Date of Visit: June 27, 2026
Location: Fairgrounds Coffee (Millenium Park), Chicago, IL
Rating: 👍 (Like)
Mom and I ended up at Fairgrounds Coffee when we walked to the Route 66 start signs on Adams St.
We both got Peach Cobbler Lattes.
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Ranger Dan: 121.1 Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park - Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center
Date of Visit: June 26, 2026
We visited the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center to get the America 250 stamp for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. We enjoyed the exhibits, especially learning about the Wright Brothers printing press business.
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| Wright Flyer |
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| Helicopter Toy |
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| Frank B. Hale Groceries |
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| Frank B. Hale Groceries |
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| Wright Brothers Gliders |
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| Aviation Trail Parachute Museum |
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| Aviation Trail Parachute Museum |
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| Aviation Trail Parachute Museum |
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| Bench from Wright family home |
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| Composing Room |
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| Printing Press |
See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.
Friday, July 17, 2026
Ranger Dan: 120.1 Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument
Date of Visit: June 26, 2026
Because it was raining, Mik did not want to get out of the truck when we visited Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument. Thus, Dad and I just quickly went through the exhibits inside the house and got the stamps.
See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.
Our Koffee Trail: Blue Sky Coffee
Date of Visit: June 26, 2026
Location: Blue Sky Coffee, Fairborn, OH
Rating: 👍 (Like)
Usually when in Ohio we end up at a Winan's as I like to stock up on their decaf flavored coffee beans, especially the Maine Blueberry. We did end up at one later in the day, but we started the day trying out Blue Sky Coffee.
I had a Berry Cobbler Latte (white chocolate, blueberry, strawberry, brown sugar).
Dad had a Flat White.
Mik had a Strawberry Sunset (strawberry, peach, tea, lemonade).
See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.
Thursday, July 16, 2026
Ranger Dan: 119.1 Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Date of Visit: June 25, 2026
As this was our first visit to Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, we planned to spend time really exploring it. However, we found the visitor center rather lacking with no real exhibit and the sidewalk to the mounds did not even get to the first info sign. We were not surprised that it was not accessible for Mik (Wheelchair Travel Adventures post) to go through the mound side, but we had expected there to at least be some sort of exhibit about the site in the visitor center. Mik did at least let me quickly walk through the mound area to the various signs and take some Ranger Dan photos.
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| Visitor Center |
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| Shawnee Tribe Flag |
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| Mound 7 |
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| Elliptical Mound |
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| My Sketch |
See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Our Koffee Trail: Forest Brew Company
Date of Visit: July 15, 2026
Location: Forest Brew Company, Surfside Beach, SC
Rating: 👍 (Like)
Forest Brew Company is a new coffeeshop in Surfside Beach. I originally planned to check it out as our weekend coffee outing this upcoming weekend with it being the first weekend Dad (Mom and Mik, too, but Dad being the driver is key to our weekend coffee outings!) was back home. However, Dad and I were out doing a bunch of errands that took us almost out this way and I was thirsty, so we decided to try it out today.
We enjoyed the forest/National Park vibe of the coffeeshop, which is refreshing change from all the beach vibes you get in our area.
I had a Smoky Mountain Turtle.
Dad had a Pacific Crest.
See full list of Our Koffee Trail stops here and Our Koffee Trail Google Maps list here.
Check out some of our other Myrtle Beach area posts:
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Ranger Dan: 6.2 New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
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| Canyon Rim Visitor Center |
Date of Visit: June 24-25, 2026
The New River Gorge was one of the places we visited on the trip we got Ranger Dan. Back then, it was designated a National River, so this was our first visit to it as a National Park. That visit we only went to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center. This trip we also visited the Sandstone Visitor Center and Sandstone Falls.
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| Batteau |
As we got to the visitor center near closing time, Dad went in and got the stamps while I took some Ranger Dan photos and did a sketch of the batteau.
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| Batteau Sketch |
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| Sandstone Falls |
At the Visitor Center, Dad learned that the Sandstone Falls could be seen from a short accessible trail, so we drove over and saw that before going to the hotel.
The next morning we went to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center for more 250 stamps and for Mik to see the New River Gorge Bridge.
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| New River Gorge Bridge |
Previous Visits to this Unit:
See full list of Ranger Dan's National Parks Visited here.
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