New Bedford Whaling NHP

On April 1, 2012 the Stovers and Hadelers made an impromptu trip to Rhode Island.  One of 5 states I've never been to, I couldn't say no to a trip that would only add about 2 hours of driving on a Sunday afternoon with nothing better to do.

On our way down, we stopped in New Bedford and got our stamps at the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park.

The town was quiet on a Sunday afternoon, the first day of April.  Parking was easy and didn't have to pay (being Sunday).  We toured the VC and walked around town a little.  Emily and Caitlin decided to color a picture at the little kids section while Chris and I learned a few things about the history of Whaling.

We grabbed our stamps and magnet and headed on our way to Rhode Island.

Spring Break to the Cape

Spring break has finally arrived and Emily and I headed north... because we are crazy. We flew to Boston, MA to see some friends, see some history, geocache 3 new states, and grab a bunch of stamps.

On the final day of March, after arriving in Boston at 2:00am, we headed with the Hadelers to Cape Cod for a relaxing weekend at a B & B. After driving 2 hours from Boston, we had reached the cape and made our way to the national park. Our first duty was to take our picture at the sign. Since we had friends with us, this was a very easy task. After heading into the visitors center, we were ushered in to watch the video on the cape.

Wow, the music was so 1992, electronic/synthesized. The video was informational, make sure to stop and make time for the videos at each park.

We then headed into the book store where we got our stamps and showed our friends all about the stamping program. They purchased a book and started stamping as well.

After asking the ranger, she pulled out another stamp from a location that was currently closed. Just a word to the wise, if you go to Cape Cod in the winter or spring, many of the things are closed until May 1 or 15, but it does save you a lot of money on lodging!

We visited the museum in the visitors center as well and learned all about fishing and whaling that happened along the cape. Then we were off to see the natural sights.

We drove up to the Marconi Station site (the site of the first wireless transatlantic transmitter built over 100 years ago) by accident. I was looking for the park headquarters, missed the entrance, and continued down the road. The station had a nice overlook of the water and dunes. There wasn't much left as the sea had eroded away 2 of the 4 pillars over the last 100 years. The cape is ever changing. We took some very colorful pictures even though the sky was grey and the ground was brown.

On Sunday (the next day) we visited Race Point beach and saw some whales playing off the beach as well as birds diving into the ocean to fish. It was a chilly day, but the sun was out. The sand and dunes are something you wouldn't expect for Massachusetts.

February's First

On a relaxed Saturday afternoon, Emily and I decided to travel to LaSalle/Peru, IL again to make a few purchases at some of our favorite stores and stop at the Lock 16 visitors center for a stamp.

I read that they provide breakfast and lunch at this place and there is a little cafe and gift shop. Turns out, the visitors center is just a cafe and gift shop.

Upon entering the building we were greeted by a nice woman who asked us if we were here for lunch. We told her we were looking for the stamp and spotted it sitting out, chained to a barrel. There was also an ink pad and some 25th anniversary passport books for sale. There was no test paper so I had to make sure the date was correct, which doesn't seem too tough, accept the date is all backwards on the stamp.

I managed to get a good stamp, right next to the other I & M National Heritage Canal stamp from Starved Rock. We then sat down and enjoyed a nice lunch.

I recommend leaving a little time for food at this stop and if it is summer, take the boat ride (about 1 hour). In the winter, however, there is not much to do accept get your stamp, eat some food, and move on your way. They do provide programs about history on Thursday evenings it looks like (about 1-2 times per month)

My rating for this park: Great food, but I would have liked to have seen more info on the history of the canal. The building was very nice and well kept. I will have to go back in the spring/summer and see the boat ride part of the park.

A New Year, A New Park

I&M Canal Nat'l Heritage Corridor / Utica, Illinois / JAN 14 2012

Welcome to 2012. In 2010 Emily and I decided we would become National Park Passport Stamp collectors. We got ?? stamps.

In 2011 we earned the "Special Award" from the National Park Travelers Club (www.parkstamps.org). We visited 19 parks, collected 47 stamps, and visited 4 of the 9 regions of the US.

In 2012 we are trying to earn the "Bronze Award" which will require 25 parks (just 6 more than last year), 50 stamps (just 3 more than last year), in 4 Regions (same as last year!). Easily an achievable goal if we plan a vacation or two around stamping. Emily has already set limits on my new hobby in hopes that I don't go crazy, but she knows how I am.

