Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park




I cannot believe I have been away from Florida nearly 1 year! The last weekend of March marks my first week living in North Carolina. Exploring this state - mostly the surrounding areas - has been a lot of fun and a large part of what consumes my weekends. I enjoy the simplicity of toting my camera and capturing bits and pieces of my new experiences.

This week also marks a much more significant anniversary. Nearly 226 years ago a major Revolutionary War battle was fought not only 25 minutes from where I live! Rather than repeat the history found all over the web, why not check out their website and do a little reading? ;) http://www.nps.gov/guco - Lucky for me, this weekend is the annual re-enactment of the war. As a kid this kind of stuff would have bored me to tears. Many many years later and it still does. I am kidding of course although I look forward to photographing the event and bringing to my weblog some new images from the event.



Guilford Courthouse Park does not offer all that much for the eyes to enjoy. Rather, the park is host to many walking and biking trails for anyone looking to enjoy the kind of weather we are having this spring. Along the trails are markers with informational panels describing what major event took place at each site. Every so often there is a statue to commemorate some other historical figure that had some major involvement. I would probably prefer to have some book reader narrarate through a headset as I envision a battle or some other event. I just have a hard time reading something and then looking into an open field. My imagination is not as vivid as it was when I was a kid. For those without an imagination, the park developers did a great job of putting together a museum chock full of artifacts, displays, mini-movies, and plenty of reading material. They even have a small gift shop for the thrilled tourist.



I am not a history buff nor do I know anything about nature. Perhaps some day I might take the time to learn a little bit of both seeing how much I enjoy capturing their images. Next weekend promises to have a lot of activity at the park. I look forward to the mock encampments, gun battles, and demonstrations for us non-history folk. I may even make a mental note or two.

This mini-history visit is just the warm-up for our visit to Washington DC in the next couple of weekends. I truly look forward to seeing history through the eyes of an adult. I can't even remember my last visit to DC. I'll be taking plenty of photos. Who knows what I will remember in another 20 years!



Above: A park patrons enjoys life by sitting on a park bench, enjoying the weather, and admiring the statue of Nathanael Greene at the end of the field.