Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

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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.

Here are my visits to all parks in New York.

Governors Island National Monument

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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!

Here are my visits to all parks in New York.

Great Egg Harbor River

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This park needs some explanation. Behind over-developed Ocean and Atlantic Cities in New Jersey, there’s a large underdeveloped lowland pitch pine forest with rivers, creeks, swamps and bogs. The ground is sandy, so colonial farmers wrote off the whole area as the “pine barrens”. There were a few failed attempts at industry, including mills, glassworks and munitions, but the lack of elevation meant little hydro power. In the 1920’s Atlantic City boomed, but the swamps were mostly for bootleg gin and mosquitoes.

In the 1970’s developers and environmentalists faced off to decide the fate of the remaining forest. By then, cranberry and blueberry farmers had begun commercial farming, roads crisscrossed the area, and there was a diverse mix of increasing rural and residential growth. Development is the primary cause of unnatural fire suppression, which changes the ecosystem over time. The pine land was becoming valuable and the forest at risk.

Environmentalists argued that the unique pine forest was home to several rare species—including Pygmy pine, a tree frog, an orchid and many birds—, and, by adapting to historic wildfires, the hot-burning pitch pine trees became dominant by regrowing faster than hardwoods. They also pointed out that underneath the entire sandy swamp was a huge pristine freshwater underground aquifer that supplied places like Atlantic City. Develop the forest, and you create big problems in the future. The battle is still ongoing, but much of the forest is now protected. UNESCO has recognized the Pinelands as an International Biosphere Reserve.

The park service only protects the main river—just the water—, and much of the land alongside the river is maintained piecemeal by different county’s parks. The largest undeveloped pine forest area is managed by the state, and there are four state forests in the Pinelands, along with many wildlife reserves and other parks. The Pinelands National Reserve is affiliated with but not run by the National Park Service. Since I’m visiting official national park units, my challenge was finding the river amid the forest.

I stayed at one of the county campgrounds near Mays Landing, Lake Lenape West in Atlantic County, where it’s easy to put a kayak in the water and paddle around. Lake Lenape itself is like a neighborhood recreation area, with a ridiculous little lighthouse, but if you paddle up to the top, there are nesting bald eagles where the river enters. There is at least one campground upstream, Winding River, that rents equipment, but be advised that there are likely obstructions from low hanging trees potentially blocking progress near that section of the river. Estell Manor Park downstream has a nature center with extremely knowledgeable park partners who patiently explained all this to me and directed me to the side channel in the river above, where there’s an artesian well and the overgrown ruins of an old business. It’s a fascinating area in an underrated state that just requires a bit of extra effort to figure out and explore.

Here are my visits to all parks in New Jersey.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

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The boulder under the Osprey to the left marks the first flight takeoff, and the three stone markers under the right Osprey mark the first three landings. The fourth landing is marked by the white stone marker visible to the far right.

While the first flight happened here in North Carolina—at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk—due to favorable wind conditions and relatively soft sand, most of the work and final testing of a workable aircraft that could turn was done in Dayton. Inside the museum here you can see a full scale reproduction of the 1903 Flyer, and outside there’s a sculpture depicting the first flight. It’s a beautiful spot with a huge monument on the hill where they conducted gliding tests, and, yes, it’s still very windy.

Here are my visits to all parks in North Carolina.

James A Garfield National Historic Site

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For some reason, the volunteers giving the tour did not appreciate my ‘Dad joke’ references to the cat from the comics (no relation). James Garfield was a veteran of Shiloh and Chickamauga and an effective General. He was also a large man, a skilled orator and quite intelligent, devising mathematical proofs, etc. At the 1880 Republican Convention, Garfield went to support John Sherman, of the Sherman Antitrust Act, but Sherman couldn’t win the nomination. After over 30 failed ballots, someone proposed Garfield, and he became the nominee. Garfield built a path from the railroad line at the back of his Ohio property to his front porch and invited all comers to hear him speak. This new ‘front porch’ campaign was a hit, and he won.

