Descriptive information about America’s national parks, monuments and memorials, often with a photo or two.
NewMexiKen reader Cat’s Mom Tanya sent along a link to a one-minute video produced by her dad, the supervisory ranger at Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. I thought it was fun — an upbeat and different way to bring people out.
Without the hat, Smokey might look even more like Vince (Adrian Grenier) I thought.
(Extra credit trivia: Smokey Bear, a native New Mexican, has no middle name. His name is NOT Smokey THE Bear.)
… was authorized on this date 43 years ago. From the National Park Service:
Canyonlands National Park preserves a colorful landscape of sedimentary sandstones eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Colorado and Green rivers divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. While the districts share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different opportunities for exploration and learning.
Buggs’ Blog has had a series of just breathtaking photos taken at Arches, Canyonlands and thereabouts.
These are something special. Go take a look. Be sure to view previous (and possibly subsequent) entries.
ALAMOGORDO — Otero County commissioners have passed a resolution opposing the listing of White Sands National Monument as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site.
“We have sent a letter to the National Parks Service and to our congressional delegation expressing our official desires that White Sands be removed from the list of those sites being considered as World Heritage Sites,” said commission chair Doug Moore. “I think this resolution does a great job in capturing our feelings.”
UNESCO’s World Heritage Site program encourages the identification, preservation and protection of cultural and natural heritage around the world. Twenty of the 851 sites are in the United States, including Independence Hall, the Statue of Liberty and Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountain national parks.
It’s National Park Service, by the way, not Parks.
Saturday, setting aside Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
El Morro National Monument is two hours west of Albuquerque on NM 53 (via I-40 to Grants).
A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a massive sandstone bluff made El Morro (the bluff) a popular campsite. Ancestral Puebloans settled on the mesa top over 700 years ago. Spanish and American travelers rested, drank from the pool and carved their signatures, dates and messages for hundreds of years. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins. (El Morro National Monument)
At El Morro we took the entire 2 mile loop, past the pool and inscriptions, then around the end of the bluff, along the northwestern side, up the switchbacks 250 feet to the top. On the top, the trail (marked only by cairns and parallel lines carved in the rock in some places) goes up one side of the V-shaped bluff to near the point, then back the other side and eventually down via many, many steps. The views on top are gorgeous, including the look down into the lovely canyon between the two sides of the V.
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In the desert, water determined the route. The sandstone bluff at El Morro channeled rain and snow melt into this pool at the base. It’s about 10 feet deep (at present). |
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El Morro is most famous for the petroglyphs and inscriptions in the sandstone near the pool. Leaving our mark (“tagging”), seems to be an inherent characteristic of our species. |
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One of many historic inscriptions left by Spanish and then American passersby between 1605 and the 19th century (and, alas, a few more recent). |
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One view of the bluff, this from the north side on the way up. |
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This from the top of El Morro looking back at same rock shown above. That’s NM 53 down below. |
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Soaring, almost hawk-like, the ravens seemed to enjoy the view as much as we did. |
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At the top of the bluff the ruins of Atsinna, home to more than 1,000 ancestral Puebloans from 1275-1350. Pictured are the remains of just a few of the 875 rooms that originally stood in the three-story structure. |
Closer to Albuquerque, El Malpais National Monument is south of I-40 along NM 117 (Exit 89) and along NM 53 between Grants and El Morro.
El Malpais means the badlands but this volcanic area holds many surprises. Lava flows, cinder cones, pressure ridges and complex lava tubes dominate the landscape. A closer look reveals high desert environments where animals and plants thrive. Prehistoric ruins, ancient cairns, rock structures, and homesteads remind us of past times. (El Malpais National Monument.)
Some of the lava flows at El Malpais are just 2,000-3,000 years old, not even yesterday by geological standards. It’s a rough, dark lava-covered landscape, quite different from the surrounding area, though vegetation is making its comeback. NewMexiKen visited the entrance to Junction Cave (actually a lava tube) in the El Calderon area just off NM 53. Boots, gloves and three flashlights per person are recommended to explore the cave — so, some other time. We also took the drive to the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook off NM 117; a great look at the surrounding lava flows. Lastly we took the short walk to La Ventana Natural Arch, along NM 117, 18 miles south of I-40.
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In shorts, without gloves or backup flashlights, Junction Cave (actually a lava tube) was inviting only for its rush of cool air. Note the cinder rocks. |
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Some of the fascinating geology along the cliff just west of La Ventana Natural Arch. |
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NewMexiKen failed to get what I’d consider to be a good photo of La Ventana, New Mexico’s largest accessible natural arch. (La Ventana means the window.) The sun was too directly overhead. Alas, I guess that just means another trip. |
El Cafecito in Grants is a great little place to eat — breakfast, lunch or dinner. Good New Mexican cuisine at eye-popping prices (like two beef and bean burtios, rice, beans and two sopapillas for $7.25). Caution though, El Cafecito is not open Sundays. Exit 85, on the right well past motel row but before “downtown.”
