The 2017 America the Beautiful Annual Pass is Now Available

The 2017 America the Beautiful passes are now available and feature an amazing photo of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area by Yang Lu. He was the Grand Prize winner of the 2015 Share the Experience Photo Contest, which, aside from cash prizes and gear, gets your photo on the Annual Pass! Hopefully, the Department of the Interior will run the competition again this year. Stay tuned, the photo contest usually kicks off in early May.

Also of importance this year, as has been reported, the cost of the lifetime senior pass is going up from $10 to $80 this year! If you are 62 or older perhaps buy now, as the price increase has not yet been implemented. Or buy two, as after several years of use it's not too hard to misplace or lose it on a trip — as we've sadly found out with our annual pass.

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Central Park Memories: The Ice Skating Rink

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By Beryl Brenner.

I am young. I am six years old. We are a poor family but my parents have prepared an adventure for me and my two older sisters, one who is eleven and the other who will turn ten soon. We enter the subway at our East Broadway station, on the Lower East Side of New York City. The station is in front of “the Garden," a vegetarian restaurant where my parents first met at the end of World War II, and down the block from The Forward, the foremost, prominent Yiddish newspaper in America. We are leaving our little world on the Lower East Side and heading uptown, to the bigger “New York” world of Central Park.

Once there, we walk toward the ice skating rink. I have never skated before, and I am both excited and nervous at the same time. We rent skates and my parents help me to lace them. Walking on skates is like walking on a tightrope. I enter the icy rink. I am terrified. I cling to the banister along the side. I am afraid of falling. My big sisters have done this before, and they are more confident. Suddenly they appear; one on each side of me and holding my hands to give me courage. They guide me along. The three of us glide on the ice like ballerinas. The fear subsides, and eventually they leave me to skate on my own.

Soon, the cold winter weather sets in and my tiny body feels it. I skate to the entrance to the rink and my father is there to greet me. He takes me to the concession and buys me a hot chocolate to warm me up. And then he takes both of my tiny cold hands and places his big warm hands over them. He rubs my hands to warm them up. My mother joins us and so do my sisters. We all drink hot chocolate to stave off the cold. We smile and we laugh and talk about how great this day has been. We know this is a big treat. We are a poor family but no one is richer than us.

 

Beryl Brenner obtained her BA in fine arts and her MA in Art Education from Brooklyn College. She has worked with a variety of materials and techniques. Ms. Brenner completed the glasswork for Our Lady of Guadeloupe Church in Danbury, Connecticut and for Beth Shalom Synagogue in Atlanta. She has been granted 8 one-woman shows throughout the country, including with the National Park Service, the National Landmark Bok Tower Gardens, and the prestigious Williamsburg Art and Historical Center. Her art has been shown in numerous American museums and galleries, including Ann Marie Gardens, a Smithsonian affiliate, the Attleboro Arts Museum, Dot-Fifty One in Miami, Altered Esthetics in Minneapolis, and the Philadelphia Sketch Club. In Brooklyn, her works have been shown at the Crest Hardware show, the Robert Lehman Gallery of Urban Glass, Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Williamsburg Salon, and the annual Represent Brooklyn exhibition in Bedford Stuyvesant. Her work is part of the permanent collection of Williamsburg Art and Historical Center. Ms. Brenner serves on the Board of Directors of Brooklyn Streetcar Artists Group and promotes art exhibitions in previously underserved areas of Brooklyn, NY.

Photo by Derek Wright.

 

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Canada's National Parks are Free in 2017

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It’s Canada’s 150th birthday next year, and Parks Canada is hosting quite a celebration. All are invited to check out Canada's majestic national parks for FREE! Yes, the Canadian government is waiving admissions throughout 2017 to all national parks, historic sites, and marine conservation areas operated by Parks Canada. A uniform entry fee for each park is typically $9.80 per person or $19.60 per family. Each adult must purchase his or her own Discovery Pass at $67.70 per person, or $136.40 for a family pass. (Luckily, Parks Canada considers a family as up to 7 people in a car.)

It’s going to be a popular year for Parks Canada — the website to order the Discovery Pass crashed hours after it launched at the start of December. Fear not, though, as beginning on January 1, passes will also be available at park entry gates and visitor centers, as well as at Parks Canada partners like Mountain Equipment Co-op. And, there’s no limit in terms of the number of passes Parks Canada will hand out. You can order more than one pass and there are no shipping fees or credit card information required. A pass can be shipped to anywhere in the world. Click here to order.

