Samuel Colt sold a lot of guns to Russia, one of their first major clients, so he built the original iconic onion dome that defines the Hartford CT skyline (the one above is a replacement after a fire). You may notice the “rampant colt” on the top, which symbolizes loyalty, as the animal is breaking a lance to defend its fallen knight. The dome is actually one reason for the delay in converting the park to full status, as leaseholders control access to the dome which the park service needs. The two original brick buildings that the park service owns are in dire need of restoration too. There’s a nice walk through the large recreational Colt park to find his estranged brother’s house and through the company town to a church commissioned by the widow Elizabeth Colt, who ran the company for decades. Until this park opens officially, you may want to visit the Springfield Armory to learn more about the development of guns in the Connecticut River Valley.
My remaining parks are fewer and far between, so starting today I’m posting every other day.
Yes, I took the ferry. No, there is no other way to visit. As a reminder, I have two goals: first to visit the parks without using any carbon fueled vehicles and second to enjoy the parks even if that requires brief carbon vehicle use. So I arrived in NYC by car, walked to Castle Clinton—which is an official Statue of Liberty park office (stamp available)—, and then took the ferry.
I’ve been here before, as a boy, a tourist, with my kids, and now on my own. As usual, some folks visiting from abroad ask me to take their photo, since this World Heritage Site is the highlight of many trips to America. For 62 years immigrants came past the statue on their way to Ellis Island, now a fascinating part of the park. America, an immigrant nation, welcomed them to this huge city in this grand harbor under Lady Liberty’s torch, young and old, rich and poor, from all parts of the globe. Now, together in the city, we share cuisines from around the world, and we learn to overcome the petty ignorance that must never separate us.
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.”
I figure I climbed Mt Katahdin in Maine over a dozen times as a kid, so I decided just to hike out here to Orin Falls (above), about 6 miles round trip. Surprisingly little has changed in the decades since I last visited. The logging roads are still long, unpaved, bouncy and largely unmarked, and they still have lean to’s for the Appalachian Trail that officially ends on the mountain. The Swift Brook Road one lane bridge is still spectacular, and there are still moose here, wandering out in the roads and ducking into the woods to avoid being photographed. (Definitely a “save this park for offline use” ahead of time if you’re using the NPS app, otherwise you could get lost. My watch kept asking me if I wanted to send an SOS.)
The counselors/ environmentalists who brought us here as summer campers to teach us about nature would be pleased that this is now a national monument, but they would see that not everything has remained unchanged. Man has dramatically altered our climate, so the species here are virtually all in decline. The environmentalists may have won a battle over the logging industry here, but we’re losing the war. On the tour road I stopped at Lynx Pond—one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen as a teenager—, but it was surrounded by dead trees and was much drier than I remember. The slow growing forests of Canada and the northern states are at risk of wildfire, if they’re not burning already. It is not enough to save places like this. We must also save the climate.
The island itself is off limits, but there’s a viewpoint, a visitor center, some statues, and a rocky cove. The lighter land in the background is Canada. As is often the case in New England, I visited here as a child, although I had forgotten. Rediscovery is rejuvenating.
The French were determined to establish a trading post here in 1604, but the winter killed half of them. One of the survivors was Samuel Champlain, who went on to found Port Royal in Nova Scotia—the first successful colony north of Florida—and Quebec. He also accurately mapped the coastline, opened fur trade with the natives and was de facto Governor of New France.
The park is in Canada, but the bridge to the Campobello Island is from Maine. I use my passport card for trips like this, where I just drive across the border for a few hours. I also crossed the border into Juárez in January, so this is my third country by EV. The park is an affiliated park, jointly run by both the US and Canada. Obviously, the staff are very nice, polite and helpful.
The Roosevelts used to vacation here in summer, and one of their children was born here. FDR came down with polio here in his 30s, although he likely contracted it before arriving. The house tour is fascinating with various toys and artifacts of their summers, and there’s a large nature preserve which has exceptional views at Liberty Point. However, the best part is the Tea with Eleanor.
At 11 and 3 (Atlantic time is 1 hour ahead of Maine), the staff give visitors free tea and cookies in one of the cottages while they present the life and achievements of Eleanor Roosevelt. They describe her trip to Tuskegee, her wartime work with the Red Cross, her friendship with Mary McLeod Bethune, her concert at the Lincoln Memorial for Marion Anderson, and here work on the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to name a few. One of my favorite park experiences.
Well, Acadia, I’m back! My first National Park visit was here, on Cadillac Mountain at sunrise, some decades ago as a happy camper. We wanted to be the first in the US to see the sunrise, and—assuming nobody was awake on West Quoddy Head a bit further east—we were. This visit, I decided to get a photo before sunset, since I had already done the cold, dark and windy sunrise. Then I had an excellent meal at Geddy’s in Bar Harbor and slept until it was already light.
Acadia, in Maine, has excellent hiking on old carriage trails around ponds and lakes around Mt Desert Island—which refers to an area of bald rocky top mountains, not sandy deserts. Also, there’s kayaking, tide pooling, a pebbly “sandy” beach, bicycling, star gazing and more. The park dates back to 1929, and it’s popular enough that you need to buy a timed-entry ticket online to drive to the mountaintop above. I just pulled over at an overlook, ordered from recreation.gov and drove up. This park inspired me to visit as many national parks as I can, so I’m glad to be back, even if it took me a few decades.
