Passport Cancellations – Page 3

Pearl Harbor Day: World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

December 7, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

As today marks the 73rd anniversary of the bombings at Pearl Harbor that catalyzed U.S. entry into WWII, I thought it was a good time to go back into the passport archives for a post. Last year, I was lucky enough to attend a conference in Honolulu (thanks to 100 years of the American Association of Immunologists!), and I had a few hours the morning after the conference to make a trip out to the Pearl Harbor Visitor’s Center. Pearl Harbor, just outside Honolulu on the island of Oahu, is still an active U.S. Naval Station and is headquarters to the National Park Service’s WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument (other sites are located in AK and CA).

valr06 The Visitor’s Center has a museum and is the base for the U.S.S. Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma memorials, honoring those ships and the people who perished in the attacks. The museum gives the details of the events of Dec. 7, 1941, including the military details of the attack and the day as it played out for the people of Pearl Harbor. There are some interesting artifacts, including a marked up draft copy of FDR’s famous “a date that will live in infamy” speech. The exhibits definitely freshened my memory from that report I wrote in 3rd grade…

The U.S.S. Arizona memorial is the valr07 “centerpiece” of the monument. The memorial is only accessible by boat with a ticket from the Visitor’s Center. The short boat ride across the harbor is preceded by a film, and then visitors are given time for observation at the memorial, which is built immediately over the ship. Almost 1800 men were lost when the ship sunk and are still entombed there. The names of all those lost in the Arizona are engraved onto a wall at the far end of the memorial. valr08 Interestingly, a side panel also lists the names of U.S.S. Arizona survivors who later requested to be interred there. From the observation deck, you can see fish darting in and out of the corroded metal of the Arizona and oil slicks that to this day still rise to the surface.

valr05 In addition to the U.S.S. Arizona memorial, there is a small, separately managed naval museum including a small sub available for tour at the site of the visitor’s center. I believe a shuttle will also take you over the U.S.S. Oklahoma Memorial, but the Utah is not open to the public as it is on the active military base.

Helpful hints for visiting Pearl Harbor: 1) You can make reservations in advance for the U.S.S. Arizona memorial on www.recreation.gov, but they also hold back a number of tickets for same-day onsite bookings. As I discovered, some tickets are also reserved in advance by tour companies, and you can request these through your Waikiki-area hotel. While not the cheapest option, this is a good way to go if you also need transportation to the site. 2) No bags of any kind are allowed past the front gate of the Visitor’s Center complex – while lockers/bag check are available nearby for a small fee, best to plan ahead and not bring more than you can stuff in your pockets (and care to take out to go through the security check).

State Park Bonus Feature: While most of the rest of my trip to Hawaii was taken up by the conference (the downside of visiting for work), I also got a little bit of hiking in by taking a quick outing to visit Diamond Head State Monument, easily accessible from Waikiki by public bus. The park offers a short (but steep!) hike to the rim starting from the inside of the crater, so you don’t have to climb the entire vertical distance you can see from the beach. There are interpretative signs telling the geological and military history of the crater, and the peak offers phenomenal views.

Tragedies of Western Pennsylvania

November 30, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Not to put a damper on the holiday mood, but as I hadn’t posted here in a while, figured I’d share some of my recent visits to a pair of Memorials managed by the National Park Service. To avoid traveling over the Thanksgiving weekend, the hubby and I took our “holiday” trip to see the Pittsburgh family earlier this month. One side of the family is from the small city of Johnstown, PA, a city most famous for its great flood of 1889 about 1-2 hours east of Pittsburgh, and on the way into Johnstown, you pass the site where Flight 93 crashed into a field during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The prospect of getting new cancellations in my National Parks Passport book is a (geeky) source of excitement for me when I’m visiting new places, but I admit it felt a little weird when my quest for stamps took a more somber twist on this trip. On the other hand, it certainly didn’t seem right to drive within 10 miles of the isolated field where the passengers of Flight 93 gave their lives to subvert another 9/11 attack and not visit the memorial to pay our respects. So, to the memorial we went. They are still constructing future sections of the Flight 93 memorial park, including a museum, but the current site has signs near the parking area to tell the story of the flight and a memorial walk leading up to a wall containing the names of all of the passengers and crew. As a University of California Rugby fan, I recognized the name of local hero Mark Bingham, former Cal Rugby player and one of the passengers who lead the charge against the terrorists. Needless to say, the memorial was very moving – it’s amazing how fresh those events can still feel.

