DAY 5 (September 16) - Greenbelt Park is an oasis in a grueling urban environment. Just view one of the park’s staff cars for confirmation. There is a campground, a few trails (the Dogwood Trail is one photo), and reserved picnic pavilion areas.

Rock Creek Park is an even larger oasis. One could not count the number of bicyclists, joggers, and walkers this morning. The park stretches north/south for about 9 miles (city boundary by Silver Spring, MD, in the north to Georgetown in the south), covering over 1,700 acres. The park was designated in 1890, becoming the third national park. Civil War forts, ballfields, tennis stadium, and horse trails are within the boundaries. Many buildings from the Pierce Estate remain, such as their grist mill (left photo) and Carriage Barn (right photo). They knew where to set the grist mill, right by one of the falls in Rock Creek, to harness water energy.

Clara Barton is a name found in most, if not all, junior high history books. She was selfless, serving and assisting others during peacetime, war, in America, and abroad. She founded the American Red Cross and tended to the wounded during the Civil War. She lived in Glen Echo for the last 15 years of her life. Her home is only open three days a week, from 1 PM to 4 PM. I missed that window today, but plan to return in the future.

DAY 4 (September 15) - Fort Washington Park preserves the first formal river fortification of our country’s capitol. The brick and stone fortification was finished in 1809, just before the War of 1812. Sadly, when the British sailed up the Potomac River, the fort’s commander felt his 45-man garrison was no match, so he blew up the fort and its munitions (he was later court-martialed). So, the fort which was to protect Alexandria and D.C. never fired a shot in defense.

Up the hill are the ruins of Battery Decatur, built in 1891. This cement reinforced complex had two “disappearing guns”. The recoil of the 10” Endicott guns (range of 7 miles) would lower the carriages below the line-of-sight, protecting the guns from enemy fire while they were reloaded. One of the Army residences, built in 1906 can be viewed. At water’s edge is a lighthouse. An excellent source told me the structure has gradually been leaning more and more, close to falling over. Bets had been placed as to when it would topple. Thankfully, funds are now available to right the lean.

Thomas Stone was one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. His home, Haberdeventure, and portions of his estate (upwards of 2,000 acres, and a tobacco barn shown in the one photo) can be toured. Stone was a moderate, at first not taking a stand as to sticking with Great Britain or moving to independence. But he and other Maryland leaders let the people of Maryland vote on the issue and independence had the higher tally. Stone then went to Philadelphia on July 2 and voted as such. The Stone family was rich. The master bedroom exemplifies their lifestyle. The study has Stone’s desk (obtain by the NPS after some fortunate twists and turns) as well as the portrait of the patriot, painted near the end of his life.

Piscataway Park is in partnership with the National Colonial Farm. A historic kitchen garden can be toured, highlighting various plants the average farm harvested. Some trails provide quiet solitude for walkers. One of the driving forces behind making this a NPS unit was the property across the Potomac River, that being Mount Vernon. Various parties did not want the view from George’s residence to be of commercial enterprises.

The New Castle Court House, built in 1732, is one of six property sites which make up the First State National Historical Park. On June 15, 1776, Delaware colonists voted in this building to separate from Great Britain and Pennsylvania.

Around the corner is the Dutch House, built around 1700. This is one of the oldest buildings in our country’s first State. A miniature model of the house, created by Grace Hayden, a former tour guide, sits in the VC. The city’s Episcopal Church from 1703 (congregation was established in 1689) is behind the courthouse.

The Great Egg Harbor River begins its journey near Berlin, NJ. A total of 129 miles lies within the 17 tributaries and main channel. This park is unique in that local communities administer the lands and water. I decided to stop at Penny Pot Park, which is closer to Berlin than to the Atlantic Ocean. One of the most notable parameters involved with this river is the brown, or tea, color of the water. The one photo shows the hue, resulting from high concentration of iron and natural dyes like tannin.

