From National Parks

February 24, 2017

Lassoing the Sun: A Year in America’s National Parks

Several books have come out in the last few years about the National Park Service celebrating their centennial. I reviewed one about a year ago that I thought was an excellent history of the National Parks. I have one on my reading list about a couple who visit all 59 of the National Parks (“Dear …

February 21, 2017

Bird Brains and the Great Backyard Bird Count

Some people have bird brains – not that they are small brains like birds but that they have birds on their brains. These birders carry around with them a life list of birds spotted and note when and where. I intended to give you some information about bird species and families but it turns out …

February 15, 2017

1742: Living History at Fort Frederica

Tom and I have been doing living history every Saturday at Fort Frederica. Although Fort Frederica has done living history in the past, the program had died out with staff changes. We have been helping to develop the program and offering suggestions that will increase repeat visitation and get families more involved. At Fort Frederica …

February 2, 2017

Fort Matanzas National Monument

After the Spanish established St. Augustine and Castille de San Marcos, the Spanish realized that the town was vulnerable to attack from the Matanzas Inlet to the south. Enemy ships could attack the town from the rear, out of range of the Castillo’s cannon. General James Oglethorpe blockaded St. Augustine inlet in 1740 for 39 …

February 1, 2017

St Augustine and Castillo de San Marcos

When the French established a settlement at Fort Caroline in 1564, the Spanish decided they needed more of a presence in Florida. It obviously wasn’t enough that they had claimed the area in 1513. They needed a permanent settlement. So, in 1565 the Spanish established a settlement at St Augustine. St Augustine is the …

January 31, 2017

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

On our days off, Tom and I continue to explore the areas around us, especially trying to visit National Park sites nearby. Recently we headed south of Jacksonville to visit the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Timucuan has five distinct parts to the park. It is the only Ecological Preserve in the National Park system. …

January 25, 2017

Townsfolk of Fort Frederica, Georgia

On March 16, 1736, 116 people began building the town of Frederica. What kind of people were these townsfolk? What did they do and how did they get along with each other? These are some of the questions I will be answering today. As I mentioned previously, James Oglethorpe recruited the people who settled Savannah …

January 10, 2017

Introduction to Fort Frederica National Monument

Tom and I will be working at Fort Frederica National Monument through April, so I will be writing about different aspects of the park over the next few months. Today I thought I would start with an introduction about Fort Frederica itself. James Oglethorpe and a group of Trustees settled Georgia with “worthy poor” from …

December 9, 2016

National First Ladies Library and Historic Site

Yesterday we picked up my parents and headed out for an adventure day all the way up to Canton, Ohio. When we lived in Akron we spent a lot of time in Canton. But we never went to the National First Ladies Library and Historic Site, one of the eight national parks sites in Ohio. …

December 2, 2016

Volunteering for the National Park Service in 2016

During 2016, Tom and I spent 1,149 hours volunteering for the National Park Service. Each. That is 147 days of full time work each. We love volunteering for the National Parks and have two more parks lined up for 2017. We don’t do it for the recognition, but 2016 was a special year for the …