The National Parks Traveler is a small media organization, which is a benefit for its coverage of national parks and protected areas. There is no New York, Washington, or Los Angeles headquarters calling the shots on coverage. That fact, and the one that our focus is solely on national parks and protected areas, allows us to cover stories most other news outlets ignore or miss (until they see the coverage on the Traveler).

With each paddle stroke the kayak shot forward, gliding me across Jackson Lake beneath the Tetons. The blue sky and puffy clouds, the flocks of pelicans, and the craggy mountains all worked to a degree to take my mind off the cancer diagnosis I had received the night before.

Is there any better way than to close out the summer than by visiting a national park?

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