Kentucky Pentahalon Centennial Award
August 10 - 13
Before beginning the trip we learned about a special program in Kentucky celebrating the NPS Centennial. We had some extra time to spend on our way south to Tennessee, so completing the Kentucky NPS Pentathlon was perfect for us. To earn the patch you had to visit all five park sites in Kentucky.
After leaving the Louisville area we continued south and visited another Lincoln site, a reverse timeline for us on this trip, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP. Again, no structures from his time period remain at this location, there are some original buildings at a site nearby. Inside the memorial building is a symbolic birth cabin. Nearby is the spring that Lincoln's family and neighbors used for their drinking water.
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace NHP - Hodgenville
First Lincoln Memorial
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Sinking Spring
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We ended the day at Cave City, after driving into Mammoth Cave NP so I could pick up the Junior Ranger booklet. I worked on it that afternoon and was able to complete it when we returned in the morning. A hike through the forest led to a cave opening that was once part of the larger Mammoth Cave.
Mammoth Cave NP
Critter on the Visitor Center patio
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Dixon Cave
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While working our way towards SW Kentucky and the next NPS site we stopped by the headquarters for Clarks River NWR in Benton. The side yard had a great wall sculpture and an area for kids. A series of signs provides activities for kids to do based on animal characteristics - looked like a fun activity for kids.
Clarks River NWR
Memorial tree
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Animal Olympics
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Great Blue Heron station
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When we first heard about the pentathlon we were perplexed about the 5th site. With a little research we learned that a new section of Fort Donelson NB, located in Tennessee, had been established in Kentucky, all the way in the SW corner. Luckily we had accurate GPS coordinates to take us to this remote section along Kentucky Lake. It was purchased with funds raised by local citizens. There are a few interpretive signs, restroom and an attractive picnic ramada. By driving a narrow, rough road we were able to view the 1860s earthen works related to this Civil War site.
Fort Heinman - unit of Fort Donelson NB
Entrance sign
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Earthworks
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We ended the day nearby in TN at Paris Landing State Park. We enjoy the state park hotels in TN and KY, reasonable room rates ($72) and usually a tasty, Southern breakfast buffet.
Paris Landing State Park - TN
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Now we had to drive across the southern border of Kentucky to reach the last 2 NPS sites; Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and Cumberland Gap National Park. When we got to the area that afternoon we drove down to a section of the park we had not previously visited, Blue Heron mining community. The drive down from US 27 was scenic and at times, steep. Once down along the banks of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River there are several buildings from coal mining activities in 1937-62.
Big South Fork NRRA - KY
Blue Heron
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Arch Rock
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The next morning we took to the backroads of KY to make our way to Cumberland Gap NP. This park site has special meaning to me, my ancestors came across this gap in the 1700s from Virginia into Kentucky and Indiana.
Cumberland Gap NHP
View from Visitor Center
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Sign
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Cumberland Gap
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Success!!
Kentucky Pentathlon
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Wildlife Sightings
Swallowtail butterfly
Fox squirrel
White-tailed Deer
Frog
Cottontail, juvenile
Swallows
Wild Turkey
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
American Crow
Turkey Vulture
Gull
Flycatcher
Blue Jay
Black Vulture
Great Blue Heron
Northern Cardinal
American Robin
Canada Goose
Great-horned Owl
Towhee
New York - Massachusetts - Rhode Island - Connecticut - New York
August 23 - 24
Not far from Albany is the Martin Van Buren NHS, Lindenwald is the home of the 8th President of the US. He prepared for two elections while living in this house. While walking around the grounds I saw a small herd of goats behind a fence. A ranger walked over and told me they were there to control the weeds near the landscaped lawn. She showed me a plot that they had not attacked yet, and the difference was remarkable. They were to be moved into that plot the next week. Later I saw goats at a couple of NPS sites.
Lindenwald
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Goat mowing
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We crossed into Massachusetts and visited Springfield Armory NHS which supplied military weapons from 1777 until 1968. Some of the equipment used in the production of the weapons was made in the Blackstone River Valley, an area we would visit later that day. One of the amazing displays was the Organ of Muskets.
