My friend Dennis (https://www.thewanderinglensman.com) asked me the other day were there parks that I did not think ought to be parks. The answer is a clear “yes.” However I understand politics enter into the decisions (First State in Delaware when Biden was VP or Tupelo Battlefield that makes no sense to me) and I might put Saint Croix into that category or at least leave it solely to the Canadians. The island in the river is the site of a short-lived effort in 1604 by the French to establish a permanent settlement. It failed and by spring of 1605 it was deserted. You cannot ordinarily even visit the island but there is a small park, maybe three acres on the riverbank with some statues and interpretation signs. The ranger was enthused and very nice but I did not capture that excitement with my visit. Again, a very rainy deeply overcast day may have contributed to the lack of excitement. Samuel Champlain was a young man and part of the exploration and his name is associated with several places in New England along with the leader of the group, Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, for whom a spring is named in Acadia NP. This was a new park for us, number nine on this trip.