My Favorite Places: Zion, Estes Park, and Ring of Kerry (Ireland)
I have traveled to many places in my life. Traveled to 8 countries, and 18 states and I'm just getting started :). With that, I have many places that I love dearly, and a few of those places are Zion National Park, Estes Park in Colorado, and the Ring of Kerry in Ireland.
First, we have Zion National Park in Utah. I traveled to Zion in the spring of 2019 with my mother. We did a trip to the 5 great Utah national parks (Capitol Reef, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, and Canyonlands) and the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Zion was one I was most looking forward to, and the park did not disappoint me. It was magnificent. Every part of it was beautiful and the different colors of the rock formations were incredible.
(Zion National Park: Zion from Angel Falls Trail)
The second is Estes Park in Colorado. I also traveled here with my mother in the summer of 2019. I was working at a Christian camp in Colorado that summer called Sky Ranch, and for my week off my mom flew to Denver and toured the city then we went to Estes Park. The small city is everything you would expect from a tourist town. Lots of restaurants, gift shops, and hotels. With advertising geared towards attracting tourists. However, the town still had a unique feel to it. It was deeply rooted in nature and the Rocky Mountains.
Lastly, I traveled to the Ring of Kerry in Ireland in the spring of 2016. It was a high school-sponsored trip where a teacher led the group of us 12 high schoolers and some of our families (yes, my mom came too). A jaw-dropping area of Ireland with cliffs, sheep, sheepdogs, ruins, and beautiful scenery. Also, great people. They were some of the most friendly people I have ever met.
Oh, that is so cool about counting countries and states, Justin! Now we just need to get to the other side of this pandemic so that all the great travel adventures can begin again. I have not been to Zion (yet!), but I have been to Estes and I loved it: my favorite memory of the Rockies (I have also been to Keystone) was seeing eagles! And how wonderful that you have been to Ireland: so many places along the Ring of Kerry are associated with Irish myths and legends, and the same is true with India -- many locations there are associated with ancient myths and stories, and there is a kind of "epic tourism" industry of people who go on pilgrimages to sites associated with the Ramayana and with the Mahabharata. Maybe for your class project you can plan out a visit to India based on the stories and legends that are connected with specific places. I just wish we could take a magical field trip so the whole class could go to India together! :-)
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