Most Memorable Things in 2022

04Dec22

Like most everyone else, my travels in 2022 picked up from the previous two years.  

Here are a few highlights of those trips to national park sites.

One of my first trips also featured one of my favorite spots of this, or any, year. The Cumberland Island National Seashore (pictured above) is a delight, especially the 4.3-mile loop trail I went on during my visit. Over the four miles, I was able to walk through oak trees draped in Spanish moss, cross boardwalks over the marsh and sand dunes, tour the historic ruins of a mansion, and take in a stretch of undeveloped, and largely, unoccupied beach abutting the Atlantic Ocean.

I have visited the Petrified Forest National Park countless times and I have enjoyed each visit more than the previous one. This year was no different, even though I was in the park for less than two hours. I made a concerted effort to visit my favorite spots in the Petrified Forest and it sure didn’t disappoint.

Like the Petrified Forest, I have toured the Harry S Truman National Historic Site on numerous occasions. But this past spring’s visit was by far the most enjoyable. I was the only person on the tour and the park ranger kept the quick run through of the Truman home interesting with items this history buff had never heard before.

A flat tire almost derailed my visit to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon. And even though I was only able to tour one of the three sites that make up this unique park, it was one of the highlights of my western swing this summer. One minute I was in a lush valley stomping around a working farm. The next I was in an unforgiving arid desert and the fossil beds that give part of the park’s name.

What wasn’t there to love about the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site in Montana. What stood out however were the historical photos featured on interruptive signs throughout the park. One in particular got my interest – a color photo from the 1930s of the then-owner of the cattle ranch at the Chicago Stockyards – that I wish I could claim for one of my own. 

Re-enactors always intrigue me and make for some wonderful action photos. Such was the case when I visited the Gettysburg National Military Park this summer. I have seen re-enactors at Gettysburg before, but nothing as fascinating or interesting than this large contingent near the Pennsylvania Monument.

My last entry is cheating just a little as it covers not one, but three different parks on my trip to the Pacific Northwest in October. While Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (pictured below), and Point Reyes National Seashore are different, they had one thing in common – some of the most beautiful and picturesque lighthouses I have ever seen.

Filed under: Uncategorized   |  Leave a Comment