For me, national parks preserve cherished life experiences - stories handed down from generation to generation, or handed over from loved ones and friends. I spent a dozen summers on Mount Desert Island and all over Acadia National Park. To fully experience Acadia, leave your car at least a hundred yards behind. Then inhale the fragrance of isolation, which will sharpen your senses to the sounds, sights and aroma of this magic place. The scent of balsam perfumes the air in the forest, and the salt air merges to deliver the sea to you. Here is the natural world as we rarely experience it anymore, soul-satisfying and memorable.