Beyond the Scenery

Park News

May 17 is the 71st anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling desegregating our nation’s schools. “Separate But Equal” is a 1991 television mini-series. Sidney Poitier didn’t do TV movies, but he agreed to play Thurgood Marshall in this one. Other well-known actors in the cast include Burt Lancaster (in his last role), Cleavon Little, Henderson Forsythe, and Richard Kiley. See the trailer on IMDb. Your streaming service may offer the film.

          Why am I mentioning this? The Court bundled together five separate challenges to racial segregation in public schools, from Washington, D.C., Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina and Kansas (the film concentrates on this particular one). The Kansas lawsuit became the case name, and Topeka is the home of the National Park Service’s Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park. Only 109 national park sites charge admission, and this place is fee-free.

Subpar parks review for May

         This month’s evaluation from the Subpar Parks Illustrated National Parks Calendar is about Indiana Dunes National Park: “Dunes are not that high.”

         So…15 miles of beachfront on Lake Michigan, 50 miles of trails, and historic buildings (including one from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair), not to mention free admission count for nothing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get a whiff of this (or not)

         “Park toilet closures causing a stink” read a recent USA Today article. “If you’re struggling to find a restroom at some National Park Service sites this spring, you’re not alone,” the piece goes on to say. “Multiple national parks have closed their toilets and visitor centers, citing staffing issues as a result of President Donald Trump’s budget cuts, buyouts and layoffs across the National Park Service.” It notes that 2,400 to 2,500 staff positions have been eliminated, which is a problem during this season. The parks will hire more seasonal workers than usual this summer, which hopefully will bring relief.

 

         The motto for now, though, is “know before you go…” 

 

         P.S. The USA Today article got the number of Park Service units wrong. The number is 433, not 496.

Park Reservations 

         More national park sites will require reservations to visit this year, a practice started a few years ago to control overcrowding.

The booking provides visitors with a timed entry, reserved in advance, for a small sum. Time slots in popular parks may fill up quickly, so plan ahead as much as possible.

Here are the park sites requiring some kind of reservation in 2025:

• Acadia National Park, Maine
  (there’s no timed entry to the park itself, but if you want to drive up Cadillac Summit during May 21 through October 26, you must get a vehicle reservation ahead of time)
• Adams National Historical Park, Massachusetts
  (to enter the historic buildings, from from May 1 through October 27 only)
• Arches National Park, Utah
  (for the periods of April 1 to July 6 and August 28, to October 31)
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Kentucky
  (buy beforehand to be sure to get in, or take a chance at the park’s Visitor Center)
• Ford’s Theatre, Washington, D.C.
  (reserve online in advance for $3.50, or try to nab free, same-day tickets)
• Fort Matanzas National Monument, Florida
  (the park itself has no entrance fee, but you need to stop at the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center to obtain a free boarding pass for the ferry in order to tour the fort)
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, Virginia
• Gateway Arch National Park, Missouri
• Haleakalā National Park, Hawaii
• Independence National Historical Park, Pennsylvania (only for guided tours)
• Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial, Missouri (from May 17 through October 27, if you want to go up to the Observation Deck)
• Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, New York (reservations needed only to tour the house)
• Statue Of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island, New York (the sites are free, but you must purchase ferry tickets to reach them both, either in advance or same day
• Thomas Edison National Historical Park, New Jersey (reservations for a timed entry to Edison’s house, Glenmont, can only be purchased ahead of time March 10-December 31)
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Utah (it’s “strongly recommended” to purchase tickets for a cave tour in advance, although some same-day ones may be available; if you have a Senior or Access Pass, you’ll get 50% off!)
• Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. (I can attest it’s better to get a timed reservation to enter the monument ahead of time; free same-day tickets are snapped up early)

Reading Material

         May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. I wrote two articles for Fodor’s Travel--one lists the World War II Japanese detention camps, and gives a bit of US history regarding Asian immigrants. Another is on exquisite Japanese gardens around the country.