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial, being a bit more historical in nature, didn’t pack quite the emotional punch, but the site sits just above the infamous dam that failed after heavy rains in 1889, flooding the town below and killing more than 2000 people. Johnstown was a bigger town then than it is now, and the exhibits at the visitors center explain how flood aid poured in from all over the world, in part inspired by connections to the diverse population in the steel and railroad town at that time. The disaster also marked the first large-scale relief effort by the American Red Cross, with Clara Barton herself helping to coordinate the response. It was interesting to hear about the series of events that lead to the decay and eventual failure of the dam, first installed as part of a public works project, then owned and allowed to fall into disrepair by the railroad company and eventually inherited and “kept up” by a fishing and hunting club whose members included steel and banking magnates. In addition to seeing the exhibits at the visitor’s center, you can walk up to either side of the former dam and see some of the old club houses in the nearby town of St. Michael (much of which sits in what was then the lake). In Johnstown proper, there is a Johnstown Flood Museum not associated with the NPS, but we didn’t have time to stop in.

A common theme from the two memorials we visited was the stories relating the heroism of everyday people, like the legend of Hettie Ogle, a Johnstown telegraph operator who remained with her staff at a post upstream of the town relaying warnings until the flood took them. Since our visit occurred just before Veteran’s Day, it seemed appropriate to also spend a day honoring the service and sacrifice of those who worked to the bitter end to try to save the inhabitants of Johnstown and the passengers and crew of Flight 93.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Marin Headlands

October 22, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Since snow squashed my plans for an introductory backpacking trip in the mountains a few weeks back (the one weekend EVER I have backpacking plans, we get early season snow in the middle of a drought!), I resolved to at least hit the local trails and took a lovely hike in the Marin Headlands of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. goga08

GGNRA spans several sites in San Francisco and just across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County. I hadn’t spent any time out in the Marin Headlands since high school band camp at the YMCA Point Bonita. One thing I’ll never forget from that time – make sure to use the sunscreen and stay hydrated to help prevent windburn (does hydration actually help or did I make that up? Certainly doesn’t hurt…).

Our first stop on the drive in was “Hawk Hill”. From this vantage point, which also offers pretty decent views back toward the Golden Gate Bridge, volunteers from the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory were out in full force monitoring the autumn raptor migration. I was pretty amazed at their ability to spot, track, and identify hawks and falcons from miles away. I have a good pair of binoculars, but half the time I couldn’t even find the birds they were tracking, much less even tell the basic differences between Accipiters and Buteos. When I could spot the birds, however, it was nice to have my own panel of experts behind me to tell me what I was looking at. goga04

The Marin Headlands area, like much of GGNRA, was used for coastal military installations in the 1930s and 40s, and one of the features of the park is the old forts and batteries scattered throughout the hills. We parked at the Visitor’s Center in what I assume is an old Chapel near Fort Cronkhite and started our walk at Rodeo Lagoon, also reportedly a good spot for goga06 watching the number of bird species native to or migrating through the area. You can even pick up a bird checklist at the VC. While the distant raptors were a bit of challenge, I had better luck identifying some of the more common (and slower moving!) birds found near the beach and lagoon.

