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
Voyageurs National Park – Minnesota
I have explored many National Parks on solo driving tours. There is something about the quiet rhythm of the road with long stretches of highway and time to think. Driving to Voyageurs in northern Minnesota was one of those journeys. I followed the North Shore of Lake Superior for part of the trip, marveling at its vastness. […]
Vietnam Veterans Memorial – Washington DC
The monuments around Washington, D.C. are all designed with purpose, each capturing a person, a war, or an event worthy of being remembered in our nation’s capital. None is more captivating than the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The memorial was authorized by Congress in 1980 and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on July 1 […]
Teddy Roosevelt Birthplace – New York, New York
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in a brownstone home on East 20th Street in Manhattan. Though the original house was demolished in 1916, it was reconstructed in the 1920s on the original site, using photographs, family memories and original furnishings to recreate the homes it would have appeared during his childhood. The house reflects the […]
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site – Massachusetts
Long before Massachusetts became synonymous with textile mills, industry was already taking root along the Saugus River. In 1646, a group of English investors organized as the Company of Undertakers of the Iron Works in New England established what would become the first successful integrated ironworks in colonial North America. Their goal was to reduce the […]
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park – California
Walking along Aquatic Park in San Francisco, I made my way to the Hyde Street Pier and the visitor center of San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. San Francisco’s identity was forged by the sea. When gold was discovered in 1848, ships began arriving from everywhere: New England, South America, Europe, China, Australia. The sea routes brought […]
Salem Maritime National Historic Site – Massachusetts
In Massachusetts, many visitors come to Salem searching for the echoes of the 1692 witch trials. But along the waterfront stands another Salem story, older in infrastructure, broader in reach and foundational to the young nation’s economy. The Salem Maritime National Historic Site preserves nearly nice acres along the harbor that reflect Salem’s extraordinary maritime […]
Rosie the Riveter National History Site – California
Rosie the Riveter National Historical Park was another place I visited during our time teaching in California. This one I did on my own, getting there early when it first opened. Located in Richmond, California, along the San Francisco Bay, the park captures the extraordinary war mobilization that transformed this shipbuilding town almost overnight during […]
Biscayne National Park – Florida
Just south of Miami’s skyline lies a park that is nearly entirely water. Biscayne National Park was established in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter to protect one of the most fragile ecosystems in the country: mangrove shorelines, seagrass beds, coral reefs and the northernmost keys of the Florida Reef Tract. Nearly 95% of the park is […]
Glacier National Park – Montana
One of our most majestic national parks is also one of the few I have only been fortunate enough to visit once. Glacier National Park, located in northern Montana along the Canadian border, is part of a larger protected ecosystem that extends into Canada as Waterton Lakes National Park. Together they form the Waterton-Glacier-International Peace Park. This […]
Frederick Douglas National Historic Site – Washington DC
When we travel for business, we always hope to explore something nearby, whether it be the nature of something historic. There is something grounding about stepping outside the seminar room and into the story of a place. We look for something special, something that belongs uniquely to that area. Frederick Douglas’ home was one of those […]
Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southern Utah on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, with elevations ranging from 8,000 to over 9,00 feet. Despite its name, it is not a canon formed by a river. Instead, it is a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the edge of a plateau through erosion. The park is best […]
Castle Clinton National Monument – New York
Castle Clinton sits at the southern tip of Manhattan in Battery Park, layered with nearly two centuries of American history in a circular stone structure. Originally constructed between 1808 and 18111, it was built as a coastal fort to defend New York Harbor during tensions leading up to the War of 1812. At that time, it sood […]