DAY 3 (September 14) - The World War 1 Memorial looks much different than the last time I visited. The gold etching of the Meuse- Argonne campaign is still present. One of my dad’s uncles was killed during this offensive. Uncle Edgar was in the 4th Division (center and bottom). But “A Soldier’s Journey” illustration, at one end of the memorial, is new for me. The east end has a sculpture of General Pershing, though he is in the middle of some refurbishment. Over 4 million men were involved with the AEF (American Expeditionary Force) by 1918 to help the Allies defeat Germany.

Then onto the White House VC, which is across the street from the WW1 Memorial. I met up with Humberto, a fellow NPTC member. He is closing in on 380 parks. Humberto asked a park ranger what land area constitutes the White House President’s Park. The ranger had a stack of sheets with the answer. No need to take an inside tour of the WH to officially state you have visited this park. But we had tour passes, so we walked over to the entry point near the Treasury Department building. First security checkpoint was to be sure we had a pass for this date. Next checkpoint was to look at our official government IDs (aka driver’s license). Then another checkpoint which included xray scanning of our personal belongings. Still photography, without flash, is allowed in the WH. The tour starts in the East Wing, also known as the First Ladies Wing. The official portraits of the First Ladies hang from the walls. The Library and China rooms are then viewed. The East Room is the largest room on the entry floor level. It looks the way it did from the 1902 renovation by President Roosevelt. This room holds the famous Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington (left side of the photo on the far right), the only remaining original object from when the WH was opened in 1800. First Lady Dolly Madison had the painting removed before the British burned the building during the War of 1812. Then, of course, there are the Green, Blue, and Red rooms. You may notice some of the rugs are rolled up. Tours end at 12:30 PM (only held five days a week) followed by a crew of six people removing the tour ropes and unrolling the carpets in just 15 minutes. The last room on the tour is the State Dining Room, with a portrait of Lincoln looking over the table. What an experience. A Secret Service agent said Mrs. Biden is known for walking in the halls of the East Wing and will pass visitors and say “hi”. President Biden rarely goes by the tour route, though the agent said if he wanted to he could, since it is his home.

A 0.8 mile walk had Humberto and me at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, ready for the 11:30 AM house tour. This was one lady who, as the ranger said, would get in your face. Equality and Justice were not being served for the African-American community and she worked tirelessly to change that state. She lived in this house for six years before moving to Florida. The house continued as the headquarters for the NCNW (National Council of Negro Women). Five enthusiastic history and national park buffs were on the tour with Humberto and me. They had a copy of First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray, a fictional story about a First Lady and a Civil Rights Leader. Does Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod come to mind? Hmmm. They are now headed to more national parks, counting towards the 425 like Humberto and me. The house does have McLeod’s desk and conference table and chairs. The table/chairs were a gift from Illinois Congressman Dawson, a friend of McLeod.

Just a ten-minute walk away is the home of Carter G. Woodson. The house is currently closed, but the park boundary includes the front steps. Woodson and McLeod were exceptional friends, both fighting for the same civil rights. McLeod was one of only two people allowed to call Woodson by his first name; Carter. Everyone else had to say “Dr. Woodson”.

Manassas National Battlefield Park was the site of the first major skirmish of the Civil War. Henry’s Hill was the focal point of July 21, 1861. A replica of the Henry’s house stands on the original site. Behind the house is one of the oldest Civil War monuments on any battlefield, the Bull Run Monument. Union troops who fought here erected the monument a few weeks after Lee’s surrender in 1865. The famous Stone House survived both Manassas battles. The turning point of the first battle was on the Union’s right flank on Henry’s Hill. The cannon in the photo is positioned at the spot. In trying to attack the Confederate left, the two assigned cannons came too close to the Rebel lines, allowing the Confederate infantry to overrun the position and push forward against the Union right. Retreating Union troops rushed across the Stone Bridge back to Washington. A replica of the Stone Bridge stands where the first bridge did.