The Lagoon ends at Rodeo Beach, also accessible from the Fort Cronkhite parking lot, and from there, we hiked up the Coastal and Wolf Ridge Trails to Hill 88. The path leads you past Battery Townsley, with an old 16-in gun on display to demonstrate the coastal defense capabilities. The Top of Hill 88 had great views in all directions, even on a partly cloudy day. That is assuming you are not blinded by the shockingly ugly chartreuse-y color of the old abandoned buildings up there. goga13

We returned back via the Miwok Trail for a nice 5-6 mile loop. Some of the trail was shared with mountain bikers, but there was room for all. We also saw several people enjoying the fact that most of the trails are also open to dogs. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite make it back in time to circle back to the Point Bonita Lighthouse, which is only open from 12:30-3:30 Sat-Mon. And of course these opening hours don’t coincide with those of the nearby Nike Missile Site, which is only open Thurs-Sat (so go Saturday between 12:30 and 3:30 if you want to hit up both!). I guess I still have some exploring to do in GGNRA – especially since I collected all the passport cancellations I could in the VC! (I appreciated hearing another family having the same dilemma I always do about whether they should stamp their book before hitting up the actual location on the stamp) goga07

Fall Weekend in Yosemite Valley

October 19, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

I couldn’t risk letting 2014 go by without a trip to Yosemite, especially in their 150th anniversary year! I’ve concluded that the number of people in Yosemite Valley in July/August is just too much for me, but as expected, this random weekend in October, while still pretty popular, was manageable and gave us a taste of what Yosemite has to offer in the fall. A partial taste since the weather was a little more on par with August with 85°F temperatures! California isn’t particularly known for our fall color, but Yosemite gives it our best shot! And while we didn’t have crisp fall air, we still got to see leaves swirling in the breeze through the Valley.

yose2_04 — Take a deep breath and forget about the morning’s unpleasantness!

We tried to get an early start by driving up Friday night and staying at the Best Western in Oakhurst. Unfortunately, the breakfast waitstaff at the hotel restaurant had other ideas (we never were approached by a waitress – the hostess kept coming by and, noticing we hadn’t been helped, served us the whole meal. Two other parties were seated then simply left after being similarly ignored. Combine that with an offensive button worn by the lobby staff at checkout, and we’ll make this my first negative lodging review.) In spite of that, made it to the Valley Visitor’s Center by about 10:30-11.

Our late start pretty much determined which trail we were going to hit up. I had been considering the 4-mile trail up to Glacier Point, but since we were getting into the midday heat, wasn’t sure that would be a very pleasant hike. It’s supposed to have excellent views of Yosemite Falls, perhaps not quite as impressive when it’s dry, so I’ll pocket that one for the spring. Time to explore Yosemite Valley on the Valley Floor Loop.

The Valley Floor Loop Trail is a pretty self-explanatory 13-mile loop that starts around the bottom of Yosemite Falls at Camp 4 and passes a lot of famous Valley landmarks, such as El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls. There’s an option to do a 6.5-mile half loop by cutting across to the other side using a bridge near El Capitan. As promised by the descriptions I read, we were almost alone the whole day on the trail except for when it intersected the parking areas for the major landmarks.

yose2_12 — A mountain quail! I’ve seen plenty of California quail, but never one of these.

The only downside of the Valley Loop Trail is that it’s not that wide of a valley, so you’re never far from the park roads. On a Saturday, we could hear road noise pretty much the whole day. I will say, however, there is some satisfaction in exploring the Valley on your own two feet, even if you’re not exactly ditching civilization. Especially when you can enjoy the falling leaves and contrasting yellows and greens of the trees with the granite walls rising on either side of you!

yose2_17 — Had to sign disclaimers about Hanta virus to stay here… 5 weeks til we’re out of the incubation period!

We spent the evening in Curry Village, staying in the classic tent cabins. It may be the most expensive canvas scaffold you’ve ever stayed in, but the tent cabins have a rustic, old-school charm and are a lot easier than having to set up camp for a night. Plus, when your Fitbit reads 35,000+ steps, fresh-baked pizza and a cold, local beer (albeit at ballpark-level prices) on an outdoor deck never tasted so good! And just in case that doesn’t make up any calorie deficit, they also have delicious, enormous cinnamon rolls at the coffee stand in the morning.