We also think this is very exciting: "Beginning in 2018, Parks Canada will ensure that admission for children under 18 is free, and provide any adult who has become a Canadian citizen in the previous 12 months one year's free admission.”

We’re absolutely planning a trip (or two!) to celebrate Canada and Parks Canada this year and thinking of Banff, Forillon, Glacier, Jasper, Terra Nova and Rouge Urban National Parks, how about you?

Banner photo from Vermilion Lake at Banff National Park, by Dylan Emmons.

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Pearl Harbor, A Remembrance

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In the early hours of the morning on December 7, 1941, the radar operator at Fort Shafter’s radar information center on O’ahu, east of Pearl Harbor and further inland, noted a profound surge in signal, indicating a large amount of aircraft activity one hundred miles north. First Lieutenant Kermit A. Tyler assumed the surge was from an expected delivery of United States B-17 bombers. One Japanese pilot later wrote that he had been trained to think of his aircraft as if he and the plane were one body. The USS Arizona was bombed at least five times with B5N torpedo bombers, both from air and sea, via midget submarines. The last bomber is believed to have exploded the ammunition magazines on board, which burnt and hollowed the ship’s interior, fire and smoke venting through the sides. Black smoke and flame swept the shoreline. Fires burned for two days on the surrounding shores. Sailors swam to nearby Ford Island for refuge, their bodies burnt and coated with oil. Civilians died by friendly fire, officers desperately shooting against an enemy that had already retreated. By the end of the attack, of 2,335 sailors, soldiers, and marines, as well as 68 civilians were dead.

The permanent exhibit at the Pearl Harbor Museum, within the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument on O’ahu, reflects that the attack was “the end of the age of the great battleship.” Pearl Harbor is now under the auspices of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, established in December of 2008 and comprising national sites Hawaii, the Aleutian Islands, and Newell California. All commemorate U.S. engagement in the Pacific theatre of war during World War II. Via the site in Hawaii, you can also tour the USS Missouri, where the peace agreement between the U.S. and Japan was signed in September of 1945, the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park, and The Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, on Ford Island.

USS Arizona Memorial, photo by Derek Wright.

We visited Pearl Harbor in 2013, and were deeply moved and sobered by the memorial, more finely understanding the fear and devastation that the surprise attacks wrought. The collected, recorded stories of soldiers and civilians helped us imagine the feelings of being foisted to the front line of a new war, hours if not days away from immediate assistance.

The USS Arizona Memorial, designed by Alfred Preis, is set atop the sunken USS Arizona, still lodged in the Pacific. Leaking oil from the ship, also known as “black tears,” stains the surface of the water; park rangers say the ship will leak oil for decades to come. Visible from the memorial are the USS Missouri and Ford Island. The names of those who perished are set upon the entire rear wall of the memorial.

USS Arizona Memorial, photo by Derek Wright.

Memories of our visit to Pearl Harbor flooded back this past fall, when we visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, in Hyde Park, New York. The site is comprised of Roosevelt’s home and Presidential Library and Museum, a considerable portion of which is devoted to interpreting his immediate response to Pearl Harbor and the aftermath, as Commander in Chief of a country at war. We see the drafts and rewrites of his appeal to Congress on December 8, 1941, the day after the attacks; the speech was initially intended to be pointed and brief, but subsequent rewrites in collaboration with his advisers shaped the version we know today. As per the National Archives:

“…the President calmly and decisively dictated to his secretary, Grace Tully, a request to Congress for a declaration of war. He composed the speech in his head after deciding on a brief, uncomplicated appeal to the people of the United States rather than a thorough recitation of Japanese perfidies as Secretary of State Cordell Hull had urged. President Roosevelt then revised the typed draft—marking it up, updating military information, and selecting alternative wordings that strengthened the tone of the speech. He made the most significant change in the critical first line, which originally read, "a date which will live in world history."

The Senate unanimously voted in support of war, and only Montana pacifist Jeanette Rankin dissented in the House.  

Draft of Roosevelt's speech to Congress, photo by Derek Wright.

The original draft of the speech is preserved, Roosevelt’s pencil markings and edits a unique glimpse into the writing and editing process moments after a crisis. One critical amendment to the speech was to, at the last moment, change “a date which will live in world history” to the words we know today “a date which will live in infamy.” Roosevelt, an intuitive archivist, recorded his thoughts throughout the war. He later wrote that upon receiving the phone call about the bombings at Pearl Harbor, his first instinct was to record his thoughts in writing, knowing his response would become part of our national historical memory. 

