Tag Archives: tour

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

Montana

Managed by National Park Service

Established 1879

765 acres

Website: www.nps.gov/libi

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.

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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 2003 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

Deep Ravine Trail is a half-mile out-and-back hike that was first laid out in the immediate aftermath of the battle to mark the sites of casualties with wooden stakes made from teepee poles, and then in 1890 replaced by white marble markers.

Photographic Opportunity

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 are paved, including the 4.5-mile-long road to the Reno-Benteen Battlefield.

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)

Nearest National Park

Yellowstone

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

Learn more about the other 137 National Monuments in our book Monumental America: Your Guide to All 138 National Monuments

Texas

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

November 10, 2020 Raven About The Parks 2 Comments

Overview

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is composed of two separate sites located 14 miles apart in Johnson City and Stonewall, Texas. Museums here highlight the significant legislation that passed during his presidency from 1963-1969, including the pivotal Civil Rights Act, and, for nature lovers, the Wilderness Act. Additions to the National Park Service (NPS) system during his presidency were extensive, including five sites in his home state of Texas (see Related Sites below).

Highlights

Johnson Settlement, films, Texas White House, Johnson Family Cemetery

Must-Do Activity

The 36th President of the United States is typically referred to as LBJ. Birders know an “LBJ” as an acronym for those hard to identify “little brown jobs” that flit away before you can focus them in your binoculars. Fittingly, President LBJ’s wife was named Lady Bird, and together they did much to preserve our public lands for native plants and animals. Around the boyhood home where LBJ grew up in Johnson City, there are plenty of birds to watch, as well as longhorn cattle. A driving tour through the Stonewall property (14 miles west) requires a permit from the LBJ State Park and Historic Site. Once you get that, tickets for a guided tour of the Texas White House are available at the NPS visitor center located inside the Airplane Hangar.

Best Trail

A walking tour through Johnson City includes stops at Withers and Spauldings General Store, LBJ’s boyhood home, and barns and cabins that date back to the 1800s within the Johnson Settlement.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Longhorn cattle can be seen at the Johnson Settlement in Johnson City, Texas. Hereford cattle are still raised at the working ranch in Stonewall.

Peak Season

Spring and fall

Hours

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

Fees

None except for the Texas White House tour ($3 per person or free with the America the Beautiful pass)

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

East of Johnson City, Pedernales Falls State Park has a campground, as does Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Padre Island National Seashore (Texas)

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument (Texas)

Explore More – Which resort in Florida (later owned by a future U.S. President) was designated a National Historic Site under the Johnson administration (then eventually sold and disbanded)?

New York

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

November 5, 2020 Raven About The Parks 1 Comment

Overview

The longest tenured First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt lived in the White House from 1933 to 1945. In the 1920s, she had set up a furniture-making business on her property in Hyde Park, New York that the family called Val-Kill. When that venture ended in 1936, the family converted the factory building into a cottage, where Eleanor resided after Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) died until her own death in 1962. During this time she lectured, wrote some of her 27 published books, hosted a television talk show, and served as chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

Highlights

Val-Kill Cottage, film, Stone Cottage

Must-Do Activity

Tours inside Val-Kill Cottage are offered every half hour and tickets are available at the National Park Service (NPS) visitor center. The tour starts with the short film “Close To Home” then enters the house through the same back door used by many world leaders in the mid-1900s. The cozy home is filled with original furnishings, including the metal folding chairs in the dining room. The tour ends on the back porch, but take time afterwards to enter Stone Cottage and walk the grounds.

Best Trail

The Hyde Park Trail connects all three of the local National Historic Sites, including Top Cottage where FDR met with world leaders just up the hill from Val-Kill.

Instagram-worthy Photo

No swimming is allowed in the pool behind Stone Cottage, but it does look inviting on a warm day.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

None at this time

Road Conditions

There is ample free parking at the site, which is only a short drive from the bustling Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site.

Camping

Mills-Norrie State Park offers shady campsites and showers only a few miles north on Highway 9.

Related Sites

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site (New York)

Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site (New York)

Women’s Rights National Historical Park (New York)

Explore More – While interviewing him for the New York Post, Eleanor Roosevelt hosted which Soviet Premier at Val-Kill in 1962?

Ohio

First Ladies National Historic Site

November 3, 2020 Raven About The Parks 6 Comments

Overview

Authorized in 2000, this small site in Canton, Ohio is dedicated to preserving documents related to the wives of American presidents (and hopefully someday husbands, too). It is centered on the Victorian mansion where William and Ida McKinley lived from 1878 to 1891, while the future president served in Congress. However, not all “First Ladies” were married to the president, as Dolley Madison served as hostess to the White House for a single Thomas Jefferson before her husband was elected president. This two-acre site is operated by the National First Ladies’ Library, so we are not sure why this counts as one of the 420 National Park Service (NPS) units rather than an affiliated site.

Highlights

Museum, film, Saxton-McKinley house

Must-Do Activity

Located downtown in the 1895 City National Bank Building, the Education and Research Center serves as a museum, visitor center, and theater. Start your visit in the museum filled with dresses and other memorabilia of first ladies and purchase a ticket for the guided tour. On the lower level is a 91-seat Victorian theater where a short film is presented. Costumed guides will walk your tour group one block from the theater to the Saxton-McKinley house and inside to see the period furnishings and reproduced wallpaper.

Best Trail

None

Instagram-worthy Photo

The 1841 brick Victorian mansion was the childhood home of Ida Saxton, who would marry William McKinley.

Peak Season

Summer

Hours

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

Fees

$7 per person for tour ($4 with the America the Beautiful pass)

Road Conditions

Free parking is available behind the Saxton-McKinley house.

Camping

The NPS does not offer camping here or at nearby Cuyahoga Valley National Park, but there are many other lodging options since the Pro Football Hall of Fame is also located in Canton, Ohio.

Related Sites

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)

James A. Garfield National Historic Site (Ohio)

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (Ohio)

Explore More – Some U.S. Presidents were widowers or bachelors, so the question is have there been more First Ladies or Presidents?

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