I volunteered to be bumped from my flight, which means I'm coming at you live from the scenic Philadelphia Airport. I had planned to spend the day touristing around DC, so I'm exchanging that for a free ticket anywhere in the lower 48, which means a cheap vacation on one of my many breaks from work. Still no pictures since I don't have the right cable, but I'll round up the National Parks I visited on the second half of my trip.
Florisant Fossil Beds NM: Located in central Colorado, west of Colorado Springs, this was probably the most disappointing park I visited. The park has some gigantic petrified stumps (from old Redwoods). They are huge, which is cool, but they are a lot less colorful than the ones in Petrified Forest NP. Florisant also has some cool fossils on display in the visitor center. What was missing was a chance to see some Thrfossils in the field.
Mesa Verde NP: Located in Southwestern Colorado, this park has great views from the top of the Mesa. I also got to visit some cliff dwellings. They were nice, but not very different than the ones I visited in Arizona last year at Walnut Canyon. The area surrounding the cliff dwellings had interpretive signs describing many of the plants, including what the Natives used them for.
Navajo NM: Located in Northwest Arizona, the park contains cliff dwellings at several different sights. The cliff dwellings at the site I visited are only open to ranger led tours, so I did not get near them, but the view overlooking them is gorgeous, they are located in a simply stunning canyon. The visitor center has locals demonstrating traditional crafts, and some exhibits with a very pro-Hopi anti-Navajo slant.
Pipestem NHP (or Pipespring?): This is an early Mormon settlement located in Northwest Arizona. The site contains a stone fort stocked with period furnishings and out buildings, including a dugout house and wooden corrals. The farm was run as a tithing ranch of the Mormon church. Local ranchers would bring in a tithe of their cattle (and other produce, but mostly cattle in this part of the country), and the ranch would use it to make butter and cheese or ship it to local Mormon towns. The tour of the fort was excellent, as the ranger was very personable.
Zion NP: Located in Soutwestern Utah, this is one of a series of park showcasing gorgeous rock formations created by erosion. Bryce Canyon is the highest, then Zion, and then of course the Grand Canyon contains the lowest geologic layers. You can drive through part of Zion, but to go up in the canyon (created by the Virgin River), you take tour buses. The cliffs are gorgeous, and the river bottom is surprisingly lush (it even has swampy areas). This is a park that you could easily spend multiple days in, especially if you are into hiking.
Lake Mead NRA: Lake Mead is created by the Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. I barely scratched the surface here, only going to the visitor center. The visitor center contains very interesting displays about the natural and human history of the area before and after the construction of the dam. I didn't have time to enjoy any recreational activities, which is too bad because swimming would have been great on a day that hit 110 degrees.
Mojave NP: Absolutely gorgeous. The preserve is located at the confluence of the Sonoran, Mojave and Great Basin Deserts, so you see a variety of desert climates and wildlife. I drove through the park from North (I-15) to South (I-40) and camped in the middle. Beware of very rough dirt roads if you travel this direction. The campsite was incredible. There was one other family there, but otherwise, you're on your own in the middle of the desert. Lots of stars, lots of critters, no people.
That's it for the National Parks, which made up most of my itinerary. After Mojave, I camped on the coast and watched the sun set over over the Pacific, then caught up with some old friends in San Francisco. More details about the parks and the trip shall be forthcoming.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Road Trip 2008
I am in the middle of my road trip to California (from Virginia), with stops at several National Parks on the way. I hoped to upload some pictures, but I forgot to pack the cable to hook my camera to my computer. I'll give a brief overview of the parks, and try to do a longer write-up later (I'm still trying to figure out what I want the write-ups to look like, which explains some of the delay). On to the parks:
Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home NHP: Located in Southern Indiana, the park contains a memorial building from the 1940's which seems unnecessary, the grave of Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and a working replica farm. The graveyard is in a beautiful patch of woods, especially in the morning when the sun is rising. The staff were very accommodating.
George Rogers Clark NHP: Located in Vincennes, Indiana. The park is a memorial to the frontiersmen who fought in the American Revolution. There is a big memorial building, and several graves of Revolutionary soldiers. The park is located at the sight of an American capture of a British fort which helped establish control of the Ohio River Valley during the war.
Ulysses S. Grant NHP: Located in the suburbs of St. Louis, the park contains the home where Grant lived after resigning from the army until ascending to the presidency, with a big break for the war. The house originally belonged to Grant's father-in-law until Grant bought it. The park also has some farmland, but I did not have time to visit it.
Voyagers NHP (aka the Gateway Arch): Very touristy. The view from the arch was nice, but not very different than most observations decks. This would be a great park to come and hang out. Lots of nice grass and nice views of the river. I got a very good look at the flooding of the Mississippi here.
Harry S. Truman NHP: Located in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City), this park consists of the Truman home and Presidential Library. Like Grant's, the home originally belonged to Truman's father-in-law. Truman lived here from his marriage (1933?) until his death, except when he was serving in Washington. Bess Truman passed recently (1982?), so the house is preserved almost exactly as it was when Truman lived there. The surrounding neighborhood is very nice, and President Truman apparently took walks every day.
