Our National Parks
Every National Park tells a story, from breathtaking landscapes and ancient forests to historic landmarks that preserve our shared past. Each visit offers a chance to pause and reflect, to feel gratitude for what endures and to witness how nature and history together remind us of the beauty worth protecting.
Recent Posts
Hamilton Grange National Memorial – New York
For those who have seen the musical Hamilton, do you remember the moment when the family “moves uptown? In the late 18th century, uptown meant leaving the crowded streets of lower Manhattan for open farmland to the north. This are would later become Harlem. That is where Alexander Hamilton built his country retreat, a house known […]
Korean War Veteran’s Memorial – Washington DC
In Washington, D.C., the nation’s story unfolds across sweeping lawn and reflecting pools, carved into marble, bronze and stone. Each memorial is scattered through the city’s landscape translated into physical form by artists tasked with shaping our memory. Among the most moving memorials is the Korean War Veterans Memorial. This memorial does not soar skyward but meets […]
Pinnacles National Park – California
On a trip to California to teach, Erin and I carved out time for a hike at Pinnacles National Park. These small windows of exploration enrich our journeys to teach. We didn’t know what to expect. Pinnacles isn’t one of the big-name parks. Pinnacles rise from the rolling hills of central California. The dramatic rock formations […]
Point Reyes National Seashore – California
A great place to walk just outside of busy San Francisco is Point Reyes National Seashore. Within an hour of the city, you step into open coastline, rolling hills and windswept trails that feel wonderfully removed from urban life. This stunning stretch of California coastline was protected in 1962, when it was signed into law […]
Roger Williams National Memorial – Rhode Island
Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence, Rhode Island preserves the legacy of a man whose ideas helped shape one of the most enduring principles of American life: religious freedom. Roger Williams arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631 and quickly became known for his uncompromising beliefs. He argued that civil government should not enforce […]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument – Arizona
Driving through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument at dusk, the landscape does not feel empty, it feels inhabited. As the sun lowers behind the Ojo Mountains, long shadows stretch across the sand. The silhouette of organ pipe and saguaro cacti rise with arms lifted toward a sky painted in amber color. This is the Sonoran Desert, one […]
Fort Larned National Historic Site – Kansas
Along our coasts and across the vast interior of our country, we have built military forts. They rise not in settled times, but in moments of change, when boundaries shift, when commerce pushes outward, when cultures meet in tension. Fort Larned stands as one of those witnesses to transition. In 1859, along the corridor of the […]
Oregon Caves National Monument – Oregon
Driving solo the Redwood Highway along the northern California border is an experience in itself. The road winds through towering trees and dense forest. This is the kind of drive where discovery is around every bend. As I made my way towards the Oregon state line, I turned inland toward Oregon Caves National Monument. Here […]
Padre Island National Seashore – Texas
On one of our seminars in Texas, we took the time to drive down to Padre Island National Seashore. The landscape changed as we approached the coast. Texas roads gave way to stretches to water and salt air. Padre Island National Seashore protects the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world, nearly seventy miles of […]
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site – New York
An often-forgotten president, Martin van Buren, is remembered at his home, Lindenwald, in Kinderhook, New York. This site is now preserved as the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. I have visited this house a couple of times, and the house itself leaves an impression, especially with its distinctive French scenic wallpaper that wraps entire rooms in […]
Lake Mead National Recreation Area – Nevada
Lake Mead National Recreation Area stretches across the Nevada/Arizona border and surrounds the vast reservoir created by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. It is a landscape of desert mountains, open water and red rock shoreline. Lake Mead was formed in the 1930s when Hoover Dam was completed during the Great Depression. The project brought […]
Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park – Washington
The Seattle Visitor Center of the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park sits in Pioneer Square, inside the historic Cadman Building. This was the heart of a young city eager for opportunity. When news of gold discoveries in the Yukon reached the United States in 1897, Seattle seized the moment. Newspapers declared the city the “Gateway […]
