August 17, 2020 - 8:30 AM
WEST BURKE, Vt. - Jonah Matte is a lucky 9-year-old. His mother, Lisa Higgins of West Burke, Vermont, drove him west to southern California in June to visit six national parks, the last of 50 in the contiguous United States that he had not visited before his 10th birthday.
Higgins and her son visited seven parks in total on the trip along with family members, including Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Channel Islands, Pinnacles, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park, the Caledonian Record reported on Sunday.
Higgins posted a note on a Facebook group for national park fans on Aug. 5 with a photo of her and her son saying Jonah has collected 100 junior ranger badges in their travels together.
Many National Parks closed temporarily because of the coronavirus pandemic but reopened with restrictions at the beginning of the summer. Yosemite, for example, is requiring reservations, and visitor centres and shuttle services remain closed at many of the parks.
“His next goal is the last 12 parks not in the contiguous US (Alaska, Hawaii, Virgin Islands and American Samoa) by the time he is 13,” Higgins told the newspaper. “My sister and I are planning a family road trip to Alaska next summer as along as it is safe then.”
Driving from Vermont to the parks, the pair camped overnight in their tent, stopping only for gas, Higgins told the newspaper. The parks were “pretty empty,” Higgins said, in part because of above-100-degree temperatures on several days during their visit.
The dolphins Jonah saw at the Channel Islands National Park topped the list of highlights from the trip, the newspaper reported.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020