Kenai Fjords National Park

July 15, 2021 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

Our favorite of the eight National Parks in Alaska is Kenai Fjords. It is a great place to witness the thunderous calving of a tidewater glacier, an experience that should be on everyone’s bucket list. Boat tours leave from the port of Seward and travel up beautiful Resurrection Bay, a long saltwater-filled valley (or fjord). The town was named in 1903 for the Secretary of State who purchased the Alaska Territory from Russia in 1867 for less than two cents per acre, a move then known as “Seward’s Folly.” Exit Glacier is the only portion of the park accessible by road and is worth the side trip.

Learn more in our guidebook to the National Parks, A Park to Yourself: Finding Adventure in America’s National Parks (available on Amazon).

Highlights

Exit Glacier, boat tours, tidewater glaciers, marine wildlife

Must-Do Activity

A tour boat is the easiest way to get up close to the variety of marine mammals and seabirds, but hardier souls can kayak the silty blue waters of Resurrection Bay. Along the route to actively calving Aialik Glacier, you will see an abundance of wildlife: orcas, humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, puffins, cormorants, and so much more. Some tour boats have a National Park Service ranger on board to narrate, answer questions, and help kids earn Junior Ranger badges. Tour boats get you close to the action to witness a tidewater glacier calving into the ocean. These glaciers are one of 32 arms of the massive Harding Ice Field.

Best Trail

It is a short and worthwhile hike from the parking lot to the face of the rapidly receding Exit Glacier; black bears are common in the area, so keep an eye out for them. You can continue hiking the steep 3.7-mile one-way trail up to 3,500 feet to view the expansive Harding Ice Field, but that requires at least four hours, serious endurance, and gear for the winter conditions that persist year round at that elevation.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Bundle up as it gets chilly when you pull up close to the actively calving Aialik Glacier. You will be tempted to try capturing it all on your camera, but take some time to experience the action with your eyes, not through a viewfinder.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/kefj/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None at Exit Glacier; boat tours cost about $200 per person

Road Conditions

The roads to Exit Glacier and Seward, Alaska are paved.

Camping

Two public-use cabins are available for rent in the summer and only accessible by water. A free 12-site, walk-in tent campground is available at Exit Glacier, plus a winter-use cabin. There are multiple RV parks in Seward, Alaska, a beautiful place to spend a few days fishing and visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center (recommended to do before your boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park).

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska)

*This design we created to celebrate Kenai Fjords National Park is available on a variety of products at* Cafe Press *and* Amazon.

Explore More – Who is Rockwell Kent and what is his connection with Resurrection Bay (hint: check out our Top 10 list of Alaska non-fiction books)?

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District of Columbia

National Mall

July 8, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Part of Pierre L’Enfant’s 1791 design for Washington, D.C., his “grand avenue” was not fully realized until the 1900s when a train station was removed to fully open up two miles of grass between the U.S. Capitol and Lincoln Memorial. Today, America’s front lawn is lined with National Park Service (NPS) monuments and Smithsonian museums. The 2003 Reserve Act declared the National Mall a completed work of civic art and restricted further construction after completion of the World War II Memorial. However, in 2014 the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial was dedicated at its eastern end.

Highlights

Lincoln Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Washington Monument, Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, U.S. Capitol

Must-Do Activity

There is no official visitation count kept for the National Mall, but if there was its 24-million annual visitors would make it the number one busiest site in the entire NPS system. Not far from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he gave his most famous speech in 1963, is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, one of the numerous NPS sites located here. The National Air and Space Museum is one of several awesome galleries of the Smithsonian Institution, containing Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of Saint Louis, an Apollo Lunar Module, and the original Wright Brothers flyer used in 1903. There is so much to see and do, you could easily spend more than a week exploring.

Best Trail

One of the greatest overlooks of the National Mall is from the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial (part of George Washington Memorial Parkway), located across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia. It is a bit of a walk from the National Mall, but the view is especially breathtaking at night.

Instagram-worthy Photo

At some point during your visit, do yourself a favor and come after dark. It is nicely decorated each December (but you might need a tripod for photographs).

Peak Season

Summer, and also weekends during the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March-April)

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/nama/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

As with most NPS sites in Washington, D.C., it is easier to walk or take the Metro than find parking for your car.

Camping

There are no NPS campgrounds in the Washington, D.C. area, so it might be best to head for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Related Sites

Lincoln Memorial (District of Columbia)

Constitution Gardens (District of Columbia)

Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

Explore More – The Tidal Basin (home to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial) is considered part of the National Mall, so when were the famous cherry trees (a gift from Japan) planted there?

List

Top 10 Patriotic NPS Sites

July 1, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

The National Park Service (NPS) system preserves some of the most important locations in American history. Visiting many of these sites has left us feeling very patriotic and proud to be citizens of the United States of America. Here is a list of our favorite patriotic NPS sites (click here to see all of our Top 10 Lists).

