Big Cypress National Preserve
Big Cypress is not exactly a national park, but a national preserve. A national preserve allows certain traditional uses to continue while still protecting the land. When Congress established Big Cypress in 1974, it became one of the very first two national preserves in the country,
Big Cypress protects nearly 729,000 acres of land, making it larger than the state of Rhode Island. There are countless ways to explore its varied landscape, including boardwalks and trails. Birds are everywhere along with alligators and a mosaic of swamps, cypress and mangroves.
Big Cypress also regulates the freshwater flow that feeds the fisheries, agricultural land and drinking water for many Floridians. It is a quiet preserve that sustains the life and communities that are rooted in its waters.
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Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
The historic Natchez National Scenic Trail is a route the served as one of the most important transportation corridors in the early American frontier. Worn deeply into the earth by generations of travelers, traders, soldiers and Native Americans, the sunken pathway visible today offers a glimpse into what travel looked like before modern roads and railroads transformed the landscape. Long before […]
Fort Sumter
In the harbor of Charleston stands a place where the course of American history changed in a single moment: Fort Sumter. Built after the War of 1812 as part of a coastal defense system, the fort was still unfinished when tenstions between North and South reached their breaking point. By early 1861, South Carolina had […]
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Another presidential site I explored through the National Park Service was the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee. During our visit, we toured both the tailor shop where Johnson learned his trade and the home where he and his family lived. The simple bedroom shown here offered a glimpse into the personal side […]
