National Parks

Yosemite: Courtesy of pdphoto.org

President Ulysses S. Grant established the first National Park, Yellowstone, on March l, l872. Now, you can find a National Park in every state except Delaware. There are 391 different areas and 84 million acres. A plethora of places to spread your ashes so surely you can find one to your liking. In fact, if you are like me, there are so many beautiful places in the parks; it is hard to decide on just one.

My favorite parks are Glacier National Park, Denali National Park & Preserve, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Haleakala National Park.

Spirit Whisperer

As far as I understand it. You may spread your ashes in a national park as long as you aren’t doing it for money, e.g. a business, which has to be registered, and you are discreet. You can’t do it in developed areas like a campground but feel free to hike into the back country and spread them. You will need to get a back country pass from the ranger’s office if you plan on being out over night. Check the weather conditions before you start out. It is important that you know the area, take a GPS and map, and read how to respect the back country. People get lost in National Parks every year.

Wake

The wake for someone looking to have his or her ashes spread in a national park can go one of many different directions. If you really love the park system, they always need volunteers to help with upkeep. Rent one of the many fine rooms at one of the parks and request that your guests give some of their time volunteering. A hike to look at some of the park’s great scenery will certainly cause your guests to think about life. A simple camping trip with an evening prayer around a campfire would be a memorable experience for your wake. Outdoors beneath the stars, while listening to the sounds of the night, will always invoke the mind to contemplate life and death.

Memorial

Since you will not be able to place a memorial in the national park, a map with the location or locations of your ashes can be put in a frame. Take a picture of the view from the spot you will have your ashes spread and it can be added to the frame. If you select one of the new electronic picture frames, take many digital pictures and make a slide show of the area. With those pictures and the GPS coordinates; your friends and relatives who want to visit your final resting spot will have no problem finding you.