With the United States government shutdown in Washington now over, the national parks are once again reopened to the public.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield is one of five national parks in Western Pennsylvania, and up until Thursday, this park and all the other parks in the country were closed because of the government shutdown. But now, they’re back open and people are happy.
For Aaron Anderson and his family from Delaware, just about every time they travel in the U.S., they find a national park to stop at. And judging by all the badges on Aaron’s son’s Junior Ranger vest, they have been to dozens of national parks.
So when the Andersons were on their way back from a family trip to Illinois, they knew they had to check Fort Necessity National Battlefield off their national parks list.
“These are our national treasures,” Aaron said. “And we are fortunate enough with our family, we’ve been to 49 of the 50 states, we are always visiting national parks. And to be able to explore the history and just the nature of parks as well, that’s just super nice.”
Crystal Miller from Morgantown is a homeschooling mom who is right in the middle of teaching her four kids about colonial America. She was worried that Fort Necessity would be closed because of the government shutdown, but she says she is happy that this park and the other four parks in the region, Allegheny Portage Railroad and Friendship Hill national historic sites and the Johnston Flood and Flight 93 national memorials, are back open to the public.
“I just think for learning, to actually be here and see things as live as we can, history is really important and it impresses on our minds in a much better way,” Miller said. “And national parks in general, I love national parks a lot. Just the hiking, the natural beauty, it is all just very important to be able to experience our country in a more holistic way.”