Three-year-old visits all 63 US national parks (with her parents)
A three-year-old girl has visited all 63 US national parks to complete a goal her family set only weeks after she was born.
The aptly named Journey Castillo’s parents, Eric and Valerie Castillo, have also staked the claim that their daughter is the youngest person known to have gone to every one of the country’s national parks. The couple from San Antonio, Texas, has said they want to inspire other families to get outdoors together and savor the sights and sounds that the world has to offer.
Valerie and Eric Castillo had Journey when activity restrictions aimed to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic left people with significantly fewer things to do. Within weeks of Journey’s birth, her family headed to Colorado’s Pike national forest to get some fresh air and relaxation amid a time that for most people was like no other.
That excursion then brought forth the idea of arranging for Journey to visit every national park in the US by around the time she celebrated her third birthday in September.
“Our thing was: ‘Let’s … instill in Journey a passion for nature, instill in her [that] she can handle the strenuous part of the traveling, the environments, the weather changes, different cultures,” Valerie Castillo told the Guardian.
The family had visited 44 national parks by the time Journey was two.
They entered October needing five more parks to complete the mission. One in Alaska – Glacier Bay national park and preserve – required the Castillos to take a ferry through the state’s marine highway from Juneau to Gustavus.
The Castillos then had to take a chartered plane from Gustavus back to Juneau.
Alaska’s Lake Clark national park and preserve was the last stop, and the family reached it by Saturday, according to an Instagram account documenting the Castillos’ cross-country journey.
“Thank you mom and dad for teaching me to embrace life at its peak, feeling truly alive in every perfect moment,” read a post on the account, in Journey’s voice. “Though we’ve weathered storms and faced countless hurdles, our happiness remains unwavering.
“Commitment, to us, means wholeheartedly seizing life’s opportunities. It’s all part of the grand adventure in this world. We began this journey content, and now we’re grateful we’ve persevered.”
The Castillos have previously told Today.com that they make a living by running a tree removal and preservation business. During their travels, they camp, stay in hotels and shortterm rentals, or rent a recreational vehicle.
They let flight deals guide the order of their park visits. And the Castillos said to the Today website that they could afford their travel by essentially eliminating going out to movies and restaurants.
Journey and her parents finished their trek only months after 93-year-old Joy Ryan reportedly became the oldest person to visit all 63 US national parks, according to Good Morning America and other media outlets.
A Castillo family website now declares about Journey: “Remarkable achievement: I am the youngest person to visit all 63 US national parks.”
The National Park Service (NPS) did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Journey’s claim to the youngest visitor title. But it is possible no one challenges her claim.
Mikah Meyer in 2019 earned recognition as the youngest person to visit every one of the more than 400 sites administered by the NPS, which – in addition to national parks – includes monuments, battlefields, historic as well as military sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreational zones, scenic rivers and trails.
Meyer was 30 at the time that he completed his quest, which was meant to honor his late father.
Valerie Castillo said waiting to see whether Journey’s title is ultimately verified is not the family’s primary focus.
She said it would mean more to them for Journey’s story to prompt travelers to prioritize visiting the US’s national parks as quickly as possible, because the sites are under constant threat from the global climate crisis.
Valerie Castillo also expressed a hope that such trips convince people to demand meaningful action aimed at alleviating the stronger hurricanes and longer burning wildfires that scientists say are being spawned by the climate emergency.
Unless something is done, she predicted: “These parks are not going to be in the same state as they are today in the next five years – and especially the next 10 years.”