Park Units 93, 94, 95: Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS, Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, Vanderbilt Mansion NHS

3/30/2018. Catherine and I took advantage of a day off on Good Friday to visit the Hyde Park, NY historic parks.

We set out at 6 am to beat the traffic through the metropolitan area and we got to Hyde Park by 8:30 am. After a nice breakfast at Starbucks, we headed up to the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site. We purchased new annual passes and got tickets for the 9:30 tour. The tour explained the background of the park grounds and the history of the Roosevelt family at the visitor center. Then we walked to FDR's grave site, past the coach house and stable, and stopped at Springwood, the family home.

The ranger giving the tour shared a lot of information about the house and the way FDR and the family lived. The house is well-kept in the state it was when the family lived there. Next we went upstairs, seeing the large dumbwaiter that FDR used to haul himself upstairs. He didn't want an electric elevator because he was afraid the electricity might go out and he'd be stuck on the elevator.

The house is more modest that one would expect given the wealth and social standing of the family. The tour gave us a lot of time to explore the house on our own, which I appreciated. The view from the grounds of the Hudson River was beautiful and the highlight of the house.

After the tour, we walked to the FDR presidential library, which was very impressive. Similar to the Ronald Reagan library (the only other one I've been to), the exhibits were hands-on, interactive, and very well designed. We especially enjoyed the radio broadcasts in mock up rooms. There is a great deal to see, learn about, read, and examine. We spent about an hour and wished we could have stayed longer.

Next we drove a couple miles to the Vanderbilt Mansion and got tickets for the 1:00 tour.

According to the national park service, "Vanderbilt Mansion NHS, in terms of architecture, interiors, mechanical systems, road systems and landscape, is a remarkably complete example of a gilded-age country place, illustrating the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic changes that occurred as America industrialized in the years after the Civil War."

We began the tour in the pavilion, which was a men's gathering place not far from the main house. This housed the bookstore and park stamp. Next we moved to the main house. The tour guide gave us lots of interesting information and let us explore on our own on the main floor, the upstairs bedrooms, and best of all, the servants quarters in the lower level. Our overall impression of the mansion was of people who were trying too hard to impress the rich elite.

Finally, we ended the day at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site.

Waiting for our 3:00 tour, we explored the stone cottage and learned about the history of Val-Kil. We watched a video about Eleanor Roosevelt and Val-Kil. According to the national park service, "In the 1920s, Eleanor Roosevelt joined a group of independent-minded women dedicated to shaping politics and policy. New expectations ignited a stirring friendship with the activists Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. Together they created jobs, influenced party politics, and advanced social reforms. Val-Kill embodies their pioneering spirit." We got to explore the building that was once used for furniture making, and after Val-Kil was dissolved became Eleanor's private residence. This park site gives a good sense of who Eleanor was and what she accomplished. You could feel her spirit here.

We learned a lot today and got a good sense of the history of these important people and their impact on the history of the country. We love the National Historic Sites as a way to make history more understandable and real.

Units 90, 91, 92: Salem Maritime NHS; Saugus Iron Works NHS: Minuteman National Historic Park

Salem Maritime National Historic Site
10/15/17. What a great day for parks! We were at a wedding in Beverly Mass so we decided to make the most of the ride home and visit some of the MA parks. Jason, Jill, Catherine and I started at Salem where we toured the town a bit, then visites the Maritime Historic Park. We love architecture and history from this time period so we had a good time visiting the custom house and the displays inside. Couldn't help but think about Hamilton!
     There were all sorts of displays and information about the finances of the time, and a ridiculously outrageous American Eagle that took up most of the room!

Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
After the morning at Salem, we headed off to the Saugus Iron Works. Jason figured out that today was their once-a-year iron pour so we hurried not to miss it. When we got there, they were set up and getting the equipment ready for the pour. We waited and waited and waited, and learned a lot about how they would have done the iron pour years ago. We also visited the small museum on site and some of the buildings that are still preserved.

Finally, after an hour and a half, they were ready! By now we had lost some of our enthusiasm, however, once they began the pour, it was the most amazing thing! The molten iron was awesome and the whole process what fascinating. We were all very glad we waited.

Minuteman National Historic Park 
We got on the road again, and made a quick stop at Minuteman National Historic Park. The park has that quintessential New England beauty and you get to the visitor's center by a lovely paved path through the woods. We spent a little time in the visitor's center which had some interesting displays, especially if you didn't know much about this time period. This would be a good park to return to see more of the period houses and for walks in the woods. 

We were thrilled to have been able to visit three parks in one day! We're looking forward to seeing more of the Massachusetts parks in the future!

