| America's Colonial Frontier |
| This book is dedicated to Warren, my patient co-driver, camper, and co-pilot who accompanied me on the many miles needed to put this book together. Our traveling adventures would fill a book of its own. |
| As a child growing up in Colorado, I first became fascinated with the Northeast during family visits to my grandparents who lived in Watertown, Massachusetts. When I retired from teaching elementary school after thirty-one years, my first goal was to visit the Northeast as a "leaf peeper." Even though I love the golds and reds of our Colorado aspen, they somehow don't compare with the hardwoods when they take on their fall hues. As the brilliant forests spill over the mountaintops, they always remind me of the beauty created by the fairy who painted those wonderful scenes in Walt Disney's movie Fantasia. My trip more than surpassed my expectations. |
| My northeastern research has been done over several years. I've explored the area in a small, private plane, flown in commercially, and rented a car or motorhome, and in 1993, Warren and I came with our pick-up pulling a travel trailer. The sheer number of state parks is much too vast to even attempt to visit them all, so I have endeavored to get a sampling of the parks in each state and completed my research by contacting the various parks and state agencies. |
| Not only are the state parks jewels in themselves, but they provide access to so many nearby attractions. As I compiled the book, I listed many of these for your own visits. |
| Naturally, I have discovered many parks that I want to return to for closer exploration. These include Franconia Notch in New Hampshire, Niagara Falls, Oil Creek in Pennsylvania, Watkins Glen in New York, and Gifford Woods in Vermont, to mention just a few. |
| If history attracts you, the Northeast is one of the best places in the U.S. to visit. Many of the state parks are themselves historic or are located close to historic sites. Here you can get a good sense of how we came to be who we are as Americans. I especially enjoyed touring Gettysburg and Mystic Harbor and walking Boston's Freedom Trail in the company of an informative national park naturalist. |
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