The first thing you’ll notice is the massive stone walls that seem to blend perfectly with the natural landscape. Once you step inside the walls of the palace, you find yourself in a place that feels both ancient and mysterious. The city is made up of stone buildings and terraces that are carefully arranged in a way that makes you wonder how they were built without modern tools. The buildings have no roofs, which means you can look up and see the drizzly sky above you.

Everywhere you turn, there are stunning views. Lush mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, and you see the winding Urubamba River far down below. Next, you spot one of the most fascinating parts of Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana Stone, which is like a giant sundial. On one of the terraces you also see a pack of llamas. These adorable animals turn and look at you in a friendly, curious way. 

Truly, visiting Machu Picchu is like entering a real-life fairy tale. It’s a place that sparks your imagination and fills you with a sense of awe. The history, the stunning views, and the unique atmosphere have made it a truly unforgettable experience. 

If you listened to our episode last week, we learned all about the rise of the Inca Empire and the construction of Machu Picchu. Now let’s dive into how it was discovered and became the treasured tourist destination that it is today.

In 1831, a child named Hiram Bingham III was born to Clara Brewster and Hiram Bingham II in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Binghams were the children of Protestant missionaries who had journeyed to the islands to teach the native people their religion. Growing up, Hirma’s parents were very strict. He really struggled with this because his favorite stories were of adventure and troublesome kids like Huckleberry Finn. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was one of his favorite books and wished for a life of adventure like one of his heroes. He wanted to explore the world but felt like he was stuck on the island and with parents who wanted him to live a very traditional life and get a very traditional education.

When he was 12, Hiram and a friend hatched a plan to leave home and travel to Africa. He took $250 of his savings out of the bank and headed to the port to set sail to the United States. From there he’d travel to New York and then Africa! Unfortunately, the boat didn’t leave on time and Hiram’s father found out about the plan. As you can imagine, he was not happy! Hiram stayed in Hawaii until he was 16 until he got his chance to leave and study at Yale University and later Harvard. He eventually became a professor in Latin History and later married and continued to teach. But something inside Hiram still longed for the life of adventure he dreamed of as a child reading about his hero, Huck Finn. 

In 1908, Hiram Bingham traveled to Peru, South America to meet with other professors for work. There, someone told him a story about a lost Incan. Hiram was intrigued! He wondered if the story was about the lost city of Vilcambamba. During his trip, he did some exploring and took pictures of ruins, and started writing about his time in Peru, hoping that someday he could return and find this lost, mysterious city from the stories. 

By 1911, a few years later, Hiram Bingham had assembled a team of experts and enough money to make the return trip to Peru to find the lost city of Vilcambamba. He made great sacrifices, such as selling family property in Hawaii, to pay the $12,000 dollars for the trip, and leaving his family at a difficult time. But he was determined to make a great discovery that would put his name in the history books! 

Hiram and his crew sailed from New York to Lima, Peru, and got to work trying to figure out the location of the lost city. He interviewed people and studied maps and journals of Spanish priests and others who might have clues about the location of the city. From Lima, they traveled to the city of Cuzco, where in the last episode we learned about Pachacuti, the great king who once ruled the Inca Empire. In Cuzco, Hiram met a man named Melchor Arteaga, who said he knew the location of the lost city and could take Hiram and his team there. 

After a five-day journey through the jungle, Hiram, Melchor and his team arrived at a village at the base of the mountain. The weather was bad, making the mountain wet and slippery, but Hiram paid Melchor enough to convince him to take him up the mountain. They climbed up through the rain and mists and mud, sometimes on their hands and knees, and soon reached the mountaintop. The ruins were in view! There was something to the stories about this city. They found a family who were living and farming the terraces of the mountaintop. The family gave them water to drink before Hiram set about exploring the area further. Hiram hiked around and found more walls and more elaborate stone architecture. A temple, a palace, and aqueducts. Hiram didn’t know it yet but this was Machu Picchu, the ruins of Pichacuti’s mountaintop palace! He took pictures of the ruins and notes of everything he observed before climbing back down the mountain to his awaiting team. 

Hiram, still wanting to find the lost city of Vilcambamba, continued to explore the area – and did find a city of ruins overgrowing with vines and plants. He didn’t realize it at the time but it was Vilcambamba, but Machu Picchu was even more amazing and he was very excited to share his discoveries with the world! 

After returning home, Hiram wrote about his adventures in Peru. He quickly became known around the world for his discoveries and returned again the next year to explore the area deeper and take more pictures. The team also began to uncover more of the buildings. They dug and found pots and jewelry and gold and skeletons, which helped them better understand the life of Pachacuti and the Incas. Many of these artifacts were removed from Machu Picchu and taken to Bingham’s university to be put on display. One hundred years later, these artifacts were rightfully returned to Peru for its people to appreciate.

After Hiram’s later visits, National Geographic printed pictures of the Machu Picchu and people all across the world were able to appreciate the magnificent mountaintop palace. Since that time, Machu Picchu has become one of the most famous archeological sites in the world. In 1948, Peru built a road leading closer to the ruins and also made it a national park. This has helped it to become one of the most visited locations in the world. Since Hiram’s time, more archeologists and scientists have visited the mountaintop palace to learn about the people who lived there. And currently, around 2,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu every day!

The Story of Machi Picchu is one of the skilled, hardworking, and ingenious people who were able to engineer and construct such a magnificent site. Also, it’s a story of an intrepid professor, much like one of my favorite movie characters, Indiana Jones, who followed his childhood dreams and discovered an ancient city for the world to enjoy!

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As you step closer, you see that the water is shimmering with a golden glow, and you feel a strange energy running through your body. You dip your hand into the water and take a sip. You feel a wave of youthfulness and health wash over you. Your skin feels tighter, your joints less painful, and your mind clearer than it has been in years. Yes, you’ve found it! The one and only, fountain of youth!

The story of the Fountain of Youth has been told for many years in cultures around the world. The legend suggests that there is a magical fountain that has the power to restore youth and health to those who drink from it.

The story of the Fountain of Youth has captured the imagination of people around the world, and many have tried to find it, but no one has ever been able to locate the spring or even prove that it’s real.

So where did this story come from, and why did people believe in it? Let’s explore these stories and find out!

The story of the Fountain of Youth can be traced back to ancient times. The Greeks believed in a mythical spring, which was said to be located at the end of the world when it was believed the world was flat. The Greek god of the sun, Helios, had a son named Phaethon, who once drove his father’s chariot too close to the Earth and set it on fire. As punishment, Phaethon fell into a river, where he was transformed into a swan. The river became known as the River of Forgetfulness. It was believed that if you drank from the river, you would forget all your troubles – and also become young again.

The Greek Historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC was the first to write about the legendary Fountain of Youth. In his writings, he mentioned the Macrobians, a people who were known for their long lives. Some were even rumored to have lived for more than 120 years, which was quite unusual for that time. Herodotus thought that the Macrobians’ long lives were due to their diet, which was mostly made up of boiled meat and milk. When explorers asked how they lived to be 120 years old, they told an incredible story about a magical fountain.

They said that this fountain had special water that made their skin shiny and smooth like oil, and it smelled just like a beautiful violet flower. The water was so special that nothing could float in it, not even a feather or a leaf – everything sank right to the bottom! They believed that it was the special properties of the water from this fountain that made them live for so long.

In the Middle Ages, the Fountain of Youth was also related to the philosopher’s stone. The philosopher’s stone was a mythical rock that was also said to be able to make older people young again, live forever, and even turn metal into gold! For a long time, people thought that the philosopher’s stone was real. Later, it was used in other stories such as the first Harry Potte book, The Philosopher’s Stone, and the anime, Full Metal Alchemist.

It wasn’t until much later than the Greeks that the story of the Fountain of Youth became very popular. This was the time of the great Age of Exploration and Discovery when European explorers were sailing around the world in search of new lands and treasures. Many of these explorers believed in the legend of the Fountain of Youth and hoped to find it on their voyages.

One of the most famous accounts of the fountain of youth comes from a tale of Alexander the Great. In this story, Alexander and his army are traveling through a hot and dry land when they came across a land full of beautiful flowers and green meadows. There, they find the mythical fountain of youth, which was said to heal anyone who bathed in its waters four times a day. Alexander and his men met some old warriors who had bathed in the fountain and came out looking like they were much younger! The warriors explained to Alexander that they had lived for more than a hundred years and were now completely young and healthy. Alexander then decides to try the fountain for himself and was amazed at the results. When he returned to his men, he could hardly recognize the old warriors because they looked so young and strong.

The story of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth spread throughout Europe and became popular during the Renaissance, which was a time when people were fascinated by ancient myths and legends. Many explorers and adventurers, including the famous Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, searched for the hidden Fountain of Youth. These explorers hoped to find a way to make their own lives longer and stay young forever. 

Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conquistador who was said to have accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in 1474. He was appointed as the first Governor of Puerto Rico in 1509 by the Spanish Crown, and it was during his time as Governor that he became interested in finding the Fountain of Youth. Legend had it that when Ponce de León arrived in Florida, he met some Timucua Native Americans who told him about a spring that was located in a mythical land called Bimini. The legend said that the water from this spring had the power to restore youth and cure sickness when swallowed or bathed in. Ponce de León and his men searched for the spring but were never able to find it. He made many more travels to areas around Florida in search of the fountain but his search was unsuccessful. 

Because of Ponce de Leon’s travels, there’s a park in Florida where you can learn more about the history of the fountain! It’s called the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park and it’s in the city of St. Augustine, Florida.

The story behind the park is pretty fascinating. In 1904, a woman named Luella Day McConnell bought a piece of land in St. Augustine that she believed was the site of Ponce de León’s mysterious Fountain of Youth. She believed he’d actually found it! She began to create a park there, adding attractions such as a Spanish watchtower, an Indian village, and an actual spring that she said was the Fountain of Youth.

Luella also dug a well on the property. A well is a hole that is dug so deep that it reaches water far below the ground. She dug this deep hole and began selling water from it, saying that it had the power to heal and was the same water that Ponce de León had used when he was looking for the fountain of youth. She also said that she discovered a large cross on the property that had been put there by Ponce de León himself. People began to pay to come to see all of the amazing things that Luella had at her park and to learn more about the mythological Fountain of Youth. 

After Luella passed away, a man named Walter Fraser took over the park and made it even more popular. In 1934, archaeologists dug in the park and found something amazing: a religious Native American burial site, the Timucuan village of Seloy. The Timucua people lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia from as early as 1100 CE. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. ​​ The dig site also pointed to the park being the location of the first Christian mission in the United States. This mission was started by Franciscan friars in 1587. Over the years, more and more items were found that proved the park was home to the Timucua people and the location of the first European settlement in North America. Today, the park has lots of interesting artifacts and exhibits that tell the story of the Fountain of Youth and the people who searched for it. So if you’re ever in Florida and want to learn more about the Fountain of Youth, be sure to check out the Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park!

As we’ve learned, many people have searched for the fountain throughout history, hoping to find its magical waters that could grant them eternal youth and life. But perhaps the real fountain of youth is not a physical place or object, but something that comes from within us. Maybe the key to staying young at heart is to embrace our sense of wonder, keep learning, and never stop exploring the world around us. So, let’s remember to stay curious, stay adventurous, and always keep searching for your own inner, fountain of youth. 

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Annie Smith Peck had a pretty normal childhood. I know that’s not an exciting way to start a podcast, but it’s true. Born right in the middle of the 19th century to an old, her Rhode Island family traced its roots to the founder of the state. She went to school, then studied to become a teacher. Her family was a little more open-minded than most–Annie’s father took her to see a women’s rights activist speak once.  But they still expected Annie to marry, start a family, and live the respectable life of a well-off 19th-century woman from an old family. 

Annie had other ideas–not quite plans, but not marriage and children. The fire-brand feminist speaker she’d seen as a child had convinced her she could do bigger things than her family expected. Her old high school teacher, who refused to give Annie a permanent job, also hinted that teaching wasn’t a big enough goal for her. But Annie wasn’t sure what those bigger goals should be. The sheltered life she led with her family in Rhode Island didn’t help her expand her vision. So she drifted around, trying things out. A friend had moved west to Illinois after high school and gotten a job teaching, and Annie decided to try her luck in the Midwest. She moved to Michigan to teach. 

Once in Michigan, it became clear to those around her that Annie was capable of more than just teaching. She became friends with a few professors at the nearby University of Michigan, who recognized her curious and adventurous spirit. Annie had tried to gain admission to Brown University in Rhode Island, the school where her father and brothers had gone, but they refused her. They didn’t take female students. The University of Michigan did though. It was one of the first in the nation to do so, and Annie’s new friends made sure she got the chance to enroll. 

Annie was in her twenties by the time she started college, much older than most of her classmates, but she immediately felt that she belonged. She studied hard, made many new friends, and expanded her mind and her possibilities. When she graduated at 27, Annie was just getting started on her adventures!

After teaching in colleges for a few years, Annie earned enough money to begin her travels, and she never really stopped. Over the next several years, Annie would go back and forth between Europe and the US. She went to a famous archeological school in Greece, took photos, hiked, and made lifelong friends. Between trips, she kept teaching, and also started giving lectures about Greek archeology and history, using photos and experiences from her travels. 

It was on one of these trips to Europe that Annie discovered the passion that would dominate the rest of her life: mountain climbing. She scaled mountains all over Europe and the United States, from one of California’s highest mountains–Mount Shasta–to the Alps in Europe. She climbed the Matterhorn, a famously steep and treacherous peak in the Swiss Alps in 1895, becoming the second woman to do so. Even though she wasn’t the first woman to climb it, her accomplishment did attract some attention, though not so much for the climbing part: people were aghast that she had climbed in PANTS! Annie just thought this was the sensible thing to wear when climbing mountains, but some people thought she should be arrested for not wearing a skirt! 

By the time she climbed the Matterhorn, Annie was 45 years old, but she was just getting started on her climbing career. Between mountains, she spent all her time planning and raising money for the next expedition. She lectured, wrote articles, and flat-out asked her friends and acquaintances for donations. She didn’t feel at home unless she was traveling and climbing. She turned her sites southward and traveled to Mexico, where she became the first woman to climb the two highest peaks in that country: Pico de Orizaba and Popocatepetl, both over 18 thousand feet. For a brief time, she held the world record for the highest peak climbed by a woman, though another climber, Fanny Bullock Workman soon bested her on a climb in the Himalayan mountains. 

Annie decided she wanted to climb bigger mountains, summits that no one– male or female– had ever climbed before. She researched peaks in South America, looking for one that might be the highest on the continent. After much research–and a few more climbs–she decided Huascaran, a mountain in the Peruvian Andes, would be her target. It would take all her grit and perseverance to get there.

Planning a climbing expedition is no simple matter. Climbing was, and is, dangerous: many mountains, especially the higher ones, have snow all year. Glaciers cut around them, with snow camouflaging deep crevasses. There was constant danger of avalanches and falling rocks. Freezing temperatures bite at you day and night, with only your clothes, tent, and sleeping bag–along with occasional fires–to warm you up. Frostbite could set in quickly if you weren’t careful. Sun glaring off the snow could burn your skin.

You need the right gear and clothing. You needed a rope to tie yourself to the other climbers, so if one person slipped, they wouldn’t go sliding down the side of the mountain. Of course, this could work the other way around too: one person slipping in the wrong place could pull everyone with them! Ice axes helped climbers cling to steep ascents, or even cut stairs in the ice. Many climbers, including Annie, also wanted to contribute to science, so they’d bring tools for measuring the height, or altitude that they reached.  

Shocking at the time, Annie considered pants a necessity. Many women did climb in long skirts at the time, but she considered them cumbersome and did away with them. You needed four pairs of thick wool socks under boots four sizes too big, along with several pairs of wool long underwear, which you might wear all at once! Hats, gloves, sunglasses, camp stove, blankets…the list goes on!

But the most important item to pack, according to Annie? Chocolate!

Even experienced climbers like Annie need guides or companions to help them on the mountain–it’s definitely not a solo sport. Good guides–professional mountain climbers who had the equipment and expertise to make sure you were as safe as possible–were expensive and hard to find. You would also need to pay porters to help carry your equipment and find donkeys or mules to carry larger bundles. 

Annie struggled to raise the money she would need to buy equipment and hire guides to climb Huascaran. She tried three times, crossing the ocean on steamers and trekking for days each time to reach the mountain. The guides and porters she found were often inexperienced and unreliable, and many of them insisted on turning back when the going got rough. 

But after years of failed attempts, Annie and two Swiss guides finally made it to the peak in 1908, She was 58 years old. It still wasn’t an easy expedition. The group started on their first attempt in early August of 1908, but had to return when one of the guides got sick and snowstorms lashed their campsite. The three tried again in late August, and finally made it to the summit! They took photos and measurements of the altitude. Annie’s measurements showed that she had reached a greater height than any other woman before her.

But the victory was not without its consequences: one guide developed serious frostbite and had to have several fingers and part of his foot amputated when they returned to the nearest city. 

When she got back to the US, Annie used her connections to help raise money for him, since he couldn’t work as a mountain climbing guide anymore. 

But more challenges were in store. Annie’s old rival, Fanny Bullock Workman, claimed that one of her climbs in the Himalayas was higher! She even hired engineers with better instruments to measure Huascaran. Unfortunately for Annie, this showed the summit wasn’t quite as high as she’d measured, so Workman did hold the world record for the highest altitude climb for a woman. Never willing to admit defeat so easily, Annie would remind a reporter later that she had still climbed higher than any man in America!