Equipment manufactured in Blackstone River Valley
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Organ of Muskets
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With sites both in Massachusetts and Rhode Island the Blackstone River Valley NHP is one of the new NPS sites. Sites are scattered along the Blackstone River, our first stop was at an ornate community library in Whitinsville, MA. The woodwork was amazing. We stopped at the headquarters building, which had been a cotton mill in the 1800s and has been converted into offices, stores and restaurants. The ranger and office staff were very welcoming and helpful. The area represents the Age of Industry which dates back to the 1790s.
Whitinsville MA Social Library
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Headquarters - old mill
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Nearby was Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence, RI. This is a small city park that has no original structures, but celebrates Roger Williams' 1636 arrival in the New World and religious freedom. Most of the colonies had some ties to a particular religion, including Williams, but he promoted religious freedom after being banned from Massachusetts. On the side of the visitor center was a thriving garden of native plants.
Native garden
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We spent the night near Providence, first stop of the morning was in Narragansett to see Rhode Island's Whispering Giant by the sculptor Peter Toth. This statue is titled Enishkeetompauog Narragansett - translated to 'all human beings at the small, narrow point'.
Rhode Island Whispering Giant - Narragansett, RI
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We headed southwest into Connecticut and Hartford to visit another future NPS site; Coltsville NHP. The hold up on most of the newly designated sites that have yet to open is the transfer of land to federal ownership. We went to Colts Park where Samuel Colt had his home, now there is a statue of him. Unfortunately we were there at noon and the sun was not cooperating for a good photo. NPS staff conduct walking tours of the neighborhood each weekend during the summer. This park will highlight the creative manufacturing process that Samuel Colt developed after he patented his revolver in 1836. The Colt Historic District includes the park, neighboring homes and factory buildings.
Samuel Colt statue
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After having a picnic lunch in the park we continued to the western edge of Connecticut to a very favorite NPS site, Weir Farm NHS. Before we arrived, about a mile from the park site a black bear ran across the road. I am always amazed at how wild the east coast can be, seeing this bear crossing a busy highway is a treat. The American painter, J Alden Weir traded a painting and $10 for this 153 acre farm in 1882 where he raised his 3 daughters. The buildings and the land are beautiful and well worth exploring, which we have done on previous visits.
Sign
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Visitor Center
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In our quest for Centennial stamps we decided to head up into the Hudson River Valley and visit Hyde Park and 3 NPS sites. This is a return visit to all of the sites Val Kill was Eleanor Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, a trail connects this home to the FDR home along the Hudson River. A drive onto the Vanderbilt Mansion grounds is a step back in time, back to the post-Civil War gilded age. While at the Home of FDR I tried to get a picture of statue of FDR & Eleanor, other tourists kept popping in for their photo op. I finally gave up and included one of them.
Eleanor Roosevelt NHS
Val Kill
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Vanderbilt Mansion NHS
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Home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt NHS
Statue
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Thanks to Google Navigation we were re-routed a couple of times on our way to Parsippany, NJ for the evening and it saved us a lot of time.
Wildlife Sightings
Black Bear
White-tailed Deer
Fox Squirrel
Pileated Woodpecker
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bald Eagle
American Crow
Canada Goose
Flycatcher
Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron
New Jersey - Delaware - Maryland - Virginia
August 25 - 26
Happy Birthday NPS!
I grew up in New Jersey and lived there in the 80s, so enjoying diner food is near and dear to me. We enjoyed a diner breakfast this morning before visiting Morristown NHP. This is where George Washington and his Colonial troops wintered in 1778-80. George stayed in the house pictured below and his troops built and stayed in the shelter seen in the lower picture (reconstructed) in Jockey Hollow, an area nearby that today is mainly set aside for hiking. The visitor center on the same grounds as the headquarters building has many items from that time period, including the ornate quilt with fitted bedpost corners.
Washington's Headquarters
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Quilt
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Jockey Hollow - winter quarters
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Very close by is the Great Swamp NWR, which seemed an odd name for land in the center of New Jersey. Near the end of the 1950s a jetport for the greater New York area was proposed to be built here, local citizens and environmentalists campaigned and successfully preserved this natural landscape. Today it is a wildlife haven in a heavily populated area.
Flowers
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A few years ago Delaware was the only state which did not have an NPS unit, in 2013 First State NHP was established to recognize Delaware as the first state to sign the US Constitution and it's rich colonial history dating back into to 1600s. Today we re-visited the colonial town of New Castle. The courthouse, which serves as the visitor center was built in 1732. I thought their Pokemon Go sign was great; enjoy the history inside and keep the game outside!