Sunday, we headed back to the Bay Area, taking a detour to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir to visit our friendly local water supply. Driving out to Hetch Hetchy, we could see the evidence of last year’s Rim Fire, which started the week after our last Yosemite Trip (remind me to never again say “last chance to see the sequoia grove” while driving past!). O’ Shaughnessy Dam is a place where every good Bay Area citizen can come to feel conflicted about appreciating a stable, pristine water supply while wondering what was lost when Hetch Hetchy Valley was flooded to create the reservoir in spite of John Muir’s intense opposition. There are some trails around the reservoir, but with little tree cover and even higher temperatures than the day before, we decided to head into Groveland for some lunch at the Iron Door Saloon, the oldest continuously operating saloon in CA. Important note for stamp collectors – you have to ask for the Hetch Hetchy cancellation at the Entrance Station on your way in or out of the reservoir area as there is no official visitor’s center.

Lassen Volcanic National Park (one year ago)

September 24, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

lavo15 Flipping back through my passport book, I was reminded that a year ago I took my introductory trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park in (more) Northern California. Lassen is almost like you took the highlights from Yosemite/King’s Canyon and the Sierras and mashed them up with the best geothermal features of Yellowstone. They’ve got it all! Mountains, volcanoes, forests, fumeroles…

We stayed at Drakesbad GuestRanch, a rustic lodge & cabins in the Warner Valley area. It’s a wonderful place to get away from it all for both families and travelers without kids. The rate includes all three meals (all yummy), including a box lunch if you plan to be out and about, and they have a variety of activities, such as horseback riding, fishing, games, and a pool heated by the nearby hot springs. Another cool fact – Drakesbad is approximately half-way between Mexico and Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail, so keep that in mind if you’re ever lavo02 inclined to lavo03 take that trip on!

One of the highlights in the Warner Valley area is the Devils Kitchen, and area filled with fumeroles and boiling mudpots. The trail leaves from a boardwalk across the meadow from Drakesbad and meanders through woods until you reach the unmistakable kitchen area, wherein the trail loops through several active areas. You can certainly smell it when you reach the kitchen as well!

lavo16 — Bumpass’ Hell. These days there are boardwalks to keep us from suffering Bumpass’ fate, an early settler whose leg fell through the crust while leading a party through the area. Plans are in the works for new boardwalks to help protect park features and patrons.

It was a pretty good time of year to visit, right at the end of the season, although temperatures were definitely dropping. There may have been an afternoon we opted out of hiking in the freezing rain to play Scrabble by the fire in the Drakesbad common room.In fact, the road into the main part of the park was temporarily closed at that time due to snow at higher elevations. The next morning, however, proved a perfect time to swing through the main road and explore Bumpass Hell, view Lassen Peak (only accessible to visitors select weekends out of the year), and check out the visitors’ centers.

Now that I’m writing this, I’m realizing I need to plan another trip to Lassen – next summer perhaps?

Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Part 2 (Redwood Mountain Grove, General Grant, and Cedar Grove)

September 10, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

seki28 In my last post, I featured spots in Sequoia National Park, but it turns out, Kings Canyon holds its own when it comes to giant sequoias in addition to having gorgeous valleys, granite canyons, and meadows.

Grant Grove

seki30 — A close up – that branch alone could be a huge tree!

seki29 — General Grant peeking through the trees

Grant Grove is just north of the Big Stump Entrance on CA 180 from Fresno. It is home to the famous “General Grant” tree, wider at its base than General Sherman and named after Ulysses S. Grant, who was of course still kicking when this giant tree was named. There is a short interpretive trail in the area around General Grant where you can walk through the Fallen Monarch that was used as a shelter and saloon in the 19th century, but of course this is one of the spots in the park where you get big crowds of people. The Grant Grove area contains a visitor’s center, market, lodging, and camping. I’ll admit, the restaurant makes good pizza if you happen to be out hiking longer than you expected and don’t feel like cooking at camp!

