Virgin Islands National Park

[Martin Hash]

Visitor Center.JPG

Sometimes life is eerily serendipitous. When I was looking at a list of the National parks we were going to visit, I noticed one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean, and thought it odd not being in a State but instead an unincorporated organized territory, which is better than an unincorporated unorganized territory like American Samoa, but not as good as a commonwealth like Puerto Rico. I didn't have any specific plans to go there so I was surprised when a tour was offered by the cruise ship I happened to have been transferred to when our trip to Cuba was aborted due to U.S. policy changes. When an opportunity like that drops in your lap, you just have to take it.

Roofless House.JPG

The National Park itself is located on St. John island, which is only accessible by ferry. The tallest peak is 1277 ft above sea level which we had to drive over to get to the side of the island that is the National Park, established in 1956.Of note, in 2017, the islands had two Cat 5 hurricanes within 2 weeks of each other, and some of the buildings still lack roofs. Tourism is at one-quarter its pre-hurricanes level. The National Park designation is obviously a scheme to get money funneled to the island because the National Park Service constructed the roads, school grounds, and public buildings all inside the park boundaries. Improvements like the sewer system, power grid, and medical services are also ostensibly for the park but in reality are actually the foundation of the whole island. The park includes 5,500 acres of ocean, and the beaches are beautiful and eccentric. We took a family picture on the overlook to Maho Bay.



Being at the park caught everyone in my family's imagination: the beauty, the intermittent warm rain, the jungle-covered mountains. They all went to the Visitor Center and bought National Park passports and got them stamped. I went whole hog, as usual, and bought the patch, pin, bumper sticker, and even a little Park Ranger doll keychain made out of brown thread; his name is Parker, of course.

Stamps, Patch & Pin.jpg

[brewster]

I noticed one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, in the Caribbean, and thought it odd not being in a State but instead an unincorporated organized territory, which is better than an unincorporated unorganized territory like American Samoa, but not as good as a commonwealth like Puerto Rico.

IMO, we should not have these "neither fish nor fowl" territories occupied by "Imperial subjects" without the full rights & representation of US citizens. This is what our revolt against Britain was about. PR should either be made a state or cut loose. Period. None of this middle ground crap, even if they voted for it. We should not be ruling an island of US citizens with a population larger than 19 of the states without them participating fully in our government. The USVI the same, attached to FL, or PR should it become a state. And of course DC's lack of voting congressional representation is literally a crime.