“Everyone needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir, 1869 The Yosemite (1912), page 256. Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In reporting annual visitation numbers to America’s national parks for 2021, the…
Full text of “John Brown. An address by Frederick Douglass, at the fourteenth anniversary of Storer College, Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, May 30, 1881”: source text edited from print style to web press style JOHN BROWN: AN ADDRESS FREDERICK DOUGLASS, FOURTEENTH ANNIVERSARY, STORER COLLEGE, Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, May 30, 1881. DOVER, N. H.: MORNING…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Park Service will offer five entrance fee-free days in 2022, free admission days designed to encourage discovery and visitation of the country’s variety of national parks. With at least one in every state, national parks are accessible places to visit to refresh the body, mind and spirit, according to…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON. D.C. — The National Park Service got its first Senate confirmed director in five years Thursday when Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland swore in Charles F. “Chuck” Sams III in front of the Lincoln Memorial. The National Park Service languished under the presidency of Donald Trump, according to Roll…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – HARPERS FERRY, WV — John Brown was hanged for his insurrection against slavery in 1859 and is blamed by some for helping to start the Civil War. Donald Trump still walks free to play golf and run for office again after his insurrection to overthrow the United States…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN, Md. — The rain has stopped for now as the days grow shorter and cooler. The Autumnal equinox will be upon us next Wednesday, September 23, when the day and night will be of equal length, marking the start of Autumn. I would love nothing…
Escaping the Tiger Mosquitoes Blown in With Hurricane Ida – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Hurricane Ida blew up from New Orleans, through Nashville and up U.S. Interstate 81 through Virginia and Maryland this week, ultimately plowing through Pennsylvania and drowning people in their basements in New York,…
It didn’t have to be this way. – Oh Alabama, New Orleans and Little Rock too It didn’t have to be this way When a free shot would do. YouTube: Neil Young – Alabama The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s 72 degrees in the city Trump called a swamp.…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN, Md. — While tens of thousands of people flock to the iconic national parks of the American West in the summer travel season, exacerbating an already disastrous mega-drought and experiencing a record-breaking heat wave and an already out of control wildfire season, there are lesser known…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAINS, Md. — I must admit that it does get boring and even annoying at times to be right most of the time, and ahead of one’s time. Maybe I should strive to be more behind the times like most newspapers, universities and other Southern writers,…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — James Rhodes of Coulterville, California can attest to how hot it was in June, even at 1800 feet above sea level in the shadow of Yosemite National Park and only a three hour drive from San Francisco. “It’s been really hot,” he said, with one wildfire in the…
CAMPING EAST – By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN, Md. — It’s only the first official week of summer and it’s already peaking out at 91 degrees, according to the official forecast in the nation’s capital today. But here, in the campground in the shade, it’s only 83 degrees, according to the New American Journal…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. — The American west is on fire again with wildfires burning in 11 states. Temperatures are setting records with highs in the 120 degree range. A heat dome hovers over the region, and the devastating drought continues unabated. New Orleans and the states along…
Scientists Urge People to Stop Feeding the Birds – “Man has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall. He will end by destroying the earth.” — Albert Schweitzer By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN, Md. — In 1962, before President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, he set up a special…
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – Abandoning the cities and suburbs for a camper van or other type of Recreational Vehicle in nature is becoming a reality for hundreds of thousands of people, and not just because of the coronavirus pandemic, the changing climate and economy and the movie Nomadland. It doesn’t have to…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON — The Biden-Harris administration submitted the President’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 to Congress on Friday, and it calls for a new investment of $3.5 billion in the National Park Service to help modernize the parks and park infrastructure. It calls for new investments in conservation efforts, expanding visitor access…
“I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life…” – Henry David Thoreau Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN, Md. — Thousands of Americans are waking up to the advantages of traveling and immersing themselves in nature and even living full time in Recreational Vehicles, making the transition…
The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – An amazing thing happened at the time of our return to the nation’s capitol region in May. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a surprising announcement on Thursday, catching many people by surprise, including those who work in the White House. “If…
By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. — How do you tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly? Don’t try this at home or in a national park. Sneak up on the bear and kick it in the rump, then run and climb a tree. If the bear climbs up the…
Staff Report – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a clean break from the anti-nature politics and policies of the previous administration, the Biden-Harris administration has begun to outline a different vision for how the United States can work collaboratively to conserve and restore public lands, waters and wildlife that in many ways support and sustain the…