Brown v. Board of Education NHP: Addresses the concerns of the Civil Rights Movement very well. The park is a school that has been fitted out with educations exhibits. It has rooms with different themes, and a room where children (and others I suppose) are encouraged to express there thoughts in a variety of mediums. My only critique is that I would have like to have learned more about the mechanics of the court case. This would be a great park for an elementary or middle school field trip.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: Located in Southeastern Kansas in the Flint Hills. This area is poorly suited to farming, so the natural environment has been only minimally disturbed by human occupation. The park has a limestone house and outbuildings from the 1870's, and features several trails for hiking in the prairie. The highlight was definitely the prairie itself. After a short hike (probably a little less than a mile round trip), I had distance myself from most signs of human presence. The solitude was wonderful and the birds and wildflowers were beautiful. This one was well worth the trip.
Fort Larned NHP: A Civil War era fort along the Santa Fe Trail. The fort is in excellent condition, since it was built out of local limestone. The fort was occupied from 1859-1878 (?) and served as protection from the area Native tribes along the Santa Fe trail. The fort had no walls as the Natives rarely attacked in mass, preferring hit-and-run tactics. The walls have graffiti carved in them, some from the the time of the fort's use. After the fort was decommissioned, it was used as a ranch until it became a park.
Nicodemus NHP: Nicodemus is a town in Northwester Kansas that was founded by African-Americans in 1877. The town flourished for several years, despite the challenging climate, but was bypassed by the railroad in the 1890's and withered away. Today it has about 25 residents, but has an annual homecoming in the Summer when former residents and their descendants return to the town.
The road trip continues tomorrow, going diagonally Southwest through Colorado. I am hoping to visit Florisant Fossil Beds NM, Mesa Verde NP, Najavaho NM, Zion NP, Mojave NR and maybe a park or two in San Francisco if I have time.
Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home NHP: Located in Southern Indiana, the park contains a memorial building from the 1940's which seems unnecessary, the grave of Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and a working replica farm. The graveyard is in a beautiful patch of woods, especially in the morning when the sun is rising. The staff were very accommodating.
George Rogers Clark NHP: Located in Vincennes, Indiana. The park is a memorial to the frontiersmen who fought in the American Revolution. There is a big memorial building, and several graves of Revolutionary soldiers. The park is located at the sight of an American capture of a British fort which helped establish control of the Ohio River Valley during the war.
Ulysses S. Grant NHP: Located in the suburbs of St. Louis, the park contains the home where Grant lived after resigning from the army until ascending to the presidency, with a big break for the war. The house originally belonged to Grant's father-in-law until Grant bought it. The park also has some farmland, but I did not have time to visit it.
Voyagers NHP (aka the Gateway Arch): Very touristy. The view from the arch was nice, but not very different than most observations decks. This would be a great park to come and hang out. Lots of nice grass and nice views of the river. I got a very good look at the flooding of the Mississippi here.
Harry S. Truman NHP: Located in Independence, Missouri (near Kansas City), this park consists of the Truman home and Presidential Library. Like Grant's, the home originally belonged to Truman's father-in-law. Truman lived here from his marriage (1933?) until his death, except when he was serving in Washington. Bess Truman passed recently (1982?), so the house is preserved almost exactly as it was when Truman lived there. The surrounding neighborhood is very nice, and President Truman apparently took walks every day.
Brown v. Board of Education NHP: Addresses the concerns of the Civil Rights Movement very well. The park is a school that has been fitted out with educations exhibits. It has rooms with different themes, and a room where children (and others I suppose) are encouraged to express there thoughts in a variety of mediums. My only critique is that I would have like to have learned more about the mechanics of the court case. This would be a great park for an elementary or middle school field trip.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: Located in Southeastern Kansas in the Flint Hills. This area is poorly suited to farming, so the natural environment has been only minimally disturbed by human occupation. The park has a limestone house and outbuildings from the 1870's, and features several trails for hiking in the prairie. The highlight was definitely the prairie itself. After a short hike (probably a little less than a mile round trip), I had distance myself from most signs of human presence. The solitude was wonderful and the birds and wildflowers were beautiful. This one was well worth the trip.
Fort Larned NHP: A Civil War era fort along the Santa Fe Trail. The fort is in excellent condition, since it was built out of local limestone. The fort was occupied from 1859-1878 (?) and served as protection from the area Native tribes along the Santa Fe trail. The fort had no walls as the Natives rarely attacked in mass, preferring hit-and-run tactics. The walls have graffiti carved in them, some from the the time of the fort's use. After the fort was decommissioned, it was used as a ranch until it became a park.
Nicodemus NHP: Nicodemus is a town in Northwester Kansas that was founded by African-Americans in 1877. The town flourished for several years, despite the challenging climate, but was bypassed by the railroad in the 1890's and withered away. Today it has about 25 residents, but has an annual homecoming in the Summer when former residents and their descendants return to the town.
The road trip continues tomorrow, going diagonally Southwest through Colorado. I am hoping to visit Florisant Fossil Beds NM, Mesa Verde NP, Najavaho NM, Zion NP, Mojave NR and maybe a park or two in San Francisco if I have time.
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