Tag Archives: historic

Fort Bowie Trail Loop (Fort Bowie National Historic Site, AZ)

– Civil War Series – At a time when most eyes were on the major battlefields of the Civil War out east, the Union Army was engaged in 1962 in a series of smaller skirmishes in the American Southwest with … Continue reading

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Fossil Butte National Monument, WY

Visitors to southwest Wyoming’s Fossil Butte National Monument, when they get out of their cars at the Visitor Center, are treated to a walk back in time: interpretive signs and markers along the deck and sidewalk point out different geological … Continue reading

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Daemonelix Trail (Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, NE)

Imagine a creature roughly approximating a beaver or large prairie dog but one that digs holes in a spiral nearly 10 feet deep, forming tunnels resembling a corkscrew or drill bit: this is the curious activity of the prehistoric paleocastor, … Continue reading

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Calumet Bluff Trail (Gavin’s Point Dam area, NE)

During the first summer of the famed Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1804, the travelling company camped for four nights at the base of a high bluff along the Missouri River, described by the party as “composed of a yellowish … Continue reading

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Spirit Mound Trail (Spirit Mound Historic Prairie, SD)

With a system of dams effectively flooding much of the Missouri River shoreline where Meriweather Lewis and William Clark once camped during their 1803-6 expedition, there are few places left where one can walk, with certainty, in the footsteps of … Continue reading

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Circle Trail (Pipestone National Monument, MN)

Pipestone National Monument in southwest Minnesota preserves the site of an active pipestone quarry used by the Sioux and other American Indian tribes to craft famed “peace pipes” popularized by groups in the northern plains of the United States. The … Continue reading

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Fire Point Loop (Effigy Mounds National Monument, IA)

Perched on the bluffs high above the Mississippi River Valley in northeast Iowa lies a hidden treasure of burial mounds, estimated to have been created by American Indians between 850 and 1,400 years ago. And these are no usual resting … Continue reading

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Bailly/Chellberg Trail (Indiana Dunes National Park, IN)

A prominent French Canadian fur trader, Joseph Bailly settled in the Indiana Dunes area in the early 19th century, establishing a trading post in 1822 near present-day Porter, Indiana. Decades later, Swedish immigrants Anders and Johanna Kjellberg purchased 80 acres … Continue reading

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Jones Hole Trail & Ely Creek Falls (Dinosaur National Monument, UT)

Although most famous for its prehistoric fossils, Dinosaur National Monument in northeast Utah and northwest Colorado covers more than 200,000 acres of canyon country that rivals the “Mighty Five” national parks farther south. Here the Green and Yampa Rivers—and their … Continue reading

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Grimes Point Petroglyph Trail (Grimes Point Archaeological Area, NV)

For travelers driving Nevada’s Highway 50—the “Loneliest Road in America”—Grimes Point is an excellent spot to get out and stretch your legs, taking advantage of a short trail to a fantastic set of ancient petroglyphs. Undoubtedly more vivid and more … Continue reading

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