Did you know that many of the world’s largest caves are found in the United States? The third largest is in South Dakota – Jewel Cave National Monument. Jewel Cave got its blinging name because of the calcite crystals that cover the walls and ceilings of the cave and shimmered […]
National Parks
57 posts
When I think of mountainous states I think of Colorado. Or even the Sierra Nevada of California. Or the Appalachian of the east. But I don’t think South Dakota. I always found the term “Black Hills of South Dakota” puzzling because I didn’t think there were hills there and Mt. […]
Visiting the Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit from the North Unit also involves a bit of time travel. The Units are an hour apart. The North Unit operates on Mountain Time. The South Unit operates on Central Time. I arrived the same time I left. Whoa. Mind blown! Theodore […]
On February 12, 1884 a 25 year old Theodore Roosevelt became a father. Two days later, his wife died. Hours later, his mother died. Devastated, Teddy soon set off for North Dakota. One of his main goals was to hunt bison, but he became intrigued with the cattle industry and […]
When you think “North Dakota,”what comes to mind? For me it was space. A flat expanse covered by prairie grass, corn, and as of recently, oil fields. Something I didn’t think of was rivers. But North Dakota has them. In fact they have two National Park Sites along rivers. I […]
Given the choice of anything to do on a sunny summer day, rolling a hoop down the road with a stick wouldn’t be my top choice. But there was something about the Colonial Williamsburg commercials I saw as a kid that made it look so fun! Finally now, about 20 […]
I was hiking in Monocacy National Battlefield earlier this year when I thought to myself, “I don’t like battlefields as much as other National Park sites.” When I think National Parks, I think Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Denali. When I think National Park Service, I think the monuments in Washington, DC. […]
I went hiking in Mount Rainier National Park a couple weeks ago. I wasn’t in a good place. Physically, I was in a good place, a great one even. Mentally and emotionally I was in a dark place. I was dealing with a lot of uncertainties and inner turmoil. To […]
I turned 30 recently. I’m not exactly sure what I think 30 should look like, but my life just doesn’t “feel” like 30. To combat that dissonance I decided to book a trip for my birthday weekend. My typical trips consist of cheap (but safe) hotel or car camping. But […]
It’s been a year since my National Parks project began. For those of you new to the blog, I’m attempting to see 100 sites managed by the National Park Service before the Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. I devised this challenge when I planned a birthday trip […]
Last Saturday I visited my 67th National Park – Olympic National Park! I wasn’t sure what to expect. Visiting the Olympic peninsula in February could have been a terrible choice. To be on the safe side I rented a four-wheel drive vehicle and was mentally preparing for the worst. I […]
On the road out of Talkeetna early Saturday morning I hit some ice that sent my pickup truck fishtailing down the road. Now that I was wide awake from that excitement, it was time to see some wildlife and hopefully Denali before I had to head back to get on […]