As the sun set over the Sonoran Desert, the animals came out to play. The deer grazing among the saguaro were probably mule but could have been white-tailed — it was tough to say at dusk with only mini red-light flashlights in hand instead of binoculars. The bird that perched on a tree branch for a few seconds before flying away had the distinctive silhouette of an owl. There was no mistaking the yips and howls of coyotes.

According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, a pond is a “natural body of still water of any size.” So that explains how a landlocked freshwater fjord that’s 10 miles long, 540 feet deep and surrounded by towering cliffs came to be called Western Brook Pond.

Now's your chance — possibly that once in a lifetime chance — to paddle your kayak in Death Valley National Park.

The National Park Service is proposing an increase in camping fees at the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina.