The nation’s history is recorded in books and taught in classrooms — but, author Penny Musco recommends another path of discovery.
She suggests that you visit as many of the 417 properties in the U.S. National Parks Services as possible.
That list includes 59 parks, 87 monuments, 15 rivers, three scenic trails, four battlefield parks, 11 battlefields, 78 historic sites, and thousands of recreational areas.
Musco, who lives in Sarasota, summed it up like this: “It’s our history.”
(Kathy Steele)
She went on to say, “sometimes it’s more interesting to learn our history when you’re somewhere history occurred rather than in a classroom. That’s what makes it come alive.”
Musco is author of “Life Lessons from the National Parks: Meeting God in America’s Most Glorious Places.”
She was guest lecturer at the Zephyrhills Public Library on April 19.
She also is a former artist-in-residence for the National Park Service.
She spent six weeks in Nebraska researching the “exodusters,” blacks who migrated to Kansas and other states west of the Mississippi River after the Civil War. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided land grants of 160 acres to all Americans, including former slaves and women.
During her residency, Musco wrote “Steal Away,” a one-woman show on homesteaders and exodusters. She occasionally performs at events for Black History Month or Women’s History Month.
She wrote her book in 2016 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service.
The variety of properties operated by the park service often surprises people, who tend to only think of the national parks, such as the Grand Canyon or Yosemite.
There are many other properties to visit that are less widely known, Musco said.
For instance, the national historic site commemorating the Supreme Court desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education is in Topeka, Kansas.
“It has a lot of multi-media. It’s a really good place to go,” she said.
Another plus? The site is free, Musco said.
Another free attraction — which was the country’s most visited park property in 2016 — is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
About 15.6 million people visit that each year, Musco said.
The Grand Canyon ranks No. 8 for most visitors; Yosemite, No. 12; and the Lincoln Memorial, No. 6.
The Blue Ridge Parkway – No. 2 in visitors – follows a scenic route for more than 400 miles through the Shenandoah National Park within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Smoky Mountains became a national park in the 1930s — as automobiles became a popular mode of travel.
Park service officials wanted to have a national park located in a populated area, unlike the western parks that had far fewer, if any, residents.
“Most Americans wanted to go somewhere in their automobiles,” Musco said.
Donations from the states of Tennessee and North Carolina, average citizens, and John D. Rockefeller Jr., helped buy the land. The park’s creation came with controversy, as about 1,200 people were displaced.
“People lived in the hollers in the Great Smokies,” Musco said.
About 70 log-built structures remain.
Today, the Great Smoky Mountains is the largest protected land area east of the Rocky Mountains.
In Florida, a popular spot is the Hernando de Soto National Memorial, near the Sarasota-Bradenton airport. The site marks the spot where the Spanish explorer came ashore in Tampa Bay in 1539.
The Dry Tortugas National Park is an island fortress south of the Florida Keys, accessible by ferry or seaplane. Dr. Samuel Mudd, convicted as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, served time on the island until his pardon in 1869.
Musco said Cuban refugees fleeing Castro would sail small boats to the island to seek asylum in the closest place to mainland United States.
It is one of the least visited parks but, Musco said, “It’s architecturally a magnificent place. The aquatic life is beautiful. It’s an all-day adventure.”
Her personal favorite is the Grand Canyon.
“It is so immense and so hard to wrap your mind around the scale,” she said.
Musco also loves the opportunities for free or reduced cost passes issued by the park service.
Seniors age 62 and older qualify for $10 lifetime passes. (There is a proposal to increase that fee to $80). Free passes are available to military; permanently disabled; and, fourth graders (age 10) and their families from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31.
Parks also are free on President’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and on Aug. 25 for the National Park Service’s birthday.
For information on parks, visit NPS.gov.
For information on Musco, visit PennyMusco.com.
Published May 10, 2017