When we lived in Maryland, I'd wanted to visit Fort McHenry, but we'd never had a chance to do so. So, while we were back east in June/July, we stopped by for a visit. Being the history buff that I am, I didn't want to miss Ft. McHenry. It was an integral part of creating the affinity for the American flag that we now have. The war of 1812 cemented America's Independence. When you think of it in its historical context, our national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, is really a moving song.
They are building a new flag pole, so instead of seeing the giant flag wave, we got to hold it while a ranger spoke about the Battle of Fort McHenry and its significance, as well as the significance of the American Flag.
I enjoyed standing on the ramparts and feeling the sea breeze coming off the Patapsco River and Baltimore Harbor. It was a nice view, too. I've been having fun with my new-found panoramic feature on my camera, can you tell? :)
The boys' favorite part was seeing all the cannons. Thomas and James were dismayed to find that this stack of cannonballs were all attached to each other, so they couldn't try and pick them up.
In the barracks, the boys got to try out holding this gun; it's longer than they are tall!
It was really an interesting place to visit. I enjoyed it a lot and the kids had fun. And, I have to admit, when they played the National Anthem and we stood to honor the American flag, in the very spot where the flag that song was written about was flown, I got teary-eyed. God bless America!
I've wanted to visit Rocky Mountain National Park since we moved to Colorado. I mean, I LOVE national parks, and this is one of the big ones! And it's not far away at all.
But, there was always some reason why we couldn't. Summers are always busy. And this is really a park to visit in the summer. We decided on the spur of the moment to take a weekend trip into the mountains to visit RMNP on one of the last weekends of August.
We drove up after the kids got out of school on Friday. We spent the evening exploring Estes Park and then went to bed. We got up early-ish the next day to head into the park.
There was a car show that we happened upon. I had to take a picture of this DeLorean. Really, would anyone remember DeLoreans if not for Back to the Future?
I am in love with the Stanley hotel. Isn't it beautiful? I LOVE historic hotels. Someday I want to stay here (though I think I'll not watch The Shining or take the ghost tour first). Anyway, I was curious, so I explored a little. The lobby is gorgeous. Someday Matt and I will come stay here. Someday...
We spent all day Saturday at RMNP. We hiked Bear Lake. The kids seemed to enjoy that until it started to rain and thunder. We saw a lot of chipmunks (one almost climbed into my lap), and the kids liked that. Henry would point at them and say "ch-mmmmnk!" The lake was so clear and pretty.
As we waited for the storm to clear out, we ate lunch and checked out Morraine Park. We saw this coyote as we drove through the campground. There were a lot of Elk. A herd was wandering through the campground, and another was in a meadow near the visitor's center.
We spent the afternoon driving Trail Ridge Road. It's the highest continually paved road in the U.S. I believe its highest point is 12, 183 feet above sea level. Here we are at one of the overlooks:
The view from one of the lower-elevation overlooks (click for the best effect):
At the Forest Canyon overlook. What makes this place neat is that you can drive to see the Tundra. At other national parks, that requires long hikes. Not here! (And yes, note the warm clothes--this part of the park is never above 50 degrees. Not even in the hottest part of the summer. At least we were here at the end of the summer--hardly any snow. It had all summer to melt. )
Just behind us is a gorgeous view of Forest Canyon. Looking down into the canyon, you can see thousands of green trees. It makes you feel like you're standing on the top of the world.
Speaking of the top of the world, while this is a fantastically beautiful drive, it's not necessarily for the faint of heart. Those with fear of heights might not do so well with the fact that in many places there is no guard rail, 6 inches of "shoulder" and then a 1000+ foot drop into oblivion. Ever hyperventilate at 11,000 feet? I wouldn't recommend it. :) Okay, I didn't really hyperventilate. But, the quicker breathing of nervousness makes for being rather light-headed at 11,000 feet.
But, it sure is beautiful up there.
I didn't get any pictures of the road as we drove, as I was a little too preoccupied. :) But, here's a video of some of the road that I found on youtube. At :39, you can see the part of the road that was both my favorite and least favorite. :) It's right near the highest point on the road. It has the best views, and the furthest drop. :) The video was taken just a couple weeks before we visited. At other times, there's more snow along the road.
