From National Parks

August 24, 2016

What Is Cooking in the Kitchen?

The last time I wrote about the kitchen at Grand Portage, I had just finished my first solo day in the kitchen. Since then I have worked in the kitchen one or two days a week. Every time we work in the kitchen we write what is cooking on a chalkboard and set it outside. …

August 23, 2016

Knitting at Grand Portage

One of the advantages to traveling to new places is getting to meet new people. Tom and I have really been blessed by all the great people we have been able to meet and work with in the National Parks. One of the advantages of meeting new people is I have new people to give …

August 19, 2016

Rendezvous Wrap-up

As a Rendezvous wrap-up, I want to share some final thoughts and observations about the experience. Although Tom and I were tired from all the work we did during the Rendezvous, we were impressed by the passion and commitment of the Grand Portage staff and the historic re-enactors who came. Everyone was doing their very …

August 18, 2016

Voyageur Camp at Rendezvous

During Rendezvous, the 300+ historic re-enactors who came set up and lived at the Voyageur Camp. I had the chance to walk through the camp a few times and it was a surreal experience. I felt like I had transported back in time about 200 years. Everyone – even the children – was dressed in …

August 16, 2016

Rendezvous at Grand Portage

This last weekend was Rendezvous at Grand Portage National Monument. Rendezvous is similar to an anniversary celebration at other parks. During Rendezvous we have 350 reenactors who come and live in canvas tents in the park. We have lots of special events and huge crowds each day. During the three days of Rendezvous Tom and …

August 11, 2016

Archaeology at Grand Portage

Tom and I applied for a winter 2017 position in Arizona and found out that applicants for the job were being ranked using a checklist. Tom and I scored pretty high on the checklist except for one exception: we didn’t have any experience with archaeology. Here at Grand Portage we have an opportunity to change …

August 5, 2016

Historic Gardens at Grand Portage

The final area of Grand Portage National Monument is the Historic Gardens. We are not assigned to work in the gardens, but we often help by weeding or watering. We have a gardener who plans and tends the historic gardens. She spent the first few weeks of June planting and we joked that it took …

August 3, 2016

Passionate about Recycling

Most national parks recycle the usual things and Tom and I appreciate the opportunity to recycle while we are living in the parks. Chickamauga was the exception because Georgia doesn’t really have a recycling program and the park had to pay to have its recycling collected. Consequently, they just collected certain plastics and aluminum. Grand …

July 30, 2016

Voyageurs Encampment

Another area of Grand Portage National Monument where you will find living history rangers is the Voyageurs Encampment. After the voyageurs had paddled 1,400 miles and arrived at Grand Portage, they could take some time off to relax before starting their return journey. The Voyageurs Encampment is set up as a place where they could …

July 28, 2016

Living History Lessons

People often ask us how Tom and I got interested in Living History. We kind of fell into it to begin with. We applied to our first national park gig because of the location in Death Valley (after the 2014 winter in Ohio I just wanted to go someplace warm for the winter). Working at …