Today was a cold, snow covered day that we had wide open. Early this morning I suggested to Emily that we head over to LaSalle/Peru so we could go to Kohl's and use our 30% off coupon and to sweeten the pot, she could go to the Limited and spend her $15 gift card. For those of you that don't know, The Limited is Emily's favorite clothing store. If given the option, she would spend hours and thousands of dollars on their clothing. I also asked if we could go to Starved Rock to pick up the stamp that was there, she agreed and off we went.

Our first stop was to the lodge, to look for a geocache, with no luck (too much snow on the ground? too cold?) so we quickly headed for the visitors center. Emily commented on how she had never seen the parking lot not covered by 2-3 feet of water. It seems in the past 3 years the Illinois river has flooded countless times.

Heading inside, we went to check out the small exhibit on the Native Americans and early settlers to the area. Emily traded some beaver pelts to a trader, then to a store manager, then to the European backer of the fort. All was done virtually on a touch screen that taught about trading of furs in Illinois. After looking at the mini model of the fort on top of the rock, we moved on to the information desk.

Two men were standing, waiting to help us and other visitors brave enough to face the cold (about 20 degrees at this time). We asked for the stamp as it was not setting out and they produced a plastic bag, orange in color, with two stamps and an ink pad (one the standard stamp and the other an eagle). After unwrapping the prize, checking the date, and inking, I was given the stamp to add to my collection.

After the stamping, we checked out the small gift shop, the scale model of the river, and then headed out the door. We did not do any hiking today as we have hiked here many times in the past and we will surly be back out her more this spring to enjoy the trails.

My rating of this park is as follows. It's a small visitors center, that provides a little info about the area. The main attraction is the hiking and the water (bald eagles show up in the winter). The lodge/hotel makes the area seem a bit commercial but it is ALWAYS busy here. If you plan to come on a warm day in the spring or fall, plan to come early to get a parking spot. I often see foreign exchange students, presumably from Chicago schools, down here hiking so you are likely to bump into some very interesting and well traveled people who would have many stories to tell you if you have the time.

Make sure you go see the canyons!

The Honeymoon

Over the course of our honeymoon (July of 2010) we changed plans to include national park passports. We ended up hitting Mojave National Preserve (2 stamps, one for Old Spanish National Historic Trail), Joshua Tree National Park, Cabrillo National Monument, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

These four stamp locations just about filled up our Western Region of our first passport. We were excited at the prospect of having to buy a second to fit all the stamps (now we are into buying our third here soon!)

Each location offered some amazing wildlife and views of the west we never thought existed. My favorite would have to be the dessert and the Joshua Trees. There is something so strangely beautiful about an area so dry and dead to the eye, yet teaming with life. The rate of change is just so slow. Make sure, if you get time, to go see the Joshua trees. They are disappearing due to weather conditions and changing climate. This park may not be around for much longer, sadly.

Stamp #2 - Old Spanish National Historic Trail / Kelso, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #3 - Mojave National Preserve / Kelso, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #4 - Joshua Tree National Park / Twentynine Palms, CA - Jul 31 2010
Stamp #5 -
Stamp #6 -
Stamp #7 -
Stamp #8 -

It Begins

While Emily and I were traveling on our Honeymoon, we decided to visit Alaska as our cruise. We got off the boat in Skagway and had our zip line adventure booked.

After completing the high ropes course in a beautiful forest, we decided to tour the town. Walking down the historic streets, it was clear to see this town tried to keep their rustic look and historic feel. There were no big box stores or established eateries, only local places.

Upon finishing our walk down the main street, we came upon the Klondike Gold Rush National Park headquarters. Being a history buff, I convinced Emily to take a tour with me... Little did she know it would spawn a new life goal and eventually lay the plans for almost every travel trip from there on out.

Well, this was the start of many traditions to come. We visited the attached bookstore and decided to purchase a magnet. When we went to check out, we saw the national park stamping stuff and thought for a minute. Since I'm into geocaching, this seemed like a great idea. Travel around the United States looking for unique stamps that are sometimes difficult to get and show you beautiful and historic parts of the world.

Emily allowed me to buy my first passport book and we stamped two stamps. The first was the typical circular stamp with the date, and second was a special stamp just for that location. We also saw there were stickers and Klondike just happened to have a sticker. Well, about $15 later we had our passport, stickers, and first stamps.

We soon made plans to change our driving route from Vegas to San Diego so we could include a few other stamps and our new adventure was born.

Stamp #1 - Klondike Gold Rush NHP / Skagway, AK - Jul 26 2010