"Half the park is after dark," says the National Park Service. There are spots within Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota that offer broad vistas perfect for night sky viewing and photography.

According to the National Park Service, "Capitan Reef is now recognized as one of the most well-preserved fossil reefs in the world ... Movement of faults over the last 20 million years caused a long-buried portion of the Capitan Reef to rise several thousand feet above its original position. This uplifted block was then exposed to wind and rain causing the softer overlying sediments to erode, uncovering the more resistant fossil reef and forming the modern Guadalupe Mountains.

Spectacular vistas and amazing sunrises await you at Shenandoah National Park.

According to the National Park Service, "Desert bighorn sheep roam some of the most inhospitable land in canyon country. Their diet consists of the same spiny shrubs that scrape the shins of hikers. Once feared to be nearing extinction, the desert bighorn is making a tentative comeback in southeast Utah due to reintroduction efforts by the National Park Service. With one of the few remaining native herds, Canyonlands has been a vital source of animals for this program."

Precipice Loop Trail is definitely not for the faint of heart. With an elevation gain of almost 1,000 feet (305 m) just under a mile (1.4 km), this trail "is a rugged, non-technical climb with open cliff faces and iron rungs. Upon reaching the summit of Champlain Mountain, climbers are rewarded with impressive views." Precipice Loop Trail, however, "is not recommended for small children, for people with a fear of heights, or for anyone in wet weather. Descending the Precipice is dangerous and not advised."

According to the National Park Service:

Just where will that park road take you? Perhaps through the eastern portion of Zion National Park along the Zion-Mt. Carmel Road? You'll drive past ancient, lithified, cross-bedded sand dunes in saturated colors of orange, pink, and beige, on your way toward Checkerboard Mesa.

One of 250 bird species found in the park, More than 20,000 sandhill cranes will spend 6 - 7 weeks each year in the San Luis Valley during their annual migration to southern New Mexico. Look for them in early February through late March, then again in late September through late March.

According to the National Park Service, "The Waterpocket Fold defines Capitol Reef National Park. A nearly 100-mile long warp in the Earth's crust, the Waterpocket Fold is a classic monocline, a "step-up" in the rock layers. It formed between 50 and 70 million years ago when a major mountain building event in western North America, the Laramide Orogeny, reactivated an ancient buried fault in this region. Movement along the fault caused the west side to shift upwards relative to the east side. The overlying sedimentary layers were draped above the fault and formed a monocline.

Johns Hopkins Glacier is found at the end of Johns Hopkins Inlet, in the farthest northwest of the Glacier Bay fjord. The glacier fills the end of the fjord, stretching about 1-mile (1.6 km) wide, and reaching 250 feet (76 m) high above the waterline. The ice front extends under sea level, to a depth of approximately 200 feet (61 m), where an underwater moraine protects the deepest extent of the glacial ice like armor against the warm ocean water.