"Aloha" Big Island of Hawai'i...

Duane, Delynn, Kiefer and Jack are on the "Big Island"...Needless to say, It is beautiful...We were greeted at the airport in Kona with Leis and welcoming hugs...A day at the beach with sun, surf and fresh air...
There is a term used here called "Island Living". It is the lifestyle that one acquires almost immediately. "Slow Down and Live Life"...
Next Saturday we will be volunteering at Volcanoes National Park clearing trails of vines and berry sprouts.
Palm Trees represent the spirit of freedom...They abound...

We will write and post pics of the volcano lava flows to the sea this evening.

Aloha Aikane...

Hawai'i The Big Island Here We Come...

We are in the final stages of preparation to leave for Hawai'i on the Kona Coast...

During this visit we will be contacting the Valcanos National Park to volunteer for a day and hopefully ride a zip line over the valcano...This coulde be a fantacy on our part, but a little bird told us to do it...

We will post pics of the adventure sometime next week...Aloha...

The North and The Further North meet in Battle...

The Battle of Gettysburg is raging again but this time it is between The National Park Service and Gambling...The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is reviewing a request to put a Casino Complex adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park for, I guess, revenue for the state. The National Park generates approx $65,000,000 for state and generates over 2,000 jobs...
What kind of impact will this have with the historical experience of the Park? One can only guess...

Summer Service Projects

As we see the college graduating class of 2010 view the prospect of the dreaded but enjoyable "Job Search" knowing that the 20 to 24 age cohort teetering at a 17% unemployment status, one ponders the need for a "Job Corp" to help the infrastructure of America. One of those areas of need is the US National Parks Service. By contacting any National Park directly, one can find summer projects needing to be filled. If there is ever a virtuous summer job, this is one. "Go ahead give it a try!"

Friends,

An interesting "blog moment" (stopping to think) is that at Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawai'i there has been volcano activity that has created lava flows into the Pacific for years. Since 2008 the activity at Kilauea Volcano has created approx. 500 acres of new land to the island. Now for the "blog moment"...Has this added to the existing National Park or is it the inclusive part of Hawai'i? We will ask this question when we visit this park on May 30th...

396?

With 396 US Nationa Parks to consider, how does Kiefer and Jack prioritize their visits:

Adjacent to friends and family...
Date of inception...
Most famous and familiar first...
Most in need of support...Ah Ha...

This will be the initial list to ponder...

Visit a Nat. Park this year...

Jack and Kiefer...

Kiefer and Jack are beginning their journey to visiting as many US National Parks leading up to the Centennial in 2016...