For 364 days a year, the brain trust here at the Traveler tries to come up with thoughtful, occasionally thought-provoking, entertaining, and informative posts on the National Park System. Today we turn the editorial keys over to you.
Tell us what you want to read about, which units of the National Park System need a shout out or two. Do you want more wildlife copy, more "things to do," more of Professor Bob's quizzes or Ranger Jim's anecdotes, or more travel-planning posts? More hard news, more advocacy items, more Mystery Photos?
Give us a list and we'll post it on our monitors and see how many items we can check off in the weeks and months to come.
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Comments
More articles on things to do, please. In a forum like this, they are especially enjoyable and helpful, because the community rounds out and adds to the story. Based on information obtained here, I would like to re-do certain trips where out of ignorance, I did not hike the best trails.
That being said, the variety of articles makes this something to at least check in on daily.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the encouragement, Kevin. Your comment about the valuable contributions of the Traveler community is spot-on. The breadth of experience and expertise that this community represents is amazing, and being able to draw on it is certainly a main reason to make Traveler part of your daily routine.
Often times I will read a great article ie Condor release. However, the date is always 3-4 days away (too soon to try to plan a trip for the event) It would be great if there were some avenue in which to learn about events that are a norm for a park such as annual events etc (even if specific dates aren't included but maybe general time frames) so that we can plan on attending those events. One year I read about the Padre Island Turtle release but only after all the releases were finished. We did go the following year (and it was wonderful) but it would be great to know about events sooner. I,too, want to thank you for a great forum. It is a part of my daily reading and I always look forward to all the interesting information.
First let me say that I really enjoy reading your forum. I especially enjoy reading about the current happenings at the National Parks that I am familar with. I also like subjects where you get comments from your readers. So, I would like to see more subjects that ask for reader feedback. I thought of a weekly list of five things. Like your five favorite hikes in Glacier or your 5 favorite spots to take photographs or the five trips you would love to take but you know you never will. It could be as broad or narrow as you like.
Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more.
I just discovered this site recently, and I am thrilled that you guys are doing this. In other words, thanks! What I'd like to see somewhere -- and have thought about doing myself, but lack a forum for it -- is an occasional in-depth analysis of some individual parks. Is the park staffed properly, what are its strengths and weaknesses, what would you change if put in charge and given enough money, what would your priorities be if the money weren't there, how is the concessionaire doing, what should a visitor do on a short visit, what should they do on a long visit, etc., what do the park employees feel about the place, etc., etc., etc. This doesn't fit your format, but it's the kind of "white paper for the public" that I'd love to see done by an independent group, followed up by an NPS response.
Otherwise, I hope you find the opportunity to expand and do more to-do articles, off-the-beaten-path features, and wildlife and ranger anecdotes. The mystery photos do nothing for me, but others may like them.
As a regular reader, I appreciate all the hard work that goes into this website. Thank you! Wht I would like to see are more articles on the lighter side. These are the kind of articles that make you feel good about our national parks or make you want to visit or learn more about a particular park. There is no doubt that our parks are being threatened from many fronts, and there is a lot of politics involved. And there is no doubt that this is important and this is the appropriate place to talk about these issues. But sometimes, I just like to feel good after I read an article and not feel like I have to go out and change the world. So, what I would like to see is a little shift in the balance to articles on the lighter side.
The history behind some of the great American (and European) artists and there paintings which made the national parks such a grandeur to see...like Albert Bierstadt, Horance Kephart and others. Poets and writers would suffice as well.
This is a great site, even for those of us who comment only every once in awhile. The feedback, such as in this article, is one of the reasons its worthwhile reading. It gives perspectives not mentioned, or personally, not thought of. I do like the interactive spots, like the Mystery Quiz - always fun. You are a very considerate person to request of your readers what they would like to see appear here. Thanks for a wonderful website.