The Explore All 50 States Project
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Denali National Park is one of the most spectacular parks in the world and it's sheer size makes it difficult to see without spending a huge amount of time here. Denali, means "The high one" and is the Athabascan (the local native Alaskan village) name for Mt. McKinley. It has been a national park since 1917 and it is one of the last remaining places in the Unites States that we call wilderness. In doing our … [Read more...]
Cincinnati is where you will find the home where the 27th President, William Howard Taft, was born and raised now known as the William Howard Taft Historic Site. As we ventured inside we found a treasure trove of information about this very interesting and committed public servant. William Howard Taft is probably most famous for being our nation's heaviest president, and that's usually the only fact most folks … [Read more...]
If you are like me, the only place you would associate with the Wright Brothers is Kitty Hawk in North Carolina. I had no idea, until I did my research, that the Wright brothers were from Dayton, Ohio, and that they actually started in the bicycle business, and through experimentation, developed their ideas and prototypes for the first airplane. At the Wright Cycle Company Complex we took a tour of the Wright … [Read more...]
When we arrived in Selma, it felt as if we'd come upon a ghost town. There were a few buildings and not very many people. The town seemed desolate and deserted right near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the historic site of the start of three marches to protest segregation and the discrimination against African Americans. The banks of the river that flowed under the bridge were so peaceful and beautiful that it was … [Read more...]
The kids and I were amazed to see that Little Rock High School still functions as a regular High School especially since its place in history was cemented when the National Guard had to escort 9 African American students onto the campus so they could attend classes when segregation was ruled unconstitutional. This was one of the battlefields where the war for civil rights was waged—and won. Right around the … [Read more...]
Driving through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was something I'd always dreamt about and the scenery was more beautiful than anything I'd imagined. It's truly magical and I could see how it inspired so many of Dolly Parton’s songs (which I had playing in the car to set the mood and provide the soundtrack to the imagery we were seeing). As we motored along through the peaceful forests, every now and … [Read more...]
The Lincoln Home National Historic Site is the location of the Lincoln family’s home in Springfield, and it is maintained just as if the Abe Lincoln and his wife and children still lived there. After getting our free tour ticket at the visitor center, our guide led us into the home sharing some insights into Abraham Lincoln's life as a husband and father and an attorney here in Springfield. The first thing I … [Read more...]
I was really excited to see Acadia National Park. It really is spectacular. We got there early and big mistake on our part, attempted to drive the loop instead of waiting for the visitor center to open. We drove and drove, and we didn't quite know what we should have been looking for but the scenic vistas were just breathtaking. Sadly we were a little pressed for time as we wanted to get in our blueberry … [Read more...]
Visiting the Brown Vs. Board of Education National Historic Site was by far one of the most incredible and moving experiences we have had on ANY of our trips. This is the only national park named for a court case—the landmark case that ended legal segregation in public schools. Monroe Elementary School in Topeka, Kansas, is not the only site where the story of Brown v. Board of Education can be told. There were … [Read more...]
The Minute Man National Historical Park is an area between the towns of Lexington and Concord and encompasses several sites important to the planning and preliminary battles of the American Revolutionary War. I cannot even begin to tell you what a profoundly moving experience it was to stand of the very ground that was once soaked with the blood of those who bravely fought for our right to be free and self … [Read more...]
