Your National Parks, with Detailed Information for Tourists

A passionate early guide to America's wildest places, written by the man who would become known as the Father of Rocky Mountain National Park. Enos A. Mills invites readers to discover the geological marvels and untamed beauty preserved within the national park system, anchoring his narrative in the dramatic stories of the explorers who first revealed these landscapes to the outside world. The book opens with the legendary campfire discussion of 1870, where the idea of creating Yellowstone the world's first national park was born, and introduces figures like John Colter, the mountain man who first stumbled upon that volcanic wilderness, and Sacagawea, whose presence on the Lewis and Clark expedition proved indispensable to the exploration of the western territories. Mills weaves together natural history, adventure narrative, and urgent advocacy, arguing that these protected landscapes represent something essential about the American character and spirit. More than a tourist handbook, this book captures a pivotal moment when Americans were first learning to see their wild landscapes as treasures worth preserving rather than merely obstacles to be conquered.