Click each photo to move to the next.
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… we honor two venerable American institutions.
On this date in 1864 Abraham Lincoln signed the land grant preserving Yosemite Valley.
And Lena Horne is 90 today.
Even in her eighties, the legendary Lena Horne has a quality of timelessness about her. Elegant and wise, she personifies both the glamour of Hollywood and the reality of a lifetime spent battling racial and social injustice. Pushed by an ambitious mother into the chorus line of the Cotton Club when she was sixteen, and maneuvered into a film career by the N.A.A.C.P., she was the first African American signed to a long-term studio contract. In her rise beyond Hollywood’s racial stereotypes of maids, butlers, and African natives, she achieved true stardom on the silver screen, and became a catalyst for change even beyond the glittery fringes of studio life.
Elsewhere —
Vincent D’Onofrio is 48.
Mike Tyson is 41.
36 years ago today the 26th amendment was ratified by Ohio, the required 38th state. The amendment lowered the voting age to 18.
Ten years ago today Hong Kong reverted to China after 156 years as a British colony.
As NewMexiKen mentioned, at noon Thursday Mountain Time (the Solstice was 12:06) I was in Rocky Mountain National Park. Here are a few photos. Click each for a larger version.
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Looking west from the Tundra Communities Trail at about 12,000 feet above sea level. |
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The landscape was covered in small, close-to-the-ground flowers. The blooms were about the size of a dime. It can drop below freezing at this altitude (and snow) any day of the year. The flowers have a natural antifreeze. The pika gather the flowers and the same chemical helps protect their forage from cold. Nature just never ceases to amaze. |
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The Tundra Communities Trail is asphalt and accessible by just about any healthy person. But, not everyone can climb to the top of the rock formation at the highest point in order to get this documentary proof of being there. |
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The elk have a good union and get plenty of break time. |
All 20 photos taken that day, unedited. Click image to move to next photo.
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From the Los Angeles Times, Beauty in the misty moonlight. It begins:
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Aristotle took note of this celestial happening a couple of millenniums back. Ben Franklin bagged a sighting or two, as did Mark Twain. The venerable John Muir, chronicler of Sierra mountaintop and meadow, waxed enthusiastic about the nighttime phenomenon.
The hunt for the elusive “moonbow” has long been a nocturnal lure for dreamy hikers, insomniac seamen and intrepid photo buffs. But in the past, seeing one of these nighttime rainbows — caused when a full moon’s rays bounce off the mist of a departing rain cloud or raging waterfall — has been dictated mostly by chance.
No longer.
Glacier National Park, Mont. — JOHAN looked up. Jenna was running toward him. She had yelled something, he wasn’t sure what. Then he saw it. The open mouth, the tongue, the teeth, the flattened ears. Jenna ran right past him, and it struck him — a flash of fur, two jumps, 400 pounds of lightning.
It was a grizzly, and it had him by his left thigh. His mind started racing — to Jenna, to the trip, to fighting, to escaping. The bear jerked him back and forth like a rag doll, but he remembered no pain, just disbelief. It bit into him again and again, its jaw like a sharp vise stopping at nothing until teeth hit bone. Then came the claws, rising like shiny knife blades, long and stark.
Follow the link to read the rest of the first part of the story. It’s really good.
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Pasó por aqui, el adelantado Don Juan de Oñate del descubrimiento de la mar del sur a 16 de Abril de 1605. It was on this date in 1605 that vandals first started tagging the rock face at what is now El Morro National Monument. In English: “Passed by here, the adelantado Don Juan de Oñate from the discovery of the sea of the south the 16th of April of 1605.” Click image for larger version. (I know, it looks like 1606, but it was 1605, before Jamestown and before the Pilgrims had even migrated to Holland on their way to Massachusetts.) Update April 17. Better photo of inscription. |
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NewMexiKen failed to mention a good book I read while visiting in the San Francisco area last month. It’s The Last Season
Blehm tells the story of Randy Morgenson, a seasonal back country National Park Service ranger in California’s King’s Canyon National Park. During the summer of 1996 Morgenson went missing from his station high in the Sierra Nevada. The book tells of the search — and its eventual outcome — but also Morgenson’s life, family, devotion to the wilderness, life as a seasonal ranger and much more. Morgenson was a special, if not completely likable man. It’s an interesting story.
NewMexiKen has been viewing the Old Faithful Geyser WebCam and Grand Canyon WebCam from time-to-time.
The Old Faithful cam is very much like being at the geyser — wait, wait, wait.
The Grand Canyon cam, though, is often attractive and never dull, just like the Canyon. Take a look.
Yucca House is one of the largest archeological sites in southwest Colorado, and acted as an important community center for the Ancestral Puebloan people from A.D. 1150-1300. On July 2, 1919, Henry Van Kleeck deeded 9.6 acres of land, including most of Yucca House, to the federal government. Due to its significance as an excellent example of a valley pueblo, Woodrow Wilson made Yucca House a National Monument by Presidential Proclamation on December 19, 1919.
Yucca House National Monument is one of our earliest examples of public/private stewardship of our cultural resources and will remain protected well into the future. The long-term preservation of Yucca House ensures that archeologists will be able to continue studying Ancestral Puebloan society and what caused them to migrate from this region in the late 1200s.
… was designated on this date in 1940. The site is owned and operated by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities.
Come, walk in the steps of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas as we explore American’s beginnings. Here is where the successful English colonization of North America began with Jamestown. Here is where the first seat of English government in America established it’s self. Here is where the first English representative government met and where the first arrival of Africans to English North American was recorded in 1619. Jamestown, the Beginning of America.
… rode out on what is now Sun Point in search of lost cattle on this date in 1888 and first saw Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. That afternoon, Richard found Spruce Tree House, and the next day, the two men discovered Square Tower House. Al Wetherill, Richard’s brother, saw Cliff Palace sometime the year before, but he did not enter the dwelling, so the credit for the “discovery” has been given to Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason.
In 1901, Richard Wetherill homesteaded land that included Pueblo Bonito, Pueblo Del Arroyo, and Chetro Ketl in what is now Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Wetherill remained in Chaco Canyon, homesteading and operating a trading post at Pueblo Bonito until his controversial murder in 1910. Chiishch’ilin Biy, charged with his murder, served several years in prison, but was released in 1914 due to poor health. Wetherill is buried in the small cemetery west of Pueblo Bonito.
… was so designated on this date in 1919. It is one of five National Park Service sites in Nebraska.
Towering eight hundred feet above the North Platte River, Scotts Bluff has been a natural landmark for many peoples, and it served as the path marker for those on the Oregon, California, Mormon, and Pony Express Trails.
Scotts Bluff National Monument preserves 3,000 acres of unusual land formations which rise over the otherwise flat prairieland below.
… was re-designated on this date in 1962. It had been a national monument since 1935.
The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site honors the life of the 17th President. Andrew Johnson’s presidency, 1865-1869, illustrates the United States Constitution at work following President Lincoln’s assassination and during attempts to reunify a nation torn by civil war. His presidency shaped the future of the United States and his influences continue today.
… was first designated Adams Mansion National Historical Site 60 years ago today.
Adams National Historical Park tells the story of four generations of the Adams family (from 1720 to 1927). The park has two main sites: the Birthplaces of 2nd U.S. President John Adams and 6th U.S. President John Quincy Adams, and Peacefield including the “Old House,” home to four generations of the Adams family, and the Stone Library which contains more than 14,000 historic volumes.
… was first proclaimed a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt under the Antiquities Act 100 years ago today. It became a national park in 1962.
With one of the world’s largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of 225 million year old fossils, this is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science.
… was established by President Theodore Roosevelt under the Antiquities Act 100 years ago today.
This five-level, 20 room cliff dwelling nestled into a limestone recess high above Beaver Creek served as a “high-rise apartment building” for prehistoric Sinagua Indians over 600 years ago. It is one of the best preserved cliff dwellings in North America.
Erroneously named for the 16th century Aztec ruler, the site is a classic example of the last phase of southern Sinagua occupation of the Verde Valley.
… was established by President Theodore Roosevelt under the Antiquities Act 100 years ago today.
Paso por aqui . . . A reliable waterhole hidden at the base of a massive sandstone bluff made El Morro (the bluff) a popular campsite. Ancestral Puebloans settled on the mesa top over 700 years ago. Spanish and American travelers rested, drank from the pool and carved their signatures, dates and messages for hundreds of years. Today, El Morro National Monument protects over 2,000 inscriptions and petroglyphs, as well as Ancestral Puebloan ruins.
For events this weekend: One hundred years as a National Moument.
… of David Carradine. Kwai Chang Caine is 70.
… of James MacArthur. Danno can book 69 years worth.
… of Jerry Butler. His precious love is 67.
… of Gregg Allman. Not such a ramblin’ man now that he’s 59.
