Tag: National Park

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Featured Destination National Parks New Mexico

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico

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.

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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.

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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!

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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.

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Florida National Parks

Fort Pickens – Gulf Island National Seashore – Florida

Fort Pickens Unit of Gulf Island National Seashore

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:

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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.

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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 Unit of Gulf Island National Seashore_008Fort 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.
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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.

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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!

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National Parks Virginia

Manassas National Battlefield Park – Virginia

Manassas National Battlefield Park

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

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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.

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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.

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Categories
California National Parks

Cabrillo National Monument, California

This National Monument was quite a fun surprise! Comprised of various activities, the National Park can definitely take all day to explore.

When We Visited: February 25, 2014

Where We Stayed: Mission Bay RV Resort

Ages of Kids: 8, 7, 3

Earn a Jr. Range Badge

We definitely pick up our books first thing at the Visitor Center. How difficult the book is totally depends on the park, but we found this one to be enjoyable and fun! We also met up with our new Airstream friends, @repairstream! We had talked on Instagram and were both in the area, and it was great to meet them in person (more on that tomorrow!). Earning badges with friends is twice as fun!

Tidepooling

We timed our visit with low tide (you can always check the schedule online), so we headed down to the tide pools first to do a bit of exploring. This was our first experience and it was a lot of fun! Rachel started out a bit hesitant, but quickly warmed up to exploring more on her own. Touching the sea anemones and watching them curl up while sticking to our fingers was definitely a highlight!

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Explore the Visitor Center

The visitor center has some great exhibits so we spent some time learning about Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He led the first European expedition to explore the west coast of the United States. The kids loved trying on the old Spanish armor!

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Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Lit for the first time in 1855, this lighthouse was one of the first 8 constructed on the west coast. Located 422 feet above sea level, it was thought to be in a perfect location. They soon realized that fog and clouds often obscured the lighthouse from view, and in 1891 the light was extinguished and the keeper moved to a new, lower location farther down on the point.

Along with the historically significant attributes, Point Loma is just a beautiful place. IMG_5273-EditIMG_5271Whale Watch

We also walked along the Whale Watching path, where, during migration visitors can see Gray Whales. Unfortunately, none were in sight but we definitely enjoyed the view. Looking across the bay, the kids thought it was pretty awesome that we could see mountains in Mexico!IMG_5292

Visiting this park was definitely a highlight of our stay in San Diego, CA and we definitely recommend visiting!

For other family friendly activities in San Diego, check out this post: Beyond Sea World: 13 Other Things to Do in San Diego

Categories
National Parks Pennyslyvania

Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia

I remember visiting Philadelphia as a young teenager, but don’t remember many specifics. I’ve always wanted to go back, so when the opportunity arose to visit some friends while we were living on the East Coast we jumped at the chance!

When We Visited: November 2013
Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3
Tip: If you want a tour of Independence Hall on a weekend, get there EARLY. We had no idea and didn’t actually get to go in.

We spent a Saturday morning exploring downtown Philly, and one of our favorite stops was Independence National Historic Park, or more commonly known as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.

We arrived via train, and walked the last two blocks or so to the visitor center to pick up our Junior Ranger books. This was our young friend, Matty’s first experience with the program, so my kids deftly showed him the ropes.

IMG_2135Surprisingly there was quite a long line to see the Liberty Bell, but the kids really wanted to, so we worked on our books while daddy stood in line.

Afterward, we went into Independence Square and toured a couple of the outbuildings that used to house the House of Representatives and the Senate. Unfortunately, our guide was dry and boring and the kids were restless, so we snuck out about halfway through the tour. After talking with another family we encountered, we realized it was just our guide as their experience had been quite pleasant. 🙁

My favorite part was the printing shop in Franklin Square where we saw how Ben Franklin used to set the type on the old printing press, ink the type, and then press into the paper.

Overall, it was a great day! There is much more to see as the “park” is actually quite the collection of buildings and other historically significant areas in the downtown area. I felt we did the important parts though and the kids were excited about their badges.