Great Smoky Mountains NP

A Wondrous Diversity of Life:

Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian Mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park. Plan your visit today!

Nov 17, 2022

We headed to the Park today and decided in a return to the Cades Cove loop was going to be our destination this visit. We had Daisy with us, and we had a perfect day to take in the sites and scenery of the loop. We had a great sighting of a Black Bear forging for acorns. Daisy got in a couple of walks and enjoyed getting out in nature. 

Sept 4-7 2012

We spent three days exploring the Great Smoky NP and could have spent a few more days exploring, there is so much to see. There are some great trails for hiking but only a few that allow dogs, so our girls only got to hike at the Oconaluftee Trail. We got to hike up to Clingmans Dome, the highest point in TN -- what a view. We broke up the park with a day trip around Cades Cove Loop then a day East that included a 25-mile trip up the Blue Ridge parkway.

 Click here for photos of our visit on Nov 14 2022

NPS web page

Our 79th NPS Unit and 13th National Park

Daisy Mae at Cades Cove Loop

Lizzy and Molly on the trail at Oconaluftee

                        

                                 

                                   

                                   

                                    

Pea Ridge NMP

 

The Battle That Saved Missouri For The Union:

On March 7-8, 1862, over 23,000 soldiers fought here to decide the fate of Missouri and was a turning point of the war in the West. The 4,300-acre battlefield honors those who fought and died on these grounds. Pea Ridge was the most pivotal Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River and is one of the most intact Civil War battlefields in the United State

30 Sept 2022

The Civil War battlefields West of the Mississippi are less known about and talked about. This major battlefield is one of those sites that while not as talked about was pivotal in the outcome of the Civil War and saved Missouri for the Union. We started our visit by taking in the movie at the Visitor Center. A well-done movie that explained the battle in great detail and set us up to understand the details of the battlefield when we drove the loop road. We than took in the exhibits at the Visitor Center then headed out to the loop road that takes you to the major points of battlefield with ten stops. This loop road also offers great views and scenic overlooks. We spent 4 hours here and feel we got the most out of this park. We did have Daisy Mae with us and even though they do not offer a Bark Ranger program she had a great time taking in a few longs walks. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

156th NPS Unit

Daisy Mae taking in view

George Washington Carver NM

Not Just The Peanut Man: 

The young child known as the "Plant Doctor" tended his secret garden while observing the day-to-day operations of a 19th century farm. Nature and nurture ultimately influenced George on his quest for education to becoming a renowned agricultural scientist, educator, and humanitarian.

29 Sept 2022

We took in this site with a basic knowledge and understanding of George Washington Carver, but we left with a much broader knowledge and understanding of a Man that had great influence and impact on modern farming and horticulture despite the hardships and prejudice he faced. We first took in a short movie at the Visitor Center, this was a great start to learning the entire life's story of George Carver. After the movie we took in all the Visitor Center had to offer. We then headed out to the trail loop and had a relaxing walk with Daisy who was working on her Bark Ranger program. The trail is a little over a mile and was very relaxing. After she finished her program, she was awarded her second Bark Ranger tag. This park can be seen a few hours. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 155th NPS Unit

Daisy Mae on the trail working on her Bark Ranger Badge

Bighorn Canyon NRA

                               

Spectacular Views, Endless Opportunity:

The vast, wild landscape of Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area offers visitors unparalleled opportunities to immerse themselves in the natural world, and experience the wonders of this extraordinary place. With over 120,000 acres, one can find an astounding diversity in ecosystems, wildlife, and more than 10,000 years of human history to explore.

July 7, 2016

We made a revisit today to continual to explore and take in all that this park has to offer. We did see a few of the wild horses this visit. 

Aug 5, 2011
We spent a day here finding the Heard's of wild horses and other wildlife. The views from top of the canyon are breath taking and can give the Grand Canyon a good run for best view for a canyon. We did not make it to the North side of the park, so this is another one to go on the return list.

NPS webpage

Our 58th NPS Unit 

                                                  

Bents Old Fort NHS

 

Castle of the Plains:

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site features a reconstructed 1840s adobe fur trading post on the mountain branch of the Santa Fe Trail where traders, trappers, travelers, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. Today, living historians recreate the sights, sounds, and smells of the past with guided tours, demonstrations and special events.

6 June 2022

We had a beautiful day to take in this unit. First thing we learned was that a fort is not aways a fort in the way we think of them as being military establishments. When the Fort was reconstructed, its authenticity was based on the use of archaeological excavations, paintings, and original sketches, diaries and other existing historical data from the period. We were greeted by a wonderful volunteer and one of the forts many cats. After getting the history of the fort from the volunteer, we took in the movie, it was well done and explained the reason this trading post - fort was so important for the Santa Fe Trail. We got to explore the fort after that. We enjoyed taking in this site and spent around 4 hours taking it in.