The final park for today was Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The Filene Center is the centerpiece of the park, though there are a couple of other smaller amphitheaters on the grounds. I was not allowed into the Center today because unbeknownst to me, a concert was about to begin, and I did not have a ticket. Who remembers The Squeeze from the 1980s? I had a wonderful time talking to two rangers and a volunteer, as well as two concert goers. This may be the only National Park where you can BYOB and have it open on the grounds. There were plenty of coolers being pulled up the walking paths to the Center.

DAY 2 (September 13) - Frederick Douglass NHS is one of the 14 parks in the National Capitol Parks East unit. So, first stop today allowed me to check-off two parks. Douglass lived in this house, called Cedar Hill, for the last 17 years of his life. The building overlooked Anacostia and the Capitol (with no obstructions back then). The furnishings and items inside the house are 70% original to Douglass, including his desk and chair. The VC has a life-size sculpture of the leading abolitionist of his time. The NPS team at the park was extremely polite and helpful. Adorning one wall in the VC is a piece of art which symbolizes Douglass’ view of nonviolence (he turned down an offer from John Brown to participate in the Harpers Ferry incident).

Since there are no unique photos of “National Capitol Parks East”, I will move on to Pennsylvania Avenue NHS. This is America’s Main Street, per the NPS website. Parades, protests, and marches have walked up and down this street since the 1700s. The Navy Memorial is on the north side of the avenue. On the south side is the Old Post Office. Though the building is now a Waldorf-Astoria hotel, visitors can still go to the top of the tower. This is the second-best view of the city after the Washington Monument.

Around the corner, on 10th Street, is Ford’s Theatre. Your visit begins with the museum in the basement. A number of artifacts are displayed, including Booth’s derringer. Another staircase takes you up to the theatre level. Shows and productions still grace this historic stage. But no one is allowed to sit in the Presidential Box. A plexiglass partition separates visitors from the seating area.

Across the street is the Petersen House, where Lincoln was carried. A fellow NPTC member, Humberto, is viewing the exterior. The first room one enters is where Mary Todd Lincoln kept vigil through the night. Lincoln had been carried to a back room on the entry floor. The average height of men at that time was 5.5 feet. Lincoln stood nearly 6 feet 4 inches. The attendants had to lay him at an angle to try and keep him completely on the bed (the original bed is at the Chicago History Museum). At 7:22 AM the next morning he died. Visitors now take an elevator to the fourth floor where two floors of exhibits give more background of Lincoln and the events that night, such as what happened to the nine conspirators (Booth was just one of the nine).

Of all the iconic structures in D.C., the Washington Monument towers over them, at 555 feet. The view from the top is spectacular. To the west is the WW2 Memorial, Reflecting Pool, Constitution Gardens, and the Lincoln Memorial. Next to the elevator shaft at ground floor is a sculpture of Washington.

Can everyone make out the color difference in the stone, about 1/3 of the way up? This is where the project paused for a number of years, before Congress delegated public monies to finish the monument. By then a new source of stone had to be used. Today, this obelisk is the world’s tallest stone structure without internal supports… just gravity holding all the stones in place.

Down the hill is the World War II Memorial. There are two “halves” to represent the two theaters of operation during the war; Atlantic (first photo) and Pacific. The columns on the sides of the two larger structures are for each State and Territory.

The Gold Star Wall has 4,408 markers, each representing 100 service members who lost their lives (or are still missing) in the war.

Just to the north of the WW2 Memorial is Constitution Gardens. An island in the middle of the small lake is a memorial to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence. George Ross’ facsimile signature, in gold, is at the end of this curved portion. John Hancock’s is the largest font size of the 56. Makes sense, right?

This entire area used to be part of the Potomac River. But thanks to the Corps of Engineers, the water was evacuated, and people now have a quiet area to walk in and enjoy nature. There were plenty of Canadian Geese and Mallard Ducks swimming in the lake.

The Vietnam War Memorial gets plenty of visitors. Today, Honor Flight Vietnam veterans from a couple of tour buses were visiting the black granite. These men and women were from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A later addition to the park was the sculpture of three soldiers. Over 58,000 men died in the conflict.