Even if her pride was a little wounded, Annie wasn’t deterred. She wanted to keep climbing. She’d made a specialty of climbing peaks in South America and wanted to keep exploring to see if she could find the highest mountain on the continent. Her next target: Coropuna, another peak in Peru that had never been climbed before. This time, her competition wasn’t just the brutal conditions of the mountain itself. Hiram Bingham, a young scholar from Yale, also wanted to be the first to climb Coropuna. He didn’t think too highly of Annie or any woman who didn’t want to be a wife and mother. The race was on, and Annie meant to win it. 

The two climbers planned their expeditions for the summer of 1911. Annie left a week earlier, but Bingham caught up with her, and for a while they were even on the same steamer ship. Talk about awkward! Bingham wouldn’t even talk to Annie, but described her as a “terrible bore.” A few weeks into Annie’s journey through Peru, she received surprising news: Bingham had decided not to climb until October! He had other work he had to do in Peru for his university, though he did hope Annie would fail in her attempt so he could still beat her. 

Annie didn’t fail. This time, she had a reliable, committed team. She encouraged them when they were afraid to go on, saying no one had to climb all the way to the top except her, and she would give them a bonus if they stuck with her. They reached the peak. She measured the height and realized it was almost certainly lower than Huascaran, but she was still satisfied. Annie planted the flag of a “votes for women” flag on the peak, and her companions planted a Peruvian flag. 

Annie loved Peru and South America. The people there were always willing to help with food or a place to sleep when she passed through on one of her expeditions. After Coropuna, she wrote a book describing her climbs and the people there and became known as an expert on the region. The presidents of Chile and Peru honored her with awards and medals, and the Lima Geographical Society in Peru renamed the Huascaran peak she had summited “Cumbre Aña Peck.”

Annie never wanted people to think of her as a “woman climber.” She wanted to be recognized as one of the best climbers, male or female, period. But she knew her climbs stood for something more because she was a woman. Maybe that’s why, once she found her place on the mountain, she never stopped climbing. She climbed Coropuna when she was sixty years old, and climbed her last mountain at 82 years old. She took an airplane tour of South America at 79, then wrote another book about the continent. And she fought tirelessly to get women the right to vote. Even though no one in her life expected her to do great things– and some outright discouraged her– Annie kept aiming her sights higher. She found what she was meant to do, and even when people thought she was too old or too female, she kept going. She climbed higher and higher, until she stood above the clouds, gazing out over deserts, mountain peaks, and distant oceans, and saw farther than any of them.

Sources

Kimberly, Hannah. (2017) A Woman’s Place Is at the Top. St. Martin’s Press, New York.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2021/06/historical-badass-annie-smith-peck/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Smith_Peck

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Imagine you are walking along a trail in the desert…

You have been walking for many days and are now holding your mother’s hand. Your dog is trotting along beside you. You are of the Pueblo tribe and every year visit a place that is holy to your people. You have been counting down the days and now the steps and the day has finally come. The air is cool this time of year and the sky is clear and blue as far as you can see. Your father and brother are walking ahead with the others and someone calls out “Kaibab! Kaibab!” You leave your mother’s hand and rush ahead with them, faster and faster, trying to beat your brother to the sight. And then suddenly you stop and gasp! Spread out for miles ahead of you is the beauty of what you call Kaibab, the widest and most beautiful of canyons in the world. You hold your breath and slowly take in the wonder of this place that is holy to you and your people. 

Width, Length, and Depth of the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is the widest canyon in the world and is located in Arizona, which also happens to be my home state. It is also considered one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and over 6,000 feet deep in places. It is very colorful, a combination of reds, browns, whites, and many other colors, because each of the different layers, or strata, was formed at different times during the Earth’s history. The Earth is very, very old, so the Grand Canyon is made up of different rocks from its 2 billion-year-old history.

Formation of the Grand Canyon

Early on the Grand Canyon was actually a mountain, which over time sunk down until it was flat. Then as the earth shifted it became a canyon and over a very long period was even underwater. Eventually, a river started flowing through the canyon, which is now known as The Colorado River. The water in the river was full of rocks, so over millions of years, the river acted like sandpaper shaving down the canyon. This is called erosion. Today when you look at the Grand Canyon you can see the different layers in it, similar to a layered cake. Some of the layers are white limestone, other layers are filled with shells from when it was underwater, and the upper layers are darker and were formed by a volcano. 

Ancestral Puebloans

After The Grand Canyon was formed into what it looks like today, around 3000 years ago, native people who we now called the Ancestral Puebloans lived near the Grand Canyon. They build homes out of stone and farmed corn, squash, and beans. They made carvings and paintings on canyon walls, which is one way we know they lived there. Another group who lived there was called the Cohonina, who are the ancestors of the modern Yuma, Havasupai, and Hualapai people, who still live around the Grand Canyon. The native people call The Grand Canyon Kaibab, which means “mountain on its side.” The ancient people believed The Grand Canyon was a holy place and often visited from miles around to experience its wonder.

European Discovery of the Grand Canyon

After Europeans discovered The New World, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado and a group of Spanish explorers were in the area searching for the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola. In 1540 Coronado ordered Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and his soldiers to explore the area. They and their Hopi native guides were the first Europeans to see the wonders of The Grand Canyon. They were amazed at its size and vastness. Two hundred years passed until another European visited the canyon.

In 1776 two Spanish Priests, Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre de Escalante explored southern Utah and the north rim of the Grand Canyon. 

In the 1850s they were followed by Jacob Hamblin, a Mormon explorer sent by Brigham Young to find a way to cross the river. They made friends with the Hualapai tribe and found the crossing discovered by the Spanish Priests, which later became Lees Ferry. A ferry is a place where a flat boat helps wagons and people cross a river. 

John Wesley Powell

Then in 1869, Major John Wesley Powell led the first expedition down into the canyon. He had set out to explore the Colorado River and The Grand Canyon. They rode down the river on a boat and survived the dangerous rapids and finally ended up in what is now known as Moab, Utah. John Wesley Powell later became famous for the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. 

National Park

In 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt visited The Grand Canyon and marveled at its beauty. Teddy Roosevelt was known for his love of nature and spent much of his time outdoors. In awe at the Grand Canyon, he did everything he could to help preserve its natural wonder. They worked to make it a national monument and believed places like The Grand Canyon should be preserved so people all over the world could enjoy it. While Roosevelt was president he formed the National Parks Association to help save places like The Grand Canyon. 

Tourism

Today The Grand Canyon is one of the most famous places to visit in the world with about five million visitors every year who come from all over to see and explore it. Most people just come to look out over the vast canyon. I’ve been there a few times with my family, it’s about a 4-hour drive for us from where we live near Phoenix, Arizona. The last time I went we brought our 4 young kids, who also looked out over it in awe. We had to hold them close to us because the canyon is a very steep drop below, which made us pretty nervous.

Havasupai

When I was in high school our family and a group of other families hiked down into a part of the Grand Canyon known as Havasupai. We drove there early in the morning and had all of our camping gear and food loaded onto the back of mules, then we hiked about 4 hours down into the canyon. At the bottom of the trail are huge, picturesque Havasu Falls. You can swim at the bottom of the falls, jump off cliffs and hike further in to see and swim in the other waterfalls. Our trip was very fun but took a turn for the worse when one of the days I slipped on a rock and twisted my ankle pretty badly. The next day we were supposed to hike out, so my close friend and I got up early and started hiking out. I limped most of the way, even up the steep switchbacks. It was a rough hike out, but the waterfalls and swimming holes made it worth it anyway. 

In addition to hiking, people take helicopter tours over The Grand Canyon and love to raft the wild Colorado River. People also take horseback tours down into the canyon and it’s very popular to hike it from rim to rim — my sisters and their friends did this recently. Another main attraction is the Grand Canyon Skywalk, which lets you walk on a glass-bottomed path out over the canyon, so you can look at the drop far below.

Conclusion

Do you have any natural wonders near you? It may be mountains, a beautiful river, or the ocean. Spending time in nature is good for you. It helps relax your mind and body. I know I always feel better when I spend time outside or on a hike. Just this last week my kids and I spent some time hiking and visiting a stream nearby. Spend time thinking about what places in nature near you you can visit. And if you’re ever in Arizona, definitely be sure to visit the amazing Grand Canyon! 

Recommended Books

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Imagine yourself in paleolithic times, also called the stone age.  You are one of a group of early people living in the mountains.  You and your family have been traveling higher and higher each year into the mountains to try to find elk and deer to hunt.  You traveled along well-worn trails in the hills.  These trails are made by animals and now you are stalking them.  You come upon a bush with some berries and stop with your people to pick and eat some.  In a nearby stream, you scoop a drink of water with your hands.  You look around and appreciate the beautiful mountains and nature around you.  You are in the Rocky Mountains! 