After only a few months in office, Garfield was fatally shot in the back by a failed applicant for a Civil Service job. It took months for him to die, and a rich friend raised a considerable amount of money to take care of his widow. So, the most significant policy which arose from his brief administration was to reform the Civil Service process, so that the President wouldn’t have to meet anyone who wanted a job and hand them out (often corruptly). They also granted pensions to the widows Garfield and Lincoln.

Garfield’s widow, now rich, added 20 rooms or so to her house and built a private Presidential Library upstairs, a first. The house is mostly filled with authentic items and is remarkably well restored. The room above is the best lit and shows the finery. The library no longer contains Garfield’s papers, but it contains many books, prints and busts of authors, and Garfield’s congressional desk. Based on his Congressional career, one could argue that Garfield would have been a good President, supporting African American suffrage, voting for Johnson’s impeachment, etc., but it’s neither clear nor a flawless record. We’ll never really know.

“I’m feeling down.
Down, down, down.
Down, dooby down-down.”

Garfield

Here are my visits to all parks in Ohio.

Standing On the Shoulders of Giants

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100 years before I started this trip, my grandfather and two of his rambunctious young friends drove a 1919 Hudson Essex convertible on a summer road trip from Massachusetts to Wyoming and back.  Dreaming of Zane Grey’s purple sage, they packed their pistols and loaded their camping gear into a trailer.  Every other day or so, they had to fix either the car, the tires or the trailer.  The three of them took turns driving 50 miles each per day, while one rode in the trailer.  I know this, because he kept a journal, which my uncle has lent me.

They evaded two likely robbery attempts, and enjoyed free meals from curious folks along the way.  They hunted, fished, rode horses and slept under the stars.  One shot himself in the foot while trying to draw on a rabbit, and once, near the end of the trip, two of them had a bare-knuckled brawl.  In many towns out west there were more “Indians” than anyone else, and they observed a bank robber caught by cowboys before he could escape on horseback. Tough guy that he was, my grandfather wrote his mother regularly, describing their adventures, asking for money and enclosing pressed wildflowers. 

“I would not go by train if they gave me free rides both ways.
We have lived and seen life in its rawest phases and have lived each state as it came along.
We have been right with nature and also have seen real life among all classes of people.”

— F. Marsh, ‘somewhere between Meadow and Chugwater Wyoming’, July 19, 1921

An avid birder and naturalist, he carefully recorded his sightings: “many big red headed woodpeckers” in Ohio, Illinois “full of small screech owls”, “hundreds of wild pigeons and red headed woodpeckers” in Iowa, “villages of prairie dogs”, elk, beaver, bear, a badger, a pine marten (weasel), various ducks, whiskey jacks, flocks of “blue and spruce” grouse, yellowlegs, “flocks of whippoorwills” and a wolverine in Wyoming (with deep snow in August at 10,000’). Several of these species are no longer seen where he saw them. They spent a month camping in Wyoming and neighboring states and also stopped in many of the same places I’ve been: Seneca Falls, Indiana Dunes, Devil’s Tower, Mt Rushmore, along the Oregon Trail, the Custer battlefield, Wind Cave, the Badlands and Yellowstone.

The trip changed my grandfather. By the end of his journal, his writing is a bit bolder, more confident and even defiant. The adversity, rough roads, lack of funds, gruff humor and necessity of keeping in good spirits while solving practical problems creatively, must have changed all three friends for the better (despite the fisticuffs). 30 years later, he took his two kids across country on another epic journey recorded by my uncle. Another 20 years after that, and he was still telling great stories and reading The Roosevelt Bears (see photo) to me and my siblings.

On this Father’s Day, I’m thinking of my Dad, who either took me or sent me on field trips as a kid to almost every park in New England and many more on the way down to DC. He got along great with his father-in-law, and they loved sharing stories and laughing. For them, adventures were one of the most important parts of life, and I wish I had told them more how much they inspired me to see the world and learn. So, if you have the chance to tell your father (or any father-figure for you) how they have inspired you to be better, then please do so. Thanks.

