The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As the sun comes up over the smokies, reflecting the first morning light off a thick layer of Christmas white snow covering the ground and the trees, it’s amazing how quiet it can be in a city. As much as we love remote mountain…
Photo Essays
A Christmas Star, the Age of Aquarius, and A Reluctant 2020 Year In Review
Election Night 2020 Ends at Midnight With No Clear Winner for President
Click the map to create your own here – By Glynn Wilson – GETTYSBURG, Pa. — It’s the day after Election Day 2020 and there’s still no declared winner in the presidential race, although as the absentee and mail-in votes are counted today and this week in key battleground states, experts are still giving the…
Secret Vistas: Autumn Color is Peaking in Maryland, but Don’t Get Too Close to Camp David
“Better is the poor man walking in his simplicity, than the rich in crooked ways.” – Solomon, Proverbs Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – CAMP DAVID, Md. — A serene fog hangs thick in the trees here on Thursday morning, muting the Autumn colors and making the forest seem still and quiet. The weather…
Autumn Color: Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Secret Vistas: Curtis Creek Campground in the Pisgah National Forest
Shenandoah One More Time in the Summer of Our Discontent
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – LOFT MOUNTAIN, SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, Va. (Sunday, July 12, 2020) — In this summer of our discontent, with the coronavirus still spreading into every corner of the world and the economy teetering on the brink of collapse, it is hard to totally escape the anxiety and stress of…
What to Make of American Independence in These Times that Try Human Souls, Again
National Park Service Suspends Entrance Fees So the Public Can Get Outdoors Away from Other People During Coronavirus Crisis
By Glynn Wilson – PENSACOLA, Fla. — If you are feeling cooped up or claustrophobic and locked up in your suburban home glued to the bad news on cable television about coronavirus, you may want to consider another way to get away from other people: Visit a national park during this time of national crisis.…
National Parks Commemorate Martin Luther King Holiday with Free Admission and Special Events
By Glynn Wilson – The National Park Service will host special events and provide free entrance to all national parks this year in honor of the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 20. The Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. is an official day of service in remembrance of the man whose…
Hell Hath No Fury, Like Mother Nature Provoked
Washington Irving: The First Acknowledged American Writer
Seeing the Light from Gettysburg and Pennsylvania
Lessons for Progressive Democrats on Theodore Roosevelt Island
Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lurking on a wooded little island in the Potomac River just across the water from Georgetown, there lie important lessons for progressive Democrats from the most progressive president in American history. In continuing our exploration of the U.S. capital region, not just the partisan politics,…
Comic Cowboys Take Satirical Aim at Trump, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey and Other Politicians on Fat Tuesday in 2019 Mardi Gras Parade
Rare White Fawn Spotted in Greenbelt National Park
Secret Vistas- By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In late 2016, on the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service in the United States, a rare white fawn was born in the woods of Greenbelt National Park, where visitors come from all over the country and the world to see the the neo-classical architecture,…
Explore Washington, D.C. from Greenbelt National Park’s Campground
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. — So you’re a patriotic American or an international admirer of the United States and you’ve always wanted to visit the nation’s capital city? The Neo-classical architecture? All the buildings, memorials and other sites related to the United States federal government? All the Smithsonian museums? Maybe you’ve hesitated, thinking…
Perhaps Can We Learn to Save Democracy from the Experience at Valley Forge
By Glynn Wilson – VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – When George Washington moved the Continental Army of colonial militias 18 miles west of Philadelphia on a ridge overlooking the Schuylkill River in the winter of 1777, the motivation that kept a sick and starving rag tag group of soldiers together was the prospect of being governed…
If You Want to Keep Democracy Alive, Vote Nov. 6 Like Your Life Depends on It
Our Future May Very Well Be Decided in This Election – The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – While standing in line to enter the hallowed grounds of Independence Square and Independence Hall, I heard a family speaking French behind me. We struck up a conversation in English, and I thanked…