         And on May 2, fellow Pelican Publishing Group author Erin Stevenson brings out Dr. Mallory and the Undercover Dog-Dad.

Mother’s Day

As I wrote in More Life Lessons from the National Parks, Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas might be a good place to take your mom—or to remember her if she’s no longer on this earth. The park features our country’s only “nursery herd,” a group of fossilized Columbian mammoth females and their babies. They appear to have been caught in a creek bed that rapidly filled with water, the mommies positioned as if they’re trying to protect their babies.

That’s just what a good mother does (fathers, too, but their day is next month). And while God refers to Himself with a masculine pronoun throughout Scripture, He demonstrates traditionally maternal characteristics, too, as noted in this tender passage:

As one whom a mother comforts, so will I [God] comfort you.
                                             (Isaiah 66:13)

 
  USA Today put together a list of national parks that now require timed-entry reservations. This is an attempt at crowd control at popular sites, and usually is just for the busy season, from around Memorial Day through at least Labor Day, and sometimes into the fall.

  Some spots have had measures like this in place for a while. I’ll be visiting Washington, D.C. in August, and will have to select a specific time in advance to enter the Washington Monument and Ford’s Theatre

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cool parks for hot days

  Beat the heat by going underground! Here’s a list of national park sites where you can go below the surface:

  Jewel Cave National Monument, situated in South Dakota’s Black Hills, has over 220 miles of surveyed and mapped passages (so far). The space was first written about by a pair of brothers in 1900—Native Americans had populated the area way before that, of course, but there’s no record they ever explored it. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the cave as a national monument in 1908.

  This is a free-free park, meaning walk the trails and explore the Visitor Center without cost, but the only way to enter the cave is through one of four ranger-guided tours. Advance reservations are recommended, and you must follow strict rules for safety reasons and to prevent White Nose Syndrome among the cave’s bats.
 
About 30 miles away, in Custer, is Wind Cave National Park, which is closed through the fall for elevator replacement.
 
  Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park is a UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and International Biosphere Reserve. At more than 400 miles, it's the world’s largest cave system. Again, no entrance fee is charged for the Visitor Center, grounds, or regular ranger talks, but cave tours require a ticket, best reserved in advance.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is so popular you now need a timed ticket to visit, which costs one dollar, as well as $15 to get in (save on national parks and federal recreational lands entrance fees by purchasing a pass). Here, you can explore the cavern on your own, or reserve a spot on one of two guided tours . Ranger programs include a bat flight viewing, in which you may or may not see these creatures swarm out of the cave in the evening, and monthly star parties through October. On the third Saturday of this month is the Dawn of the Bats program, to watch the free-taileds return to their home down under.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  In Utah is Timpanogos Cave National Monument, undoubtedly known about and explored for thousands of years before Whites “discovered” it. President Warren Harding declared the property a national monument in 1922. Strenuous three-and-a-half hour main tour (https://www.nps.gov/tica/planyourvisit/cavetours.htm) during the short caving season include an uphill 1.5 mile hike from the Visitor Center to the entrance, and a tramp through three different colorful limestone caves. Additionally, two early morning lantern tours, and an arduous Introduction to caving excursion for those who don’t mind crawling on their knees, also are offered. All need booked-ahead paid reservations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  If the outdoors is more to your liking, check out these tips from the National Park Service. Click on “Ways to Play Outside” to find places near you for water sports, hiking, birding, and camping, among other warm weather pursuits.

  Where not to go in the summer: Death Valley National Park. That’s when temps average 100 degrees and often climb over 120 degrees. Save a visit for the other three seasons.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*****

Planning to move anytime soon? How not to get taken for a ride in my latest article.

*****

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

  Have you ever read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible? What was your first impression? A real downer, right?

  The quote in bold above comes from that book (chapter 1, verse 9). Written by King Solomon, Ecclesiastes can seem cynical or pessimistic, as he examines the seeming aimlessness of our existence. His conclusion, though, is this: life is to be enjoyed to its fullest, because it is a gift from God (3:12-13, 5:18-20).