Virtual Vist During Quarantine: Park Unit 133 - Yellostone National Park

We were really missing the opportunity to travel, so we were so glad to be able to do a virtual visit to Yellowstone National Park.

The website has a graphic map of all their content on the kids' page and you can click on the hyperlinks to visit the different locations and animals in the park. This allowed us to go virtually to all the main areas in the park. We started at the North Entrance with the wonderful Roosevelt Arch built by the CCC.

Next we explored Mammoth Hot Springs. In addition to the photos and information on the NPS website, we also watched some videos that we found on yellowstonepark.com. We were especially interested in the geology of the park, so we clicked on that link next and learned about the geological history and processes that formed the various areas and attractions in the park.

The website also has links to the many types of animals in the park.
 

We learned what a pika is: These small mammals inhabit rocky alpine and sub-alpine areas and feed on the vegetation that fringes their preferred talus (rock) slopes.

• They live in colonies and are active in the daytime.
• They have a high-pitched chirp or call to warn their group of danger.
• They do not hibernate in winter.

Next we visited the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Scientists continue to develop theories about its formation. After the Yellowstone Caldera eruption, about 630,000 years ago, lava flows and volcanic tuffs buried this area. Hydrothermal gases and hot water weakened the rock. The river eroded this rock, carving a canyon from Tower Fall all the way to the Lower Falls.

Next we went to West Thumb Geyser Basin and learned about the geology of geysers and watched another video on yellowstonepark.com.

The final stops were Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic. We tried hard to figure out why Old Faithful is so regular in its eruption and never quite got the answer, but we learned a lot about how to predict the timing of the next eruption based on the amount of time the geyser takes to erupt.

We also visited the other entrances to the park and marveled at our favorite CCC architecture:


We finished our virtual visit by watching the live webcam. It was surprisingly interesting and meditative to watch the camera slowly change views of the park - which of course was completely empty of people. We watched long enough to see Old Faithful erupt. It was a beautiful and peaceful site!

Virtual Visits during Quarantine: Park Units 128-132: Kenai Fjords, Dry Tortugas, Kawai'i Volcanoes, Carlsbad Caverns, Bryce National Parks

Google Arts & Culture Hidden Worlds of the National Parks

What a terrific resource we found today in our Virtual Visits of National Parks! These Google sites use 3-D panoramas - both still shots and videos that allow you to explore and feel like you are really at the parks!

We started with Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park because I've always been so fascinated by the active volcanoes in Hawai'i - since I was a child. I learned that there were major eruptions in 1959 so perhaps that is why this was a big deal when I was a kid. The views are terrific on this site- allowing you to explore a lava tube, visit the volcanic cliffs, watch a lava flow, and explore an active volcano by flying over it in 3-D views with a drone. We also viewed the videos of the 2018 eruption of Kilauea and learned about the geology. This is one of the top destinations on our bucket list for the future!

Bryce Canyon

Out next virtual stop was Bryce Canyon. This was my favorite national park visit as a child and I really enjoyed seeing all the photos - and especially a video of riding down into the canyon on a horse trail - which Janet and I did as children. Catherine was thrilled at how much it looked like Cedar Breaks that we visited on our return cross country trip from California. Another fabulous 3-D screen includes the night sky - amazing!! We wondered what it was like for ancient people who had that view every night. There's an interesting video about how hoodoos are formed in the park, and a 3-D view of the bottom of the park. The view are just stunning:

Carlsbad Cavern National Park

I was happy to visit Carlsbad virtually since neither one of us are really comfortable in caves. The best part of the 3-D views and videos is that you can virtually visit sections of the cave that we wouldn't normally see like trekking through the lower cave. We were able to fly with bats and feel what echolocation is like in the dark cave. You can examine the cave texture with 3-D videos as well. You get a good feel for the geology of the cave formations. From the website: High ancient sea ledges, deep rocky canyons, flowering cactus, and desert wildlife—treasures above the ground in the Chihuahuan Desert. Hidden beneath the surface are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved limestone leaving behind caverns of all sizes.

