The Wildlife and Stunning Views of Grand Teton National Park

Originally established in 1929 to protect part of the Teton Range and lakes near its base, Grand Teton National Park in northwestern Wyoming was expanded in 1950 to include much of the adjacent Jackson Hole valley.

Now encompassing nearly 310,000 acres, Grand Teton National Park is characterized by the majesty of its rugged mountains that tower some 7,000 feet over glacial lakes and a valley, through which runs the Snake River.

Renowned for its climbing and hiking trails, the park receives most of its nearly 2.5 million recreational visitors a year in the warm summer months, many of whom marvel at the park’s wildlife. Diverse habitats within the park create opportunities to view moose, elk, bison, pronghorn, black and grizzly bears, and hundreds of species of birds, including bald eagles, ospreys, and trumpeter swans—the largest waterfowl in North America.

Other popular park activities include boating, biking, horseback riding, and fishing, and in the serene winters, ice fishing, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.

To celebrate National Park Week, we’re holding a daily contest here on the blog centered around our love of national parks. Each day’s single winner will receive a set of the Scenic American Landscapes stamped cards, which showcase photographs from parks across the country.

To enter the contest for today, simply answer the following two-part question:

When was the Yosemite Act signed and what did it do?

Submit your answer to uspsstamps [at] gmail [dot] com and remember, spelling counts! The winner will be selected at random and notified by email. Deadline for entries is 12 p.m. EST on Tuesday, April 24. Good luck!

Let Nature Do the Work

Our Go Green tip for today: Let nature do the work. Set up an outdoor line to dry your laundry or get a barrel to collect rain for watering the garden. Why pay for things nature’s already providing? The amount of money you’ll save on water and energy will pale in comparison to the amount of good you’ll be doing for the earth. These seemingly small acts can have a huge impact on our environment for generations to come. Before long, thinking and living green will be second nature!

If you’re looking for a way to commemorate the spirit of the Go Green pane, check out the Digital Color Postmarks. It features 16 Go Green stamps on envelopes cancelled by a custom-designed First Day of Issue color postmark. By capturing a moment in time with the date and location of the First Day of Issue ceremony, this collector’s item will serve as a constant reminder that if we all take a small step every day, we can save our world.

Getting Outside for National Park Week

Today kicks off National Park Week and we can’t wait to get outside and enjoy it! Through April 29, the National Park Service and National Park Foundation encourage us all to take advantage of our natural world by visiting any of the 397 national parks for free!

This international rate stamp issued earlier this year celebrates Montana’s Glacier National Park. Often described as one of the most stunning national parks in the U.S., Glacier was established on May 11, 1910.

The stamp image shows Logan Pass, the highest point on the park’s spectacular Going-to-the-Sun Road. Peaks of the Northern Rocky Mountains fill the photo’s background. In the foreground, melting snowbanks reveal a lush meadow dusted with wildflowers.

Named for the glaciers that sculpted the landscape more than 10,000 years ago and for the Little Ice Age glaciers there today, Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of rugged peaks and valleys, alpine meadows, spectacular lakes, and dense forest. The park is a haven for wildlife with 277 species of birds and 67 species of mammals including bald eagle, wolverine, lynx, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and wolf.

In 1932, Canada and the United States declared Glacier National Park and neighboring Waterton Lakes National Park the world’s first international peace park. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated both parks biosphere reserves in the 1970s and recognized them together as a World Heritage site in 1995.

To celebrate National Park Week, we’ll be holding a daily contest here on the blog centered around our love of national parks. Each day’s single winner will receive a set of the Scenic American Landscapes stamped cards, which showcase photographs from parks across the country.

To enter the contest for today, simply answer the following two-part question:

What was the first national park and when was it established?

Submit your answer to uspsstamps [at] gmail [dot] com and remember, spelling counts! The winner will be selected at random and notified by email. Deadline for entries is 12 p.m. EST on Sunday, April 22. Good luck!

Twentieth-Century Poets Stamps Available Now!

You’ve been waiting for it, and now the day is finally here! The Twentieth-Century Poets stamps are now available in Post Offices nationwide and online. The ten great writers honored on the stamp pane include several who served as United States Poet Laureate. The many awards won by this illustrious group—Elizabeth Bishop, Joseph Brodsky, Gwendolyn Brooks, E. E. Cummings, Robert Hayden, Denise Levertov, Sylvia Plath, Theodore Roethke, Wallace Stevens, and William Carlos Williams—include numerous Pulitzer Prizes, National Book Awards, and honorary degrees. For more about the design of the stamps, visit Beyond the Perf.

The Twentieth-Century Poets stamps are being issued as Forever® stamps in self-adhesive sheets of 20 (2 of each design). Forever stamps are always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce rate.  The stamps are available as sheets of 20 stamps ($9.00) and blocks of 10 stamps ($4.50), and will charm just about everyone. To whom will you send a little verse today?

“Sylvia Plath”, n.d.
Photograph by Rollie McKenna
@ Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation
Courtesy Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona Foundation

“Denise Levertov”, 1953
Photograph by Rollie McKenna
@ Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation
Courtesy Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona Foundation

“E. E. Cummings”, 1935
Photograph by Edward Weston
Collection Center for Creative Photography
@1981 Arizona Board of Regents

Use the Most Eco-Friendly Energy of All: Human Energy

Our Go Green tip for today: Choose to walk. Going somewhere close? Walking is healthy and green! The next time you need to pick up a few things from the grocery store or stop by the post office, burn a few calories and help out the environment by using your own energy to get you there. See your community from a new perspective and get the whole family involved in these walking trips. Each step you take reduces your environmental footprint, which is better for everyone!

If you’re looking for a way to commemorate the spirit of the Go Green pane, check out this collectible first day cancelled sheet. It features 16 Go Green stamps, three standard round dater postmarks, and one custom-designed pictorial postmark. By capturing a moment in time with the date and location of the First Day of Issue ceremony, this sheet will serve as a constant reminder that if we all take a small step every day, we can save our world.