Leave Only Footprints
My Acadia-to-Zion Journey Through Every National Park
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4.6 • 49 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A delightful sampler plate of our national parks, written with charisma and erudition.”—Nick Offerman, author of Paddle Your Own Canoe
From CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Conor Knighton, a behind-the-scenery look at his year traveling to each of America's National Parks, discovering the most beautiful places and most interesting people our country has to offer
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY OUTSIDE
When Conor Knighton set off to explore America's "best idea," he worried the whole thing could end up being his worst idea. A broken engagement and a broken heart had left him longing for a change of scenery, but the plan he'd cooked up in response had gone a bit overboard in that department: Over the course of a single year, Knighton would visit every national park in the country, from Acadia to Zion.
In Leave Only Footprints, Knighton shares informative and entertaining dispatches from what turned out to be the road trip of a lifetime. Whether he's waking up early for a naked scrub in a historic bathhouse in Arkansas or staying up late to stargaze along our loneliest highway in Nevada, Knighton weaves together the type of stories you're not likely to find in any guidebook. Through his unique lens, America the Beautiful becomes America the Captivating, the Hilarious, and the Inspiring. Along the way, he identifies the threads that tie these wildly different places together—and that tie us to nature—and reveals how his trip ended up changing his views on everything from God and love to politics and technology.
Filled with fascinating tidbits about our parks' past and reflections on their fragile future, this book is both a celebration of and a passionate case for the natural wonders that all Americans share.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this lackluster memoir, Knighton, a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning's "On the Trail" segment, tells of his mission to visit all 59 National Parks in the U.S. in 2016. Post-breakup with his fianc e, Knighton found solace in the writings of John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt and decided to experience firsthand the lands they helped protect and conserve. (The book is an offshoot from his CBS segment). Knighton began his travels in Acadia, where he watched the first sunrise over the U.S. on New Year's Day, then drove across the country, talking to rangers and guides at each park including Oregon's Crater Lake, where an ecologist helped him locate the Old Man tree stump, which had been floating on the lake since the late 19th century. His descriptions of his adventures and the local practices such as visiting the century-old bathhouse in Hot Springs, Ark., or sled dog races in Denali are intriguing but get lost in digressions into reflections on his childhood and personal life. Nature lovers will find his story to be self-serving, and dedicated fans of his segment may find it lacking in new material.
