Tom and I have been to Great Smoky Mountains National Park many times. I went on vacations there with my family when I was young. Tom and I camped and hiked there when we were newly married. We have pictures of hiking on the trails when John was a little guy. Gatlinburg was our “home …
From National Parks
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument is one of the newest National Park sites. It was dedicated on September 2020 after years of advocacy by the Mill Spring Battlefield Association. Thanks to the Association there is a beautiful Visitors Center and a very good museum already in place. Currently, Mill Spring Battlefield National Monument only has …
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Tom and I are back in Ohio now, but on the way we took a detour to see the National Park sites in eastern Tennessee and Kentucky. One of the places we visited was the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Tom and I always have mixed feelings about visiting presidential sites because they seem so limited. …
Marshes of Glynn by Sidney Lanier
One of our favorite things about working at Fort Frederica National Monument is living next to the Marshes of Glynn. The salt marshes along the tidal rivers are beautiful, swaying organisms, full of life. Tom and I love to walk along the Frederica River and see the marshes at low tide and high tide, at …
Archaeology Education Field Trips at FOFR
This year Tom and I got to help with Archaeology Education Field Trips at Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR). After two years without field trips, it was nice to work with school groups again. The last time we had field trips at FOFR was in 2019 and Ranger Ellen Strojan was in charge of them. …
Postcards from the Edge of Fort Frederica
Tom and I had a new experience this year at Fort Frederica National Monument: we are now featured on some postcards. Tom, of course, being the diva that he has become while in British uniform, is on three of the new postcards while I am just on one. And my face doesn’t show in any …
Colonial Day at Fort Frederica National Monument
Colonial Day is one of our favorite days at Fort Frederica National Monument. This is our fifth season at Fort Frederica and we recently worked at our fourth Colonial Day. We didn’t have a Colonial Day in 2020 or 2021, so it was good to be able to return to it this year. Colonial Day …
Miscellaneous Jobs at Fort Frederica National Monument
Tom and I have been doing a variety of miscellaneous jobs at Fort Frederica National Monument this year. I have more of a routine than Tom does because he usually tries to avoid working at the Visitors Center. This year he has been less successful at that than in years past. My work week basically …
Canaveral National Seashore in Florida
Tom and I recently took a day trip south to Canaveral National Seashore in Florida, about a three hour drive from St. Simons Island. We had planned to go there several times before but something always interfered. This time we picked a day and stuck with it, even though it ended up being rainy and …
Denise and Bob Verba: Maintenance Volunteers
The only people that have volunteered more seasons at Fort Frederica National Monument (FOFR) than Tom and me are Denise and Bob Verba. They are in their seventh season of volunteering at Fort Frederica and we are only in our fifth. The Verbas started here one year before we did and came last year, when …