This year’s remembrance of Pearl Harbor will be made particularly special, as for the first time, a leader of Japan’s government, the President himself, will be present to mark the day. On the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, we wanted to reflect upon this moment in history, and to remember the lives of those that perished in the attacks, as well as in the years of war that followed.

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, O'ahu, photo by Amy Beth Wright.

Banner photo, USS Arizona Memorial, photo by Amy Beth Wright.

11 Ways to #OptOutside Close to Home this Black Friday

11 Ways to #OptOutside Close to Home this Black Friday

REI’s #OptOutside initiative, piloted in 2015, originated from a desire for its 12,000 employees to enjoy the much needed rest, reconnection, and renewal we all benefit from during the holiday season. As per Adweek, Senior Vice President of REI Ben Steele explained, "Obviously at face value it seems crazy, but it was all about giving our people the day off and inviting others to join us.” The campaign has inspired a ripple effect, with retail businesses, outfitters, and restaurants following suit. The hashtag has been trending on social media since, and inspired the sensibility that we can readily detach from consumerism. It also suggests that we can think of outdoor experiences as a continuum throughout the year, and not as season specific.

However, Thanksgiving is not always the ideal week for a big parks trip. Visiting family or friends informs destination choices, and it can also be an expensive time of year to schedule a major trip. Many stay close to home, saving big trips for other times of the year. We have put together a list of ideas for outside time even when you are on very familiar terrain, and when you might not have a national park, forest, or public land in your backyard.  Some are great family activities, and some work well for small group or solo time.

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1. Birdwatch.

Photo by Derek Wright.

The Audubon Society has several free guides available as cell phone apps, and on their site The Birdist’s Rule # 10 is to “Know What Birds Are Doing Each Month.” In October and November, “Rarity season heats up as fall migration cools off. Migrating birds will sometimes make mistakes: getting blown off course by a storm or simply flying off in the wrong direction. Sometimes species found on one coast will show up on the other. And sometimes—some incredible times—birds from other continents will show up in the United States. Birders hunt for these wayward birds with zeal, crunching through the dying grass and falling leaves until it’s too frigid to go out. Though you’re never guaranteed to find anything unusual, late-fall birding is a blast.”

2. Download Maps and Try Orienteering.

You will need a compass, and a map. U.S. Geological Survey maps are available for purchase and or download here. Orienteering USA also has a great site for newbies.

3. Stargaze.

We like the One-Minute Astronomer’s Guide to the Night Sky and Basic Astronomy, and the NASA Night Sky Network Education and Outreach Resources publishes monthly Universe Discovery Guides that you can download in PDF form, with sky features and follow up activities.

4. Structure a Scavenger Hunt.

Build lists of items found in nature for teams and/or youngsters to search for. Especially with kids, consider shapes, textures, color and size when crafting a satisfying list, like a heart shaped leaf, a rock with a coarse or smooth texture or two tones of color…

5. Practice Your Outdoor Photography.

Photo by Derek Wright.

By tomorrow you can read Parks and Points contributor Jim Jones’ list of basics, but in the meantime, this is a good list for practicing iPhone photography, and we also like Contrastly’s tips for staging outdoor portraits.

6. Build and launch a kite.

We purchased a postcard kite on our recent trip to South Carolina to tour Fort Sumter, a great souvenir that encourages you to get right back outside. This link at instructables.com offers some inspiration for kite-making, as do the short series of videos on this page from KiteCompany.

7. Practice a Beginner’s Yoga Sequence.

Why wait on this particular New Year’s resolution; there are many guides to yoga poses for beginner’s online, and if the weather is indeed balmy, yoga is a great, restorative choice for some quality time outside. Iyengar Yoga Source sells a 28 pose guide for $10, and this post from Yoga Journal focuses on yoga poses well suited to the outdoors. This post from Women’s Health also shares some great general tips for getting started.

Photo by Amy Beth Wright.

10. Organize an Off-Season Olympics Competition.

Although its an off year for the Olympics, this is a great activity for a large crowd. Any of the activities in the above games category can be organized to be points earning, as well as track and field events like long jump, high jump, discus (Frisbee) throw, relays, hurdles, and short and middle distance sprints.

11. Visit a state park.

We would be remiss not to share Lifehacker’s great round-up of state parks offering free admission on Black Friday. And, do consider that city and county parks are likely open!

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