Rock Creek Park A to Z

Illustrated with more than 250 images, Rock Creek Park A to Z entertains as it answers questions that arise with every twist and turn of the valley and every entry from A to Z:

• How did the rocks get into Rock Creek?
• In whose famous footsteps might you be walking each time you visit?
• What can be done to preserve the Park in in the face of major threats to its environment?
• Where was Abe Lincoln nearly shot down by a Confederate sniper?
• When is the best time to observe songbirds migrating into the Park?
• Why was Rock Creek Valley the 19th century equivalent of a high-tech corridor for DC industry?

The alphabetical account begins with A is for Animals...from the newly-arrived coyotes to non-native black squirrels introduced more than a century ago.
Along the way, F is for Fords...where horses--and until 1994, autos--would splash through the creek.
N is for Neighbor...describing how the Park and the population around it affect each other for better and for worse.
Q is for Quotations...what naturalists, poets, politicians and songwriters have to say about Rock Creek Park.
U is for US Presidents...including hiking, rock-climbing, skinny-dipping and trespassing Teddy Roosevelt.
Y is for You Gotta Be Kidding...a rundown of serious proposals that, happily, were never enacted--like damming the creek to turn the valley into a vast reservoir.
And anyone who has visited Washington's lions and tigers and (panda) bears--oh my --knows that Z is for Zoo.
Get the most out of one of America's pioneering urban parks--established in 1890, at a time when America had only two other National Parks. Learn about it from A to Z.
Rock Creek Park...it's where Washington insiders go when they go outside

Author: David Swerdloff
Publisher: David Swerdloff
Published: 03/07/2016
Pages: 76
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 11.00h x 8.50w x 0.21d
ISBN: 9780692594087

About the Author
Swerdloff, David: - Native Washingtonian David Swerdloff and his wife Lorraine Swerdloff first combined efforts in print in 2013 to produce a history of their Washington DC neighborhood on the border of Rock Creek Park (Crestwood: 300 Acres, 300 Years). But they noticed something as they visited National Parks around the country and told park rangers they lived in DC next door to a National Park. Usually, the rangers were stumped: what park could that be? So they decided to spread the word about Washington's secret. Even the locals needed to know more about the wild woodland in the heart of the nation's capital. Rock Creek Park ought to be celebrated as a haven for hikers and history buffs, birders and bicyclists-and for its significance as a pioneering urban park. David's career has involved painting pictures with words. His background is in radio broadcasting-including many years telling America's story to the world as an award-winning journalist, program host and producer for the Voice of America. Lorraine tells stories using images and imaginative design. Her work experience is as a graphic artist and the longtime editor of a national magazine. From the windows of their home in the middle of DC, they look out on deer, foxes, owls and many other examples of the Park's wildlife. It's an inspiring sight-though, with so many animals around the yard, please don't expect them to keep up much of a flower or vegetable garden. Together, they began this project as a weekly blog for Rock Creek Conservancy throughout the Park's 125th anniversary year in 2015. Now the posts have been collected in book form to give readers a view of Washington beyond the monuments and government buildings-in the green oasis of Rock Creek Park.