I got our Junior Ranger Badge books from an older ranger. He clearly loved the Civil War and he began telling me about many things, while the children ran around this smaller Ranger Station. Wild Thing in particular seemed bent on destruction, so my patient husband chased him, while the other kids stamped their passports. … Continue reading Harpers Ferry NHP, Pt 2
Harpers Ferry NHP, pt 1
Where to even begin? I am going to talk about the park first and then in the next post specifically talk about the Junior Ranger badge, because I wasn't entirely sure what to expect and was met with a vast historical crossroad. I knew about the John Brown revolt, but was entirely fuzzy on the … Continue reading Harpers Ferry NHP, pt 1
New Year, Fresh Park?
My husband's job has a use it or lose it policy and this year he had a record 4 days left of leave which left him in the predicament of 11 days off in a row. Rough life, right? It was our initial plan to send the kids to winter camp at our local community … Continue reading New Year, Fresh Park?
Junior Ranger Curriculum pt 1
As a home schooling family we are always on the look out for opportunities and experiences. To that end we participate in a secular home school group in our area. It's a neat setup, we rent an old catholic school building from the non-profit which currently owns it. We meet once a week for classes … Continue reading Junior Ranger Curriculum pt 1
Shop Your Parks For the Holidays, & Everyday!
In honor of Black Friday I thought I'd talk a little bit about shopping in the parks. As you may know if you are a park enthusiast all parks have trouble with funding. Much like our home budgets there is always a long list of things to be done and only so many dollars to … Continue reading Shop Your Parks For the Holidays, & Everyday!
Great Smoky Mountains NP Pt. 2
Great Smoky is a stand out park for a few different reasons, one of which is that the money was raised by LOCAL PEOPLE. When the federal government approved the creation of the park they refused to fund it. It was funded with local citizen donations, school children, from all walks of life, collecting nickels … Continue reading Great Smoky Mountains NP Pt. 2
Great Smoky Mountains NP pt 1
When planning our eclipse viewing I tried to keep a couple things front and center in my mind. 1) It could be cloudy and 2) The kids may find this monumentally unimpressive. To mitigate both of these concerns it was really important that the focal point of the trip have something great to visit in … Continue reading Great Smoky Mountains NP pt 1
Ford Theater NHS
While in DC visiting with my sister, my nephew really really wanted to go to the International Spy Museum. That sounded like fun and we all took the metro in and went. I posted what we were doing while eating burgers on the corner next to the spy museum and my intrepid friend posted "Hey … Continue reading Ford Theater NHS
Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS
Allegheny Portage Railroad is a result of Pennsylvania's desire to stay relevant in trade and an ingenious way to cross the Allegheny mountains before steam engines were powerful enough to make it through. With the rise of Canal trade after the completion of the Erie Canal, Pennsylvania scrambled to compete and shorten the 23 day … Continue reading Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS
Cuyahoga NP
The National Park Service commissioned a series of videos in the eighties and I found the Cuyahoga video at our public library. I was so thankful I did because there is so much more to this park that I wouldn't have known about in advance. Firstly there is a scenic railroad that runs the entire … Continue reading Cuyahoga NP
Free Rangering 