With a little planning, you can capture some amazing moments at national parks. After checking the weather, Eric Neitzel drove 3 hours to Tuolumne Meadows – the one place in California’s Yosemite National Park that’s flat enough for the perfect sunset. Braving the mosquitoes, he carefully laid down on the meadow grass to try and make sure the beautiful flowers of the meadow where shown as well as the the sunset and Pothole Dome. “For me, laying in the flowers of Tuolumne Meadows taking this picture made me feel like half John Muir and half Ansel Adams.” iPhone photo courtesy of Eric Neitzel.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. Managed by the National Park Service, over 90,000 buildings, sites, structures and objects are listed in the national register. These important resources are preserved to help tell the story of who we are as a nation and inspire us to learn from our past. Learn more here: http://ift.tt/2erMWnp

Photo of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico by Raymond Lee (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Majestic mountain views, fall colors and epic wildlife are some of the many delights of visiting Denali National Park. Of this caribou strolling through the Alaskan tundra, photographer Nick Harrison says, “He walked so soft and steady as if he was also taking in the beauty all around him. He was so calm – nothing disturbed him.” Photo courtesy of Nick Harrison.

You’ll need to make more than one visit if you really want to enjoy fall colors at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Different trees peak at different times, so each journey into this gorgeous forest offers a unique experience. Throughout October, maples, oaks, gums and dogwoods put on a splendid show you don’t want to miss. Photo at Blue Hen Falls by Craig Walton (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge – the first wildlife refuge in Indiana created 50 years ago this week – protects habitat for more than 280 species of birds like sandhill cranes. The refuge was also instrumental to the comeback of the state’s endangered North American river otter, serving as the first release site to bring populations back to healthy numbers. This amazing landscape of lakes, marshes and creeks is a quick trip from major metropolitan areas in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Photo by Susan Harner, USFWS.

From mountains to sand dunes to wetlands, Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve in Colorado has a terrific diversity of ecosystems. Each landscape is affected differently by the seasons. With fall descending on the park, that means patches of aspens in the alpine ranges are starting to show their gorgeous yellow colors. What a view! Photo by Patrick Myers, National Park Service.

The Volcanic Tablelands near Bishop, California, are a vast, rugged landscape formed over 700,000 years ago by the Long Valley caldera. In this high desert environment, generations of Paiute and Shoshone Indians once resided, leaving behind an extensive collection of carefully chiseled petroglyphs in the rocks. Now a destination for rock climbers, these fragile treasures are protected by the Bureau of Land Management. Photo by Abhilash Itharaju (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).

It’s National Wildlife Refuge Week! Whether you’re looking for flippers, feathers, fur, fins or fangs, you can find amazing animals at wildlife refuges. Refuges across the country provide habitat for more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 1,000 species of fish. There’s at least one national wildlife refuge in every state and territory and within an hour’s drive of most major metropolitan areas. Photo of seals at Nantucket National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts by Amanda Boyd, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fall has arrived at Glacier National Park, and it’s stunning. Crushing clouds and rain greeted Nate Luebbe at Glacier, but as he crested Logan Pass he was treated to one of the most spectacular alpenglow sunsets we’ve seen. “The sun shot golden fingers between jagged peaks and illuminated the clouds from below, and I couldn’t help but admire the timing. Montana was welcoming me home.” Photo courtesy of Nate Luebbe.

Fall foliage lights up the lakeshore at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Along with changing leaves, late season sunflowers provide a colorful contrast to red-wing blackbirds that swoop and dart through grasses. The refuge protects a wide stretch of the Rio Grande river where sandhill cranes, geese and other waterfowl spend the winter each year. Photo courtesy of Robert Dunn via USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System.