Is there any better example of adventure than joining a gold rush? The 1896 discovery of gold in the frigid Arctic reaches spurred tens of thousands to head north: sailing from Seattle, debarking in the Alaskan boomtown of Skagway, up and over the Chilkoot and White Pass trails into Canada, and on to the gold fields. Other than the few who found their fortunes, the most anybody got out of their adventures was a legendary story. That story is preserved in part by Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park- in Alaska and Washington.

Canoeing into Big Bend National Park's Boquillas Canyon (NPS photo)

Diversity, development, and community. These are things that are evident in the story of Tuzigoot National Monument, a Sinaqua people that lived together on a site outside of modern day Clarksville, Arizona. From the record they have left behind we see how living together allowed for diverse tasks, which gave rise to the arts, wide ranging skill development and the possibility of trade. By welcoming others who passed through their territory, they were enriched with stories, ideas, and beauty they might have missed.

Burrowing owls return to Wind Cave National Park each spring to raise their chicks in abandoned burrows. They appear to tolerate their prairie dog neighbors pretty well, too. (NPS/Claire Visconti)

Panoramic view of Canyonlands and river at Island in the Sky District, from the Green River overlook, Canyonlands National Park (NPS/Nicole Segnini)

The Homestead Act is perhaps the most significant piece of American legislation. If a settler could cultivate a 160-acre plot for five years, the land would be theirs at no charge. Over more than a century, more than 1.6 “sodbusters,” including emancipated former slaves and 300,000 immigrants, settled 270 million acres in the American West. The five-year commitment was no shoo-in: only 52 percent of claim filers proved up to the challenge. Nebraska’s Homestead National Historical Park tells the story of those settlers who relied on their resolve, discipline, and endurance to prove themselves worthy of the claim. Those same traits can also help us build our own faith.