Kenai Fjords National Park

Catherine and I regularly discuss the challenges of getting to see the national parks in Alaska, so we appreciated being able to virtually visit without taking a seaplane! There are no words to really describe the grandeur and beauty of Alaska - and the 3-D videos and photos let you explore on your own. You can climb into a crevasse, watch a glacier melt and kayak through icebergs. We watched a video of a whale breach,  listened to icebergs underwater, and watched a glacier calve into the sea. This virtual visit made us want to go even more - and soon before the glaciers are gone.

Dry Tortugas National Park

The highlight of this virtual visit was swimming through a coral
reef and being able to look around and explore. This 100-square mile park is mostly water with seven small islands.  We dove through a shipwreck and explored Fort Jefferson, which is much like other forts of this time period. The beauty is the colors and clarity of the water. Simply beautiful and relaxing!


Here are the Virtual Stamps for our visits tonight:

Virtual Visit During Quarantine - Park 127 Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

Tonight, from the comfort of our couches, we traveled to Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. We explored their virtual museum which has information about his early life, his various jobs, career, many awards and notoriety, and details about the home he lived in that is on this site.

My favorite part of this visit was learning about his folk songs and hearing him play them along with guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHd_XPBsTeA I sang many of these as a child in school music class! 

The site has selections of Sandburg's poetry which provide a great overview to get to know his works - or to enjoy favorites: The poems about child labor were particularly impressive and horrifying, giving a vivid understanding of that time period. 


The website also has activities for kids and Catherine and I made a poem in the style of Sandburg to finish off our visit: 
Here they are:

The Dirt

The dirt is dark chocolate

It looks like crumbled brownies

It smells like honesty

It feels like the weight of my ancestors

It tastes like hard work

It makes me feel hope

- Muriel 

Daffodils

Daffodils are Grandma’s favorite.

They look like sun shining up from the grass.

They smell like Spring itself, knocking at your door.

The sound like bike spokes turning an d children laughing.

The feel like breathe-easy memories of better times come to life again

They taste like the salt of sweat on your lip and the sweet of fresh fruit, juice running down your wrist.

Daffodils make me feel like I’m home again.

 -Catherine

This visit was nicely interactive and we learned a lot that inspired us to watch another video interview with Carl Sandburg on youtube. That is the best that a NPS site can do!!

Virtual Visits During Quarantine - Park Unit 125, 126: Oklahoma - Chichasaw Battlefield and Wachita NRA

As we hunker down at home during the quarantine for Covid 19, our beloved National Park rangers have begun to offer virtual visits to the park units! We are very excited to have this opportunity to feel like we are still traveling - and to get virtual park stamps makes it even better! 

Tonight we visited Oklahoma remotely. We started with the Wachita Battlefield National Historic Site. From the NPS website: "November 27, 1868, Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer led the 7th U.S. Cavalry on a surprise dawn attack on a Cheyenne village led by Peace Chief Black Kettle. The event was an example of the tragic clash of cultures that occurred during the Great Plains Wars. It is also a place of remembrance and reflection for those who died here." We were able to learn about the history of the park and we spent time learning about the people who are memorialized. The photos of the memorial reminded us a lot of the battlefield parks we visited in Tennessee.

Next,we virtually visited Chickataw National Recreation Area. Viewing the beautiful paths, waterways, natural springs, and animals in the photos made me really want to visit this NRA in person! This picture is of Travertine Creek.

We learned that Chickataw was originally known as Sulphur Springs Reservation, then it became Platt National Park - the 7th national park created in 1902. The park is full of engineering and infrastructure elements created by the CCC in the 1930s. In 1976 it merged with the Arbuckle Recreation Area and became the Chickasaw NRA. The best part was seeing the CCC buildings and bridges that reminded us of other parks, such as Shenandoah. This is a park that will go on our bucket list to return to in person!!

Finally, we visited virtually the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Catherine and I had been here in person when we drove across country to California in 2013. It was a very moving place and I appreciated the photos to remember the feeling of sadness and connection to all people who grieve - especially now while we deal with the devastation of the corona virus around the world.

These virtual NPS visits are a bright light during a dark time and we are planning to visit more each evening - until we are able to go adventuring again!!