Greetings from Stones River National Battlefield

This past summer I had the opportunity to visit two of my favorite National Parks. The first was Stones River National Park In Tennessee. This park is the scene of a major battle from the Civil War outside of Nashville Tennessee. As a youth I spent many days walking or biking around the park, imagining what it must have been like to be a soldier fighting in the cold winter weather without protective gear. There have been many changes over the years to improve the experience, i.e. new trails which explain the various areas of the battle field and some outstanding, dedicated rangers who share their knowledge. Unfortunately the park is constantly threatened by the city of Murfreesboro which restricts the park to a small area of the actual battle field and some of the structures which I saw as a youth have been destroyed for the passing of highways. The other National Park is White Sands National Park in Alamogordo New Mexico. The beautiful expanses of pristine white sand are something to behold. I spend four years stations at Holloman AFB which is right next to the monument and during the winter on numerous occasions had the opportunity of seeing these white sands covered with snow. I have also seen some of the interesting wildlife that inhabits the park.

Sincerely,
Bob