The American National Park Service celebrates its birthday on April 25th — and we’re sure happy to have the National Parks around. There have been a few times when we’ve been going through a particularly unspectacular part of a state, and wondered what the area had to offer besides Olive Gardens and car dealerships. Then we did a quick internet search and found glorious paradises just a few miles off the highway. We’re even happier to find State Parks that have a little local personality. That ranges from forgotten rustic spots to real National Park weirdness. Here are a few unusual parks that we’ve stumbled upon on the road — or, in some cases, several miles offshore…
Acton State Historic Site: Acton, Texas
Texas may be the biggest state in the Union (if you’re not from Alaska), but it sure has a small state park. Of course, one of those state parks would end up having to be the smallest–but The Grave of Davy Crockett’s Second Wife really wins this one by a mile. Too bad that the grave doesn’t even come close to being a mile wide. The small area was made an official State Park in 1911, so its hard to guess what the Texas Legislature was thinking. Maybe they just hadn’t honored Davy Crockett in a while. Anyway, you can find this memorable little park about 75 miles outside of the Dallas area.
