Tag Archives: history

Down East Road Trip – Cuyahoga Valley National Park

A Park Frozen in Time, Nestled in the Heart of Urban Ohio

Cuyahoga Valley National Park - Brandywine Falls

As we have come to discover as we’ve embarked on a few of these National Park survey trip over the years, there never seems to be quite enough time. Of course, this is a product of how we plan our road trips – with a desire to sample as many parks as possible – and more often than not it leaves us with hopes of revisiting these parks on an extended or dedicated trip in the future. Such was certainly the case with Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

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Down East Road Trip – The Blue Ridge Parkway

469 Miles of Grandeur Without a Single Stop Sign

Exploring the Blue Ridge Parkway

Over the years, we’ve logged many miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway – from rainy spring afternoons to brisk autumn mornings – though we’ve never come close to driving the full 469 miles of the parkway. But on this trip, we decided to rectify that problem. So, we set aside two full days to wind our way from the end of the Parkway near Cherokee, NC to its nexus in Rockfish Gap, VA. We may have had some hiccups along the way…

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Down East Road Trip – Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Finding Quiet in the Smoky Mountains on a Very Busy 4th of July Weekend

Great Smoky Mountain National Park - Sunset on Clingmans Dome

So… When we were planning our trip early this year, we knew many of the parks we visited can be busy during the summer, and while we planned around much of the busyness by visiting the most popular parks during mid-week, we weren’t so lucky with the Smoky Mountains. While our first park of the trip, Mammoth Caves, was relatively quiet, The Smokey Mountains were quite the opposite. Yet even so, the park is big by eastern standards and we were able to find spots of quiet respite along the way.

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A Salute to the Rangers

Celebrating World Ranger Day with Fond Memories from our National Park Travels

A tribute to our National Park Service Rangers - Yellowstone

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of visiting nearly 50 national parks, monuments and memorials. Often, we’ve done this with our family, and with virtually no exception, we’ve encountered friendly, kind, helpful and passionate rangers who have been eager to make our visit memorable and enjoyable. Here’s just a few fond ranger memories from our trips to the national parks.

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Sarasota’s Rolling History

Exploring Sarasota Classic Car Museum & Vintage Motors

This past week, we had the pleasure of heading down to Sarasota to photograph a conference for our friends at Firebirds Wood Fire Grill. I had a few hours of down time, and as providence would have it, I stumbled upon an automotive gem hidden a few hundred feet from my hotel. The gem, Sarasota Classic Car Museum, is the second oldest continuously running car museum in the United States, getting its start in 1953 as the century’s send Florida Land Boom was well under way.

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