PHOTOS: Touring The National Parks ... All 59 Of Them

NPR | By Camila Domonoske

Published March 19, 2016 at 11:16 AM EDT

1 of 6 — Trevor Kemp at Crater Lake, park #19.

Trevor Kemp at Crater Lake, park #19.

2 of 6 — Nabors and Kemp rafted the Colorado River to check the Grand Canyon â park #22 â off their list. Here, Darius Nabors tries out a mid-river headstand.

Nabors and Kemp rafted the Colorado River to check the Grand Canyon â park #22 â off their list. Here, Darius Nabors tries out a mid-river headstand.

3 of 6 — Olympic National Park in Washington state was park #16.

Olympic National Park in Washington state was park #16.

4 of 6 — Isle Royale National Park, in Michigan, was an early stop: Park #2.

Isle Royale National Park, in Michigan, was an early stop: Park #2.

5 of 6 — Trevor Kemp in Katmai National Park (park #8 for the duo).

Trevor Kemp in Katmai National Park (park #8 for the duo).

6 of 6 — Another view of Olympic.

Another view of Olympic.

This summer, the National Park Service turns 100. It's safe to say that lots of Americans will be celebrating by visiting a national park.

Darius Nabors celebrates during a visit to Yosemite (park #21).

But two friends — Darius Nabors and Trevor Kemp — are marking the occasion by visiting all of them.

That's 59 parks, from Joshua Tree to Shenandoah, and from remote Alaskan wilderness to Virgin Island beaches. And Nabors and Kemp are crossing them off the list in 59 weeks.

They quit their jobs to make the journey, which is partially crowd-funded, and are documenting the process on their website, 59in59.com.

Justin Regan, of member station KNAU in Arizona, caught up with the two by telephone and asked them ... what is it about the national parks?

"I think the National Parks are just a time capsule in a way that you can hand down to your children and your grandchildren," Kemp said. "You'll be able to say 'this is exactly the same way as I saw it' — as long as we can protect it and keep it in that pristine condition."

You can hear the full interview over at KNAU, and follow their trip on their blog.