THE LIBERTY BELL, BEN FRANKLIN, and More: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Liberty Bell, cast in 1753 by John Pass and John Stow for the Pennsylvania State House

In honor of our country's 250th birthday, I am republishing this post from 2014 about my visit to Philadelphia, home of the Declaration of Independence.

The Liberty Bell, with its famous crack, has long been a symbol of the American Revolution. But contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that the Liberty Bell rang on July 4, 1776, to proclaim independence. However, it did ring on many other occasions and was used to summon members of the Pennsylvania Assembly and to announce noteworthy events. It last rang in 1846 to celebrate the birthday of George Washington.

Independence Hall

In June 2014 Art and I spent the weekend in Philadelphia at a family celebration and had the opportunity to visit the Liberty Bell and other sites around Independence Mall. The wealth of historic sites reminded me how central Philadelphia was to the early history of the United States. A map inside the Liberty Bell Center shows dozens of important sites–Independence Hall, the Benjamin Franklin Museum, Betsy Ross’ House, Christ Church and the Christ Church Burial Ground, Mikvah Israel Congregation (the oldest continuous synagogue in the United States), the Franklin Mint, the new National Constitution Center, to name a few.  We visited the historic area on a Sunday morning, which had the advantage of being cooler and less crowded.

Part of historic Philadelphia

My last visit to Philadelphia was fifteen years ago and I remember going inside Independence Hall and seeing where the Continental Congress first met.  Now, in order to go inside, one has to get a ticket (which is free) and stand in line for a tour (which we didn’t do because of our limited time, although we did walk through the grounds.) On my last visit, the Liberty Bell was housed in a small building by itself.  Now it is part of a large visitor center filled with exhibits about the bell and the concept of freedom, focusing on the fight to end slavery and for equal rights for all citizens of the United States.

Exhibits in the Liberty Bell visitor center about the Pennsylvania Abolition Society.=

If you go to Philadelphia, it’s hard to avoid Benjamin Franklin. You can see where he lived, where he worked, and where he is buried.  His name is everywhere from the Franklin Mint to Franklin Court behind the Ben Franklin Museum.  Even the chairs in the lobby at the Westin Hotel where we stayed were decorated with his image.

Coins for good luck are strewn across Benjamin Franklin's Grave

Born in 1706 in Boston, Benjamin Franklin moved to Philadelphia as a young man, where he lived until is death in 1790 at the age of 84. Among his many accomplishments are that he founded the Philadelphia Library, invented the Franklin stove, was the first to utilize electricity, was the postmaster of Philadelphia, and a delegate to the Continental Congress. At his grave site in the Christ Church Cemetery there are two plaques.  One lists important dates in his long life.  The other has three quotes about him.  My favorite is by French writer Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot who wrote: “He tore from the skies the lightning and from tyrants the scepter.” (1779)

This trip made me realize that I need to go back to Philadelphia when I have more time so I can do justice to all the fascinating history in the city.  

Plaque at Christ Church Cemetery with famous quotes about Benjamin Franklin

This article was first published 7/7/14

All text and photographs copyright Caroline Arnold.

JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, A Visit to Historic Keys Ranch, Guest Post by Susan Kean

Keys Ranch, main house, Joshua Tree National Park.

My friend Susan Kean loves to travel and has been a regular contributor to this blog. In February, she drove with friends to Joshua Tree National Park from her home in Redlands, California. I was particularly interested to hear about her visit to Keys Ranch, once a homestead and now a historic site within the park. Joshua Tree became a National Monument in 1936 and a National Park in 1994. 

Here is Susan's report.

I recently spent an overnight in Joshua Tree National Park with my friends Barbara and Sue. On our way out, we enjoyed the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and walked around at the top of the mountain. There was a small amount of snow. The day was glorious, so the view from the top was magnificent.

At the top of the tramway.

Then we headed over to our lodging in the Joshua Tree area in an incredibly isolated location down about two miles of dirt road. 

Desert landscape with Joshua Tree.

The antelope ground squirrel is adapted to desert life, using its tail to shade itself from the sun.

It was a real adventure with a spectacular nighttime view of the stars.

Mining equipment at Keys Ranch. They mined silver and gold.

The next day we booked a tour of Keys Ranch. This was a mining and cattle ranch built by homesteader William Keys in 1910. 

He kept everything.

This was the chicken coop--to give the chickens a safe place at night from coyotes.

Since farming in the desert was very difficult, many other homesteaders left and he acquired their land. He built up a huge area of land which he eventually sold but on condition that he and his wife could live out their lives there. The person they sold it to gave it to the Government and it became Joshua Tree National Park.

View down to the Salton Sea.

Note from CA: You an learn more about the creation of Joshua Tree National Park in the excellent children’s book, Cactus Queen by Lori Alexander, the story of Minerva Hoyt, who campaigned in Washington, D.C. for the creation of the park. 

NGORONGORO CRATER NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Young male lions, Ngorongoro Crater National Park, Tanzania.

My friend Karen Minkowski has visited Africa many times and has contributed often to The Intrepid Tourist, sharing her beautiful photographs and insights about animals. She recently went to northern Tanzania, visiting four national parks: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire. This is the third of her four reports of that trip. 