The Rocky Mountains are a mountain range that runs through Colorado and north all the way to Canada. Within the mountain range, there is a national park called the Rocky Mountain National Park.  The Park is in north-central Colorado and is full of mountains, alpine lakes, and many different types of animals. 

Formation of the Rocky Mountains

Over many centuries, which are sets of 100 years, massive glaciers shaped the rocky mountain range.  A glacier is a large piece of ice that forms over time from snowfall. It builds up and then slowly moves over hundreds and thousands of years!  While glaciers covered the Rockies, nothing could grow in the area.  It wasn’t until about 11,000 years ago, that the Rocky Mountain glaciers warmed up and moved far enough that plants began to grow and animals began to visit the area.  After this, humans in the area began exploring the valleys and mountains.  We know this because researchers have found spearheads made out of rocks along the trails in the area.  Historians, people who study history, can tell how long people have lived in an area by looking at how old their tools in the area are.

The Utes

The first people who lived in the area were called the Ute tribe.  There they survived by hunting mammoths. Mammoths were gigantic, harry animals with long tusks.  The Ute people did not live in the Rocky Mountains all year long.  Instead, they lived close by near the base of the mountain range in the winter.  In the summer, when it was warm enough, the Ute people traveled into the green valleys and beautiful lakes of the mountain range.  

The Utes first started traveling along what is now known as the Trail Ridge Road in the Rocky Mountain National Park.  They were hunting and foraging for food.  Foraging means to get food by hunting, fishing, or gathering wild plants. 

The Ute people were the main group of humans in the Rocky Mountain area for thousands of years until the late 1700s.  Can you imagine how long that is?  A very, very long time. Sometimes we tend to forget how very long Native American people lived in North America before their first contact with Europeans. 

Spanish Explorers

In the 1700s, European people who had come to America started to travel farther west and explore the Rocky Mountain area. This included Spanish explorers and French fur trappers who had gone around the mountain range in their travels. Later European immigrants started to explore the mountain range. It took many years for European explorers to make their way through the Rocky Mountains since back then, people did not have the technology and winter supplies and equipment that we have today that would make exploring much easier.

Purchase by the U.S. Government

In 1803, the U.S. government bought the land now known as Rocky Mountain National Park as part of the famous deal called the Louisiana Purchase.  In 1820, an army major named Stephen H. Long decided he would explore the mountain range further and so he set out on an expedition with a group of climbers. He was able to see parts of the Rocky Mountain range that others hadn’t made it to.  And he even named a mountain after himself: Long’s Peak.  When he returned home, he wrote about his travels.  

Because of the excitement that Long’s expedition caused and the opportunities that the west offered, white settlers began arriving in the area in the mid-1800s.  As more and more white people came to the area, many Native Americans who lived there started to be displaced.  This means having to move because you don’t have anywhere to live. Most Native Americans in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado ended up leaving the area or moving to reservations.

Gold Rush

In 1859, there was a gold rush at Pikes Peak.  Many people from all over America came to the Rockies to look for gold.  Much like the California gold rush, they hoped to strike it rich.  But only a few people ended up getting wealthy.  Many more came out but never found gold.  They often stayed in the area and built houses and settled down. By the late 1860s, this meant that there were lots of new settlers now living in the area and lots of small homes built in the Rocky Mountain ranges. 

The winters in the Rockies are very harsh and cold.  This made it difficult for people to live and find food high in the mountain areas. This meant that people usually lived lower down from the peaks, where there are more bears, deer, wolves, and elk.  The area is very beautiful, so word started to spread back to the eastern states in the USA about the Rockies.  Soon more Easterners started moving out to the area to live.

Also, there were rumors and superstitions that the water that came from the mountain streams and rivers had healing qualities.  This means that people thought that if you drank the water, it could heal you if you were sick or disabled.   The mountain water became more precious than gold in that it could also be diverted, or redirected, using dams and barriers to help bring water to fields for farming cattle and crops. 

Following the growth in ranchers, hunters, and miners in the area, the next group that started to arrive in the Rocky Mountain area was tourists.  

Conservation

By 1900, a group of local people, or people who lived in the Rocky Mountain area, started to organize together to try to turn part of the Rocky Mountain range into a protected park.  This was part of a conservation effort, which means an effort to protect an area of land.  This effort was supported by president Teddy Roosevelt.

In 1909, a nature guide and lodge owner in the Rockies named Enos Mills started to work for the creation of a national Rocky Mountain park.  Enos believed that a big part of the Rocky Mountain range should be saved as parkland so that families in the future could continue to enjoy its beauty.  He was afraid that if it was not made into a protected park, then eventually people would buy the land in the Rocky Mountain area and log it as a source of wood and turn the forests there into farmland and the mountains into mines for silver. 

Enos set out on a mission to gain support for this idea.  He spent several years traveling across the United States teaching people about the Rocky Mountains and writing thousands of letters to convince other people to support the plan for a federal park in the area.  A federal park means an area of land that would be owned and protected by the US government and could not be damaged by logging and mining or other human activities. Most government leaders that Enos spoke to liked the idea, but many people that worked in mining, logging, and farming opposed it.  To oppose means to stand in the way of doing something and try to stop it.  In 1915, however, Enos was successful in his efforts when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act. The Rocky Mountain area of Colorado was now a protected area!

In 1915, there were a few private lands throughout the park.  Private lands mean that they were owned by individual people or families and not the government.  These private lands often had lodges, or basic houses, on them and the owners of these lodges would host guests for sightseeing. The lodge keepers maintained the roads, built trails, and guided visitors on which routes to take in their adventures. 

With the new park status in place, the government appointed a park “Superintendent” to oversee the park and its uses.  When the first Superintendent arrived, he started building things to support visitors.   This included buildings and roads and trails.  The earliest managers of the park were not given a lot of money to work with, so they had to be very careful about not spending too much. They just built a few buildings and improved roads and trails. 

Tourism

By the 1920s however, there was a big increase in the number of tourists who were coming to visit the park.  This was because World War I had ended and people had more time and money to travel and sightsee again. The park facilities and private lodges in Rocky Mountain park were not enough to support the increased number of tourists.  So throughout the 1920s, there was a big increase in building lodges in the park. Rangers built comfort stations, museums, and better trails.  The park also saw the construction of new roads to make it easier for tourists to visit.  The biggest road project during that time was the construction of the Trail Ridge Road to Fall River Pass, which was completed from 1929 to 1932.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, millions of Americans did not have jobs.  Because there were a lot of men out of work and looking for jobs, Rocky Mountain park hired additional men to help build more roads, trails and buildings.  They were set up into six camps throughout the Rockies to do this work.  They also helped put out wildfires, planted trees, and managed predators, or dangerous animals. It was with the help of these additional men that the Trail Ridge Road was completed. 

Road building was a high priority for the park because, unlike other western national parks, most tourists came to Rocky Mountain National Park by car.  A railroad never was built to serve the mountain area, like it did in Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Canyon parks.  So road building was important for the Rockies to be successful.

During World War II, tourism to all national parks dropped significantly.  People did not have time or money to travel and sightsee in the Rockies, so there was less development and care taken in the area and many of the buildings and trails stopped being maintained. However, after WWII, there were many new young families in the United States.  This time in America was called a “baby boom” because families were reunited and had a lot of wealth again and so the number and size of families grew quickly. 

The government launched a new program around this time called the “Mission 66” program.  The aim of Mission 66 was to improve the facilities in the national parks by 1966, which was the date of the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service. There were three large new buildings were a visitor center in the Rocky Mountain park.  At these new facilities, tourists could watch a movie about animals and nature in the area, they could talk to a ranger, and get oriented to the park.  Oriented means getting directed and knowing where you are and where you’re going. During Mission 66, the National Park Service bought many of the old guest lodges within the park boundaries, removed old buildings that were falling apart, and built new campgrounds and parking lots. 

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many tourists were visiting Rocky Mountain park and other federal parks each year.  Because so many people were now visiting, there was damage done to the local plants and animals in the area.  Some campers would drive off-road into the back-country, or out-of-bounds areas.  Hikers crushed wildflowers and with the predators in the area all gone, the elk population grew too big.  There were also a lot of forest fires that caused damage to the area.  

In the 1970s, Park Superintendents started to try to manage the area better to help preserve it for future generations. To preserve means to keep something in good condition.  Park rangers started to teach tourists to be good to the parks and take better care of them.  And More signs started to be put up to help direct tourists. 

Today, many people visit Rocky Mountain National Park every year.  In fact, the park is one of the most visited parks in the National Park System, ranking as the third most visited national park in 2015.  Wouldn’t that be an amazing place to visit?  If you get a chance to go there, you will see beautiful nature, including mountains, tundra, and wildlife.  And you can learn from education rangers about the animals, plants, and landscapes in the area and how the park is maintained. We hope you get the chance to go one day!