Redwood Mountain Grove
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seki16 — Could this be what’s left of the Fallen Goliath?

Redwood Mountain is the largest sequoia grove in the world and (since the parking area is 2 miles down a windy dirt road) a great way to enjoy the sequoias in relative solitude on a day hike. We encountered just a handful of other hikers and a few families backpacking in the canyon, and there was evidence that horses also use the trail. There are two 6-7-mile loops that both cut back down the creek in the center, or you can combine the loops for a ~10-mile larger loop. There is a 1100-1400 gain over either route, but it was relatively gradual. We started along the central creek trail then turned left to take the Hart Tree and Fallen Goliath Loop — and almost managed to miss both landmarks! You can see the picture of what we thought the Fallen Goliath sign was pointing toward, but we were under the impression it should have been bigger. I did find a local news article from April of this year about a fire in the Fallen Goliath, but no other sources confirmed that a fire might have consumed a majority of the tree. It’s possible we just missed it. A mystery!

seki18 — Thanks to our fellow hikers for helping us find and take a photo with the Hart Tree!

seki20 — Nice view from a rocky area on the Fallen Goliath & Hart Tree loop

We were just thinking we may have also missed the Hart Tree, one of the 25 largest sequoias, when we encountered another hiker with his 5-year-old son on his first backpacking trip (kid has me beat!) also looking for the Hart Tree. After consulting his map, we turned around and found the tiny little sign pointing to the tree right behind us! It just goes to show how impressive all the sequoias are when you keep having “no, that one is the biggest tree I’ve ever seen!” moments around every corner…

Cedar Grove Area

If you continue East on 180 instead of heading south on the Generals Hwy, you’ll drive down the canyon walls into Cedar Grove and the section of the park that follows the Kings River deeper into Kings Canyon. This area houses the other large campgrounds within Kings Canyon, a visitors center near the campground (where you can find the passport cancellation), and an additional information stand at the aptly named Road’s End. From Road’s End, you can continue on foot 2-3 miles down either side of the river to a bridge. From the bridge, you can return to Road’s End the way you came or down the other side, head up the hill for Mist Falls (apparently “still misting away” this time of year) or head up the Bubb’s Creek Trail to the left.

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seki24 We opted to go out and back just to the bridge along the trail on the south side of the river. According to the ranger we talked to, the north side trail is shorter, but a bit more rocky and exposed, while the south bank wound through trees and was much quieter. Remember the bug spray, though, unless you particularly like breathing in gnats! From where this trail cuts back to the Road’s End parking lot, you can also continue to Zumwalt Meadow (also directly accessible from the road), a beautiful breezy meadow fluttering with butterflies that has trails and boardwalks for all walkers/hikers.

Sequoia & Kings Canyon: Part 1 (Giant Forest, Lodgepole, and the Generals’ Hwy)

September 7, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

Finally! It may have taken until Labor Day, seki34 but I finally got a to take a long weekend this summer to visit a new (to me) National Park. Parks actually, since Kings Canyon and Sequoia are two adjacent National Parks managed together. I love the Sierras, and these parks just may rival Yosemite as my favorite NP! There were so many highlights to this trip, that this will have to be a multi-part post.

Giant Forest

First, the “main attraction” of Sequoia National Park. Giant Sequoias are ridiculously huge, and the park has several prime examples of these trees, which are native only to limited areas of the Sierras and live for millennia. Leave it to a Giant Sequoia to make even the 200-ft sugar pine beside it look tiny. The Giant Forest is one of the most accessible groves in the park and home to the “General Sherman” tree, the most massive tree on Earth! There is parking at the Sherman Tree, and it’s also a stop on the park shuttle, which runs every 15 min in summer. From General Sherman, there are paved and unpaved trails that loop through nearby trees. The popular “Congress Trail” has several named trees and groves, including the President, the House, and the Senate, but in all honesty, it’s just as easy to be impressed by the unnamed bystanders. From points along the Congress Trail, there are also trails that lead further into the forest as well as a ~2 mile-trail back to the Giant Forest Museum (if we had planned better, i.e. carried snacks for me, we would have taken the shuttle one way and hiked back).