We also checked out a couple visitors centers and dropped by the Sheep Lakes. We didn't see any sheep, though. And, the info booth at Sheep Lakes was closed for the season (that season being Fall--Fall comes early to the Rocky Mountains. The aspen were starting to turn. Only another month, I think, until they close Trail Ridge Road and the storms start.)
On the way out of the park, we stopped at the Beaver Meadows visitor center. As I walked out of the bathrooms, I stopped to read a sign about the architecture of the visitor center (designed by an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright). As I read, I heard a noise in the brush. I looked up and was surprised to realize that I was standing right next to a mule deer. Here he is:
We headed home after this, getting home around 10pm. It was a nice little weekend trip. We plan on visiting much more often!
This photograph just doesn't do the scenery along Skyline Drive justice. (Although you can click here to see some more, if you would like.) The depth and variety of shades just cannot be captured even by the best of photographers. You just have to be there.
It cost us $15 entrance fee to be able to drive along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and worth every penny. We drove along it for 40 of the 105 miles beginning at Rockfish Gap, sometimes stopping at the overlooks, sometimes slowing down for a quick view from the car. I learned first hand why these mountains are called Blue Ridge. When we had to turn off for a different destination everyone in the car was sad to leave the beautiful mountain views, even the younger of my family, ages 5 and 8. This is some breath-taking beauty that never got old. A must-see.
I've been wanting to take a ride on a C&O canal boat ever since I heard there was such a thing. It's nice that my kids are at an age (mostly) when I can do this cooler stuff with them. I invited tons of people to come with me and the group that ended up joining was just right. Lots of kids and great moms, even a dad. I have this to say:
*not a bad drive from my neck of the woods down through the ginormous Potomac homes into the National Park, took me maybe 35 minutes
*lots of parking, lots of picnic tables
*the visitors center is tiny, at least the part we got to go into. There are apparently 7 different visitor's centers along the C&O canal - the one we went to is called Great Falls Tavern. The part with most of the stuff to look at is being renovated right now, which is a crying shame.
*the tickets to ride were only $5 per person (and my kids were all old enough to cost money, darn it)*The junior ranger books were a total bust. The one for Sheely's age was all writing and she balked and would have nothing to do with it. Xavey too. Oh well. I'm glad we did the Clara Barton/Glen Echo one, it was so much more interactive. *There was a giant mound of dirt for the kids to play on while we waited for our 11am boat ride - they announced it was time by blowing a giant bugle.
*Our "tour guide" was awesome - energetic and fun to listen to. The atmosphere was casual and yet attentive - Preston was by far the most outspoken, sometimes commenting or asking questions and sometimes just talking REALLY LOUD. You could get up out of your seat for a minute or two and walk a bit without getting in "trouble"*Sheely was freaked out that the sound of my camera taking pictures would spook the mules and she got really crabby at me but we worked it out
*the kids got a kick out of the whole "lock" system, when we floated up it was crazy - even I was impressed with how it worked. It reminded me of being in Germany on a boat with my friend Lis when we went around a canalway.*the mules pulled us FAST . It went way quicker and smoother than I'd anticipated. The whole set up with the ropes and harnesses is pretty ingenious, when you think about it. And a "tow path" where the mules walk with their handler - again, the kids got such a kick out of it and so did I. *I thought when it was time to go back that they would just switch the mules to the other end and we'd float back, but I was wrong. They turned that boat right around, apparently it does have a front and a back :)
*At the end our guide started playing a concertina! get out of town! It was awesome! He even played The Red River Valley, which is the song my husband sings to my kids at night, they loved it! Then he handed out a bunch of old time instruments and we all played along and stomped our feet while he played a lively version of "Simple Gifts"*When our ride was over we had a lunch along the canal and then went for a walk down the canal, over it and up the tow path along the Potomac River. OH the fun! The kids found a path down to the river and we played and explored for a long time. That is one mighty river, certainly the biggest one I've ever stopped and explored around. Preston found a "rock hill" and Xavey and his friend found a hidden waterfall (that Preston found later and was convinced that he found it first and had a M-E-L-T-D-O-W-N because no one would get excited about looking at it except me and apparently I don't count)*Then we went to the overlook to see the "falls" which is not very overlook-worthy, in my opinion. I couldn't even bring myself to force my kids to be in a picture in front of it. I heard the Virgina side is amazing, so we'll do that someday. The kids chatted and pet the mules and then they found ANOTHER path, actually called the "River Trail" and we walked along the river some more until I got tired and hot and was ready to go home :)