As the principal architects of Southern rock, the Allman Brothers Band forged this new musical offshoot from elements of blues, jazz, soul, R&B and rock and roll. Along with the Grateful Dead and Cream, they help advance rock as a medium for improvisation. Their kind of jamming required a level of technical virtuosity and musical literacy that was relatively new to rock & roll, which had theretofore largely been a song-oriented medium. The original guitarists in the Allman Brothers Band – Duane Allman and Dickey Betts – broke that barrier with soaring, extended solos. Combined with organist Gregg Allman’s gruff, soulful vocals and Hammond B3 organ, plus the forceful, syncopated drive of a rhythm section that included two drummers, the Allman Brothers Band were a blues-rocking powerhouse from their beginnings in 1969. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
… of Bill Bryson. The humor writer is 54. Not much funny about that.
… of Kim Basinger. Might take her more than 9½ weeks now that she’s 53.
… of Teri Hatcher. She’s desperate at 42.
… of Sinead O’Connor. Nothing compares 2 her at 40.
Sammy Davis Jr. was born 80 years ago today.
John Lennon was killed on this date in 1980.
Jeanette Rankin cast the sole vote in Congress against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan on this date in 1941. She had also voted against entry into World War I. When elected in 1916, Rankin was the first woman member of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was not re-elected in 1918, after voting against entry in the First World War, but was returned to Congress for one term in 1940. Jeanette Rankin was a social worker and a lobbyist for peace and women’s rights. She died just before her 93rd birthday in 1973. She is one of the two Montanans honored in The National Statuary Hall Collection of the U.S. Capitol.
In 1702, the Duke of Alburquerque, Francisco Fernandez de la Cueva Enriquez, arrived in Mexico City to become Viceroy. In a kiss-ass move a few years later, some folks around here named a town after him.
One-hundred-years ago today was a good day for national parks: El Morro, Montezuma Castle, and Petrified Forest were all proclaimed national monuments on December 8, 1906.
…became law on this date in 1980, more than doubling the size of the national park system.
According to America’s National Park System: The Critical Documents edited by Lary M. Dilsaver:
In the waning days of the Carter Democratic administration, Congress acted to further protect and expand preserved areas in Alaska, many rescued from exploitation two years earlier by presidential proclamation. This complex and lengthy act defines preserved parks, forests, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, and Native American corporation lands and the degrees of preservation and usage for each. It prescribes timber, fish, and wildlife protection and use by Native Americans and other citizens.
New areas for the national park system included Aniakchak National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The act also added new lands to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Monument and Preserve, and Denali National Park and Preserve (renamed from Mount McKinley National Park).
New wild and scenic rivers under Park Service administration included Alagnak, Alatna, Aniakchak, Charley, Chilikadrotna, John, Kobuk, Mulchatna, Noatak, North Fork of the Koyukuk, Salmon, Tinayguk, and Tlikakila rivers. Other wild and scenic rivers are designated or expanded in wildlife refuges and in other areas.
The vast majority of acreage in the Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, Noatak, and Wrangell-St. Elias units is designated wilderness.
… was authorized on this date in 1990.
Amistad NRA is known primarily for excellent water-based recreation including: boating, fishing, swimming, and water-skiing. The park also provides opportunities for picnicking, camping and hunting. The reservoir, formed at the confluence of the Rio Grande, Devils and Pecos rivers, is surrounded by a landscape rich in archeology and rock art, as well as a wide variety of plant and animal life.
From a report in the Los Angeles Times:
As the National Park Service begins planning for its 100th birthday in 2016, the venerable agency has reason to wonder who will show up.
By the services own reckoning, visits to national parks have been on a downward slide for 10 years. Overnight stays fell 20% between 1995 and 2005, and tent camping and backcountry camping each decreased nearly 24% during the same period.
Visits are down at almost all national parks, even at Yosemite, notorious for summertime crowds and traffic jams. Meanwhile, most of the 390 properties in the park system are begging for business.
“Most days, wed be delighted to see 10 people,” said Craig Dorman, superintendent at Lava Beds National Monument, a seldom-visited site near the California-Oregon border that is even emptier these days. “It was pretty crowded around here during the Modoc War,” he said, referring to the 1872 Modoc Indian uprising. “But there probably havent been that many people here since.”
Typically, families with children recede from the parks in the fall. Now, the retirees who traditionally take their place in the fall and winter are choosing to go elsewhere. Last year, about 569,000 vacationers went to Yosemite in July, nearly 20% fewer than in the same month in 1995. In January, there were 94,000 visitors, about 30% fewer than in January 1995.
NewMexiKen wonders how much of the recent drop-off is from foreign visitors. I’ve read recently that entering the U.S. has become so difficult (so much of a hassle) that many are traveling to other destinations.