General Sherman, the most massive tree on earth. He adds the equivalent of a 60-ft tree to his trunk per year.

The Senate group on the Congress Trail (I think – I ended up with a lot of pictures of trees…)

The President, looking quite stately. Chief Sequoyah, also impressive, was just behind him.

Of course, the sequoia groves also provide ample opportunity to spot several little forest critters. We saw several chipmunks, squirrels, and birds, including the white-headed woodpecker below defacing the McKinley tree. While dwarfed by the giant sequoias, it’s also worth noting the other trees of the ecosystem such as the sugar pines, with their long pine cones hanging off the ends of tall branches.

Lodgepole

seki08 Further into Sequoia National Park is the Lodgepole area, which has a visitor’s center, campground, market, and other facilities. Lodgepole is one of two places where you can get tickets for the Crystal Cave tour (the other is the Foothills VC near the southern entrance), but we didn’t have time for that one this trip. If you do plan to go into the cave, read the current restrictions on clothing and equipment before you go as efforts are underway to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome from bat colonies in the Eastern US.

From Lodgepole, we got our hiking legs warmed up on the trail to Tokopah Falls, a relatively easy 3.6-mile (round trip) trail that departs from the bridge at the end of the Lodgepole campground area roadway. While the waterfall was dry, the trail is a nice shaded path that follows the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River with a little bit of uphill, particularly as you approach the falls area. At the beginning of the trail, we could see where the campground continued up the other side of the river, and it looked like there were some pleasant campsites there. In the late morning, there didn’t seem to be too many insects, which was not the case everywhere in the park – definitely needed some bug spray on this trip!

seki11 — Who needs waterfalls when this is the view in the opposite direction?

The Generals Highway
This scenic main drive winds its way through both parks and allows you to see most of the crowd favorites. Of course, the highway really only graces the Western side of the park, so there’s plenty more to explore on future visits (perhaps if my friends succeed in making a backpacker out of me…). Along the Generals Highway, you can whet your appetite for the backcountry by stopping at some pretty nice overlooks like these:

seki22 — Sunset over Fresno from near Grant Grove

Sequoia Passport Cancellations

Passport stamps are available at Lodgepole & Foothills Visitors Centers (nice bonus stamp, too) and at the Giant Forest museum. There are also reportedly stamps at the Crystal Cave and Mineral King – guess I’ll just have to go back!

Muir Woods National Monument

July 29, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

I’ve been utterly failing at getting out to any parks this summer, so two weekends ago I was determined to at least hit up one of the NPS sites in the greater Bay Area on a day of hiking. I opted to go get my Passport stamps for Muir Woods in Marin County, in spite of knowing that summer weekends would bring crowds.

muwo06 Muir Woods is a beautiful example of a California redwood forest, with coast redwoods lining a shaded creek surrounded by ferns and a blanket of redwood sorrel. Unfortunately, it is also THE place for people touring CA to get a quick giant tree fix, so you get the trees without the tranquility. There are certainly better places to lose yourself in nature, including redwoods, but the scenery is still able to impress (and as you can see, I managed to get a few pictures without people in them!). Other highlights of the Monument (which likely also contribute to its popularity) are the educational programs and the boardwalked trails through the center of the park, which both protect the woods floor while also making the park more accessible to all visitors.

muwo03 muwo04 muwo09

muwo08 If you must visit Muir Woods during summer weekends (as I apparently had to), it is highly recommended that you take the Muir Woods Shuttle (follow signs from the freeway). Another option if you are planning on doing more than just the boardwalk is to hike into the Woods from Mt. Tamalpais State Park. There are several options here: From the Mountain Home Inn, you can take the Panoramic and Ocean View trails into Muir Woods or follow Alice Eastman Road down to the Plevin Cut and Camp Eastwood trails.

