October 2022 Monthly Newsletter Cover Article
October is the best time to visit national parks! Just like a travel itinerary, a solid estate plan guides you through life’s “what ifs.”
As James Bryce once said, “The national park is the best idea America ever had.” As a child, I may have scratched my head a bit at this one because there were a bunch of alternative destinations I would’ve rather visited at the time. But now, I must agree — our national parks are treasures. And according to Lonely Planet, October is the best time of year to visit America’s national parks.
Growing up, the majority of our family vacations revolved around national parks. One summer, we’d drive up the coast and explore Mt. Lassen, Redwoods, and Crater Lake National Park, and the next, we’d head east toward the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest. Our most frequent destinations were Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park, which are close to home.
It really wasn’t until my 30s that my eyes opened to the true magnificence and magic of nature’s gift to us. I joined the Sierra Club, a group of people sharing the same common interests in backpacking, nature, and the wilderness. I thought it might be a nice opportunity to meet a wholesome guy — and, sure enough, I was right! Although I had already known my husband and we shared mutual friends, our passion for the outdoors brought us together and sparked our relationship.
We’ve made it a point to share the beauty of the national parks with our kids. One summer, we even took an epic trip across the southwest, exploring Canyonlands, Arches, the Grand Canyon, and Mesa Verde as well as Monument Valley, a Navajo Tribal Park. Also, for many years we spent one week each summer at a family camp north of Yosemite. Our love of the outdoors has rubbed off on our kids too. Our two boys are Eagle Scouts, and our daughter now runs cross-country. On my bucket list, I still long to explore the red cliffs of Zion and Bryce Canyon and the glaciers at Glacier National Park.
For me, half of the fun of the trip is in perusing tour guides and researching online. Over time, I’ve come to notice just how valuable planning is when it comes to taking a trip to visit our nation’s parks. I highly recommend having a plan in place to outline what you’d like to see, where you will stay, what trails you’d like to explore, and what you’ll need to bring with you. Even filling your car up with gas in some of these more remote locations can be tough.
Before we head out on our adventures, we ensure we are well-researched and that the car is packed with everything being easily accessible. Then, if something comes up, a game plan will save the day.
Just like planning for a trip, a well-thought-out estate plan is your guide for dealing with the “what ifs” in life. But just as you need new maps as the roads change, your estate plan should be updated from time to time.
Is your estate plan up to date? To help answer this question — and ensure you’ve done everything to look out for your loved ones for years and legacies to come — we’ve put together an estate plan self-checklist.
For a copy of our Estate Planning Self-Checklist, scan the QR code on this page. If you find anything that needs to be updated, we are here to walk you through the process. Remember, we’re just a phone call away!