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
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 – Lindenwald, 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 […]
Homestead National Historical Park – Nebraska
Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice, Nebraska preserves the story of one of the most transformative legislations in American history: The Homestead Act of 1862. Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, the Act allowed citizens to claim 160 acres of public land if they lived on it, built a dwelling and farmed it for […]
Great Falls of Paterson National Historical site – New Jersey
Driving back from an event in New Jersey, I spotted the familiar brown National Park sign for Great Falls of Paterson. Recognizing that unmistakable marker, I asked Marty to pull off the highway for a newer national park. What we found was the Great Falls of the Passaic River plunging about 77 feet. We learned beyond the […]
Tonto National Monument – Arizona
National Monument preserves dramatic cliff dwelling built by the Salado people in the late 1200s and early 1300s. The site is located in central Arizona, in the Sonoran Desert. The monument protects two primary cliff dwellings constructed within natural limestone alcoves high above the valley floor. The multi-room masonry homes were built on local stone and adobe, […]
