When traveling to a national park, not everything goes as planned.  Maybe you’ve been disappointed about the crowds.  Or maybe couldn’t find lodging.  Or maybe you weren’t able to squeeze in everything you wanted to do.  But have you ever found yourself complaining about scenery that you determined to be substandard…or dismissing the exact feature for which the park is known?  Today the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick -- with voice talent courtesy of Susan Emerson and Stuart Eldridge -- talks to a graphic designer and illustrator wh

For many, the National Park Service is seen as an agency of friendly rangers tasked with helping them get the most out of their national park vacation. But the agency is much more complex than that. Indeed, it could be seen as one of the country’s most science-focused agencies, as it deals with all sorts of "ologies" – biology, paleontology, archaeology, sociology, ecology, cetology, bioecology, and, in light of the popularity of dark night skies, even planetology.

Grand Canyon National Park is breathtaking. Standing on the rim, either the north or the south, and gazing into that big colorful maw of geology billions of years old can be transformative...or daunting. For some, that first glance convinces them they need to either hike all the way down to the Colorado River or, better yet, join a river trip for two weeks to soak in the significance of this place.