New Castle town square
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Pokemon Go bench
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Fountain
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Sheriff's House - future Visitor Center
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Old Church along US 1, built in 1773
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Today was the actual birthday of the National Park Service. We offered our birthday wishes at each site. Our timing was off, we missed having birthday cake at the different sites. On social media NPS sites were posting pictures of their birthday cakes all day long, some were very creative. We even tried for leftovers in the following days, but it was apparent the cake was enjoyed by all.
Friday morning we left Delaware and crossed into Maryland on US 50 across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. We made a stop in Annapolis at the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Heritage Trail Office for some passport stamps. Even with the smaller var we found driving in Annapolis to be stressful, parking was allowed on both sides of the side streets which prevented 2 vehicles from passing, you waited to let other car pass you, it felt like hopscotch.
Our goal today was to visit the headquarters of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, in Virginia just north of Arlington Cemetery. The parkway itself, follows the Potomac River and provides for a very relaxing drive along a divided highway with no commercial traffic. Numerous NPS sites can be visited from the parkway, which we have previously visited. The office has an amazing collection of NPS passport stamps which provided 'stamping Nirvana' for my husband.
George Washington Parkway office
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We stopped by Arlington National Cemetery, but it was too hot to walk around much, did enjoy the flowers at the main building.
Arlington Cemetery flowers
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We stayed south of Arlington with plans to head into D.C. the next morning.
Wildlife Sightings
White-tailed Deer
American Robin
Turkey Vulture
Great Blue Heron
American Bald Eagle
Wild Turkey
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
District of Columbia - Virginia
August 27
At the beginning of the trip my husband developed a sore foot, which was only going to get better after we got home and a trip to the doctor, so for this trip he was toughing it out. Most of our visits to NPS sites, except for the day in Philadelphia, was manageable up until our visit to DC. We had a plan - go early on a Saturday and it worked! Our first stop was at the Washington Monument and we got a great parking space. It was a beautiful morning in D.C.
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Washington Monument
Parking
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Because of our early start we had some time to kill before our next site opened. We hung out in Stanton Park, about 3 blocks north of the US Capitol where there is an impressive statue of Nathanael Greene, a major general in the Continental Army. There was a large play area which was busy with families coming and going. In the neighborhood was this gorgeous mansion with a dramatic weathervane, the photo doesn't do it justice.
District of Columbia house with weathervane
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Nathanael Greene statue
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Another new NPS site for us was the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality NM. The house was home to the National Woman's Party for 90 years, it was the epicenter of the struggle for women's suffrage and women's rights. The house is literally across the street from the US Capitol. As I toured the rooms I could only imagine the late night meetings and strategy sessions. Normally this site is only open by taking a tour, today they were holding an Open House, in honor of Women's Equality Day, the day before. Lots of informative displays, but the house itself is beautiful.
Belmont-Paul Women's Equality NM - DC
Door
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Display
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A place that is not a NPS site, but one we have wanted to visit is Lincoln's Summer Cottage, along our route today. The cottage - isn't a cottage, but a stone mansion that Lincoln escaped to during the hot, humid DC summers. Of course this site is only 4 miles north of the White House, but in a wooded area, even today. It is on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, you enter through a guarded gate and are given a parking pass and directions, no ID or paperwork required.
Lincoln's Summer Cottage
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Another natural area within the DC region, and a NPS site is Rock Creek Park. We always enjoy visiting the Nature Center, usually to do some hiking, but the heat was on! There are numerous animal and plant displays inside which I used to share some of our previous bird sightings during this trip.
Rock Creek Park
Pileated Woodpecker
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American Crow
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This concluded our east coast sweep, we now headed west and drove a section along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP. Just a bit change in elevation brought some cooler temperatures.
Along I-81 in Staunton we had a yummy dinner at an old-fashioned country-style restaurant, Mrs. Rowe's Family Restaurant. The bakery counter at check-out reminded me of Jacob Lake Inn, in northern Arizona - almost. The chocolate truffle cookies were good.
Shenandoah Visitor Center relief map
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Wildlife Sightings
Fox Squirrel
American Crow
American Robin
