Month: April 2014

Manzanar: Acknowledging a Past Tragedy

Manzanar National Historic Site is both crime scene and memorial. Incarcerating more than 10,000 loyal Japanese Americans there as a result of hysteria and paranoia at the outbreak of World War II is a case study in how the ugly stain of racism continues to be a blot on the ideals of the American experiment.

But more recently, thanks to time, determination, and a willingness to acknowledge the sins of the past, Manzanar National Historic Site is evolving into a place to help us appreciate that, despite our differences, different cultures have more in common with each other than one might think, and that a nation can strive for a higher ideal. read more

The Best Side Trip I Ever Took?

Some of my greatest joys occur when I choose the road less traveled. Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, an hour’s drive outside Death Valley National Park, aptly fits that description, but this jewel of desert beauty is also home to the toughest fish – shorter than an inch – ever to take a case to the United States Supreme Court. And the fish won – for now.

Ash Meadows is nestled in the Amargosa Desert in southern Nevada and men of ambition were determined to bring civilization to the desert. There was plenty of water underground just waiting to be taken. And who cared about a fish so small it was called “pupfish” or that you could easily fit 100 of them in a teacup? (The teacup notion fails once you realize less than 100 Devils Hole pupfish are currently alive, making them the rarest of the 30 or so species of pupfish). read more

Death Valley, Some of America’s Best Desert Beauty

For thousands of years, Death Valley has enticed adventurers hoping to suss out secrets, or perhaps plunder riches. But more recently, it is the traveler who comes and slips into an outdoor tapestry that guarantees this out of the way destination is a trip you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

Aside from its sheer size as the largest national park in the continental U.S. and temperatures hot enough to cook eggs in the summer Death Valley is also the lowest spot in the contiguous U.S. at 282 feet below sea level. read more