almost cloudless blue sky.
Mom was visibly moved. We walked down to the Virgin River that runs between soaring monoliths known as Great White Throne, Temple of Sinawava and The Sentinel. We leaned on some rocks in silence, watching the river as it splashed its way through the canyon, and saw two white-tailed deer feeding quietly on the opposite bank.
I wanted to tell my mother how much I loved her, to thank her for all she had done for me and how I was proud to be her son. I turned toward her, but the words did not come.
Then I felt her hand upon my arm. I turned back to see a look of recognition on her face. I didn't need to say anything — she understood.
In the weeks that followed, we spoke often about our visit to Zion — even making plans to return in the spring. It wasn't to be.
In March she was moved to hospice care. And then came the call I was dreading. She was gone.
I know she carried with her to the end the memory of that afternoon in Zion.
— Derek Braybrooks, Boiling Springs, S.C.
Grizzled camper bests a bear
When our four children were young, visiting the closest national parks was an affordable way to vacation. The kids slept in a tent, while my husband and I slept in a converted truck bed.
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