The Big Picture -Â By Glynn Wilson -Â GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK, Tenn. — Are you suffering from cabin fever from the COVID winter? Take a drive in nature in a park near you. When the forecast showed sunny weather and a high of 54 for Sunday, Feb. 21, I just had to get…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. — Well, truth be told, it’s not exactly a secret. This is one of the well known national parks, one of two Crown Jewels of the East along with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Yet it always feels like an amazing…
Staff Report The National Park Service will provide free admission to all national parks on September 26 for National Public Lands Day — one of the nation’s largest annual celebrations of the great American outdoors. Established by the National Environmental Education Foundation in 1994, National Public Lands Day encourages environmental stewardship and access to public…
The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg.…
By Glynn Wilson – PENSACOLA, Fla. — If you are feeling cooped up or claustrophobic and locked up in your suburban home glued to the bad news on cable television about coronavirus, you may want to consider another way to get away from other people: Visit a national park during this time of national crisis.…
By Glynn Wilson – The National Park Service will host special events and provide free entrance to all national parks this year in honor of the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20. The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an official day of service in remembrance of the man whose…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the world is focused on President Donald Trump’s latest crazy tweet, pulling U.S. troops out of Syria and allowing Russia and Turkey to release ISIS fighters and destroy the Kurds, U.S. allies, along with the impeachment investigation in the House, there are all kinds of under the…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was a cold day in the nation’s capital on February 21, 1885 when the Washington Monument was finally dedicated on the National Mall after decades of fits and starts and problems finding matching stones and money to build it, according to the National Park Service, and there…
Secret Vistas- By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In late 2016, on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in the United States, a rare white fawn was born in the woods of Greenbelt National Park, where visitors come from all over the country and the world to see the the neo-classical architecture,…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — So you’re a patriotic American or an international admirer of the United States and you’ve always wanted to visit the nation’s capital city? The Neo-classical architecture? All the buildings, memorials and other sites related to the United States federal government? All the Smithsonian museums? Maybe you’ve hesitated, thinking…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Greenbelt National Park just north of the nation’s capital was the scene of a historic gathering of Native Americans, Japanese Buddhist monks and Americans interested in bringing about an era of spiritual peace 40 years ago in the summer of 1978. David Williams of Santa Barbara California was…
By David Underhill – MOBILE, Ala. – Advocates for a fee-based definition of all value are having spasms of ecstasy over the plans for giant increases in entrance fees at the nation’s most popular national parks. The America Feesters, as these patriots call themselves, praise interior secretary Ryan Zinke for his courageous politically incorrect decision,…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nothing is more American than the iconic National Park Ranger hat. The idea of protecting nature and providing public access to natural beauty began in the United States and has spread across the world, but now it’s at risk. While the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the latest move by the Trump administration and the Republicans in Congress to weaken federal regulations and conduct a war on science and the environment, Congressman Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would pave the way for more oil and gas…
By Glynn Wilson – YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – The snow was coming down pretty hard October 5 when we pulled into the Old Faithful Geyser compound, grand central station in the world’s first national park. That’s where private concessionaires Delaware North and Xantara operate the Old Faithful Inn and Lodge, a general store and…
President Barack Obama took a few days to go on a working vacation this week and, to help celebrate the 100th anniverrsary of the National Park Service, the first family visited Yosemite National Park, one of the nation’s most popular national parks. In a brief speech on Saturday at Sentinel Bridge with the 2,425 feet…
Experience Nature in the Wild on the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service – America’s national parks, monuments and lands are uniquely different — in their make-up and their locale — but they all seek to tell a part of America’s story. National Park Week is coming up April 16-24 in one of the…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama released his proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2017 on Tuesday, calling for significant increases in funding for the National Park Service as the agency celebrates its centennial year. “The president’s proposed budget, which significantly increases funding for national parks, further shows the president’s commitment to protecting and restoring…
Private Company Sues Park Service for $50 Million Claiming Ownership of Park Names, Including Yosemite – By Glynn Wilson – A private contractor running many of the operations in America’s national parks is now suing the federal government claiming it owns the intellectual property rights of famous names like Yosemite National Park, along with the…
By Bob Wells – After a few days at the Grand Tetons it was time to move on. Because Judy and I had spent so much time here last year I had most of the photos I wanted, this trip was all about the wildflowers that were in bloom. Next up on my agenda was…
