My name is Jose, and I’m a filmmaker exploring the design, geography, and history of America. I dive deep into the stories of the 50 states, bringing life to the cities, towns, parks, and neighborhoods that form the foundation of the United States.

Jose Molina

Experience one of  the most visited parks in the Finger Lake region of New York State. 

Watkins Glen State Park in New York’s Finger Lakes region is famous for its stunning gorge and 19 waterfalls along a two-mile trail. Highlights include Rainbow Falls, where water flows over a stone walkway, creating a magical scene. Visitors can explore the gorge and rim trails, camp, picnic, or swim in the park’s pool. With its dramatic scenery and rich history as a tourist destination since the 1860s, Watkins Glen remains one of the most popular state parks in New York, especially during summer and fall when the foliage and waterfalls are at their most breathtaking.

Watkins Glen State Park

Discover the Beauty of Watkins Glen State Park

From the Statues, to the Church, and Museum, take a tour and learn about the history of Women's Rights in Seneca Falls.

The Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, New York, tells the story of the early women's rights movement and the First Women's Rights Convention, which took place in Seneca Falls in 1848. The park includes the Wesleyan Chapel, where the convention was held, as well as the homes of some of the key figures involved in the movement, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Visitors to the park can learn about the history of the women's rights movement and see some of the documents that were used to spark change. The park is a reminder of how far women have come and how much work still needs to be done in order to achieve true equality.

Women's Rights NHP

Tour of Women's Rights National Historical Park

Take a tour of the Harriet Tubman Underground Visitor Center as part of the Underground Railroad Byway.

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park honors the remarkable legacy of Harriet Tubman. Born into slavery around 1822, she emerged as a courageous abolitionist and humanitarian. After escaping slavery in 1849, Tubman returned to the South numerous times, leading over 70 enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad. The park encompasses key locations associated with Tubman's life, including her birthplace and the landscape she traversed while leading enslaved individuals to freedom. Visitors can engage with exhibits, trails, and interpretive programs, gaining a profound understanding of Tubman's extraordinary contributions to the abolitionist movement and her role in shaping American history.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Museum

Where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean is Cape Henlopen, a beautiful state park filled with surprises.

Cape Henlopen State Park is a 5,193-acre park at the point where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Home to six miles of coastline, including both ocean and bay beaches, the park offers maritime forests, tidal salt marshes, and dunes. Originally inhabited by the Lenape indigenous people, the area was later explored by Henry Hudson in 1609. During the 17th century, it became a strategic military outpost for the Dutch and British, shaping its historical significance. William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania and early leader of Delaware, decreed that Cape Henlopen and its natural resources be set aside for the use and enjoyment of the citizens of the Delaware Colony, making it one of the first public parks in the Thirteen Colonies. Today the park is home to over 300 species of plants and animals and is the starting point for the American Discovery Trail, the only coast to coast hiking and biking trail in the country.

Cape Henlopen State Park

Cape Henlopen: Delaware's AMAZING State Park!

The Cloisters Museum showcases medieval European art and architecture, featuring stunning tapestries, sculptures, and serene gardens.

Fort Tryon Park is a scenic oasis spanning over 67 acres that offer breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the Palisades. In 1917, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., bought the Billings mansion, which was located on the site and later burned down. He hired Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. to develop the property and transform the rocky topography and soil into a manicured landscape with promenades, terraces, wooded slopes, and eight miles of pedestrian paths. Rockefeller presented the completed park as a gift to the City of New York in 1935. The park is renowned for The Met Cloisters, a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, housing medieval European art. With its lush gardens, walking paths, and cultural attractions, Fort Tryon Park provides a peaceful retreat in the heart of the city. 

Fort Tryon Park

Visit NYC's Cloisters Museum at Fort Tryon Park

Visit the Home and Laboratory of the Inventor Thomas Edison in Essex County, NJ. One of America's greatest inventors.

Thomas Edison National Historical Park in West Orange, New Jersey, preserves Thomas Edison's laboratory and residence, Glenmont. The park is 1,109 acres and includes 21 buildings related to Edison's life and work, including his laboratory, where he invented the phonograph and developed a long-lasting light bulb filament. Edison's home, Glenmont, is a National Historic Landmark and is open to tours. A library at the site contains documents and books related to Edison and his inventions. Visitors can experience some of Edison's experiments firsthand at the Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park. The center features interactive exhibits about science, technology, engineering, and math. 