Assateague National Seashore

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This sleepy foal was waiting by the roadside while his Mom grazed. The wild horses on the Maryland shore have adapted since escaping Spanish shipwrecks maybe 400 years ago. Their fur is thicker, legs short & stocky, and they have large bellies to help process the extra water needed to eliminate all the salt on their fodder. Colonists also kept horses on the island to evade livestock taxes, so the gene pool is healthy. The park service has an innovative birth control program to limit the mares to one foal, which involves firing (and retrieving) darts, and that keeps the population under control. While they’re not a native species, the environment would likely have had some ungulates (hooved animals), so the park service supports this popular wild population that run free on the entire island.

The park is in the Delmarva area—meaning Delaware, Maryland and Virginia all share the peninsula—, and the island runs around 40 miles along Maryland’s Atlantic coast. The Chincoteague Bay side is more scenic with more birds, but the beach side gets more visitors. There are a couple easy boardwalk hikes at the north end, along with a state beach section and access to the long roadless midsection. The Marsh Nature Trail was the prettiest when I visited, but check conditions at the visitor center before crossing the bridge to the island. The Virginia end of the island supports a different, less wild herd which is managed by ‘saltwater cowboys’, mostly firefighters, who sell the excess foals.

Here are my visits to all parks in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

Shenandoah National Park

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The park is in Virginia and connects to Great Smoky via the Blue Ridge Parkway: hundreds of miles of winding wild beauty. The skyline drive is wondrous and many of the outlooks are magnificent, but you really should stop and go for a hike. The ultimate hike would be the Appalachian Trail, but there are many shorter ones of varying difficulty. I saw folks biking, but most looked unhappy. The park ranges from 1400’ to over 4000’ with lots of ups and downs for over 100 miles in between.

Many folks stop in the middle at Big Meadows (milepost 50) which has a Visitor Center, big campground and lodge with restaurant and taproom. I was less interested in the meadow than the forest, so I stopped at Skyland (milepost 40 from the north). They don’t have a visitor center or campground, but they have a lodge, similar dining, horseback riding and free EV charging (J1772 & Tesla Destination).

From there I hiked west past the old Massanutten Lodge and out to Miller’s Head, where a family told me about the Whiteoak Canyon trail on the east side. So I added another 5 round trip miles to get to the waterfall above, where another nice family helpfully provide scale by standing near the top. It’s easy to spot a dozen types of wildflowers, birds, and larger wildlife. About a dozen deer crossed the road ahead of me, so drive carefully!

Everyone may already know this, but neither the Shenandoah River, Valley nor Mountains are within the park. Those are all to the west, and the best place to see the river is from the Shenandoah Valley Overlook near the north entrance.

Here are my visits to all parks in Virginia.

Catoctin Mountain Park

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In July of 1929 the police raided the Blue Blazes Stills here and a deputy was killed. The original operation was destroyed, but bootleggers produced thousands of gallons of ‘whiskey’ in 18 huge vats. When FDR was elected to deal with the Great Depression, he decided to clean up the eastern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Maryland, regrow the forest and employ people to create campgrounds, trails, rustic lodges and the bootleg still exhibit above. Camp David is in the immediate vicinity, and since I wasn’t invited there, I stayed here in one of the historic lodges at Camp Misty Mountain in my sleeping bag, a short walk to parking and restrooms, for $50. The sites are open from May to October, tent sites cost $30, larger facilities are available for groups, and there’s even an accessible pool, which FDR would appreciate.

Here are my visits to all parks in Maryland.

Prince William Forest Park

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These are the Quantico Falls, within this massive 16,000 acre Virginia park with CCC campgrounds. There are remnants of natives, freed slaves and farmers ‘displaced’—evicted by the government—during the Depression. In WWII Wild Bill Donovan took over the park to train his OSS spies in the forest. You’ve probably heard of the nearby Marine & FBI bases. Now, the park is popular for camping, hiking, biking and orienteering.

Here are my visits to all parks in Virginia.