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Happy fall everyone!  You might have noticed a sudden, slight chill in the air at night or the changing of the leaves on the trees.  Maybe where you live, the leaves are changing from bright green to blazing red, orange, and yellow.  In America, the stores around your town may be stocking up on spooky Halloween costumes, smiling pumpkins, and plump turkeys.  Fall is in the air and people are getting excited to celebrate holidays with family and friends.

Preparations

But do you know what else happened during this Fall season many years ago?  The sailing of the Mayflower – the historic ship that brought the pilgrims from England to America!  The year was 1620 and some people in Europe were finding it difficult to celebrate the religion of their choice.  A group of religious people, called pilgrims, decided they wanted to sail to a new land to have the freedom to practice their own religion.  So, they hired two ships, the Mayflower and the Speedwell, to sail them from Southampton, England, to the new land of America.  They hoped to land in Virginia where a small settlement – or town – was being built.  

To get there, they would need ships, supplies, and a crew of sailors.  The pilgrims spent months making arrangements: they bought farm animals, food, seeds, tools, weapons, and drinks to take with them across the sea.  They hired a captain and a crew of almost 30 men – sailors and cooks, plus a surgeon, carpenter, gunner, barrel maker, and men to handle the cargo and repair the ship.  102 pilgrims, including 18 women – 3 of whom were pregnant – and 11 girls, agreed to sail with the men.  Excitement was high.  Everyone was anxious to set sail but sad to say goodbye to loved ones who would be staying behind. 

The Mayflower and Speedwell Disembark

Finally, the big day arrived.  On August 5, 1620, the Mayflower and the Speedwell left Southampton, England, sailing out of the harbor towards the open sea.  The ships were packed to bursting with hardly an inch of space between all the passengers, crew, animals, and supplies.  In various places on the ship, people couldn’t stand upright due to the low ceilings.  People had to sleep in shifts; there was not enough room for everyone to sleep at once.  But still, spirits were high and excitement filled the air.  

The days slipped by as everyone settled into routines aboard the ship:  eating, sleeping, playing cards, chatting, and tending to children.  Suddenly, 7 days into the voyage, the Speedwell started to leak.  There was no way they could sail across the ocean with this leak- they would surely sink.  There was no choice – they had to sail back towards land and make repairs.  The Speedwell and the Mayflower docked in Dartmouth, England, and repairs were made for two weeks.  Finally, on August 21, 1620, the two ships set sail again.  By this time, everyone was truly anxious to sail.  Once more they sailed out of the harbor for the open sea.  They were 300 miles out to sea when the Speedwell once again started to leak.  Spirits were crushed.  They had wasted so much time and effort trying to make this voyage.  They turned back to land yet again, docking in Plymouth, England. A decision was made to leave the Speedwell behind.  Supplies were transferred from the Speedwell to the Mayflower, and some passengers decided to leave the ships, disheartened by the delays and bad luck.

The Mayflower Disembarks Again

Finally, on September 6, 1620, the Mayflower set sail for the third and final time.  The ship was even more packed now, carrying additional supplies and the remaining Speedwell passengers. 102 people were crowded into a space the size of 58’ x 24’.  If you want to know how big – or small – this is, ask your parents to show you with a tape measure or march it out while counting.  It is incredibly small-maybe even smaller than your living room!  All the pilgrims were now tired and anxious.  They had been living on board for a month and a half in very tight quarters and had yet to cross the ocean.

The Mayflower sailed out into the September seas and, at first, the voyage was smooth and uneventful.  Some people enjoyed sailing – the rock of the ship, the creak of the wooden beams, and the jangle of the metal rigging.  Others, however, became seasick from the constant rolling.  They felt truly miserable and couldn’t wait for the journey to be over!  Can you imagine being seasick, plus smelling the odor of penned animals, fish, and unwashed clothes for days on end?  Not very pleasant!

Trouble on the High Seas

About halfway through the trip, the weather worsened and huge storms raged across the ocean, turning the once-calm sea into a swirling, crashing mass of waves and spray.  Animals squawked and people moaned.  The ship rolled from side to side.  Suddenly, they heard a crack and the main beam started to break in the howling wind.  They needed to repair the beam in order to sail, otherwise, they would be like a toy boat in the water, bobbing along with no way to steer toward Virginia.  By sheer luck, one of the passengers had a large metal jackscrew, which the carpenter used to repair the beam.  During these storms one woman even gave birth!

Land Ho!

By now, everyone just wanted the trip to be over – the seasickness, rough seas, and cramped conditions were becoming unbearable.  Finally, on November 9, after 66 days of sailing, they sighted land.  They had reached Cape Cod, Massachusetts, north of Virginia.  How happy they were, yelling and pointing and hugging each other.  They decided to sail further south to Virginia.  Suddenly, the weather worsened and they nearly shipwrecked in the rough seas, so they turned back to Cape Cod, landing in Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts.

The mood was joyous, yet a little anxious.  What would they find on land?  Would they find food?  Or warring tribes?  Or dangerous animals?  A group of men went ashore in small boats, scouting the area for the best spot to build a settlement.  The weather was getting colder each day.  The leaves were off the trees and crunched underfoot as the men tromped through the forests.  They could see their breaths in the cool morning air.  Soon the snow would come.  The woman and children stayed on board the Mayflower making meals, washing clothes, and tending to the animals.  The men decided that the best place to live would be farther north along the coast, to a place now called Plymouth, Massachusetts.  They sailed the Mayflower to the new shoreline and started building small wooden homes on December 25 – Christmas Day!

The First Settlement

For the next four months, the men worked tirelessly to build homes and storage sheds. Temperatures were freezing and snow covered the land.  Their supplies were running low, there were no berries or plants to harvest, and finding animals to hunt was unpredictable.  The weather was much colder than they were used to in England.  People started to get sick.  The cramped, dirty conditions on the ship were not healthy.  While the men were able to get outside in the fresh air doing construction, hunting, and sipping fresh water, the woman and children were inside the crowded ship tending to the sick, thus catching sickness themselves, including scurvy, pneumonia, and tuberculosis. In total, half of the Mayflower passengers did not survive their first winter in America.  Only 5 women remained of the original 18.  They tended to the remaining 50 men and children.

In the spring and summer of 1621, the pilgrims worked non-stop building shelters, hunting, and foraging for food.  They planted crops, raised animals, and repaired tools.  Also, during this time, they were greeted by Chief Massasoit and his Wampanoag warriors.  The pilgrims talked with the tribe and everyone exchanged gifts of clothing, food, and weapons in acts of friendship.  The Indians agreed they would not attack the pilgrims and would protect them against other warring tribes.  The pilgrims agreed they would do the same.  The Wampanoag also told the pilgrims how to plant, hunt, and survive in this new land.

The First Thanksgiving

Sometime in the Fall of 1621, maybe early October, the pilgrims held a celebration of thanks.  They relaxed by hunting, eating, and celebrating.  Chief Massasoit and 90 of his Wampanoag warriors joined the pilgrims, bringing 5 deer to the celebration.  For three days, the pilgrims and Native Americans feasted on wild turkey, deer, and fish, as well as other seafood, berries, and nuts. 

This was a wonderful feast; however, the pilgrims did not celebrate like this every year.  They were too busy growing crops, building homes, and raising families during those rough early years in a wild new land.  The holiday of Thanksgiving was actually started by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to honor the pilgrims and their historic voyages.

Before the pilgrims left the Mayflower on March 31, 1621, they drafted and signed a document called The Mayflower Compact.  It was a set of rules and principles to govern the pilgrims in this new, wild land and to set responsibilities for each person.  The Mayflower Compact and its principles later helped shape the United States Declaration of Independence.

Conclusion

What do you think of the Mayflower voyage and its brave pilgrims?  Would you sail on a small, crowded boat across the sea, leaving behind family and friends?  If you could sail anywhere in the world, where would you go? Do you think you could survive in the wilderness of new land in the middle of winter?  What would you do to survive?

I think this history shows us that the pilgrims were incredibly brave people who made a difficult decision to sail into the unknown, suffering much hardship along the way.  But they had faith, helped one another, and worked tirelessly to build a new community. Today, Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the pilgrims settled, is one of the prettiest coastlines in America and is steeped in Wampanoag and pilgrim history. The pilgrim’s voyage has never been forgotten. But we must also remember to honor Chief Massasoit and his Wampanoag tribe for helping the pilgrims, who likely would not have survived that first winter without their assistance.  We owe them an incredible debt of gratitude.  

Be sure to also check out our episode about the First Thanksgiving!

The post Voyage of the Mayflower for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Everyone spends time learning what they like, and what they’re capable of. Sometimes, they learn that what they are capable of isn’t what they like, and something else is calling them. That happened to Sally Ride.

