As we raced across Nevada to make a decision to sell or not sell the house, we had one last stop to make as we crossed into Utah. More on this later, but here’s one of my favorite photos:
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Category: The 50 States
The Casa Grande Ruins (Great House) has been standing for more than 650 years as a monument to the Sonoran Desert People and their way of life. Not a lot is known about the purpose of the house, but the mystery is part of the appeal.
When We Visited: February 1, 2014
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3
Plenty of trailer parking so we planned this one as through day trip as we traveled from Tuscon, Arizona up to the Phoenix area. We pulled up, parked, had lunch, and then set about exploring and earning our Jr. Ranger Badges.
We watched the short video at the Visitor Center and then explored the ruins on our own. Historians hypothesize that the Great House was the center of a much larger farming complex. The ancient Sonoran Desert people had no written language so the interpretation of events comes largely from journal entries and writings of those who visited the area.
The kid’s favorite part was finding the “secret room” and sitting down with dad to work on their booklets.
Although a short day trip (2 hours tops) the Casa Grande Ruins are definitely worth stopping to see. We enjoyed learning more about the ancient culture, as well as the kids adding another Jr. Ranger Badge to their hats!
I’ve wanted to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park for months, so when we dashed through Southern New Mexico on our way to Disneyland it was definitely on the short list. It didn’t disappoint.
When We Visited: January 2014
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3
Where We Stayed: Brantley Lake State Park. About a 30 minute drive.
Best Tip: Get the kids audio tour wand. It was SO worth it. We probably should have gotten 2 instead of making them share, but we were being cheap. We learned a lot about the discovery of the cave, the exploration, the formations, and other interesting facts. Hunting down the numbers and then punching them into the wand easily kept our kids entertained.
2nd Best Tip: Walk down and ride the elevator out.
When we went to get our tickets, the ranger asked if we had visited any other caves within the last 6 months. We did a quick calculation in our heads and realized that we had been to the Luray Caverns in VA last October, and yes, that was less than 6 months ago. In order to keep the bat population healthy, and prevent White-nose syndrome you can’t take any equipment, clothing, or gear from cave to cave without washing it in HOT water first. Uhhhh…. So, we switched out our backpack, assumed we had all washed our jackets, and sat down on the floor to get started on our Jr. Ranger Badges while the ranger whisked away our shoes to give them a scrub. 30 minutes later we finally were able to head down to the caves.
Carlsbad has an elevator system that will whisk you down to the main chambers, but we opted for the longer, walk-in entry. It was beautiful! Carlsbad is one of the most decorated caves. It is beautiful! We learned all about stalagmites, stalactites, columns, straws, popcorn, and other fun facts. The only problem I had is that our kids generally like to talk above a whisper and because everything echoes we had to keep telling them to be quiet. Total downer for everyone as I hate constantly getting after them, but I didn’t want to ruin the experience for all the other tourists down there.
There are many ranger led tours you can get tickets for, but all the kids have to be at least 4 years old. Since Cara didn’t qualify, we opted for the self-guided tour instead. Coupled with the audio tour wands, it was the perfect experience. Our kids did great walking down and and around the two largest caverns, but by the end they were pretty worn out!
After our cave tour, we rode the elevator back out and then grabbed our lunch from the car and enjoyed the view and our late lunch. The view from outside the caves was also pretty nice, but fairly windy on the day we went. We also visited outside of bat season, so we’ll have to return to see the bats in action.
We love old forts. The history, the architecture, the sheer size, all of it makes for a fascinating visit. Fort Picken is located in the Gulf Island National Seashore – a barrier island along the panhandle of Florida. The seashore also stretches into parts of Mississippi, although somehow skips Alabama? Still not sure about that.
When We Visited: December 2013
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3
Fort Pickens is the largest of 4 forts that once guarded the Pensacola Bay and the Navy Yard. It definitely seemed bigger than Fort McHenry, mostly because we could crawl through smaller places and explore more inside the walls of the fort. We started out by picking up our Jr. Ranger Books at the visitor center and then sat down on benches for the ranger tour. In the middle of the history of the fort, the ranger stops and points out this guy walking across the grounds:
Armadillo! I was ridiculously excited. Sam had seen a few around camp, but I hadn’t had the privilege yet. These things are so awesome looking.
Fort Pickens is built on a giant sandbar. Turns out, forts are rather heavy and they were worried about the whole thing sinking into oblivion. To help with the weight, under every arch, they also built a reverse arch to help distribute the weight from underneath the pillars. There were only a few excavated so we could see the result. Pretty impressive.
Fort Pickens played a critical role in the Civil War. The Fort was reinforced the day after Fort Sumter surrendered, preventing the Confederates from seizing control and using the nearby Navy Yard. At one point, the batteries on the fort even fired on nearby Forts Barrancas and McRee, the navy yard, and several independent batteries spread along the bay shore. Heavy damage caused the Confederates to withdraw.
We also *finally* found our kids their Jr. Ranger Hats. We had promised them hats after their 5th Junior Ranger Badge, but that number came and went before we found a National Park Store that had them in stock. We finally came through on our promise. Total excitement ensued.
Nothing makes history come alive like standing where it all happened. If you have not visited a historical site recently, consider this our friendly nudge to get out there!
Convenient to our house in Virginia (which we house-swapped into, prior to Airstream travel) were two National Parks. The first was Prince William Forest, and the second was Manassas National Battlefield. Our visit here required a wait, as the 2013 government shutdown placed it just out of reach. We visited the first day the National Parks reopened.
When We Visited: October 2013
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3
Though the day was cloudy, the visit was wonderful. We explored the battlefields, and enjoyed the wonderful outdoor exhibits as the kids worked on their Junior Ranger booklets. We also brought our FRS radios to the joy of our kids, who ran around playing with the radios most of the time outside.
Manassas was the location of the first Civil War battle, and it didn’t go at all as expected. Prior the battle, rifling had been discovered, and the spiral grooves in gun barrels made firearms much more accurate than muskets. As a result, the casualties were extremely high on both sides. Mix in a heavy dose of confusion on account of the hundred or so uniforms present, and the entire thing was a disaster. The present spectators (!) were thrown into confusion. They had expected this battle to solve the present issues once and for all, and the disaster that unfolded caused most to scatter.
I’ve had moments in our travels that had a deep connecting impact upon my soul. One of those moments happened on the Manassas Battlefield. As I stood in the row of artillery on the north side of the field reading about the confederate soldiers, I read about Stonewall Jackson.
Stonewall Jackson was one of those famous people mentioned in grade school that was significant for some reason, but I couldn’t tell you much about him. As I read the signs present, and considered the close placement of the opposing artillery lines, I came to understand how Jackson became ‘Stonewall’ Jackson.
Throughout the confusing and pandemonious battle, Jackson and his men held their line. History credits Brigadier General Bernard Bee with saying “Look! There stands Jackson like a Stone Wall!”
Standing there, on that very hill, helped me understand this bit of history just a bit more clearly. Stonewall Jackson is no longer just someone who’s name I vaguely remember, but a major participant in the early history of this country. This experience has motivated me to seek out these moments that connect me with the land, and with the past.
