I worked on Amy’s birthday present for about a week, using source material from the National Park Service to create a detailed map and checklist of the 58 National Parks administered by the National Park Service. We have said that it is a goal to visit all of the National Parks, and now we have a way to keep track!
I tried a few ways to keep track, including a small map with a list of parks that you check off in a separate list below, but I thought it would be more fun if you physically “x” off the parks right where they exist geographically on the map. I started with this map that contained small dots at each site, and a simple text label.
From there, I removed everything but the 58 actual National Parks, put a checkbox where the dots were, and I color-coordianted the text and boxes to the 9 National Park Regions described in the Passport to your National Parks cancellation book.
To finish it off, I added the standard black National Park Header, and an alphabetical list beneath the map which allows you to record when you first visited the park.
I had initially designed it to be printed on our 13×19″ capable Canon Pixma Pro 9000 Inkjet, but decided to try Costco, which will print a 20×30 print for just 8.99$. I found reaosnably priced 20×30 frames at Ben Franklin, and I found really convenient adhesive foam core in conveniently enough, 20×30 pieces for 6$ a Michaels.
I am really happy with the final result, which looks really classy in the black frame. It served as a great conversation piece during Amy’s birthday party, althought we still need to check-off the 11 parks we have visited together. And, I think she liked it!