Early Years of Sally Ride

Before we can get to what happened though, let’s go back to Southern California in the year 1951. This was the year Sally was born to Dale and Carol Ride. As a child, Sally’s dream job was to play baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She was athletic, and was often chosen first for baseball teams. Of course, no women played major league baseball at the time, but this didn’t matter to Sally. Dale and Carol raised her and her sister, who was nicknamed Bear, to explore and try anything that interested them. To Sally, this meant playing sports and stargazing through a telescope with her father. Her favorite constellation was Orion. Many people in the 1950s thought of these as “boy” things, but Sally knew they were also girl things.

Sally Ride and Tennis

When she was nine, Sally’s family traveled to Europe. Between seeing the amazing sites, Sally played tennis for the first time on the trip. Just like that, Sally was hooked. Tennis became the center of her life. When they got back to the United States, Dale and Carol got Sally a tennis coach and she began competing. Before long, she was ranked in the top 20 players under 12 in Southern California! 

Tennis also opened doors for Sally. A private high school gave her a scholarship to play for their team. In high school, Sally rediscovered her love of science. One teacher, Dr. Elizabeth Mommaerts, helped her see that there were opportunities for her in science. At the time, there weren’t many women who got advanced degrees in science, but Dr. Mommaerts had a PhD in human physiology. Sally was amazed by how smart and curious her teacher was, and how she approached every problem carefully and methodically, like a puzzle. 

After high school, tennis again helped Sally find a place at school. She headed to Swarthmore College to study physics and play on the tennis team. Soon after arriving though, Sally’s mind began to wander to new possibilities. She was excelling at tennis: she won all her college matches, and even became the Eastern Intercollegiate Women’s Singles champion! Sally decided she wanted to try to become a professional tennis player. She packed up her bags and left Pennsylvania to return to Southern California. 

Back in sunny California, Sally practiced every day for hours, year-round. But soon, she realized that she’d need to train even more in order to make it as a pro. Her body ached. She was tired. Playing tennis wasn’t as fun when she had to do it eight hours a day in order to compete. Sally decided to return to college full time. 

Collegiate Life of Sally Ride

Sally headed to Stanford University, about a six hour drive from Los Angeles. There, she reacquainted herself with her other childhood passion: science. She studied physics: how stars and planets work, and even lasers! 

This time, Sally was sure she’d made the right choice about her future. In fact, she stayed at Stanford an extra five years to earn her PhD in physics. 

But even as Sally focused more on physics, she was still open to new opportunities. One morning in 1977, shortly before she finished her PhD, a huge opportunity stared her in the face when she opened her morning paper. It was the kind of opportunity that made all her past hobbies and interests fall into place. Even though she never could have known this opportunity would come along, it was perfect for Sally’s background as a sports-loving physicist. 

It was an ad. NASA was recruiting new astronauts to fly in the space shuttle program. And for the first time, they were accepting applications from women. Sally had expected to get a job as a college teacher. But the chance to be an astronaut doesn’t come along every day, and Sally was excited by the possibility of actually visiting space, after studying the stars and planets and gazing up at Orion on so many nights. And, astronauts need to be in great physical shape too. All her years of playing tennis would be an advantage too. 

NASA was a bit overdue in sending women to space. In fact, all the astronauts until this time had been white men, mostly Air Force pilots. Russia had sent a woman to space in 1963! Now, in addition to recruiting pilots, NASA was opening the astronaut program to anyone with training in science or engineering.  They got thousands of applications! Out of all those applicants, Sally and five other women were chosen to train as astronauts! Not only were the first women chosen to be part of the space shuttle program, the class of 35 men and women included the first Asian American and African American astronauts.

Sally at NASA

Sally began her training in 1979. NASA was impressed by Sally. She was athletic and strong, committed and smart. Years of playing competitive tennis had taught her how to keep cool under pressure. 

But even though Sally had the right stuff to be an astronaut, there was a lot to learn! She had to know space shuttle systems inside and out. She learned about geology, oceanography, and computer science, since she would need to perform all sorts of experiments in space. The astronaut candidates learned to fly supersonic jets, though most of them wouldn’t actually need to fly the shuttle–NASA still used professional pilots for that–it was important to know how it worked in case there was ever an emergency. 

Off to Space for Sally Ride!

Finally, in 1982, after years of training and working on projects and shuttle missions from the ground, Sally got the call that all astronauts are eager for. NASA had assigned her to a mission. She would go to space in 1983 as a mission specialist on the space shuttle Challenger. 

Sally would have a whole year to prepare for the mission. As part of her work on the ground for NASA, Sally had helped design a robotic arm that would move things like satellites in and out of the space shuttle’s cargo bay. On her mission, Sally would use the arm to place a satellite outside in space. It would fly alongside the shuttle for a few hours, taking pictures and doing experiments. Then, Sally would use the robotic arm to grab the satellite and pull it back into the shuttle.

It was an exciting project for Sally, but she was disappointed to find that news reporters weren’t very interested in it. Instead, they always asked her questions about what it would be like for a woman in space. Would she wear makeup in space? Would she be able to have children after going into space? Would she cry if she made a mistake? Understandably, Sally found these questions annoying at best, even insulting. Why couldn’t reporters ask her about the actual mission–the science she’d be doing, or the amazing robotic arm she’d designed–instead of obsessing over her gender? 

But Sally kept her focus on training and ignored the rude questions. She made sure she knew every step of every task she needed to do during launch, in space, and on landing. On June 18th, 1983, Sally was ready to lift off! 

The mission was a success: the crew performed experiments, and the robotic arm worked beautifully. But besides conducting experiments and gaining experience in space, Sally realized something far more profound. As she looked out the space shuttle window for the first time, she noticed something that astonished her: 

“…it looked as if someone had taken a royal blue crayon and just traced along the Earth’s horizon. And then I realized that that blue line, that really thin royal blue line, was Earth’s atmosphere, and that was all there was of it. And it’s so clear from that perspective how fragile our existence is.” 

Challenger Mission

Sally flew on another mission two years later, again on Challenger. Sally hoped she’d be able to fly again after her second mission, but in 1986 a terrible tragedy threw her hopes, and the whole shuttle program, into doubt. The space shuttle Challenger, which Sally had flown on twice, exploded a few minutes after lift-off. Seven astronauts were killed, including some Sally had trained with. Sally was devastated, but she was also one of the best people to help figure out what went wrong. NASA canceled all its space shuttle missions for years while Sally and a committee of other experts investigated the accident. They found that cold weather that morning in Florida caused a part to break during the flight. 

By this time, Sally realized she would probably never fly on another mission. She stayed at NASA another year after the investigation, helping them plan for the future. But in 1987, she realized it was time to leave. 

Sally went back to Stanford University to work as a physics professor. She also reconnected with a childhood friend, Tam O’Shaugnessy. The two fell in love, and would spend the next 27 years together. Tam was also a scientist–a biologist–and she loved sports and exercise too. Sally and Tam also shared a passion for encouraging children, especially girls, to explore science and technology. They wrote books and started a foundation together that offered science summer camps and science festivals. Sally even started a program that let kids in middle school control a satellite launched into space on the shuttle, taking pictures of earth from hundreds of miles above the ground. 

Sally’s Death

In 2011, Sally learned she had pancreatic cancer. After battling the disease for over a year, she passed away at home in California. A year later, President Obama awarded Sally a Presidential Medal of Honor for her accomplishments. Tam accepted the award on her behalf.

People change their minds sometimes about what they want to do. New dreams take hold. But the most important thing to do if you want to make a dream come true is to act. Find out what you need to do to actually make that dream a reality and do it! You may find that you don’t like the doing as much as the dream, just like Sally Ride did with pro tennis. But, like Sally, if you try enough things, eventually you’ll find the right thing for you. And you never know when an opportunity will come along that requires your unique combination of talents, skills, and knowledge. So keep exploring!

Sources

https://rvsallyride.ucsd.edu/legacy/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride

Abawi, Atia (2021) She Persisted: Sally Ride. Philomel Books, New York.

Macy, Sue (2014) Sally Ride: Life on a Mission. Aladdin, New York.

The post History of Sally Ride for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Close your eyes and imagine you are hiking through a thick jungle. You use a sharp machete to cut away the vines and leaves blocking your path. You step through deep mud and cross a busy stream, then cut through another wall of trees until you reach the clearing and see it — the tallest stone pyramid you’ve ever seen. You gaze and wonder at its size and move toward it touching the intricate carvings in the stone. From the symbols, you know you’ve discovered a temple of one of the great civilizations of the ancient world, the Mayas…

Who were these ingenious people? How did they build these gigantic pyramids? And what caused their advanced civilization to suddenly disappear? Where did the Mayas go?

