| National Parks Traveler

Traveling from Florida, my favorite town is Dahlonaga, Ga. I love stopping and walking the old brick sidewalks, checking out the old stores, and of course, panning for a little gold. The museum is my favorite. They have a short film about the gold rush days of the Smokey Mountains. A lot of gems are still being searched in the hills. It is a wonderful old town to stay and explore.

May 19th - 07:50am | Rangertoo

Malibu. At the foot of Santa Monica Mountains NRA. But I can't afford to live there!

May 19th - 07:47am | Kirby Adams

Bar Harbor, Maine. The shops and eateries there are so eclectic and the people so friendly that a walk through town is surprisingly pleasant, even with summer crowds.

May 19th - 07:31am | Lee Dalton

Springdale, Utah -- just outside of Zion. There, the community has worked hand-in-hand with park people. Despite traffic, it's a pleasant, clean and reasonably quiet place. The Springdale/Zion Shuttle is the result of outstanding city and park leadership. As for West Yellowstone -- it has improved a whole lot since the 1960's when it was known as West Yellowstain.

May 19th - 07:26am | Gaelyn

I truly feel in love with Durango, Colorado while working at Mesa Verde. There's the train ride to Silverton and a feel of old west with the energy of a college town. Of course Jacob Lake is sweet on the way into the North Rim Grand Canyon, yet may barely be considered a town.

May 19th - 06:58am | Connie Hopkins

I have to say West Yellowstone is probably my favorite! (It stems from visitng Yellowstone at least once a year.) From staying at the Stagecoach Inn in Winter waiting for the snow coach to take us in, eating at The Gusher Restaurant right across the street, watching a movie at the IMAX theater or hitting some of the shops, it's a treasure!

National Park Mystery Spot 11: Nearly 900 Miles from the First Gap Store

May 19th - 07:38am | Bob Janiskee

You've grabbed the gold ring, Bogator, and Anon has "honored the point." Nice going.

May 19th - 07:23am | Anonymous

That's my guess, too. Couldn't be anything else!!!

May 19th - 07:12am | Bogator

Would that be the Logan Pass Visitor's Center in Glacier National Park?

Traveler's Checklist: Mesa Verde National Park

May 18th - 22:45pm | Bogator

Great article. My wife and I visited this park in October of 2007 and it is truly an exceptional adventure. As I looked at those extraordinary dwellings and down into the deep canyons, I could just visualize native Americans scampering up and down the canyon sides using the foot and hand holds they had carved as they went back and forth between their homes and their farms.

May 18th - 16:15pm | Laurel

Oops! And thanks to Jim Burnett too! He did a great post about the three hikes at /2010/04/three-new-guided-hikes-mesa-verde-national-park-offer-unique-experience-visitors5753

May 18th - 16:01pm | Laurel

No worries, Bob! We appreciate all that you and Kurt are doing to help get the word out about these extraordinary offerings.

May 18th - 09:11am | Bob Janiskee

Thanks for the ranger-led tour info, Laurel. Kurt told me (several times) to include the special tours info in the article, but I forgot.

May 17th - 11:26am | Laurel

Thanks for the great post, Bob! I'd like to mention a few more unique experiences available just this summer to Mesa Verde National Park visitors: a two-hour back-country hike out to Mug House, and an all-day hike to Spring House and another one on the Wetherill Mesa.

Reader Participation Day: Has Arizona's Approach To Controlling Illegal Immigrants Led You To Cancel a Grand Canyon Trip?

May 18th - 21:14pm | Anonymous

When a person is found to be illegal in this country, tell them they have a choice to return to their country or to be given full citizenship with the condition that they be drafted into one of the armed forces of this country for a certain amount of time. They'll be given a crash course on how to be a US citizen, educated, employed and we'll boost our defences at the same time.

Keeping Track of Panther Kittens At Big Cypress National Preserve

May 18th - 20:16pm | Anonymous

The chip is not a bar code. It's a Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tag -- just like the ones used by vets to identify a family's cat or dog. It's interesting that every time someone has a positive story about the use of RFID, it's referred to as a "small computer chip" or "electronic bar code" as if it's politically incorrect to say it's RFID.

