Native Americans have inhabited the area around the Grand Canyon for about 12,000 years. The first Europeans, soldiers led by García López de Cárdenas, did not see it until 1540. His disastrous failure to find the fabled Seven Cities of…
State Street starts on the west corner of the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin. It runs west for six blocks where it abuts the bottom of Bascom Hill, the tree-covered glacial drumlin that is sometimes considered "the heart" of the…
She got off to a rather awkward start. Her launch was scheduled for September 20, 1797. President John Adams and Massachusetts Governor Increase Sumner were present for the occasion. When the launch was initiated she moved down the slideways only…
The names of some cities immediately bring certain images into our minds. Las Vegas? Gambling. New York? Broadway shows. San Francisco? The Golden Gate Bridge. Franksville? Sauerkraut. So, when I recently had the opportunity to visit Boston, I posed the…
The lock starts to close behind us. We awoke at 5 AM. The night's full moon had not quite set and the previous day's high temperature of 91° F had plunged to an overnight low of 79° F. Our suitcases…
A ship is slowly pulled through the locks by small engines called "mules." Dams and locks have been used for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years. The dams change a waterway into a series of steps with the necessary depth for…
In 1513, Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama to become the first European to see the Pacific Ocean. I didn't want to walk through fifty miles of jungle, so my wife and I took a boat through…
If you mention "the wall" today, most people will probably think you're referring to President Trump's plan to prevent illegal aliens from crossing our southern border. Not long ago, however, people may have thought you were referring to other things,…