The world's hottest day will be recalled at Death Valley National Park next month, while the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park is seeking teachers, Yellowstone National Park is watching visitation climb, and Steamtown National Historic Site trains will be running to the Delaware Water Gap late this month.

Death Valley To Celebrate Record High Temperature

Back on July 10, 1913, the weather observer at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, California, recorded a high temperature of 134°F (56.7°C). This is the highest reliably recorded air temperature on Earth.

With that in mind, a celebration is planned for July 10 to mark the centennial of that very, very, very hot day. Join Death Valley National Park staff at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center on Wednesday, July 10, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the world record high temperature!

By attending you will:

* Experience the conditions that make Death Valley the hottest place on Earth.

* Learn about weather and climate extremes

* Learn about how another claim to the world's hottest temperature title was invalidated after 90 years

* Learn about protecting yourself from extreme heat by the people who live in these conditions.

For a full event schedule and a list of guest speakers please visit, this site run by the National Weather Service.

Canal Classroom Corps

Can you teach?

The C&O Canal National Historical Park and the C&O Canal Trust are working to build a Canal Classroom Corps of certified teachers to help educate students.

The Trust hosts approximately 12,000 school-aged children for education programs throughout the school year. As you can imagine, those many children need quite a few teachers. To keep the programs going and to expand their reach to new locations and more students, the park, in partnership with the Trust, is building a Canal Classroom Corps to deliver curriculum-based, on-site programs to groups of 12-75 students.

Applicants must pass a background check and hold a current certificate in elementary or secondary education and have experience teaching, substitute teaching, or working with students in a school environment.

The Canal Classroom Corps will operate out of Williamsport, Maryland, and deliver programs at least one day a week from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for approximately ten weeks starting in late August. A daily stipend will be offered.

To apply, submit a statement of interest and a brief resume to Cheri Yost at [email protected] by June 30.

Yellowstone Visitation On Upswing

It's only June, but already Yellowstone National Park is off to strong visitation start. Tourism to the world’s first national park typically begins to pick up in May as weather improves and interior roads and visitor facilities begin to open to the public.

There were 293,250 recreational visitors to Yellowstone in May, and a total of 392,222 for the first five months of 2013. That puts the park almost 6 percent ahead of last year's visitation pace.

However, comparing recreational visitor figures from 2013 with those from 2012 will not provide an accurate picture of year-to-year changes in park visitation, park officials note. That's because visitation statistics are calculated by taking the actual number of wheeled vehicles entering the park gates, and using a person-per-vehicle multiplier to calculate the number of monthly recreational visitors.

Last summer, Yellowstone conducted surveys to gauge the accuracy of the multipliers that have been in use for nearly 20 years. Based on the survey results, Yellowstone began using new, monthly lower person-per-vehicle multipliers as of January 2013.

For instance, during the summer months the park previously used a multiplier of 2.91 persons-per-vehicle. This year and into the future, they plan to use the lower multiplier of 2.58 persons-per-vehicle.

All park entrances saw an increase in these vehicle numbers in May 2013 compared to the same month the previous year, with the park’s East and South entrances posting the largest gains.

Ride The Train To Delaware Water Gap

Steamtown National Historic Site will offer a 104-mile roundtrip excursion to the Delaware Water Gap for the "Founders Day" celebration on Saturday, June 29. This excursion travels through a tunnel, along creeks and rivers, lakes and ponds and the beautiful Pocono Plateau through East Stroudsburg and passing nine railroad stations on its way to the historic town of Delaware Water Gap.

The excursion will be powered by historic Lackawanna Railroad diesel locomotives, will depart the Steamtown NHS Boarding Platform at 9 a.m., and is scheduled to arrive at Delaware Water Gap at 12 p.m.

"Founders Day," now in its tenth year, is a town-wide series of events held in honor of Antoine Dutot, who founded Dutotsburg, now Delaware Water Gap, in 1793. Some of the planned events include a classic car show, a Fine Arts and Crafts show, bands, and jazz and strolling musicians.

The town is also host to a number of unique restaurants and dining establishments and the Water Gap Trolley will offer free transportation to all venues at no cost. After a two-and-one-half hour layover in town, the train departs at 3 p.m. for return to Scranton, with arrival at approximately 5 p.m.

Ticket prices are $54 for adults 16 to 61 years old, $49 for ages 62 and older and $32 for children 6 to 15. Children to age 5 are free with a paying adult, but a ticket is required. Excursion fares include the Park Entrance Fee. Reservations must be pre-paid, and tickets are non-refundable unless the excursion is canceled. Phone (570) 340-5204 to purchase tickets, 9:30 am – 4:30 p.m.