Yosemite National Park To Install Large Solar Energy Complex At El Portal

May 18th - 16:05pm | Kath

Just read the article on how Big Bend is saving electricity and the night sky. They are saving 98% on their electricity bill by using lower wattage bulbs and other fixes. Great! The photos show the reduction in light pollution so that visitors can see that the 'stars at night, burn big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas'. That just popped into my head, ha.

May 18th - 15:26pm | Kath

We aren't talking about foregone interest on the $4.4 million. This is borrowed money so you have to calculate how much in interest the government is paying out on top of the 4.4, which makes the expenditure even more. And yes electricity rates are likely to rise, but here in L. A. they are being raised to pay for the increased costs of going 'green'.

May 18th - 14:49pm | tomp

Kath-- I disagree with you; if I were a very large operation with many facilities far from urban areas, I _would_ start spending money for solar now in small, pilot-scale installations.

May 18th - 12:35pm | Kath

At a savings of $104,000 per year in electricity costs, the 4.4 million will be recouped in roughly 40 years. I know I wouldn't spend money for solar if I wasn't going to break even for 40 years. Only the government...

May 18th - 08:17am | Lee Dalton

Am I correct in thinking NPS may be the leader in government use of solar power? Does anyone have any numbers on that?

Bobcats Attack Two at Death Valley National Park

May 18th - 13:50pm | Fred C. Dobbs

Always carry a hand gun in the wilderness or areas with potential threat from wild life. I favor a .357 or .44 magnum revolver.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Dispute Places Birds, Turtles, and Humans on Small Strip of Sand

May 18th - 12:01pm | Random Walker

[quote=Karen]To shut them out completely goes against what the National Parks were created for in the first place. Shut folks out completely, where?

May 18th - 11:42am | Karen

Very nice article Kurt. I grew up vacationing on Cape Hatteras. Since the 1930's, my family has enjoyed the privilege of being able to drive out to the point. I understand both sides, but I can tell you it is the people who use this resource and love it to the core of their being, that want to protect it more than anyone.

Alaska's Oldest NPS Unit Celebrates Its Centennial, and You're Invited!

May 17th - 21:47pm | Anonymous

The March events were a huge success with nearly 3,000 attending. But here was lack of interest the May reunion was scaled back to plans for an all employee picnic. The totem pole raising has been pushed back to Sept or even March 2010.World renown Tlingit carver Tommy Joseph of the Sitka Cultural Center was recently awarded the contract to do the pole.

Is There A Need to Have the Government Promote National Parks?

May 17th - 19:40pm | DOCREP

Testing, Testing, Testing Why must you keep re inventing this website. Semper Fi Docrep

The Way We Used To Describe And Enjoy National Parks

May 17th - 19:22pm | Anonymous

Nice to be able to compare then and how it is now. I love climbing the mountain and hiking the trails - Very commercial at present but there are still some quiet spots to visit. Grandchildren love to go pick up "critters" at ocean edge:)

An Idea in Trouble: Thoughts about the Future of Traditional National Parks in the United States

May 17th - 19:05pm | Barky

So going back to the article itself: it is an excellent article, well written, with enough detail to really explain the issue. The general tone of the article, that the NPS must keep their policies current with modern scientific thought, is spot-on. That's true of ANYTHING, not just the parks.

May 17th - 17:34pm | tomp

Kurt--

May 17th - 14:48pm | Kurt Repanshek

Dan, Anonymous, and Beamis, The problem you're more than likely experiencing is tied to your browsers, which I'm guessing are Internet Explorer 8. It's a compatibility problem that can be resolved by clicking on "compatibility view" under the icon "view pages." Please let us know if that doesn't solve the problem.

May 17th - 14:41pm | Dan Lenihan

Kurt,

May 17th - 11:06am | Kurt Repanshek

Perhaps you could send us a screen shot of what you're seeing. I've looked at the pages on both a desktop and laptop and see neither a change in color at the end of each line nor a problem with run-on text.

May 17th - 10:53am | Anonymous

I seldom agree with Beamis but for once he has a point (in his own ornery way): the run-on text makes these pages unreadable on my screen as well. IIRC the suggested solution was to use a smaller font size. However some of us are more comfortable with a larger font. This was not a problem before the change to the new format.

