David LaRochelle

author & illustrator

Traveling to State and National Parks

Two of my favorite pas­times include trav­el­ing and play­ing games. My friend Gary Nygaard and I have man­aged to com­bine them both as we trav­el across the state … and the country.

As mem­bers of the Min­neso­ta State Parks Pass­port Club, Gary and I have vis­it­ed all 66 state parks.

We’ve now joined the Hik­ing Club and are return­ing to each state park to hike a des­ig­nat­ed trail and find the Hik­ing Club password.

That’s a pic­ture of Gary at George Cros­by Man­i­tou State Park near Lake Supe­ri­or and a pho­to of me at Blue Mounds State Park in south­west­ern Minnesota.

Minnesota state parks passport
Min­neso­ta state parks passport
Gary at George Crosby Manitou State Park
Gary at George Cros­by Man­i­tou State Park
David Hiking Club
David on a Hik­ing Club trail

Gary and I are also mem­bers of the Nation­al Parks Pass­port Club. From Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park in Alas­ka to Pu’uhonua o Honau­nau Nation­al His­toric Park in Hawaii, I’ve col­lect­ed 102 offi­cial can­cel­la­tions for my pass­port. It’s been a great way to see the coun­try, north to south and east to west!

National Parks Passport Club
Nation­al Parks Pass­port Club
Gary and David at Kenai Fjords National Park
Gary and David at Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park
David in Hawaii
Pu’uhonua o Honau­nau Nation­al His­toric Park