How many are too many? That’s the question to mull in the wake of news from the National Park Service that nearly 300 million visited the National Park System last year. Now, to put some context into that number, it’s not the highest annual tally the Park Service has counted. Back in 2016, the agency’s centennial year, nearly 331 million people headed into the parks. But...that doesn’t mean last year’s number marked an improvement in your national park experience.

RVing – traveling by creational vehicle – has exploded along with the coronavirus pandemic. Sales have gone through the roof, inventory has been depleted, and would-be customers often have to wait months before they can hit the road with their new rig. Many, if not most, of those RV enthusiasts are heading into the National Park System. And why not? Gorgeous scenery, inspiring landscapes, relaxation. But it’s not as simple as it used to be because of that rush to hit the road with your home either being towed along or on the back of your pickup.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the great hiking destinations in the mid-Atlantic region, if not the entire East Coast. Across its rumpled 522,427 acres there are more than 800 miles of trails. They range from relatively short footpaths to scenic payoffs like Rainbow Falls and Abrahams Falls to the more than 70 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that crosses the top of the park.

Last week the National Parks Traveler took you to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas. Lynn Riddick sat down with the park’s Chief of Interpretation Tom Vandenberg to learn about the park’s history and its geological and botanical treasures. This week, in part two, Lynn gives us a first-hand, more personal glimpse into this vast remote park with her companion Mary Muenster as they clock nearly 1,100 miles to the park, through the park, and back home again.