The Lincoln Memorial is undergoing some major maintenance work. One-half of the front view is plywood and construction. But the inside was untouched. Greek-style columns line the two sides of the entry way. Two paintings adorn the top of the south and north walls. The south wall image is above Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

One of the most famous views of the National Mall is from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, looking east towards the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument. Great speeches have been made from these steps, none more iconic than MLK Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech. The National Mall is considered one of the 425 NPS units, so this photo will cover that park.

The Korean War Memorial honors those men and women who were KIA or are MIA from that Cold War conflict. Sculptures of soldiers walking through rice fields seem to get the most attention. This memorial has its own black wall, with the names of those service personnel. One of the more haunting symbols in the NPS is the granite wall with etchings of thousands of images. This wall reflects the rice fields and sculptures. The technique used to achieve this effect is too long to discuss here.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial has two massive symbols; the Stone of Hope (with his image) and the Mountain of Despair. This is based on a quote by Dr. King. “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.” Many of Dr. King’s most famous quotes are carved into the two walls which extend outwards from the Mountain of Despair sections.

The FDR Memorial is a little way down from MLK, along the Tidal Basin. A sculpture near the VC shows Roosevelt in a wheelchair. This was a later addition to the memorial, to help visitors understand his medical condition during his Presidency. One of my favorite sculptures across the NPS is the line of men waiting for food during the Depression. Many of FDR’s quotes are engraved on the myriad walls around the memorial. They are as relevant to our country today as they were in the mid-20th century. With that said, it is felt today that FDR was hypocritical by signing the law which incarcerated American citizens during WW2 only because they were of Japanese ancestry.

The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is undergoing more work than Lincoln. The VC and museum in the lower level are closed. But visitors can still access the rotunda. Jefferson was the prime supporter of the country going the path of agriculture. He did not feel industry would make us great. He and Hamilton argued constantly on this issue. Too bad they could not have just agreed both aspects of society were equally important.

Last park for the day, whew, was the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial. This is one of the newer NPS parks. Two groups of sculptures identify Ike as a Statesman and as the Allied Commanding General prior to D-Day. A bonus of visiting this park is the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum is across the street, with plenty of WW2 memorabilia.

DAY 1 (September 12) - The NPS has over 1 million artifacts from the 3-day battle at Gettysburg. That is one metric which shows the scope of this battle, the turning point of the Civil War. A tree which was on Culp’s Hill is in a display case, shell fragments, case shot, and cannister still imbedded. Over 7 million rounds of ammunition were fired. A sculpture of Lincoln sits outside the VC. The battlefield has numerous monuments, statues, and sculptures, like the North Carolina monument. A number of houses which were front and center in the fighting and survived are on the auto-tour route, such as the Trostle House. Fittingly, the largest monument in the park is for Pennsylvania. The cannons in front were forged in 1863 at the West Point Foundary.

History experts have determined Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address on the other side of this wrought iron fence in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. A plaque helps visitors to stop at this location and look over into the cemetery. The address was read on November 19, 1863. I will finish my Quest on November 19, 2023, 160 years later. The very tall Soldiers National Monument stands inside the cemetery boundaries.

Back on the auto-tour route I stopped at The Copse of Trees. This was the center point of Pickett’s Charge on July 3 (the final day), within “The Angle”, a long stone wall fence. Confederates briefly broke through The Angle near The Copse of Trees, but Union soldiers finally repulsed them. This one monument along the fence line at The Copse of Trees is for the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, which lost 137 out of 258 men during the attack.

Dwight Eisenhower loved Gettysburg. He trained here in his younger days. So, when he retired, he and his wife moved to a farm which today borders the Gettysburg National Military Park. His house is open on certain days of the week, but not today. A large barn is next door. The Secret Service used to operate out of this structure. Guard shacks on the entrances to the property still tell people there is no admittance. Between the house and barn is Eisenhower’s favorite chipping area and putting green. The PGA installed the grass and sand. Golfing was one of the President’s favorite pastimes. The flag has five stars, to reflect the rank he achieved in the Armed Forces.