Marine Corps War Memorial/Netherlands Carillon

{EAV_BLOG_VER:dbdc225f2703861e} A roughly 15-20 minutes walk from the front entrance of Arlington National Cemetery, lies  a plot of land (what I’d personally call a park) containing the well-known Marine Memorial as well as a giant bell tower.  Apparently, the bell tower was a gift from the Netherlands in 1954 given in appreciation to the US for its support in WWII.  The Marine Corps War Memorial is a statue which I have seen in pictures hundreds of times, yet could not have previously labeled it or stated it’s location. Due to … Continue reading

Arlington National Cemetery

During our trip to Washington DC, we planned to visit Arlington National Cemetery.  In doing such, to our surprise, we obtained our first “Mid-Atlantic Region” stamps!  Naturally, we had assumed that it would be considered part of the National Capital Region though it seems as if only those in DC proper qualify for the “red” stamp.  So, we added two new regions to our National Park passport stamp collection.

Multiple stamps are available at or nearby Arlington National.   Arlington, itself, reportedly has 25+ funerals every day, though this was not … Continue reading

National Parks Travelers Club

As we have been getting more and more into our new found hobby, I stumbled upon the National Parks Travelers Club. The Club is a non-profit club whose mission is promoting park visitation and providing fellowship and recognition for everyone interested in visiting the parks.

Seeing as we are hooked, we decided to join. We have only been members for a few days and are very impressed with the quality and magnitude of information the small membership fee ($10.00) brings. Being a Google Earth Pro trainer, I was … Continue reading

Plan your Summer Adventures

The National Park Service has created a useful and very informative site to help you plan out your “Summer National Park Adventure.”  My wife and I have several National park visits planned for the upcoming months. We hope to visit sites in the National Capital Region as well as a few other regions.  Check out the new site and start planning your next trip at http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/plan_your_visit/index.htm.  Don’t forget your passport book!… Continue reading

LA Times – Hidden gems: America’s 20 least-visited National Monuments

The Los Angeles Times has a great list of the 20 least visited National Monuments.

Here is the list:
20. Chiricahua, Arizona (Western) – Visitors in 2009: 60,851
19. Tonto, Arizona (Western) – Visitors in 2009: 60,534
18. Capulin Volcano, New Mexico (Southwest) – Visitors in 2009: 50,935
17. Pipe Spring, Arizona (Western) – Visitors in 2009: 49,433
16. El Morro, New Mexico (Southwest) – Visitors in 2009: 48,245
15. Buck Island Reef, U.S. Virgin Islands (Southeast… Continue reading

2010 Featured Stamps

This year’s National Stamp is Dinosaur National Monument.

The Regional Stamps for each region are as follows:

Fort Stanwix National Monument (North Atlantic)
George Washington Birthplace National Monument (Mid-Atlantic)
Piscataway Park (National Capital)
Fort Matanzas National Monument (Southeast)
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial (Midwest)
Washita Battlefield National Historic Site (Southwest)
Capitol Reef National Park (Rocky Mountain)… Continue reading