Thomas Edison NHP

Home of an American Icon

Discover the last home of the famed Alexander Hamilton. At the border of Harlem in New York City is a national museum overlooking the neighborhood.

Hamilton Grange National Memorial, also known as The Grange or the Hamilton Grange Mansion, was the home of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton from 1802 until his death in 1804. Built in the late 18th century, the Federal-style house was successfully relocated in 2008 from its former location on Convent Avenue to its current location on West 141st Street in St. Nicholas Park. The interior rooms have been restored and the ground floor features an interactive exhibit for visitors. 

Hamilton Grange 

Visit the Home of a Founding Father

Experience the rare meromictic Green Lakes of the Syracuse area. Only a few lakes in the world have this unique natural effect.

Green Lakes State Park, just outside of Syracuse, NY, is a gorgeous scenic park that lies at the base of a mile long gorge. The 1,955-acre park includes the largest stand of old growth forest in the state and two unusually green glacial lakes, Green Lake and Round Lake. The lakes are both meromictic lakes, which means the layers of water, ranging from cold and dense at the bottom to shallow warmer waters, do not mix, and the sediment on the bottom never decays. There are only a handful of these lakes in the U.S., and Green Lake is one of the most studied meromictic lakes in the world. In addition to camping, hiking, snowshoeing, swimming and boating, the park offers a “masterpiece” golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones. It’s a great place to get away from the busy downtown of Syracuse and see some of the unusual geology of upstate New York.

Green Lakes State Park

Adventure at Green Lakes State Park

In this tour of Washington DC we head across the National Mall to explore some of the most important monuments scattered throughout the capital.

It takes center stage every four years for the inauguration of US Presidents, but "America's Front Yard" draws millions of visitors all year round. It's a place that honors presidents, remembers the sacrifices of our war veterans and acts as home base to the world's largest research and museum complex, the Smithsonian Institution. Whether it's a nighttime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, a spring picnic among the cherry blossoms surrounding the Jefferson Memorial or a daylong visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a visit to the National Mall is always one to remember. 

National Mall

Explore the Monuments of Washington DC

Take a tour of some of the very best Smithsonian Museums, from the Air & Space Museum, to the Castle, American History, and Native American Museum.

Best of the Smithsonian Museums

Take a trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield to explore one of America's bloodiest wars and the monuments left behind to commemorate the events.

The Gettysburg National Military Park (GNMP) was established in 1895 as a way to protect and interpret the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The GNMP properties include most of the Gettysburg Battlefield, many of the battle's support areas during the battle (e.g., reserve, supply, and hospital locations), and several other non-battle areas associated with the battle's "aftermath and commemoration", including the Gettysburg National Cemetery and Soldier's National Monument. The park has more wooded land than in 1863, and the National Park Service has an ongoing program to restore portions of the battlefield to their historical non-wooded conditions, as well as to replant historic orchards and woodlots that are now missing.

Gettysburg 

Visit the Gettysburg Battlefield

Experience a Tour of Niagara Falls State Park and the exciting Cave of the Winds.

Today, the signature attraction of America’s oldest state park, the majestic Niagara Falls, is the dramatic apex of the free-flowing waters of four of the Great Lakes into the Niagara River Gorge. But that wasn’t always the case. During the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th Century, the natural beauty of Niagara Falls began to suffer as earnest industrialists built mills and factories along the river to harness its power. By the late 1860s, a small band of early environmentalists, including landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who were concerned over the river’s waning flow, founded the Free Niagara movement. The movement believed that the natural beauty of the land surrounding the Falls should be protected from commercial interests and exploitation, and remain free to the public. After more than 15 years of pressure, the Free Niagara crusaders won their battle. The Niagara Appropriations Bill was signed into law in 1885, creating the Niagara Reservation. Frederick Law Olmsted, perhaps best known for designing New York City’s Central Park, believed that parks should be places of natural beauty, where “the masses could be renewed.” This philosophy was applied throughout Olmsted’s landscape design for Niagara Falls State Park, with an entire network of footpaths through wooded areas and along the banks of the Niagara River. Today, Olmsted’s vision continues with a commitment to maintaining native vegetation, preserving its unparalleled vistas and providing public access. Visitors from around the world are entranced by the thundering wonder of Niagara Falls, a grand tribute to the men and women who fought to preserve it for all.