We'd all like to be king or queen for a day, wouldn't we? The changes we'd make, the improvements folks would enjoy. Well, with that in mind, what changes would you make if you were director of the National Park Service for a day?
When I was working on National Parks With Kids, I encountered a couple with two young children at Acadia National Park. The park, the parents told me, "is one of the most kid-friendly parks" in the country. Where else might that tag apply?
Have our national parks lost their relevancy? I raise that question because on one hand we saw an upwelling of interest last fall when The National Parks: America's Best Idea, riveted many to their televisions for six consecutive nights, and yet on the other hand National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis shortly after he was appointed cited a need to prevent the parks from becoming irrelevant.
Earlier this week we touched on the national parks mentioned in the book, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Somehow, Mammoth Cave National Park didn't make the cut, and if you've been there, you know it should have. Help us compile a list of the top 100 national park locations to see before you die. We'll start the list.
If I'm not sleeping in a tent in a national park, the next best place is a cabin, preferably a log cabin. And there certainly are lots of them, from the Colter Bay cabins at Grand Teton National Park to the tent cabins in Yosemite National Park. Which cabins are your favorites when it comes to visiting the national parks?
OK. You knew this day was coming. After reading stories about imperiled parks week in and week out on the Traveler, it's time that you tell us which parks you think are most imperiled.
What do you think of the price of a room in a national park lodge? Too much, too little, or just about right? Are some folks quite literally being priced out of a national park stay?
Yellowstone has its magnificent log cabin, Yosemite its blue-blooded Ahwahnee, Grand Teton its charming Jenny Lake. These are just three of the many lodges, hotels, and inns that can be found throughout the National Park System. Which is your favorite, and why?
With Thanksgiving tomorrow and Christmas and the other year-end holidays right around the corner, we decided to spring two questions on you in this week's Reader Participation Day: One, any plans to mix Thanksgiving with a national park visit, and two, what item would you like to find in your holiday stocking that would make your national park visits more enjoyable?