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 154th NPS Unit

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

A Walk through History:

The 450-mile foot trail that became known as the Natchez Trace was the lifeline through the Old Southwest.  You can experience portions of that journey the way earlier travelers did - on foot.  Today there are five separate trails totaling over 60 miles and they are administered by the Natchez Trace Parkway.

16 Feb 2022

See Natchez Trace Parkway

22 Feb 2020 

See Natchez Trace Parkway

2 Sept 2018
After taking in the Natchez Parkway Visitors Center, we headed to a small section of the original Trail. When we take in the Parkway, we will piggyback visits to the trail as it follows the Parkway.

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 131st NPS Unit

Natchez Trace Parkway

 

A Drive through 10,000 Years of History: 

The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive through three states. It roughly follows the "Old Natchez Trace" a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, "Kaintucks," European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. Today, people can enjoy not only a scenic drive but also hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway.

Feb 16, 2022, Mile 68 - 104

Today we took in another section of the Parkway, starting were we left off last trip. there is not as much to see along this portion of the Parkway. We stopped at a few turnouts along this section including a few old stand sites and Civil War sites. We made a stop at the Clinton Mississippi Visitor Center. There is a small Museum detailing the area around Clinton. We then made a stop at the Mississippi Arts Center. We enjoyed seeing all the local art. This concluded our trip for the day, we still have much more to see on the Parkway and will continual this trip later. 

Feb 22, 2020, Mile 0 - 67

Took in the first 67 miles today. First stopping at Mount Locust Inn. Mount Locust is one of the few remaining stands remaining on the Parkway. Stands were the B&B's of the time offering a place to sleep and eat on the walk up the Trace. We next made a stop at the Emerald Mound. Emerald Mound is the largest known mound made by the native people of the area, we continued on to the Sunken Trace. This is an area of the Trace that is highly eroded due to the sheer numbers of travelers on the trace. After the Sunken Trace we made our way up to Owens Creek waterfall. We were lucky in our timing as this waterfall normally offers very little to no flow but due to the heavy rain, we got to see it flowing much the way it did back in the days of the Trace being active. We had a great day traveling the Parkway and look forward to adding more sections.

Sept 2, 2018, Mile 260 - 266

While exploring the Tupelo Mississippi area we got to take in a small section of the Parkway. We took in the Visitor Center at Tupelo (Mile 266). Great Visitor center that not only serves the Parkway but also the Tupelo and Brice's Crossroads Battle Fields. We have this down as a return trip to drive the entire Parkway.

Click here for photos of our visit Sept 2 2018

Click here for photos of our visit Feb 22 2020

NPS Website

Our 130th NPS Unit

               

                 

Poverty Point NM

 

Follow In the Footsteps of Ancient Engineers:

Now a nearly forgotten culture, Poverty Point at its peak 3,000 years ago was part of an enormous trading network that stretched for hundreds of miles across the continent. It was - and is - also an engineering marvel, the product of five million hours of labor. Explore the culture of a highly sophisticated people who left behind one of North America’s most important archeological sites.

1 Feb 2022

This site is operated by the State of Louisiana. We headed to the Visitors Center and took in all the exhibits. The exhibits were very educational and told the history of this area very well. We also took in the movie that is offered at the Visitors Center. After taking in all that the Visitors Center had to offer, we headed out to take the 2.4-mile loop road around the site. We stopped at a few of the mounds and walked to the top of the largest mound "A". While driving the loop we were treated to a wildlife encounter of a family of racoons. This was an amazing site and hard to comprehend the amount of work it took to build these mounds and ridges. We spent 3 hours here.  

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 153rd NPS Unit

Cane River Creole NHP

A River and Its People: 

The Cane River region is home to a unique culture, the Creoles. Generations of the same families of workers, enslaved and tenant, and owners lived on these lands for over 200 years. The park tells their stories and preserves the cultural landscape of Oakland and Magnolia Plantations, two of the most intact Creole cotton plantations in the United States.

30 Jan 2022

We started this visit at Oakland Plantation. There are no Visitor Centers for this unit, it was recently announced that work on a new Visitor Center has been started. We headed to the general store that is currently serving as a contact station. We toured the store and small gift shop. We headed over to the main house and got to take a self-guided tour of the house. The house was built in 1821. This is a unique house, as the family lived in the house till the early 1990's. The house still has the furnishings up to the time the family turned the house over to the Park Service, so there is a mix of furnishings from the early 1800's to modern times. The house has been added onto serval times including a modern kichen. We then toured the rest of the grounds before heading out to visit Magnolia plantation. When we reached Magnolia plantation, we discovered we had the plantation completely to ourselves. The main house was rebuilt in 1896 after being destroyed during the civil war and is still owned by the original family and not open to the public. We did get to take in the care takers house and slave hospital, and a few of the slave quarters. Both sites can be seen in 3 to 4 hours. We will have to make a return trip when the Visitor Center is competed. 

Click here for photos of our visit

NPS Website

Our 152nd NPS Unit