He Knew He Was Right

In retrospect, using old model train layout paste may not have been the best way to mount my National​ Parks visited map. Thankfully I'm now at 121 sites (with 30+ visited during this "nps100" campaign), so I have more than enough pins to firmly hold the map in place... With 2016 and the NPS's centennial drawing to closes, I can certainly look back and smile on what I've seen this year, and look forward to seeing many more park sites in the coming years. Still, it's somewhat dejecting knowing that I won't add any more pins until the spring, unless a ski strip has me pass Boston or business calls me to DC, in which case I may be able to tack a few more spots sooner than later. For now, though, I can start focusing on adding pins to my ski map. 😀 For the map here, I've used three pin colors: Red pins = National Park sites (33 of 59); black pins = Civil War sites (16); yellow pins = all others in the #NPS system. And, here's the list a...

Today marks the centennial of the National Park Service, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I've looked forward to this day all year. As a rather big fan of the NPS, I've visited about 20 new sites this year, some big and many smaller ones. I learned or greatly enjoyed something at every single location. Since I have posted a few other lists here, I thought it might be interesting to do the same for the parks I've visited to date: Alphabetically by state, here goes... Denali NP AK Kenai Fjords NP AK Fort Smith NHS AR Hot Springs NP AR Pea Ridge NMP AR Grand Canyon NP AZ Lake Mead NRA AZ Petrified Forest NP AZ Death Valley NP CA Golden Gate NRA CA Lassen Volcanic NP CA Lava Beds NM CA Redwood Forest NP CA San Francisco Maritime NHP CA Whiskeytown NRP CA Yosemite NP CA Colorado NM CO Mesa Verde NP CO Roc...

Now in my second but first full season with the 27 Outs Network, this was the first of two posts I wrote for them in 2016, which in turn was my third season focusing on MiLB travel. Unfortunately, my fourth and final post for them — a tie-in with the NPS Centennial — was written directly in their WordPress site and is gone. I still have a ski post to belt out, and my National Parks sites check-ins are growing so there will surely be something on that sooner than later. However, baseball season is rapidly approaching for some. In my latest for 27 Outs Baseball, I reflect on this, thinking about my last few MiLB adventures and what this new season seems to have in store for my ballpark gallivanting...Enjoy. 100 days away For us fans of the NY–Penn League and other short-season leagues, there is a very long off season to endure. Perhaps there's some relief in noting that we're now within 100 days of opening day. Sure, other leagues will be underway considerably sooner, but, if yo...