Boyd Matson | Wild Chronicles

the branches of government

I went to the Mall last week, no not that mall, the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington D.C,  You may not know it but the National Mall is our most visited national park with some twenty-five million visitors a year.  My walk took me about five hours and two hundred thirty-five years.  The years part was my refresher course in American history.  I started at the memorial honoring the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

Washington Monument

My walk took me close enough to the Capitol to almost hear the partisan insults echoing off the walls inside Congress.  I walked past all the memorials to various wars in our history.  And I walked past the momunents to some of our greatest presidents including two who led the nation in time of war, Lincoln and Roosevelt.  Of course Washington was elected president after leading the country in battle before we were even a country.  But equally important as his leadership in the Revolutionary War, was his contribution to the establishment of democracy when he voluntarily handed over the reigns of power after two terms as president.

jefferson memorial through the cherry trees

The Jefferson Memorial is beautiful with its neo-classic design, but the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial I think may be my favorite design.  It looks the most like America, with wide open spaces, big granite blocks, and large waterfalls.  It almost has a feel of a WPA project, appropriately for a president who led the nation through a great depression.  But the surprise of my tour was the Lincoln Memorial where for the past ninty years Mother Nature has been adding her own decorating touches to the marble structure.  Underneath the memorial is a cavernous space with concrete walls and dirt floors.  Tourists haven’t been allowed in here since 9-11, but I got a special tour from park officials and saw hanging from the ceiling or the floor beneath Lincoln hundreds of stalactites.  The long thin white geometric formations were created by water dripping through the memorial for almost a century.  They make the place look like a starter cave.

the lincoln memorial as seen from below

Also on some of the support columns are cartoons drawn by the workmen who built the Lincoln Memorial.  Of course above this seldom seen part of the monument to out 16th president are his own words from the Gettysburgh address chiseled into the stone work for all to see and remember.

cartoon figures drawn by workmen at lincoln memorial

My column for the July-August edition of National Geographic Traveler Magazine will have the full story of my trip to the Mall.  And on my radio show, “National Geographic Weekend” on May 14-15 I will be talking about the mall and interviewing Susan Spain, the project executive for the National Mall Plan.  She will explain why the park that is the face of America needs a face lift.  But equally important is the story that the National Mall is a national park, one that tells the world who we are as a country and  how we got here, as well as honoring those who served, fought, and died to protect our liberty.  Next time you are in D.C. take a little time to visit the Mall.