We opted for a longer hike from the muwo01 Pantoll Ranger Station, starting with the Stapelveldt and Ben Johnson trails and returning via Bootjack and Alpine. Up at the ranger station, it was all blustery fog and moss-covered trees, but we quickly lost the wind heading down the back side of the hill and had a pretty solitary hike until we got closer to Muir Woods. As you descend, you can see the redwood forest develop as you get further down into the watershed – it’s really quite a nice way to approach! All together, it ended up being about 8 miles and 4 hours, including some meandering about the visitor’s muwo02 center and a stop on the trail for some lunch.

Of course the only muwo10 problem with doing the hike this way is that the uphill is all on the way back! Using the TCC trail as a connector, you could do the loop we did from the end of the Muir Woods trail if you prefer to do the uphill first. My fitbit logged 147 flights of stairs – I was highly tempted to go up and down the stairs at my apartment 3 more times when I got home, but my knee was hurting from all the downhill hiking.

Back in Mill Valley, where Highway 1 turns up toward Mt. Tam, we stopped at the Dipsea Cafe for a late lunch and a much-deserved Mt. Tam Pale Ale from Marin Brewing!

Celebrating 150 Years of Yosemite!

June 30, 2014September 7, 2014parksandlex@gmail.com

I got back from a month of travel (national park-free, unfortunately) just in time: Today marks the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Yosemite Grant to preserve Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove by Abraham Lincoln! Certainly couldn’t let this occasion go by unnoticed.

Yosemite yose09 is without a doubt one of my favorite places in this world. It’s definitely hard to keep up any pretense that I don’t have a favorite park, and I’ve spent my past couple yose03 birthdays waking up and logging on to recreation.gov to make sure I get those coveted summer camp yose10 ing reservations.

Yosemite Valley deserves every superlative it gets for its grandeur and beauty, and other parts of the park show off even more wonders, like giant sequoias and the bright blue lakes of the High Sierras. Recently I’ve opted for Tuolumne Meadows in the summer because of the crowds in the valley, but I’m hoping to plan a winter or spring visit to Yosemite Valley next season.

So thanks, Abe, for helping to preserve this wonderful piece of California!

Stamp Hunting in DC: The National Mall & Memorial Parks

May 15, 2014January 3, 2018parksandlex@gmail.com

If you want to tour the White House, make a request through your local member of Congress at least 30 days in advance. There’s likely a link on your Congressperson’s official website

If you are looking to collect cancellations in your National Parks Passport book, there is truly no better location than Washington, D.C. in the National Mall area. While I didn’t have my Fitbit at the time, we certainly got some good walking in hopping from monument to memorial to museum. Here were some of the stops on our tour of the National Mall and surrounding area:

Constitution Gardens is the area just East of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and North of the reflecting pool. There is a small lake to walk around, and in a plaza on the lake, you will find the memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence, such as John Hancock, of course!

View of the Capitol from the Old Post Office Tower, now closed for renovations until 2016

Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site encompasses the stretch of Pennsylvania Ave. leading from the White House to the Capitol Building. There are a number of sites of interest along the way, including the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art, the FBI building, and the Old Post Office Tower. The Old Post Office Tower’s main attraction was the view from the top, but the tower closed for renovation a few weeks ago. I wonder if they will have updated exhibits when they reopen in 2016?

In a great example of why I like the Passport program, when I picked up the cancellation for West Potomac Park, I had to ask the person behind the kiosk what “West Potomac Park” actually is. In addition to getting my answer (basically, the entire western section of the larger National Mall & Memorial Parks, including the area around the Tidal Basin), I got a great history on the building of our nation’s capital and the National Mall from how it was first envisioned by Pierre Charles L’Enfant in 1791 through the addition of West Potomac Park and the Tidal Basin later. It’s amazing what you can learn from people when you have a simple conversation starter!