The earliest Mayan villages started in 1,800 B.C., almost 4 thousand years ago! They lived in what is now the region of Mexico and Central America, which includes countries like Guatemala and Belize — also called Mesoamerica. The climate there is tropical, which means it’s filled with dense jungles and is very wet like a rainforest. The Mayas were very skilled farmers and grew corn, beans, and squash. This allowed their communities to grow larger. Over the next 2000 years, the Maya civilization slowly began to grow further into the highlands of Mesoamerica.

From 250 A.D. to 900 A.D. the Maya civilization was at its strongest also called the Classic Period. This was their Golden Age, their best years as they grew and expanded and became more advanced. During this time the Maya civilization included over 40 cities, and each city included anywhere from 5,000 to 50,000 people, totaling over 2 million — which is huge for a civilization at that time! 

Each city-state was independent of the other, had its own kings, priests, and other rulers, but was very similar in other ways. They had the same language, religion, and culture. Usually, these different Maya cities got along and traded and worked together but sometimes they went to battle over different problems.

In order for civilizations to thrive, they have to be able to share resources with each other. Resources are things like food, building materials, and other items people want and need to buy. Sometimes they are crafted goods like jewelry or nice clothing. The Mayas made trade easier by building roads between each of the cities. These highways were called “white ways” because they were covered in stucco or plaster that made them easier to travel on. With better trade routes, cities moved goods faster and were able to prosper as they worked together. 

One of the cities that did the most trading is one we now call Tulum. It was built on cliffs along the Caribbean Sea and protected by huge walls. The walls are 16-24 feet thick in some places to keep out invaders. Long ago, Mayas from all over Mesoamerica came to Tulum by land, river, and sea to trade with each other. We know this because of all of the artifacts which have been found there that come from a very distance. These artifacts include gold, feathers, and copper items. The ancient people called this beautiful city “Zama” which means “Dawn” because it faces the sunrise. The city leaders lived inside the walled city, while the peasants and other citizens lived and worked outside the city. In the center of Tulum is a pyramid called El Castillo which served as a temple for the city’s priests. Tulum was one of the last cities to be lived in by Mayas who were there even when Spanish explorers arrived in the 1500s.     

In their largest cities like Tikal, the Mayans built gigantic buildings of stone. Some of these were temples, others were palaces and plazas where the city people met together to buy and sell and hold sporting events. Their favorite sport was a game called ulama, where the players bounced a rubber ball back and forth across the court. Ulama was very tricky because players weren’t allowed to use their hands or feet, but instead used their knee and hip, and other body parts to hit the ball.

The step pyramid-shaped temples that towered over the city were magnificent and many of them can be visited today. Chichen Itza includes one of the largest of the pyramids in Mexico. Copan and Palenque, along with Tulum, are among the most visited ruins today. 

Anciently, the Mayas used these temples to worship their gods. Some of these gods were  Kukulcan, the Feathered Serpent God, who ruled the winds and water and who they believed created humans and taught them the rules of law, literacy, medicine, architecture, farming, and how to run a civilization. Then there was Itzamna, God of the Sky, the founder of Maya culture and protector of the sciences, such as astrology and writing. Ix Chel was the Mayan Moon Goddess who represented love and marriage. The Maya priests made offerings to these gods of food and other objects to stay in their good favor.  

The Mayas were also very gifted artists. They decorated their pyramids and other stone buildings with beautiful pictures and hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics are symbols that represent words and their ruins which you can still see today are covered in them. They made beautiful jewelry using shells from the ocean, bright green feathers from the quetzal bird, and precious stones like gold and jade. The Mayas were also very skilled at math, which they used to build their magnificent temples. From the temples, their priests watched the sun, moon, and stars, so were advanced astronomers. Their buildings were often designed with their understanding of astronomy in mind. For example, the Pyramid of El Castillo has 365 steps to represent the different days of the year. The Maya calendar is still known today for its accuracy.

By the end of the Classic Period, something began to change in the Maya Civilization that slowly caused their power and influence to slow down. Over the next few hundred years, their cities became smaller and there were fewer people, the population declined. No one knows for sure what happened to the Mayan Empire, but some archeologists think it was because they had used up all of the land and other precious resources. Others also think there may have been a drought, which means not enough water, which people needed to survive. There may also have been fighting between the different cities and its powerful families which caused the downfall of the Maya Civilization. But even though the cities were empty, the Maya people spread throughout Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the surrounding area, turning to other ways of life like farming and fishing and living in smaller villages instead. 

In 1839, an American traveler and writer named John Lloyd Stephens visited some of the Maya sites with a friend. Together, they wrote and sketched the amazing cities and ruins and sparked interest in the ancient Mayan people and their civilization. Archeologists visited to research the sites and try to better understand who the Maya were. Others deciphered the hieroglyphics to understand their history. People all over the world finally learned about this advanced civilization that once ruled Mesoamerica. 

Today, the descendants of the Maya still live in Central America, which includes parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. 

If you get the chance, be sure to look up documentaries about the Maya or books at your local library. You can also find many amazing photos of their cities and buildings which still stand today.

The post History of Maya Civilization for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Today, I’m going to ask you to close your eyes and imagine. But I don’t need you to picture anything in your imagination this time. Instead, just imagine you’re in a dark place. It’s chilly and a little damp. The walls are cold and hard, like they’re made out of rock. You say something, and you hear your voice echo off the walls and back to you. Finally, you find a flashlight in your backpack and turn it on. 

Where are you? 

If you guessed that you’re in a cave, you’re right! If you’ve ever wanted to go spelunking–that’s what it’s called when you explore a cave–then this episode is for you. And we’re not just exploring any old cave. We’re going deep into the history of the longest cave system in the world: Mammoth Cave in the state of Kentucky, in the USA. Mammoth Cave became a National Park in 1941, but it had a long and fascinating history before that.

Caves like Mammoth form when water slowly wears away at the rocks underground, creating underground caverns and tunnels. Mammoth Cave has over 400 miles of tunnels and caverns, and it’s still being mapped. In fact, explorers recently found 8 more miles of passages! The cave is also home to some unique animal life, such as bats, salamanders, and  blind cave fish. Did I mention there are actually rivers inside the cave?!

Not only are there rivers in the cave now, but 300 million years ago, the whole area was a sea! Limestone formed slowly from fine sands at the bottom of the ocean and created fossils of ancient sea creatures. So today, scientists and visitors can find fossils of everything from small shellfish to giant, ancient sharks, even though the oceans are thousands of miles away now! Later on in the cave’s history, other animals were fossilized in the cave as well. 

Mammoth Cave isn’t just interesting for what it can tell us about Earth’s past though. It’s a part of many fascinating stories about human beings too!

The first humans to explore Mammoth cave were Native Americans. Woodland Native Americans explored and used the cave over 4,000 years ago. There’s evidence that they explored at least 19 miles of the cave’s passages. They mined minerals from the cave walls, which they may have used for medicinal or religious purposes, but scientists aren’t really sure. They left many items behind in the cave, like gourd bowls, torches used to light the way, and sandals. They also made artwork by carving into the rock walls or drawing on them using charcoal.  

European Americans discovered Mammoth Cave in the 1790s. They discovered that the cave contained saltpeter, which was used in making gunpowder. They began mining for saltpeter using enslaved laborers. This went on through the war of 1812, but after that, the need for saltpeter for gunpowder decreased. Within a few years, the owners of the cave started giving tours to curious visitors. 

In the 1840s, one owner of the property, Dr. John Croghan, built a small hospital for tuberculosis patients inside the cave. He had noticed that logs and artifacts inside the cave didn’t seem to break down like things left outside on the surface. He reasoned that maybe something about the cave had the power to keep things from decaying. Maybe the cave air could help people suffering from the disease to recover. If the cave worked as a treatment, he planned to set up a whole hotel inside for treating sick people. Unfortunately, the cave didn’t turn out to be a magical cure for tuberculosis: his patients got worse instead of better, and he closed it down after a few months.

It wasn’t a total loss for Dr. Croghan though. By this time, the cave had become a very popular tourist destination, and Dr. Croghan, like the previous owner, sold tours of the cave in addition to having his hospital. This was still before the Civil War that ended slavery in America, and sadly, most of the tour guides were enslaved African American men. This brings us to one of the most interesting parts of Mammoth Cave’s history.

The most famous of these tour guides was Stephen Bishop. He explored many new areas of the cave, using ropes to find his way back and torches to light the pitch-black passageways. He built a bridge over one of the caves’ deepest chasms, known as the Bottomless Pit, so that tour groups could see more parts of the cave. He also drew one of the first maps of the system based on his explorations. 

But Stephen Bishop wasn’t just a brave explorer. He had an expert-level knowledge of geology and mineralogy. Professors of geology who visited the cave were astounded by his knowledge. Bishop was famous well beyond Kentucky. Well-known and influential visitors to the cave spread the word about his brilliance and recommended that others request him as their guide should they visit. 

