One Saturday in June, Tom and I joined Ranger Layton in a park vehicle to drive to Boonesboro, Kentucky for the finale of the Boone Trace Commemoration.  2025 marked 250 years since Daniel Boone and his axemen cleared and marked the trail leading into Kentucky. The Boone Trace Commemoration started on April 23 in Kingsport, …

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Last week I wrote about the work Tom and I are doing at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  This week I am writing about relaxing.  Relaxing and doing chores.  Relaxing, doing chores, and hiking.  Well, you know what I mean. One of the really nice things about coming back to Cumberland Gap is already knowing …

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After a month at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Tom and I are getting settled and developing our routine.  It usually takes us a month before we feel like we are in the groove.  Even though we usually work the same basic days at each park where we volunteer, finding the right balance of work …

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About a month before we came down to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, the volunteer coordinator called us to let us know there had been a water line break.  The break affected the buildings in the area where we were supposed to stay.  Because of the budget cuts, they were fixing the break in the …

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What are your favorite national park sites?  The National Parks have been on my mind a lot lately.  I feel like President Trump is basically trying to demolish the National Parks, along with a lot of other things.  And working in the National Parks, even as a volunteer, is pretty stressful right now.  I have …

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Tom and I have been pleasantly surprised by how many people come to visit us at Fort Frederica National Monument.  But it is a great place to visit, especially in the winter.  We have enjoyed everyone who has come to see us while we have been here. This year, however, we haven’t had many 2025 …

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One of the fun things that Tom and I get to do at Fort Frederica National Monument is help with school groups.  Ellen Provenzano is currently in charge of school groups.  Ellen wears a lot of hats in the park.  She is the bookstore manager, the archaeology specialist, and the education coordinator.  She only gets …

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When Tom and I first got to Fort Frederica National Monument, back in 2017, Tom and another volunteer built a palmetto hut.  Tom had done a lot of research and gotten permission to build the replica hut outside the grounds of the historic area.  He and Randy Benefield spent several weeks collecting the materials and …

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One of our favorite parts of being at Fort Frederica National Monument is living in Volunteer Village.  There are five RV pads in the compound, which means that there can be as many as ten volunteers living and working together.  It is our Georgia community and we all enjoy each other very much. Although Tom …

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