Per Tripadvisor, this site doesn’t even make the top 10 things to do in Salem Massachusetts. Honestly, I would recommend the Peabody Essex Museum, the House of Seven Gables, and a nighttime witch walking tour before I’d send someone here. Not that it isn’t an interesting site that describes the port’s peak between the Revolution and the War of 1812, it’s just that there’s a lot of fascinating history in Salem. In the several 18th century buildings near the wharf run by the park service, you can learn about the British East India Company, trade with the West Indies, slave traders, Polish immigrants, and more than you wanted to know about how goods cleared customs and were taxed (Hawthorne worked there but spent his time thinking up The Scarlet Letter). There’s a replica tall ship, the Friendship, docked on the wharf, but it’s under restoration—looks better inside. The 19th century Derby Light Station above still functions (solar, upgraded from oil) and sits at the end of historic Derby Wharf, which is quite long and gives folks a nice view of the harbor.
After Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley were assassinated, Teddy Roosevelt was the first to receive Secret Service protection. At 42, Teddy is our youngest president, the war hero who led a cavalry charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, becoming the only president to earn the Medal of Honor, posthumously. A student of our weak navy in 1812, Roosevelt not only built new ships, but projected them in force around the world, building the Panama Canal in part to enable America to shift fleets between oceans rapidly. He was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize, for negotiating the end of the Russo-Japanese War, after bringing the parties together here at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay on Long Island in New York.
The north wing above is the trophy room of his life and presidency, and many of the artifacts were gifts, including the tusks given by the King of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), the Remington bronze Bronco Buster given by his regiment, the samurai doll given by Admiral Togo, the swords given by the Emperor of Japan and the carpet from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). The hat and saber on the elk horn on the left are from Teddy’s rough rider gear. Roosevelt shot most of the animals displayed, including the Cape buffalo—the most dangerous of the big 5 safari animals—over the entryway mantle, but the the polar bear hide in the living room was from North Pole explorer Robert Peary and the Siberian tiger hides were gifts from the Empress Dowager of China, including one in daughter Alice’s room after she threatened to run away unless she got it.
The children recalled being “expected to have fun, and we did”. Thomas Edison, John Muir and first solo circumnavigator Joshua Slocum were a few of the many guests with standing invitations to dinner, so long as they helped educate Teddy’s kids. The kids took boats out into the bay, traipsed through the woods, rode horses, learned to shoot, raced and played, ate fruit from the orchards and drank milk from their dairy. They were small witnesses to history, as Roosevelt ran the country from the Summer White House and met a constant stream of dignitaries.
For Teddy, his birthplace in New York was where his mother and first wife died, and his ranch in North Dakota was where he grieved and grew. After death, he would be remembered on Mt Rushmore and on his island in the Potomac. But, as much as he loved world travel, Teddy lived his happiest days here with Edith and his family. Edith held his life together, supported him and his presidency, lived here for almost thirty years after his death and is buried next to him on the property.
“Well, my dear, I was married to Theodore Roosevelt.”
Edith Roosevelt on being asked why she never remarried.
Three different forts on this New York City island, part of harbor defenses including the star fort base of the Statue of Liberty (above left), were built just before the war of 1812, so the British didn’t invade the city again. Great.
But the amazing part is the rest of the island, which is both extremely close to and completely different from the city. The view above from a replanted woody hill extends around the whole harbor. While many military buildings are still empty waiting for renovations and more ideas, most public spaces are wonderful. There are hammocks, Adirondack chairs, picnic tables, grills, bike rentals, a day spa with pools facing the skyline, an excellent Neapolitan pizza place, a cafe, a patio bar, an oyster bar, and a taco truck with unimpeded views of the Brooklyn Bridge. And there are lots of birds! And an oyster shell recycling operation that builds new oyster beds, and a solar powered plastic recycling 3D printing enterprise. And there’s space and art and no crowds and the ferry only costs $4. Perfect side trip while passing through Manhattan!
Harriet lived in Auburn—when not on the road—from 1859 until her death in 1913. The photo above recently discovered locally is the youngest one on display here. One local visitor said that his grandmother used to visit her and sit in her lap, and he brought more photos. The long term docent, a Vietnam Vet, used to live in the Tubman house and helped lead the effort to raise money for the restoration. Tubman purchased seven acres here from William Seward, of ‘Seward’s Folly’ fame, and a few of her belongings are on display—including her bed, bible and sewing machine—in the old folks home she managed here.
The park rangers are in town, while the home tours are run by the AME Zion Church, an official park partner. Until the operating agreements are finalized, the partner organization runs the majority of the park with a small devoted staff of around one, and the park service runs the church in town which Harriet attended.
I highly recommend reserving the tour, given at 10 and 2. I believe the docent’s name is Paul Carter, and he is both extremely knowledgeable and an excellent storyteller. For example, many of the visitors had heard about secret messages hidden in quilts that supposedly were used to give directions on the Underground Railroad. But there is little to no evidence of this, and logically it isn’t clear how these messages would have been understood by plantation slaves.
When Harriet was seven, she was spotted eating a cube of sugar, which meant being whipped mercilessly. Instead, she hid for days in a pigsty, fighting for scraps to eat. As a teen she received the head injury which caused a type of epilepsy that she interpreted as giving her visions. This was in Maryland, where she feared being sold down to the Deep South where conditions were much worse.
Keenly aware of the brutality and deadly reality of slavery, she began organizing escapes for herself and her relatives. With support of Abolitionists on the Underground Railroad, she became its most legendary conductor, personally leading 13 missions of hundreds of miles from plantation to Canada on foot, often crossing the border near here, rescuing 70 directly, more indirectly and losing none. She gave away her own money, spoke to Abolitionist groups, and raised money to end slavery. During the Civil War she spied behind enemy lines and led troops into combat rescuing many hundreds more. Later in life she spoke in support of women’s suffrage, with her friends Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. This iconic American hero stood less than five feet tall, and she more than deserves her place on the $20 bill.
If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Zero Carbon Travel 