Park Unit 89: Governor's Island National Monument

9/23/17. For my birthday this year, I got the family together to go to Governor's Island. Even though I've lived in the NY area my whole life, I'd never been there!

We took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan, then went right next door to the Governor's Island Ferry. On the island, we started at Castle Williams, then explored Fort Jay. Not surprisingly, many of the buildings and layout were very similar to other 19th century military monuments we've been to (such as Fort Sumter and the Presidio in San Francisco).

Next we explored a lot of the art displays that had as part of an ongoing art show. This brought us to the center of the island where we had a delicious lunch. There are many food booths with a wide variety of different types of cuisine. 

After lunch we walked through a lovely wild flower garden and the hammock garden, then we watched a Polo match for a little while. They were hosting a tournament and it was fun to see the attendees in their over-the-top outfits and hats!

Next we climbed to the top of Lookout Hill where we had the best views I've ever seen of New York Bay, Manhattan, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Jersey City, Bayonne, Brooklyn - It was truly amazing! If someone was visiting New York as a tourist, I would highly recommend this as a must do place to go. It was a beautiful day so the river was also filled with fabulous sailboats.

We slowly walked back across the island, visiting the parade ground and the rest of the historic district before catching the ferry back to Manhattan. What a terrific day! It was so much fun to feel like a tourist and have a special day, right here in NY!

Park Units 87 & 88: Fort Donelson National Battlefield and Meriwether Lewis/Natchez Trace Parkway

8/24/17. Our last day in Tennessee, we started at Donelson National Battlefield. This is a beautiful military park with a driving/audio tour and many stops. The visitor's center is lovely - a comfy place to take a break and learn more about this time period and the local area.

This park includes a lot of land that commemorates and explains the civil war battles in this area. There is a driving/audio tour with many different stops along the way.  The stops include a confederate monument:

Log Huts for soldiers quarters in the winter:

Confederate River Batteries:

The Dover Hotel (surrendor house)

There is much to see here and the land is rolling, wooded hills. Very beautiful, well designed park and memorial.












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Next we drove for 2 hours through winding narrow roads over beautiful hills, both wooded and farmed, with many streams and rivers, to get to the Meriwether Lewis Memorial and Natchez Trace Parkway. There is a small little cabin with a bookstore and exhibits about Lewis's adventures and strange death by suicide. Interesting original letters and other artifacts from his unusual life story.

There is also a monument to Lewis - it is a stone pillar that is cut off to demonstrate his shortened life. Very odd, but so is his story - which I learned a lot about at this park. Worth the quick stop!

We hope to be back in Tennessee one day soon to visit the many other parks!

Park Units 85 & 86: Mammoth Cave National Park and Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHS

8/23/17. We started out early this morning so we would arrive on time for our 8:30 am Cave Tour at Mammoth Cave. It's always refreshing to visit a National Park since they seem to have more money and better services. This was no exception! People were lined up out the door to purchase tickets for tours, but we smugly picked up our tickets that we ordered online a month ago. (I was so glad!). 

We took the Niagra Tour with two of the rangers who led us into the cave through an easy entrance. We went through a few tight passageways and got to see some tiny bats on the ceiling as well as "cave crickets".
The formations were as impressive as we expected -- and different from the other caves we visited last year (especially Wind Cave). 





There were many areas of flowstone. According to the National Caves Association, Flowstones are composed of sheetlike deposits of calcite formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothem. However, they may form in any type of cave where water enters that has picked up dissolved minerals. Flowstones are formed via the degassing of vadose percolation waters."

The highlight of this tour was the massive 30 foot flowstone formation that looked like a waterfall. We were able to take stairs down underneath this. 

The celings of the cave was so interesting! I'm not sure what any of these formations are called, but it was fascinating. 

The tour was just long enough for us to get our fill of being underground and seeing a slightly different kind of cave. The tour was excellent in providing information and giving us time to explore.

Next, we headed to

Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historic Site. This is an unusual site in the middle of a very rural area. There is a large neo-classical monument build to honor Lincoln. The monument was built and commemorated in the 1920's. We enjoyed looking at the photographs of the presidents and guests who visited the site at the time. 

The monument is strange because it looks like it belongs in Washington, D.C., not rural Nebraska. It is also strange because there is a recreated log cabin inside of it. 

The visitor's center has a short film and exhibits showing what life would have been like when Lincoln was born in this area. The original spring that attracted the family to this land is still on the property.

This unit was interesting in many ways - the political culture of the 1920's that led to this memorial, the beautiful land, and the opportunity to imagine life in earlier times.