Celebrate America's "best idea" with a road trip to one of our national parks

With wind-chill readings plunging to -15 over the weekend and Punxsutawny Phil's announcement this morning that we're facing six more weeks of Winter, many here in New England are no doubt looking ahead to summer road trips. One of my favorite trips of recent years was a mid-May trek to some of the country's more northern national treasures--The Grant Tetons, where I took this photo, Yellowstone, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Mount Rushmore, and The Badlands, with numerous historical spots in between. So, I read with interest the news this week about a contest sponsored by the National Park Foundation and ARAMARK Parks and Destinations: In celebration of Ken Burns's landmark documentary, America's Best Idea: The National Parks, airing on PBS throughout this month, the NPF and Aramark are offering a free trip to one of America's most popular national parks.

To enter the contest, go to the This Is Your Land website during the month of February to explore America's 392 national parks, and then mark your favorite spot at one of them by sharing a special memory of your time there. Individuals who add their spot to at least one park will be entered to win a three-night trip for two, including lodging and airfare, to their choice of the following destinations located in, or within close proximity to, a beloved national park:

• Shenandoah National Park (Skyland Resort and Big Meadows Lodge)
• Mesa Verde National Park (Far View Lodge)
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (Lake Powell Resort and Defiance House Lodge)
• Denali National Park (McKinley Village and McKinley Chalet)
• Glacier Bay National Park (Glacier Bay Lodge)
• Yellowstone National Park & Grand Teton National Park (Togwotee Mountain Lodge)
• Olympic National Park (Lake Quinault Lodge, Kalaloch Lodge, Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, Lake Crescent Lodge)

The grand-prize winner will also receive a $300 resort credit to use for meals and/or activities and a copy of the book America's Best Idea, autographed by filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan. In addition, 20 runners-up will receive an "America's Best Idea" poster signed by Burns and Duncan and a limited-edition National Park Foundation "America's Best Idea" t-shirt.

Contest rules allow you to add one new spot each day, thus increasing your chances of winning. The NPF and Aramark will announce the winner and runners-up in March.