May 17th - 09:54am | Rick Smith

It doesn't change on mine either, Kurt.

May 17th - 07:49am | Kurt Repanshek

I would say the color change is your browser, Beamis, cuz it's not on our computers and no one else is reporting it. Thanks for the constructive comment.

French Climber Dies in Fall on Mt. McKinley in Denali National Park and Preserve

May 17th - 18:19pm | Anonymous

Mr. Frison reminds me of the snow leopard that dies when it was climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Ernest Hemingway's story.

May 17th - 16:44pm | Hicks

Why wasn't he tied to something via harness? Twenty degrees is pretty damned severe in those conditions.

By The Numbers: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

May 17th - 17:36pm | Anonymous

That looks like the sign board at the former CCC camp on the Old Sugarlands trail instead. The actual plaque was removed years ago and is supposedly stored at the park HQ

Walk Like An Egyptian....

May 17th - 15:18pm | Benjamin[Turkey]

Its wonderfull ( : 'no comment'!!

Will The Long-Desired "Completion" Of Canyonlands National Park Ever Arrive?

May 17th - 14:16pm | Anonymous

Like it or not, us "tree huggers" from out of state provide Utah with an enormous amount of revenue in the form of tourism dollars, which is a multi-billion dollar industry. We buy gas, food, souvenirs, lift tickets, equipment, rent vehicles, hotel rooms, campgrounds, take jeep tours, boat tours, etc... We help create jobs. You do want jobs, don't you?

May 17th - 03:09am | Anonymous

The reason the federal government owns 60% of Utah, and should own more, is to protect it from local boneheads like you. Go live out your ATV fantasies on an asteroid, and leave the Earth to those of us who have enough sense to protect it.

A New Exhibit at Ellis Island Tells the Story of the Lenape, the People Who Were There First

May 17th - 12:17pm | Ken Lonewolf

Bezahn Claude Aubin,

May 17th - 10:37am | Ken Lonewolf

Greetings islandpaddler,

May 17th - 10:24am | Ken Lonewolf

Bezahn (Greetings),

Public Comment Period on Cape Hatteras Draft ORV Management Plan Ends Tuesday

May 17th - 10:36am | Samsdad

Tell that to the other 18 recreatiobnal areas set aside for just that RECREATION. I am not an ORV'r, but I am a person who can read between the lines and have realized that this is not just about driving on the beaches but limiting access all together!!! My family was not able to even walk over in the areas we chose away from the crowds in front of the villages.

Naked Hikers Let It All Hang Out On the Summer Solstice

May 17th - 02:09am | Jeff

Speaking for myself, and my wife feels much the same, if there were more places where we could be naked outside, we would take advantage of them. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any near enough our home (in eastern Pennsylvania) to be practical. I really want to be able to take a walk or bike ride on a regular basis without clothes. I just like to feel the air on my skin.

On Endangered Species Day, Recognizing the Cost of Oil Spills

May 16th - 18:09pm | Philip Tortora

As this environmental disaster of epic proportions drags on – with the dire consequences yet to be fully determined and realized – the U.S. government needs to take a more urgent and heavy-handed approach to the clean up. And not publicly designate a company already being accused by many as grossly negligent and incompetent as the primary organization responsible for saving the environment.

Bad News for Wild Condor Chick at Pinnacles National Monument

May 16th - 15:15pm | Anonymous

Thank you for the link to a study presented at the 2008 Peregrine Fund Symposium on Lead. As for other sources of lead in the environment, one that I have always found fascinating was from the testimony of Dr. Don Smith of UC Santa Cruz to the California Fish & Game Commission from July of 2007.

Blind Hiker Trevor Thomas Tackles Pacific Crest Trail One Step At A Time

May 15th - 19:13pm | nathan

i met him just yesterday at deep creek hot springs, my friends and i were talking with this group of PCT hikers, and i had mentioned i would love to meet the blind hiker i keep hearing about and one of the hikers in the group said hi thats me, and belive me when i say you wont meet a nicer guy or a nicer group of people. good luck on your journey

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