Top 10 National Parks

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Big Horn Sheep at Yellowstone

Expert Junior Rangers

Our four youngest boys have completed about a ton of junior ranger programs, over 50 actually, on our big family adventure. While we did not participate in Awana or Boy Scouts during this season of our lives, this system the National Park and some state parks have served as a great learning enhancer. They also encouraged lots of hands on activities and physical activities like picking up trash and taking hikes, interviewing rangers and spotting wildlife. As a body of work, doing fifty plus junior ranger programs is a feat accomplished that makes us quite proud of our boys. Blake learned a lot too, helping his younger brothers do the programs (he did about six or seven himself!).

As a matter of fact Patsy and I learned quite a bit and our knowledge of our country has broadened quite a bit since walking with our sons through these cool programs!

Valley Forge

Our family truly enjoyed our visit to Valley Forge in eastern Pennsylvania. I gave my boys a special assignment to find our everything they could about a man named Frederick Von Steuben. If you do not know who he is, then try the magic Google or Wikipedia! Our kids all did a pretty good job of ferreting out information on Von Steuben.

The encampment at Valley Forge is an amazing story of our nation's birth and serves as a lesson to each of us that freedom always comes with a price and that price always involves suffering on someone's part. One of the best moments we shared during our visit was when we saw the famous painting of General Washington on his knees in the snow next to his horse, praying for God's guidance and for the troops. All of the boys were looking in awe at our first President as we admired the painting. Good moment.

Wild Horses on a Beach

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Fort McHenry

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Washington DC

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The Angel of Mary's Heights

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" -

 Jesus

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Manassas Battlefield

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Shenandoah National Park

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Gullah days at Charles Pinckney NHS

The Charles Pinckney Historical Site in Mt. Pleasant is currently hosting a Saturday series on the Gullah culture that is a part of the history of the African American community in the coastal area of the southeastern United States.

Our family stopped to learn and appreciate this unique culture. We learned how this culture has a unique way of speaking and there is even a New Testament translated into the Gullah dialect when we visited Wycliffe Translators in Orlando. During our visit to Charles Pinckney we learned further how Christianity was fully embraced by this culture when they were brought over as slaves, and how their faith helped shape their culture and gave them the resolve to walk through the dark days of slavery and later segregation.

A male choir from a local church sang some songs for the crowd gathered at the site and we also heard from a local artisan who makes sweetgrass baskets. These amazing baskets are weaved from local grasses and pine needles and have been a hallmark of the local culture for over three hundred years. All over Mt. Pleasant and Charleston you can see sweetgrass baskets for sale at roadside stands and at the Charleston outdoor market.

Also on display was a cast-net maker and a toy and quilt maker who displayed and talked to visitors about their craft. We also took the time to learn a little about Charles Pinckney, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of South Carolina. His home was pretty modest, we were expecting a huge, sprawling mansion. I guess back then all the politicians weren't mega-millionaires.

Fort Moultrie

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Fort Sumter

Fort Pulaski

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