*All in all: SO FUN. Boat ride=fantastic tow path=super fun river exploring=superb come again with husband=for sure, and with sturdier shoes :)
We drive down to North Carolina from Maryland a lot. This summer I thought it was time to start exploring the city we've driven through about a thousand times: Richmond, Virginia! The first place we decided to try was part of Richmond National Battlefield Park and called Tredegar Iron Works. Unfortunately, HORRIBLE summer beach traffic limited our first visit to a mere 45 minutes. We barely had time to flip through the Junior Ranger booklets before they were closing the place. SO. We stopped again on the way home :)
The booklets have great scavenger hunts in them - with pictures of things to find, great for my non-and-new readers. One of them I really liked because there was a picture for the kids to find and then they had to match the picture with a word that went with it. There was a picture of a big sword with a spur attached to it, and after reading about it in the museum you found out it went with the word "Calvary," another one was a picture of some old-fashioned sun glasses and they went with the word "sharpshooter." Who knew? Xavey was VERY interested in that one :)
There are maps and guns and models and cannons and movies to watch. The vistor's center is really well done and the grounds are fun to explore. After finishing their booklets, Sheely wanted to turn them in to the ranger, who gave them REAL patches!! She was so excited and let's be honest, so was I :) Then we went outside and had a good explore around the grounds. We saw the old company store (now just storing a bunch of stuff - aren't those shelves crazy-old looking! The sun was so bright I had to hold my hand up to the window to get any kind of picture of them at all :)The kids looked through the viewfinder and fussed about taking turns:Seriously, that picture of Preston giving me the hand just slays me, how true-to-life that one is :)
Xavey wanted to look at everything - old railroad tracks, cannons, gigantic heavy chains - he's an explorer like his mama.Before we left we got a picture taken with Abraham Lincoln (he's VERY hot, in that southern heat, by the way - and can you see that I had to give my melting daughter my sunglasses to get her to be a good sport outside??) The inscription in the back says "To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds." Apparently it's from his second inaugural address. Did you know that Lincoln visited Richmond? With his son Tad? You can read about it here :) That's his son that he's sitting next to in the statue. I love that. I feel like we got some good Civil War info, some iron-working info, some Abraham Linocln info, and a look around a really historical spot. We've already got plans for what we'll go see next :)
This was a place I had always wanted to go and see, most especially with the SERIOUS railway enthusiast that is my first-born. He thought this was the coolest, and is already talking about going back with Dad.
We went on a Friday. I had tried to find as much information as I could on their web site, which was pretty informative. However, they gave no specific information about the engine demonstrations, because they can change without notice, so I was pretty clueless going out there. I did learn that one of their annual events, the Railroaders Festival happens every year on the second Saturday in August -- the day after our visit. But we had a birthday party to attend, so I didn't change our plans. And while we were there, I didn't ask about the festival because I didn't want to know (or have anyone hear...) what we were missing out on. :o)
The drive is every bit of 30 miles west of Brigham City. We are talking in the middle of nowhere, people. It's good that I enjoy road trips; it was kinda fun to watch the landscape unfold, looking for any sort of a facility in site. I had to laugh when we finally saw the engines from a distance and Zach in his giddy voice was saying, "I'm going to stop feeling so excited!!" This is the view he was talking about:
We arrived at 11:30 and I had packed picnic lunch so we went in to look at the offerings. I paid my seven dollars and glanced at the schedule they had written in chalk behind the counter. One of the trains arrives (from where, I have no idea!) at 10:00, the other at 10:30, so my heart sank thinking we had missed that and wouldn't be able to see them move at all. At 12:00 they had a "steam demonstration" so we hurried and watched the 20 minute video, then got our lunches to sit out at the benches where the locomotives were. Um, zero shade. But thankfully a comfortable amount of wind so the sun didn't feel too hot. They had picnic tables in other spots and there may have been some trees there.
