I have been reading the National Geographic since I was a child. My parents subscribed to it for as long as I can remember and my mom has given a subscription of the magazine as a gift to our family each December. During 2016, National Geographic is completing a yearlong series celebrating the power of parks as America’s national park system turns 100.

Urban parks such as the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. attract twice the number of visitors as Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined. I grew up in the heart of Illinois in Peoria and I had never seen the awe-inspiring mountains of the west until I was in my late twenties. However, my mom would take my siblings and I to Glen Oak park for picnics, to the zoo and to hike the trails or ice skate on the lagoon in the winter. Visiting urban parks is one of the ways I grew to love being outdoors in nature. Go and visit an urban park.

I stop and visit pocket parks when walking in Seattle or flying past on my bike. When I go back to the mid west to visit my family I still jog or walk over to Glen Oak park to feed my spirit!