10. Golden Spike National Historic Site (Utah)

On May 10, 1869 Americans (mostly immigrants) completed the monumental task to lay 1,776 miles of railroad track linking west to east

9. Minute Man National Historical Park (Massachusetts)

“The shot heard ’round the world” happened here, but the events really started in nearby Boston National Historical Park

8. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (Maryland)

A huge American flag flies over the site that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the National Anthem in 1814

7. Valley Forge National Historical Park (Pennsylvania)

We found the story of freezing and starving American troops more patriotic than nearby Independence National Historical Park where aristocrats signed a piece of paper

6. Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (Alabama)

“Double Victory” was the goal of these civil rights pioneers, who never would have flown if not for…

5. Wright Brothers National Memorial (North Carolina)

…the momentous 12-second flight that occurred here on December 17, 1903

4. Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park (California)

America was successful during World War II because every citizen made sacrifices for the greater good

3. National Mall (District of Columbia)

The nation’s front lawn is home to the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, and numerous other American monuments

2. Statue of Liberty National Monument (New York-New Jersey)

Lady Liberty is beautifully symbolic, but Ellis Island represents the gritty truth of the American dream

…and finally the #1 patriotic NPS site:

1. Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota)

Inspiring during the day, but for the full effect do not miss the Evening Lighting Ceremony offered May through September

Honorable Mentions

Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (Oregon-Washington)

There are numerous good museums celebrating the Corps of Discovery along the Lewis and Clark National Historical Trail that ends here on the Pacific Coast

Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial (Ohio)

A 352-foot tall memorial tower celebrates less the naval victory of 1813 and more so the world’s longest undefended international border

Colonial National Historical Park (Virginia)

Victory at Yorktown ended the Revolutionary War in 1781 near Jamestown, site of the first successful British colony in America

Louisiana

Cane River Creole National Historical Park

June 29, 2021 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

In colonial Louisiana, the word “Creole” referred to any New World product, from architecture to livestock to human beings (and was not specific to any ethnicity). South of Natchitoches, Louisiana the Cane River National Heritage Area follows an abandoned meander of the Red River, with two antebellum cotton plantations protected as Cane River Creole National Historical Park. This National Park Service (NPS) site was authorized in 1994 and continues to be developed; meanwhile it provides an interesting perspective on a unique culture and excellent photographic opportunities.

Highlights

Oakland Plantation, Magnolia Plantation, historic buildings, pecan picking

Must-Do Activity

Oakland Plantation dates back to the late 1700s and survived the Civil War intact, but in the wake of Reconstruction tenant farming created a new form of indentured servitude. Self-guided tours of the site take you through the mule barn, general store, and several cottages. When we visited in November 2016, park volunteers were only offering one tour per day, but were happy to spend time talking with us inside the old general store. Slave/tenant quarters are also preserved at Magnolia Plantation downstream, but the main house (which was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt) is privately owned and closed to the public.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

Nothing says you are in the South like the crooked branches of live oak trees. Live oaks drape over the bottle-lined garden at the Oakland Plantation main house.

Peak Season

Fall

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cari/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Kisatchie National Forest has a small campground three miles north of Natchitoches off State Road 117.

Related Sites

Natchez National Historical Park (Mississippi)

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (Louisiana)

Poverty Point National Monument (Louisiana)

Explore More – Cane River National Heritage Area covers 40,000 acres, but how large is Cane River Creole National Historical Park?

South Dakota

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

June 24, 2021 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Overview

Completed in 1941 after fifteen years of work, this granite outcrop had the 60-foot tall faces of four prominent American presidents blasted and chiseled into its façade. The mountain is named for a New York attorney who visited the Black Hills to inspect mining claims in 1885. Sculptor Gutzon Borglum originally carved Thomas Jefferson over George Washington’s right shoulder, but the granite there had flaws and the figure was blasted away.

Highlights

Grand View Terrace, Avenue of Flags, Sculptor’s Studio, Evening Lighting Ceremony

Must-Do Activity

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is inspiring to see during the day, but for the full effect do not miss the Evening Lighting Ceremony offered May to September. Held in the outdoor amphitheater, this audiovisual presentation is one of the most patriotic events held at a National Park Service (NPS) site.

Best Trail

Leaving from the Grand View Terrace, the 0.6-mile Presidential Trail forms a loop with 422 stairs that gets closer to the carvings for a unique perspective and access to the Sculptor’s Studio.

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you keep a sharp eye, you may spot mountain goats around the park. Not native to South Dakota, they were introduced to the Black Hills in 1924 and have successfully adapted to their new environment.

Peak Season

Summer, especially 4th of July weekend

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/moru/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

No admission fee, but there is a $10 parking fee (America the Beautiful Pass not accepted)

Road Conditions

All access roads are paved, but there are size limits on the Norbeck Highway due to tunnels.

Camping

There are campgrounds in Wind Cave National Park, Custer State Park, and Black Hills National Forest.

Related Sites

Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota)

Minuteman Missile National Historic Site (South Dakota)

Badlands National Park (South Dakota)

Explore More – In the 1920s, who was the most controversial inclusion of the four presidents featured: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, or Roosevelt?

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