Category Archives: National Parks

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

Torez Mitchell, ranger

And the rockets’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:

I’m at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in Baltimore – finally. The War of 1812 (remember that one?) is the reason we have so many forts on the east coast – Fort Sumter, Fort Pulaski, Fort Macon, Fort Jefferson ….

In the 19th century, coastal forts were the height of national defense, as I explain in Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South.

The British weren’t able to capture Fort McHenry in Baltimore. So Congress slowly appropriated money for a string of forts. I mention Fort McHenry in my book, so it was time to visit the park unit.

The fort itself,  a five-star structure, similar to others of the era, was completed in 1805. It replaced a wooden Revolutionary War fort.

After burning Washington, DC, the British attacked Baltimore Harbor and Fort McHenry on September 13, 1814. For 25 hours, they shelled the fort but in the morning, “our flag was still there”. Francis Scott Key, who was on a boat in the harbor, just floated the words in his head – and wrote them down. The music was added later.

One of the rooms in the fort was outfitted like a bunk room for enlisted men. The sign said:

Imagine sleeping, cooking, eating and spending a little free time, all in one room with a dozen or more other soldiers… Your few personal items would be kept in a small knapsack,

It sounds like the hostels on the Camino de Santiago. But the information continues,

and you would be expected to share a mattress with another person.

Wait, what?? Forget it. I’m not enlisting.

Fort McHenry National Monument

The fort had life after The War of 1812.

It was a prison for Confederates during the Civil War. It was turned into a massive veteran’s hospital and rehabilitation center during World War I and even used in the Second World War, even if by then, the site had become a national park unit – in 1925.

So who was McHenry? James McHenry  was the Secretary of War during the Washington and Adams administration.

I went into the bookstore to get my NPS Passport stamped but they didn’t have the stamp – and they aren’t a bookstore but a gift shop. Lots of stuff that would not pass muster in the Smokies.  The gift shop is owned and operated by the Evelyn Hill Corporation.

The passport stamp is at the ranger’s desk, instead.

Government Shutdown at Carl Sandburg National Historic Site

Well, it’s happened!

Our U.S. Government has shut down, as of midnight last night. So, today, on a weekend, I was curious to see what it meant for our local national parks. I drove down to Carl Sandburg National Historic Site, ready to walk all five miles of trail. I chose this site because it’s the easiest to close of the park units close to me.

Carl Sandburg home site is only open from 9 am to 5 pm normally. Unlike larger parks, there’s a gate which can be closed, but it wasn’t.  I can only assume that the rangers didn’t close it last night, in preparation for today. Most visitors use it as their local park to walk, talk and exercise their dogs.

When I got to the Flat Rock, NC site, I was amazed to see that almost all the parking spaces were taken. As soon as I left the parking site and got on the paved trail to the house, I saw this yellow sign:

Government Shutdown

The sign tells visitors that there are no NPS staff members and they’re on their own. In  my wanderings, I saw four of these signs.

The bathrooms were closed, as advertised. So was the bookstore. The house is being renovated, so was going to be closed anyway.

I walked to the top of Big Glassy Mountain on an icy trail. I guess if someone slipped and couldn’t walk out, they would have to alert the county EMTs. At the top, I only saw one group of walkers. The trail is short but steep. See the picture on top.

CARL goat barn

What about the goats?

I knew that they were being taken care of and fed. A car was parked at the goat barn, which I assumed belonged to a volunteer.

The sign on the gate said “Come on in” but the gate was locked tightly. Too bad since several children congregated at the fence.

You can’t see the goats but they’re in front of the barn, hugging the wall. Usually you can go in and pet them.

My last trail took me around the lake.

At CARL

It’s the easiest trail and therefore had the most people. Eavesdropping on conversations from groups walking the trail, I couldn’t discern any bitterness about the shut-down.

Other than the closed restrooms, the shutdown probably didn’t affect most visitors to the Carl Sandburg house. But the National Park Service doesn’t just protect and preserve; it interprets as well, so that you know why this site is important. And that’s what was missing today.

As I headed for my car, Rob Moore, a reporter at the Hendersonville Times-News, came to see  the situation. I told him about the four yellow signs, thereby saving him a walk through the park.

Elections have consequences. The government shutdown is one of them.

What’s happening at your park?

Parks and Protests

Today, one day from another government shut down and therefore national park shutdown, I read this from USA Today.

Nine of the 12 members of the National Park Service advisory board resigned in protest this week, saying Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has ignored pleas for a meeting and has “set aside” protection of the nation’s natural treasures.

Parks of the Southeast

Board chairman Tony Knowles, a Democrat and former governor of Alaska, said in a resignation letter to Zinke that the group has been waiting for a year to meet and “continue the partnership” between the board and Interior officials.

“Our requests to engage have been ignored and the matters on which we wanted to brief the new department team are clearly not part of its agenda,” the letter says. “I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection, and advancement of our National Parks has been set aside.”

Bison in THRO

The board’s tasks included advising Zinke and the National Park Service on the designation of national historic and natural landmarks. The board also provides input on a wide range of issues from climate change to the administration of the Historic Sites, Buildings, and Antiquities Act.

Who are these people? Here’s the link. It’s gratifying to see that most of them are women.

Knowles told The Washington Post that the board, despite being required to meet twice a year, has not convened since President Trump took office. Knowles said members understood that the Trump administration would name its own board members. Still, he said the resignees were not consulted on recent decisions to increase visitor fees and to reverse a ban on plastic water bottles in the park system.

Water bottles? Now there’s a sound environmental idea reversed by Sec. Zinke.

As for the government shutdown, I now read that national parks will stay open. There just won’t be any park personnel, just concessions. See the Washington Post.

Too bad that here in the Southeast, it’s so icy and cold that few visitors will venture into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Blue Ridge Parkway is closed because of the weather. But otherwise, I would love to see what happens without park rangers.