America's National Parks

Recently, five wonderful episodes of this series were released to the Disney Channel and it sure left me wanting more. Much of it is because I have only visited two of the five parks and I enjoyed watching the other three to plan some upcoming trips. Why did I enjoy it so much? Well, the cinematography is insanely good....among the best you'll find in any nature documentary...about on par with the "Planet Earth" series. I loved how the show really emphasized the animals you might encounter in the parks. I also was surprised at how good Garth Brooks' voice was, as I just didn't expect him to sound so professorial! Well worth seeing and at times breathtaking.

I know the producers were busy trying to track down someone famous to do the narration rather than hiring someone trained for such things, or perhaps finding a scientist who actually specializes in national park ecosystems. But you think they would have taken a few seconds in each episode to like ... include a MAP showing where the park in question is? This is National Geographic, after all. Once in the episodes, the scenery is great, although some of the set pieces are clearly manufactured and drawn out too long to ensure they fill the hour - rather than adding more content. I like that, with 10 episodes so far, they have focused on some of the lesser known parks in many episodes. Sure, they did the Grand Canyon, but they also did Big Bend. I hope if they do Season 3, we'll see the newest park, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore!