Tag Archives: sculpture

Amistad National Recreation Area

January 12, 2021 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

Amistad translates as “friendship” from Spanish, which is fitting given that this reservoir is shared by the U.S. and Mexico. Marinas and boat ramps provide access to the lake for watersports, like fishing and waterskiing. The 254-foot tall dam across the Rio Grande was built in 1968 and serves as a customs station in Del Rio, Texas. The National Park Service (NPS) runs a free museum nearby.

Highlights

Panther Cave pictographs, Seminole Canyon State Park, watersports

Must-Do Activity

Amistad National Recreation Area is also famous for its 4,000-year-old pictographs, which can most easily be accessed on guided tours of Seminole Canyon State Park, 45 miles outside Del Rio, Texas on Highway 90. Admission is charged for the museum and tour, but provides the only way to see the colorful artwork in Fate Bell Shelter. Viewing fossils in the limestone was an added bonus on the tour.

Best Trail

The pictographs in Panther Cave can be seen from afar by hiking a trail in the state park or up-close by boating to the dock and climbing a steep stairway.

Instagram-worthy Photo

If you are unable to hike down into the canyon, the Seminole Canyon State Park museum has a replica of the rock art.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

Boating passes start at $4 for a 1-day pass, $8 per person to tour Seminole Canyon State Park

Road Conditions

All major roads paved

Camping

Two NPS campgrounds are available at Governors Landing and San Pedro and there is a campground at Seminole Canyon State Park.

Waco Mammoth National Monument (Texas)

Canyonlands National Park (Utah)

Scott and Tiff inside the Seminole Canyon State Park museum

Explore More – How many miles of the Rio Grande do the park’s boundaries encompass?

North Carolina

Wright Brothers National Memorial

December 17, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

The Wright Brothers hailed from Dayton, Ohio but they came to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the sustained winds they needed to get their winged contraptions off the ground. They glided from the top of Kill Devil Hill more than a thousand times between 1900 and 1902. Then on December 17, 1903 they finally made history: twelve-seconds of motor-powered, man-carrying flight in a heavier-than-air airplane. After the fourth and longest flight (59 seconds) that day the flying machine was irreparably crashed and the brothers headed back to Ohio.

Highlights

Museum, replica flyer and glider, monument, sculpture

Must-Do Activity

Since 1932, a massive granite monument has stood atop the 90-foot tall hill, which is actually a sand dune stabilized with planted grass. Visitors to Kitty Hawk will also find a replica flyer and glider, reconstructed hangar, boulders marking the landing spot of each of the four flights, and a life-size bronze sculpture added on the first flight centennial in 2003.

Best Trail

A paved walkway connects the Wright Brothers Monument atop Kill Devil Hill with the five boulders marking the lift-off point and four landings that occurred on December 17, 1903.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A full-scale replica of the 1903 flyer is located inside the museum run by the National Park Service (NPS). Rangers give lectures in that room throughout the day, also explaining details of the replica 1902 glider.

Peak Season

Summer and every December 17

Hours

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

Fees

$10 per person or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There are NPS campgrounds located south of the memorial in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (North Carolina)

Cape Hatteras National Seashore (North Carolina)

Tiff at the end of the 4th flight marker

Explore More – The 1903 flyer on display here is a replica, so where is the original exhibited?

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Montana

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

December 3, 2020 Raven About The Parks 3 Comments

Overview

You may not recall the 1876 battle at the Little Bighorn River in southern Montana, but most Americans (even children) recognize its label “Custer’s Last Stand.” For such a relatively minor skirmish in the bloody 1800s, it has an outsized legend that only grows with time. At this site more than 140 years ago, a large portion of the 7th U.S. Cavalry met their demise for tactical reasons still debated to this day. The blame is generally placed upon Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer who was believed to be jockeying for a presidential nomination in the 1876 election. Today this National Park Service (NPS) site is located on the Crow Indian Reservation in southern Montana, just off Interstate 90.

Highlights

Museum, Custer National Cemetery, driving tour, Last Stand Hill, Indian Memorial

Must-Do Activity

On June 25, 1876, with only 600 soldiers, Custer attempted to defeat a temporary village composed of multiple tribes numbering over 7,000 individuals. Never before had so large an American Indian encampment been collected anywhere on the Great Plains. Renowned war chiefs Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Two Moons, and many others have their words memorialized at the Indian Memorial, not built at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument until 1997 near the mass grave on Last Stand Hill. Be sure to come in late June for the opportunity to witness a historical reenactment of the famous battle, which is held on the Crow Indian Reservation adjacent to the 765-acre National Monument.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The Battle of the Little Bighorn Reenactment is a two-hour, fully narrated presentation explaining the significance of the Battle of the Greasy Grass (as the American Indians call it). The site of the reenactment is a ford where Lieutenant Colonel Custer’s battalion came closest to the encampment where 1,800 warriors of the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe Nations were gathered to protect their families. American Indian riders go bareback, leaping on and off their ponies with ease, while saddled 7th U.S. Cavalry re-enactors splash through the fast-flowing Little Bighorn River astride powerful horses.

Peak Season

Summer (the best time of year to visit is around the June 25 anniversary when a reenactment of the battle is held)

Hours

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

Fees

$25 per vehicle or America the Beautiful pass

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

There is a small, private campground at the exit from Interstate 90, but the nearest NPS campground is 40 miles away at Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area.

Big Hole National Battlefield (Montana)

Devils Tower National Monument (Wyoming)

Explore More – When was Custer National Cemetery originally established and when did it become part of a National Monument?

District of Columbia

World War II Memorial

September 15, 2020 Raven About The Parks 4 Comments

Overview

The World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 2004 to remember the 16-million Americans that served in uniform during the war. It is located on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. The seven-acre site is managed by the National Park Service (NPS). There is not an NPS visitor center at the site, but there are information kiosks around the area, including two near the Lincoln Memorial.

Highlights

Pavilions, pillars, bas-relief sculptures, fountains

Must-Do Activity

The memorial’s design was chosen in a competition with more than 400 others and was created in 1997 by Austrian-born architect Friedrich St. Florian. It features a large pool and fountains, two pavilions labeled Atlantic and Pacific, 56 pillars for each state and territory, as well as bas-relief sculptures and quotes from historic figures. On the Freedom Wall, each gold star represents one hundred of the 405,399 Americans who died during World War II.

Best Trail

Walk the bridge across the Potomac River to Arlington, Virginia for a view of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial that depicts the American flag being raised over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima during World War II. This is technically part of George Washington Memorial Parkway (another NPS site), and offers a commanding view of the National Mall and is especially photogenic at night.

Instagram-worthy Photo

After dark is a great time for photography on the National Mall, and the World War II Memorial is no exception. You might consider bringing a tripod for clearer photos.

Peak Season

Spring

Hours

24 hours a day with NPS rangers posted until 10 p.m.

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

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads are paved, but public transportation is recommended in Washington, D.C.

Camping

None

Related Sites

World War I Memorial (District of Columbia)

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (District of Columbia)

Korean War Veterans Memorial (District of Columbia)

A view looking up from inside a pavilion

Explore More – The memorial contains two hidden “Kilroy was here” engravings; what is the significance of this inclusion?

Mississippi, Tennessee

Shiloh National Military Park

July 16, 2020 Raven About The Parks Leave a comment

Overview

Following the victory at Fort Donelson, Union General Ulysses S. Grant moved his 50,000 troops aboard steamboats down the Tennessee River to Pittsburg Landing. The army camped near a log church named the Shiloh Meeting House where they awaited the marching Army of Ohio before advancing on the important railroad crossroads in Corinth, Mississippi. The Confederate army launched a surprise attack on April 6, 1862, pushing the enemy lines back two miles before Union reinforcements finally arrived. After two days and 23,746 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing, the Confederates abandoned the field and Corinth. There were an additional 7,000 casualties when they failed to recapture the town in October 1862.

Highlights

Museum, film, driving tour, Shiloh Meeting House, Indian mounds, cannons

Must-Do Activity

Start with the great 45-minute movie at the National Park Service (NPS) visitor center then take the 12.7-mile driving tour with twenty stops that passes 150 commemorative monuments, 229 cannons, and 4,000 graves in Shiloh National Cemetery. The site also contains 800-year-old American Indian mounds within a 45-acre National Historic Landmark. A free pass to the Tennessee River Museum in Savannah is also provided at the NPS visitor center. In addition to the NPS unit in Shiloh, Tennessee, there is an Interpretive Center 22 miles away in Corinth, Mississippi.

Best Trail

The short trail through the 800-year-old Indian mounds provides views of the Tennessee River.

Instagram-worthy Photo

A reconstruction of the Shiloh Meeting House log church is found along the driving tour.