Tag: El Mapais and El Morro

• John Cook—A Life Lived in America’s Best Idea

  Several years ago, I was watching Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan’s PBS documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, when I saw a reference to John Cook. I immediately texted my friend Lafe Cook, longtime director of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band. “Is that your dad?” When Lafe answered yes, I was smitten, but I had…

  Jeff Fleming

  July 3, 2026

  History, People

  Alaska, bands of america, Big Bend, Bill Clinton, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Canyon de Chelly, Carlsbad Caverns, Casa Grande Ruins, Chaco Canyon, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Death Valley, Denali, Department of the Interior, Dobyns-Bennett, El Mapais and El Morro, Flagstaff, Fort McHenry, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, hiking, History, Hubbell Trading Post, Jimmy Carter, kingsport, Mesa Verde, Montezuma Castle, National Park Service, nature, Saguaro, Sunset Crater, travel, Walnut Canyon, writing, Wupatki