Priest enjoys God's wonders, one national park at a time

Published: 2006-06-19

COVINGTON, Wash. (CNS) -- He's visited all 50 state capitols as well as the historical sites of all the past U.S. presidents. So where will Father James P. Coyne point his 2000 Honda Civic this summer when he rolls out of town July 2 following the Sunday Masses at St. John the Baptist Church in Covington, where he is pastor? South to California, east to Utah, south down into Texas, east again to Florida then north to New York. The hard-driving pastor expects to log another 13,000 miles -- continuing on his latest mission to visit every national park, historical monument and other units in the National Park System in a mission he calls "the Quest." So far he's been to 288 of the National Park System's approximately 390 units, as the park system calls them. "Units" range from parks to monuments. That number grows each year with the addition of new units. On this trip he expects to rack up approximately 60 more.

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