America's best idea? National parks

Dayton Duncan has been to all 58 national parks in the U.S. His favorite? Glacier. But not for the reasons you might think.

Sure, it's a beautiful and spectacular place. But more importantly for him, it's the place he courted his wife, Diane, more than 20 years ago.

"We spent three glorious days there," he said.

Then 13 years later, he brought his children to Glacier. His son was 8 years old at the time. When the young boy hiked to Hidden Lake and saw his first mountain goat, he said it was "the most exciting day of his life."

It's the memories and family moments that make national parks special, Duncan noted. Duncan has been back to Glacier several times since. Now Duncan and co-producer Ken Burns have put together a 12-hour six-part miniseries entitled, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," and audiences will have a sneak peek at a portion of it Aug. 29 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the O'Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

The event is sponsored by the Glacier National Park Fund and the National Parks Conservation Association. Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door and are available at each of the four Montana Coffee Traders locations in the valley.

The documentary took more than six years to produce and film crews visited the Glacier three times, he said.

The miniseries isn't a travelogue or simply wildlife — it's history.

Duncan said the misconception is that our national parks simply happened, but that's not the case.

"They're a uniquely American invention," he said, noting that in previous history in other nations, the best places were reserved for royalty and the rich. In the U.S., parks are open to anyone and everyone.

The series traces the creation of the parks and the heroes that created them, from Teddy Roosevelt to John Muir and John D. Rockefeller. In Glacier's case, the series examines the role of railroads in creating parks and the influence of Louis Hill and the Great Northern Railroad.

While the emphasis is on people and history, the series has plenty of wildlife and spectacular scenery.

Duncan recalled one shoot in Yellowstone where the crew was filming at Madison Junction and became surrounded by elk and bison. The elk and bison got into a little tussle and then the bison laid down around the crew. They had to tip toe around them to get back to camp.

The 12-hour, six-part PBS/WETA series will debut Sunday, Sept. 27 to Friday, Oct. 2.

You can also view clips and see interviews at www.pbs.org/nationalparks.

An accomplished and award-winning author, Duncan has also written an accompanying book to the series and has worked with Burns on his other documentaries, including the "Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz."