Discover Top Posts Tagged with #findmypark

Cannonball from the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775. On view at the Bunker Hill Monument Museum in Charlestown, Massachusetts #findmypark #artifacts #museumstagram #igersboston (at Bunker Hill Monument) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpDshkzOava/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#findmypark #artifacts #museumstagram #igersboston

Today if you mention the Firefall in Yosemite, people will probably think you’re referring to the natural phenomenon that occurs for a few weeks in mid-February when the setting sun illuminates Horsetail Falls. In those few days, the waterfall shimmers bright gold and the horde around you clicks away with their cameras like a White House press conference. Having personally seen this event, I must humbly admit, that the original Firefall in Yosemite was probably way better. Instead of happening during sunset, the original Firefall happened at night. And instead of water, it was literally fire! Fire, thrown off a three-thousand-foot-high cliff face! So, yeah, it was probably a little more spectacular than a waterfall bathed in golden sunlight.

The tradition started in the 1870s when Yosemite was still just a state park. One fourth of July, the guests at Mountain House Hotel atop Glacier Point requested fireworks. James McCauley, the owner of the hotel, proposed a different approach. Build a huge bonfire on the cliff’s edge, and when night fell, push the glowing hot embers off the side. It became such a hit that McCauley began to charge for guests to watch it.

In the early 1900s, the owner of Camp Curry in the valley floor wanted an attraction to entertain his guests. He decided to revive McCauley’s old Fourth of July show, making it a nightly occurrence. Each event starting with a call from the valley floor to workers on Glacier Point to “Let the Fire Fall!” And guests would look and be delighted by the sight of burning hot embers being slowly pushed off the cliff.

This seemingly dangerous fire hazard of a show would go on for decades. But people change. And by the 60s both guests and the service were more “environmentally conscious.” In 1968, George Hartzog, then the Director of the NPS, sent a letter to Camp Curry calling for an end to the Firefall. He emphasized that the park’s emphasis should be on the natural resources of the valley, not man-made spectacle. Later that same month, the last Firefall was performed, without public notice and during winter, to avoid the mob that would have flooded the park had they known it was the last one. But a retired NPS employee personally gave me a different perspective on the end of the Firefall. The 1960’s contained not just environmentally conscious guests, but also drug-using counter culture guests. Hippies that liked to take psychedelics and listen to Hendrix before watching the Firefall to have an insane trip. The visiting conservative nuclear family and the Park Service itself was not fond of these derelict long-haired youths loitering around the park tripping out on drugs. So when it became clear that the Firefall was a major draw for the hippies, it only bolstered the motivation to get rid of the spectacle. Ultimately there were plenty of reasons to end the Firefall. But despite all of my environmental inclinations, I admit, with no shame, that I wish I could have seen this perversion of nature at least one time with my own eyes. To shop products, check out my Red Bubble page: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/52296052

#nationalparkdisservice #yosemite #yosemitenationalpark #findmypark #historyisfun #npsposter #firefall #california #nationalparks

Window into the Canyon #grandcanyon #arizona #findmypark https://www.instagram.com/p/B5LBUDrHsVq/?igshid=1nswgt9wagp9x

#grandcanyon #arizona #findmypark

Fall is probably my favorite time to photograph. #bull #bullmoose #moose #findmypark #findyourpark #grandtetonnationalpark #keepitwild #conservation #respect #fallcolor #nikon #nikondaily #nikond500 #nikon600mm (at Grand Teton National Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1fr8LnuiX/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15v0lww1bvb29