Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

Though the primary battles of the Civil War were fought in the East, the Pacific Northwest was impacted by the war between the states, as a National Park Service ranger will explain Monday during a talk in Portland, Oregon.

If you're interested in archeology, three parks are offering a variety of talks and activities this summer that literally cover the subject from coast to coast.

Here we are at the end of the Oregon Trail following a three-week drive of 2,600 miles from Independence, Missouri. This represents 500 more miles compared to the route taken by most of the pioneers, but the two of us were unable to follow many of the cross-country shortcuts favored by the emigrants.

A combination of modern technology and hands-on interpretation is helping a group of students from the Kansas State School for the Blind on an expedition of discovery this month. They're visiting several NPS sites while retracing the routes of the Oregon and California National Historic Trails

The National Park Service began making National Accessibility Achievement Awards in 1999 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in architectural design, program design, and sustained efforts to improve accessibility for persons with disabilities. For the FY 2008 awards round, a five-member panel of experts will vet 14 nominations in four categories.