Secret Vistas

Secret Vistas: Retreat from New York

67649714 859803524400022 2630275544444305408 n 160x120 - Secret Vistas: Retreat from New York

Secret Vistas –  By Glynn Wilson –  “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” – George Washington NEW YORK, N.Y. – As Commander of the Continental Army, General George Washington became known not for winning battles against the British so much,…

Lessons for Progressive Democrats on Theodore Roosevelt Island

Teddy_Roosevelt2b

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,…

Rare White Fawn Spotted in Greenbelt National Park

White_Fawn10162018b

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,…

Experiencing Wild Yellowstone Would Make the World a Better Place

img_1915_edited-1

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wy. – Standing still in a mountain meadow as snowflakes begin to fall on a herd of bison along Beartooth Pass, you get the feeling of arriving in an ancient and distant land before human civilization began to eat away at nature and churn the…

The Ghost of Hungry Mother Creek

george-washington-state-forest-1351791332

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – MARION, Va. – Listening to a babbling brook running behind the campground in this state park just as the sun went down on Halloween, I could have sworn I heard a small female child crying off in the distance, moaning “hungry mother, hungry mother.” Back during the pioneer…

My Year as a Volunteer VIP Campground Host Comes to an End

big-buck_fall-color1

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – My eyes and my soul are drawn to one event in nature more than any other. Autumn color. I could play the innocent and talk about this natural beauty like describing playing in mud puddles as a youth and wax eloquent about the uniqueness of…

Herbert Hoover’s Camp Rapidan Tour, Shenandoah National Park

Ranger_Woody-Searles1a

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – Who knew Herbert Hoover was such a great guy? About the only thing most Americans know about former President Hoover is that he was in office when the stock market crashed in 1929, leading to the worst Great Depression in U.S. history. He was defeated when seeking reelection…

Oh Shenandoah in Spring: How the Fawns Escape the Bears

BigMeadows_doe1c

“Oh-skan-ohn-doh in Oneida.” – Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS, Va. – Finally. It’s 1:47 on a Sunday afternoon. Me and my loyal dog Jefferson are taking a break in the camper van, aided by a little afternoon air conditioning — and an April shower on the mountain in May. It’s been…

Patapsco Valley State Park: An Urban Oasis

Lost_Lake-bridge1

Secret Vistas by Glynn Wilson PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. — America is rich in secret vistas — little-known places that touch the heart and stir the spirit. Like quiet Gulf of Mexico beaches in the off season. Deserted Appalachian hiking trails and glistening streams thick with trout. Hidden forests with trees dating back to…

Full Corn Planting Moon in Maryland

Full_Moon-may2015b

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. – As the sun went down on Sunday, May 3, I was walking my dog Jefferson around the outer loop of the campground along the ridge top and noticed the full moon coming up over the horizon. It was so orange it looked…

Spring Comes to Patapsco Valley State Park

screech_owl1

PATAPSCO VALLEY STATE PARK, Md. – The earth has turned on its axis to just the right angle for spring to start breaking out in Maryland, finally, although there are more April showers and cool nights on the way. A screech owl made a special appearance in the campground Saturday night from the Maryland Department…

Spring Has Been Ordered, But Like Everything Else, You Have to Wait for It

Camp_Patapsco-wood1

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — It is almost too cold here to type. It was spring in Mobile, Alabama, last week when I had to pull out and head north for the season in the area around Washington, D.C. Upon arrival in Patapsco Valley State Park, which you may…

Tannehill State Park Flash Flood of December 2014

Tannehill_Flood12-28-2014a

TANNEHILL, Ala. – This video was shot to show the flash flooding at Tannehill State Park in Alabama on Dec. 28, 2014. Video created for the New American Journal @ NewAmericanJournal.Net, an alternative, independent news publication registered legally as Locust Fork Publishing LLC.

Secret Vistas: Christmas on Display at Tannehill State Park

Tannehill_Christmas1e

A Photo Essay – By Glynn Wilson – TANNEHILL, Ala. — The skies cleared Christmas Eve and the sun broke out Christmas morning at Tannehill State Park, so we decided to walk the dog and snap some pics. Enjoy.

Ducks on the Pond at Tannehill State Park

Tannehill_ducks1ib

A Photo Essay in Progress – Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – We pulled into Tannehill State Park on a cloudy, drizzly Friday the week before Christmas and stumbled onto perhaps the best deal on a campsite we’ve seen after three months of camping all over Maryland, Virginia and the Gulf Coast. There’s a…

Living in a Camper Van, if You Don’t Like the Weather, Move on Down the Road

HungryMother_snow21514g

The Big Picture – By Glynn Wilson – MARION, Va. – We made the drive down U.S. Highway 81 out of Maryland and into Virginia on Monday on our first migration south for the winter in the camper van, making it to a familiar spot along Hungry Mother Creek, one of those many babbling brooks…

Riding Out Election Day in a Mountain Campground

BigMeadows_buck1a

Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – BALDFACE ROCK OVERLOOK, Va. – It is election day all across America and the big question is whether the Republicans will take over control of the U.S. Senate. But since I am not now living and working in Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas or one of the…

More Autumn Color from the Virginia Mountains

Elizabeth Furnace1b 160x120 - More Autumn Color from the Virginia Mountains

Secret Vistas – A Photo Essay – By Glynn Wilson – SOMEWHERE IN THE MOUNTAINS, Va. — We continued our journey on Wednesday by leaving the Shenandoah National Park and coming out at the little town of Elkton. We headed back north to continue the loop around Washington, D.C. and found a beautiful private campground…

Camping Along the Appalachian Trail at Big Meadows

Shenandoah4_AT1e

SECRET VISTAS – By Glynn Wilson – BIG MEADOWS CAMPGROUND, Va. — We pulled into this largest campground in the Shenandoah National Park on Sunday afternoon late, and without knowing it, picked a campsite right on the Appalachian Trail. The view Monday morning at dawn was stunning, and we found out from hikers it was…

The Final Weekend of the Fall Season at Mathew’s Arm Campground in the Shenandoah National Park

Skyline_Drive1a

Images from Skyline Drive in Virginia – Secret Vistas – By Glynn Wilson – SHENANDOAH, Va. — It is the last weekend of the season at Mathew’s Arm, the northern most campground in the national forest. We scouted it out on Thursday, secured a campsite and toured the first 22 miles of Skyline Drive, stopping…