The replicas they have made really are impressive. You can get up close to them but no touchy. First they demonstrated the 119. Zach was sitting next to me and Ben was standing in front of us when they blew the whistle before it started moving. I myself probably jumped a couple of inches, it will be funny to watch the video I was trying to make. Poor Ben about fell over. After that, Zach was nervously playing with my hair and covering his ears for much of the time. They also demonstrated the Jupiter by backing it up a couple hundred yards and then bringing it back. Nothing fancy, but it was fun to sit and enjoy our lunch while we watched. When the engines are parked, they have stairs and a platform on one side of them so you can get a good look into the cabs. The engineers are there to answer questions and we learned some new things. The 119's sandbox has a picture of Johnny Appleseed painted on one side and Daniel Boone on the other. I also didn't know that one of the trains used coal and the other wood for fuel, because of what was most available from their respective side of the country.
Oh yes, we also got to ride on this speeder. I thought it was such a treat, and it made the coolest old-fashioned putting sound. The driver told me that it is run with an engine that actually has to be turned off, and then restarted to turn the other way to return us. (No reverse gear) I'm sure that, had Peter been there, he would have caught the term for such an engine!
The remainder of our time was spent in the gift shop, where Zach decided whether or not he wanted to spend his money on things or not. He had about $11 and thought about the small wooden trains they had. What he really wanted were the HO scale Bachmann model trains, each were $75. In the bathroom before we left he was trying so hard not to cry about it. I really was so proud of him because I think he is getting a sense of how it is hard to save for the things we want most -- though I wish he had much smaller goals. He just knows the model trains are the most fun for him to watch and as close to the real thing as you get.
All told, it was a worthwhile day. I thought we would do the Big Fill, which is a 1.5 mile walking trail to see unfinished trestles, I think. They had a display of the trestle with model trains that was interesting enough for Zach. I was told the path was do-able with a stroller, but it was best that we passed, because the kids were so tired and it was a sunny day. (No shade there, either)
I hope that this visit gave Zach a better appreciation for the history behind these trains. He kept asking, 'but mom, why are they just parked there?' I tried to explain that it is simply so people can come learn about this important event that happened a very long time ago. I think the timing with this outing was good too, because we had just happened to recently have borrowed Peanuts Building of the Transcontinental Railroad video from the library. Other fun related books are Coolies and Iron Horses.
At the end of our summer vacation, we met my parents in Montrose, Colorado to see the Black Canyon together. The main thing we did at the park was a boat tour of the canyon (The tour was technically located in Curecanti National Recreation Area. Part of the Canyon is in the national park and the rest is a national recreation area). We hiked down to the Gunnison river and followed the river to the boat dock. We ate lunch at a nice picnic shelter near the dock:
The park rangers made sure we all got life-jackets. Henry was not super thrilled with his.
Then we started the tour. It's a very pretty canyon.
Henry's favorite part seemed to be the roof of the boat.
After the boat tour, we drove over to the visitor's center for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
In the visitor's center, we watched a movie on the history of the canyon, both its natural history and the "taming" of the canyon and the harnessing of the water of the Gunnison River. And, of course, I bought books from the NPS bookstore. James and Thomas did the Junior Ranger program again at this park. They picked up the junior ranger booklets for Curecanti NRA too, but we didn't have time for them to finish both.
This is the visitor's center as seen from the overlook we walked to:
Dad had checked out the overlook while the boys were doing their junior ranger stuff, so he watched Henry while the rest of us hiked down to the overlook.
The way that the late afternoon sunshine filtered through the canyon was so pretty. It's so hard to capture on film the panoramic views of a canyon in the way you see them in person. Especially not with a point and shoot camera! So, this picture is a poor representation of how gorgeous Black Canyon is, but it's the best I've got.
The overlook, as seen from the porch of the visitor's center:
