In this post and the next one, I'm going to outline the National Park Service Units I have only visited as a child with my family. I hope to re-visit most of these sites some day as my memories of many of them are quite hazy.
Antietam National Battlefield
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
Date of Visit: Summer 1991?
Website: www.nps.gov/anti
Location: Maryland
Entrance Fee: $4 per person or $6 per family
Type of Trip: Day trip as part of Eastern US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 2
Review: Antietam is the site of the single bloodiest battle in United States history, with over 23,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing after the battle on September 17, 1862. Honestly, I don't remember too much about this park. My dad, a history teacher for many years, had a great time traipsing around the battlefield and showing us different things. I must have been about 9 or 10 when we went, and the one thing that stuck out for me was walking the Bloody Lane and thinking about how many soldiers it would take to fill up the sunken road with bodies. I believe we also did a driving tour of the battlefield, which the website indicates is still available. I look forward to going back some day to do the walking tours via podcast!
Click to keep reading!
Assateague Island National Seashore
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
Date of visit: Summer 1991?
Website: www.nps.gov/asis
Location: Maryland
Entrance Fee: $15 per car
Type of trip: Day trip as part of Eastern US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 2
Review: Again, not a park I remember a whole lot about. We went to Assateague because my sister Becca had read the book Misty of Chincoteague and its sequels and was really into horses at the time. I remember the weather being quite windy, chilly and foggy the day we were there. Mostly we just drove around. We did see lots of the island's famous horses. Again, a place I look forward to returning someday!
Devil's Tower National Monument
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
Date of visit: Summer 1994?
Website: www.nps.gov/deto
Location: Wyoming
Entrance fee: $10 per car
Type of trip: Day trip as part of Western US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: I have a better memory of this park. In fact, I think I've been there twice, but I'm not 100% sure. The time I remember going was when I was 13 years old. One of the neat things about Devil's Tower is that you can see it from miles away, rising up from the flat eastern plains of Wyoming. It just kept getting bigger and bigger as we approached. We walked around the entire base of the monument, which I remember taking quite awhile. It is 1.3 miles around the base of the Tower, which took us awhile as my younger sister was only 3 years old at the time. My other sister enjoyed running around the path and yelling "speed bump!" as she found bumps in the pavement. Someone was climbing on the Tower while we were there, which I remember watching with awe. The other thing I remember really well about Devil's Tower was the color of the tower -- dark red rock against a bright blue sky. At the Visitor's Center, we read about the Native American legend of the tower; I remember hearing the Kiowa legend about a group of sisters that were trying to escape a bear. The bear was going to eat the sisters, and so they climbed on a tall rock. The Great Spirit made the rock grow to put the girls out of harm's reach; the bears claws slid down the side of the rock, making the grooves we can see on the tower now. The sisters, trapped on top, became the stars in the sky. I look forward to returning one day to really learn about the history of the place.
Ford's Theater National Historic Site
Players: Jenny, Steve & Jenny's sister
Date of visit: March 1996
Website: www.nps.gov/foth
Location: Washington, DC
Entrance fee: Free, but uses a timed ticket system for entrance
Type of trip: Day trip as part of Washington, DC trip. Also saw a play at Ford's Theatre
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: This, of course, is the place that President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth in April of 1865. I remember watching the play here more than I remember visiting the theatre itself. The theatre is still a working professional theatre. We sat in the upper balcony to watch the play, and had a good view of the President's Box, where Lincoln had been shot. You can also tour the Petersen Boarding House, where Lincoln was taken after being shot and eventually died. I don't remember going there, and it's currently closed until later in 2011. Another one I need to revisit.
Ft. Larned National Historic Site
Players: Jenny, Steve, Carole & Jenny's sisters
Date of visit: Summer 1994?
Website: www.nps.gov/fols
Location: Kansas
Entrance Fee: Free
Type of trip: Day trip as part of Western US Epic Road Trip
Park Passport Stamps Available: 2
Review: This historic site on the Santa Fe Trail was a part of the system of forts set up to help regulate and patrol the Western frontier in the mid-19th century. I remember walking through the whole fort with my dad. We may have taken a guided tour for part or all of the fort. I don't really remember much else, except that it was really hot and sunny outside.
Gettysburg National Military Park
Players: Jenny, Steve & Jenny's sister
Date of visit: March 1996
Website: www.nps.gov/gett
Location: Pennsylvania
Entrance Fee: $10.50 per adult to visit the Visitor's Center & see the movie & exhibits, grounds free
Type of Trip: Day trip as part of Trip to Washington, DC
Park Passport Stamps Available: 1
Review: Gettysburg marked the turning point in the Civil War. It was a much-needed Union victory, and sent the Confederate army back to Virginia. It also proved that Robert E. Lee, the celebrated commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, could make mistakes and be defeated. We visited Gettysburg as part of a school trip that my dad lead. I believe we hired a battlefield guide to ride on the school bus with us and point things out. We spent several hours at the battlefield, including a trip up to Little Round Top and Cemetery Ridge. I remember going to the battlefield fairly well, but it didn't really make much sense to me at the time as I only had the most basic knowledge of how the battle went and the importance of Gettysburg in the Civil War. I am very excited to return someday now that I have studied the battle in depth.
Do you remember going to the beach at the National Seashore when we went to Assateague? I was pregant with Molly (so yes, it was summer 1991) -- the waves were strong and tall and kept knocking me over and rolling me toward the beach! :) Your Grandma Phyllis was with us, too.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't remember if that was at Assateague or somewhere else. But I do remember!
ReplyDelete