A few shots from Port Clinton. Posting this tiny lighthouse in case I adopt a “lighthouse in every state” quest. Also, I love this little free library, which is adorned with a fighter plane and dedicated to a specific member of the Tuskegee Airmen.
National Parks that usually involve a ferry ride
I dropped Jen off at the ferry over to Put-In-Bay so she can visit Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, her 393rd national park unit (yay!).
I’ve already been there, of course, and we have a few other things we’d prefer to see today instead of spending extra time on the island. So we decided that she would make it a quick trip over-and-back just to see the park unit, and I would stay behind, saving us a $44 ferry ride plus an $18 parking fee. So here I am, enjoying a coffee and typing out a quick blog post.
National Parks that usually involve a ferry ride
Her morning itinerary got us to thinking about how many national park units usually involve a ferry for most visitors. Here’s the list that came to mind, as I walked her to the ferry terminal:
- Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial (OH)
- Isle Royale NP (MI)
- Statue of Liberty NM (NY)
- Governors Island NM (NY)
- Cumberland Island NS (GA)
- Dry Tortugas NP (FL)
- Channel Islands NP (CA)
- Pearl Harbor NMEM (HI)
- Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie NHP (SC)
- Buck Island Reef NM (USVI)
- Apostle Islands NL (WI)
- Lake Chelan NRA (WA)
- Kenai Fjords NP (AK)
- Fort Matanzas NM (FL)
- Biscayne NP (FL)
- Glacier Bay NP & PRES (AK)
- San Juan Island NHP (WSA)
- Virgin Islands NP (USVI)
- Virgin Islands Coral Reef NM (USVI)
- Voyageurs NP (MN)
As with any list, there are arguments to be made around what should be included and what shouldn’t. For instance, I think you could also make an argument for including Golden Gate NRA (specifically due to Alcatraz, which is definitely its best known attraction), and even Pictured Rocks NL, which sees a lot of tour boat traffic in the summer, even though neither unit requires a boat ride. And Virgin Islands NP and Virgin Islands Coral Reef NM are on St John, and the entire island is usually accessed via ferry from St Thomas, so I’ve included both of those, even though you can easily drive to either unit once you’re on the island itself. Kenai Fjords NP often involves a boat ride too, but I think far more visitors also make the hike to Exit Glacier, so…should the boat ride count? I say yes; after all, the fjords is in the damn name itself. There are other parks with sites or areas that are only accessible via ferry, but they do not serve as a primary attraction, so they don’t make the list.
Are there any others I’ve forgotten or ones you wouldn’t include?
We visited the River Raisin National Battlefield Park today, which features a nice new visitor & education center, which is good because there’s not a whole lot to see otherwise. But I was disappointed to see the corporatization of the site, with dedicated sponsored rooms for LEGO & Cabelas
Stopped by a couple breweries, and even managed to enjoy me some Broccoli 🥦 (one of my fav hazies)
We (somewhat unexpectedly 😂) found ourselves heading into Indiana last night. This morning, we stopped by some local “attractions:” the site of the first professional baseball game, Johnny Appleseed’s grave, and the state tri-point of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
Today we visited James A Garfield National Historic Site—famous for the Front Porch campaign, as well as serving as the first “presidential library.” Garfield had one of the oddest Presidencies; unexpectedly nominated, then assassinated by a patronage seeker just months into his term.
With yesterday’s park visits, Jen now has less than 10% remaining on her national parks quest (391/433), with three more park visits likely before we fly home on Sunday night.
I had some questions during the baseball game, so I texted my buddy Jeff.
Had an unexpectedly good time at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park for Jen’s MLB Ballparks quest. Such an intimate stadium! So far, I’ve only seen home wins.
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site was our second stop today. The portage essentially functioned as a “canal lock” for raising the railroad up various steep grades in crossing the Appalachian Mountains—an important advancement in moving goods westward.
Our first stop today was Johnstown Flood National Memorial, the location of a major dam disaster that killed more than 2200 local residents due to the carelessness of a Guilded Age sportsman club.
Tucked away near the railroad tracks on the edge of the small Pennsylvania town of Lilly lies a memorial to the time local residents kicked the KKK out of town.
An adequately funded National Park Service sure would have made our visits better today. Both visitor centers are now closed for multiple days each week. These places protect and interpret our national heritage—you’d think that national pride alone would fund them to be open every day of the week.
We’re roughly halfway thru the trip, with our general route in red. My county map is rather convoluted, given how this trip overlaps with where I went in May; dark green counties are new ones I’ve passed thru in 2035, light green areas are this year’s “repeats.”
Stopped at a beer bar next to our hotel tonight to plot out the next few days. We’re one full day ahead now, which means we can hopefully tackle two additional national park units (and one affiliated site) and thereby eliminate the need for a future trip. Cautiously optimistic! 🤞
Our next stop was Fort Necessity National Battlefield, where George Washington (then fighting for the British) got his ass handed to him by the French and Indians. The site also serves as the interpretative center for the National Road, the first federal roadway.
Our second destination today was Friendship Hill, the home of Albert Gallatin, often regarded as “America’s Swiss Founding Father.” He was the longest serving Sec of Treasury, during which he reduced the national debt, purchased the Louisiana Territory, and funded the Lewis & Clark exploration.
En route to our morning destination, we passed through Moundsville, WV. “There’s got to be a mound here, let’s go find it,” I said. And a few mins later, we found ourselves in front of Grave Creek Mound, complete with visitor center. We hiked to the top, which peers out over the WV Penitentiary.
Welp, I’m falling further and further behind on trip photos. No surprise, as we’re planning as we go and packing in a lot, and I’d like to write a bit more than a quick blurb about some of our stops.
We visited the Hopewell Culture NHP yesterday, which was one of the two remaining UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the US that Jen hadn’t yet visited. We’ll hit some of the other Hopewell mound sites on a subsequent trip.