Two other early guides were Nick and Mat Bransford. Nick and Mat weren’t brothers but instead shared the same last name because, sadly, they were both owned by the same man. It was a common practice for enslaved people to be given their owner’s last name. Mat was one of the earliest tour guides. He was eventually freed and continued to work at Mammoth Cave as a guide, but paid. His son Henry and his grandchildren, Louis and Matt also worked as paid tour guides at the cave well into the twentieth century. The family tradition didn’t stop there though: his great-great-great-grandson works there as a park ranger now! 

Nick Bransford was also an enslaved tour guide and may have also done other work above ground on the cave property. Nick didn’t want to wait to be freed: he made a plan to buy his freedom. He asked his master how much it would cost to buy his freedom. When he finished his required tours and other work each day, he went back to the cave and captured eyeless fish from the underground springs. He then sold the unusual fish to tourists to earn extra money. After years of doing this, he was finally able to buy his freedom. He went on to become an important person in his community, donating land for a school. He stayed on at Mammoth Cave as a tour guide for over 50 years! 

Some of the visitors to Mammoth cave were famous and powerful–writers, politicians, even royalty. Though outside the cave, Stephen, Mat, and Nick were viewed as property as slaves, tourists inside the cave relied on them to keep them alive and safe during their visit. The cave could be a dangerous place for people who weren’t familiar with its layout and hazards. There were chasms and underground rivers that tourists could fall into if they weren’t careful. This included dead ends, slippery pathways, and loose rocks that could fall. Lamps and candles could blow out, leaving people in total darkness. Stephen, Mat, and Nick made sure their guests were safe by knowing the routes and the dangers, and being alert and prepared for any accidents. Most visitors respected these men for their bravery, knowledge, and skills because without them, going into the cave would have meant risking their lives. 

Though they all eventually gained their freedom and ended up working at the cave as paid workers, their lives as enslaved workers were unfair and, at times, harsh. Conditions in the cave were dangerous, as we’ve seen. Three of Mat Bransford’s children were sold away from him to different owners. But all three men, as well as other enslaved guides who worked at the cave,  showed that they were brave, capable, and accomplished individuals who deserved respect and admiration.  The same might be said for millions of other people who endured slavery in the United States, but whose stories we don’t know. Stephen, Mat, and Nick all wrote their names on the walls of Mammoth Cave in candle smoke. Even when people are forced into terrible situations, they are still capable of rising up–or going deep in the case of Mammoth Cave–and leaving their mark.

Mammoth Cave is an amazing natural wonder, but people like Stephen Bishop, Mat Bransford, and Nick Bransford give it an important human history as well. The world is full of natural places that also have interesting human stories–stories with twists, turns, and strange surprises, just like Mammoth Cave. So grab your flashlight and go exploring!

Sources

https://www.livescience.com/mammoth-cave-system-kentucky-record

https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=4EF84A9E-54F7-483C-BB54-A940BFAECBB8

https://www.nps.gov/maca/learn/historyculture/native-americans.htm

https://www.nps.gov/people/mat-bransford.htm

https://www.nps.gov/people/nick-bransford.htm

https://www.nps.gov/people/stephen-bishop.htm

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/enslaved-tour-guide-stephen-bishop-made-mammoth-cave-must-see-destination-it-today-180971424/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bishop_(cave_explorer)

Recommended Reading

Bradbury, Jennifer, 2015. River Runs Deep. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York.

Hensen, Heather, 2016. Lift your Light a Little Higher: The story of Stephen Bishop: slave-explorer. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York.

The post History of Mammoth Caves for Kids appeared first on Bedtime History: Podcast and Videos For Kids.

Have you ever heard of Easter Island?  Many movies talk about it and some even say that is where the Easter Bunny lives.  But in fact, it is a real place that has nothing to do with the holiday of Easter. But many people know of Easter Island from the large famous face statues that are often seen in pictures of the place.  So why does Easter Island have this name?

Easter Island is a large island that covers nearly 65 square miles.  It is located in the South Pacific Ocean, far off of the west coast of the country of Chile in South America.  It is also an almost equal number of miles to the east of the island of Tahiti.  

Easter Island is the shape of a triangle and measures 14 miles long by 7 miles wide. It was formed by a series of volcano eruptions over time.  The island has many hills and caves within the rocks that go way back into the mountains.  Because much of the rock on the island is made of volcanic rock, it is easy for the rock to form caves and holes over time. 

Easter Island’s largest volcano is called Rano Kao.  It has a highest point that is called Mount Terevaka that reaches 1,665 feet (or 508 meters) above the sea.  The island is sub-tropical, which means it is located below the mid-point of the Earth called the equator and has sunny and dry weather. 

Many people have been confused about the name “Easter Island” and have wondered whether the island has something to do with the holiday of Easter. Is this where the Easter Bunny lives when he is not hopping around the world delivering eggs?  Let’s find out. 

The first people to live on Easter Island arrived on the island around the year 400 A.D. about 1,500 years ago. They were from another Polynesian island close by and they came to Easter Island looking for a new place to live.  These first people called the island “Rapa Nui”.  Because of its remote, or far away, location. The first peoples of Rapa Nui lived there on their own for hundreds of years before there were any other visitors from other countries. 

The traditions and stories of the Polynesian people say that the first king of Rapa Nui was named “Hoto-Matua”.  He was a ruler of a group of people that traveled around many islands in the area.  The group of explorers led by Hoto-Matua was searching for a new place to make their home. The story says that after traveling thousands of miles, the exploring group landed at a sandy beach on the island.  The island of Rapa Nui is actually quite rocky on the coast, or edge of the land near the water.

The traditional Polynesian story says that the group, led by their leader, Hoto-Matua, landed on the sandy beach, which was one of the only sandy spots on the coast. The group explored the island and found that it was a great place to live.  It was abundant with many fish and other types of food, and had a good climate or weather.  They decided to stay and build their home on this newly found island.  This is the start of the first peoples living on Rapa Nui, or Easter Island. The first peoples learned how to harvest food and fish on the island, including native fruit and plants.   They grew in size over time and developed a long and rich culture over the hundreds of years since the first group arrived.

One of the best pieces of evidence of the early people that lived on the island is the giant stone statues that have been found around Easter Island.  These statues are called “moai” and are part of what makes Easter Island famous.  You may have even seen pictures of these statues before.  They look like giant stone heads sticking out of the ground. 

There are over 900 moai statues all over Easter Island!  The statues are all around 13 feet (or 4 meters) high, with a weight of 13 tons!  They are huge faces and chests carved out of a type of rock called “tuff”.  Tuff is a light and porous rock, or rock with holes in it, that was made from volcanic ashes.  One thing that many people don’t know about the statues is that they actually go into the ground and continue at least partly underground.  They are a mystery that no one has yet to solve. 

No one today knows why these statues were made and why there are so many.  It is also a mystery why they were built so big and how they were moved around the island. This would have been an amazing feat of engineering by people living at that time!

One thing is for sure: the statues show that their creators, the early people of Easter Island, were very good craftsmen and engineers. They were very skilled at design and making strong structures.  

In modern times, researchers have determined that there were three different cultural phases, or separate times in human history there.  During the early and middle periods, statues were built and torn down and then rebuilt in the same places.  In the later period, the statues were built even bigger than before and are the statues that you can see pictures of today. 

The first European person to visit Easter Island was a Dutch explorer named Jacob Roggeveen.  He came exploring the area in the year 1722. Captain Roggeveen and his crew arrived on the island on the holiday of Easter.  To help remember the day and celebrate it, the Dutch named the island Paaseiland, which means “Easter Island” in Dutch. This is where the island gets its name! 

In 1770, the Spanish government in Peru sent a group of explorers to Easter Island. The explorers spent four days on the island.  They found that there were about 3,000 native people living on the island. 

Unfortunately, as more and more explorers started visiting the island, they also had diseases that the local islanders had not been around before.  As a result, many of the native islanders died and by 1877, there were only 111 native people living on the island. 

By 1877, Catholic explorers had come to the island to convert, or teach and change the local people to, Christianity.  By the late 19th century, almost all of the people living on the island were Christians. 

In 1888, Chile started using the land to raise sheep.  The government of Chile also appointed a governor to be in charge of Easter Island in 1965, and the island’s people all became Chilean citizens. 

Easter Island does not have any natural bays to form harbors that are places for boats to be parked away from the harsh weather of the ocean. The island’s largest village is called Hanga Roa. It was made into a World Heritage site in 1995, so it will not be developed into a tourist place full of hotels and other developments. 

Today, Easter Island is home to a mixed group of people.  Many of the people living on the island have Polynesian ancestors, or older relatives. The locals now mostly speak Spanish and there are some tourists that visit during the year. 

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