As we descended into Ngorongoro Crater, four or five young muddy male lions were emerging from a cloud of dust whipped up by Land Cruisers on the Crater floor below us. We assumed they were part of a “coalition”, a group of related and sometimes unrelated males who have been forced out of their natal pride(s) or have chosen to leave. They will probably form their own prides, giving them a greater chance at reproductive success.

They chased each other and tussled, full of energy in the cool morning. I love how their tails are flying.

Some of the males had short manes, others had not yet begun to grow them.

After the lions moved on, we spotted two Serval cats, well-camouflaged in the tall, dry grass. Here’s one of the pair. Among the wild cats, Servals have the highest rate of hunting success, feeding on rodents and other small mammals.

Serval.

This Golden Jackal, now called the Golden Wolf, first got our attention with its high-pitched howl.

Golden wolf (golden jackal).

Very recent DNA studies show a closer relationship to grey wolves and coyotes than to the Golden Jackal of Europe and Asia.

Golden wolf (golden jackal).

The Secretary Bird, a relative of eagles, hawks and other raptors, eats just about anything on the ground it can catch but prefers snakes, including venomous ones. The bird stomps its prey to death with its strong legs and feet.

Secretary bird.

On a relatively cool morning, it’s not rare to see hippos grazing until the sun sends them back to the safety of the water.

Hippos.

 Grant’s Gazelle lowering itself to a sitting posture.

Grant's gazelle.

A herd of buffalo at rest. These are females; the males were off to one side. You can see the difference in horn structure between females and males (below). The males have a thick, boney base on top of their head where the horns have fused. This “boss” protects the head when they fight other males for dominance.

Female buffalo.

These old male buffalos may be a threesome or a part of a larger bachelor group. They’ve separated from the mixed herd of adult females, their young, and the stronger, dominant males, who may have kicked them out. Though these three are well past their prime, I saw, years ago, a small group of these old guys fend off a lioness. Their massive horns are intimidating and can inflict serious injury or death.

Male buffalo.

The Northern Anteater Chat. 

Rosy-throated Longclaw, probably a female, well-camouflaged in the dry grasses.

Hippo aggression? In the first photo below, a wet (dark) hippo walks toward the resting hippo on the left. In the next picture the hippo has stood up and looks threateningly at the one on the right. About fifteen seconds later (third photo), the aggressor moves closer to the wet hippo, its face thrust out; the wet one seems to be cowering a bit, but a fight did not ensue.

I may be interpreting this hippo interaction completely incorrectly!

Lesser flamingos in Lake Magadi, on the Crater floor.

African Wild Cat on the outer slopes of the Crater.

Note: Karen's final post about her Africa trip--Tarangiri National Park--will appear next week.

 

THE SERENGETI, A MAGICAL PLACE TO SEE WILFLIFE, Guest Post by Karen Minkowski

Female leopard with her cub, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.

My friend Karen Minkowski has visited Africa many times and has contributed often to The Intrepid Tourist, sharing her beautiful photographs and insights about animals. She recently went to northern Tanzania, visiting four national parks: Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire. This is the second of her four reports of that trip. 

The Serengeti is magical, a magnet, one of the best places on earth. It seems at times, as the Maasai thought when they named it Siringet, that it really does go on forever and ever – infinity on earth. Here is some of what we saw.

Cheetahs.

These cheetahs may be brothers; we wondered if there were hiding from lions, as they remained reclining, partially obscured by grass, for a long time.

Later that afternoon, a clump of nine or ten Land Cruisers ahead alerted us to something interesting. A group of stopped vehicles is a common way of finding predators, especially, when driving through a wildlife area.

Two leopard cubs wrestled and snuggled and finally looked in the direction of their mother, who was not in our line of sight. When the cubs disappeared amidst the rocks and vegetation, our guide moved the vehicle to where we could see her perched high upon a rock. 

Leopard cubs.

Leopard cubs.

Female leopard.

It’s not common to see a leopard with her cubs, so we were lucky when they briefly joined their mother. We watched as one cub or the other, sometimes both, spent a few seconds in her presence, as though just checking in with her.

We’d seen five species of cats in just a few days: lion, serval, wild cat, cheetah and leopard. Our version of the Big Five! (Traditionally the Big Five are lion, leopard, elephant, black rhino and Cape buffalo. We did see all but the black rhino.)

A lovely giraffe in a woodland.

Zebras at the river.

Impalas.

Male impalas nuzzling. They eventually put their foreheads together and gently practiced fighting, skills they might one day need.

Practice fighting.

A couple of new birds for me: von der Decken’s Hornbill and the Coqui Francolin. (I was last in the Serengeti in 1971, so I may have seen these birds before and forgotten them.) Both are males.

Decken's Hornbill.

Coqui Francolin.

Kirk's Dik-Dik, a tiny antelope about 16 to 18 inches in height.

Hippos are common where there is water deep enough to cover their enormous bodies. Such sweet faces!

Hippos.

Lion drinking.

Lions Mating.

Wildebeeste migration.

We saw a little of the wildebeest migration heading north towards the Maasai-Mara in Kenya.  

Note: Next week will be Karen's report on her visit to Ngorogoro Crater National Park.