| National Parks Traveler

I'm heading back to Alaska again...this time with friends in a motor home (no tent camping this time!). Along the way, we'll be spending several days each in Banff, Jasper, Denali, Olympic, Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Teddy Roosevelt. We leave June 14, back sometime in late October...can't wait to get going!

Mar 31st - 10:11am | Upsouth Volleyball

Looks like everyone has some great plans for this summer! We are heading to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. We won't be making that 3500 mile drive from Greenville, SC until after Labor Day though. Just trying to stay out of everyone's way :)

Mar 31st - 09:14am | shicks49

In June I'm heading to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve and Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Mar 31st - 08:47am | Anonymous

Denali, Kenai Fjords and Wrangell St. Elias! This will be our first trip to Alaska and we can't wait!

Mar 31st - 08:25am | Kirby Adams

Sleeping Bear Dunes in May, Apostle Islands and Pictured Rocks in August. Our big trip in June is going to be the same as last year to three of Canada's "Parc National": Fundy (New Brunswick), Gros Morne (Newfoundland), and Terra Nova (Newfoundland). We realized we missed too much on the last trip. Hopefully next spring it'll be back to the west side of the continent.

Mar 31st - 07:30am | Anonymous

We're loading up the kids and taking a road trip across the western states. We'll be visiting Fossil Butte, Promontory Summit, Great Basin, Yosemite, Kings Canyon/Sequoia, Pt. Reyes, Muir Woods, Golden Gate, Death Valley, Lake Mead, Zion, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches and Colorado NM. It's our first time to visit many of these NP sites and we're really forward to it.

Mar 31st - 07:16am | JanetinKy

My travel buddy and I are heading (in just a couple of weeks) to Moab, UT to visit Arches anc Canyonlands. We are also heading over to visit Colorado NM at Grand Junction. I can't wait! We have no children and love to travel to the parks not in the summer. The crowds are less and pace is slower so that we can get more enjoyment out of each and every one.

Mar 31st - 06:32am | Connie Hopkins

My husband and I are heading to Glacier NP in July to celebrate in its Centennial, stopping at Yellowstone for a couple of days first. It's a LONG drive from Texas, approximately *22 hours from our house to the "Old House" (Old Faithful Inn)! In September we're flying into Calgary and spending 8 days at Banff and Jasper in British Columbia.

Mar 31st - 06:25am | Liz

Isle Royale, Voyageurs & Mammoth Cave

Mar 31st - 05:57am | Lawrence

Let's see. Two years ago we went to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. Last year we went to Zion, Bryce Canyon, and Grand Canyon National Parks. This year we are going to Yosemite. In between all the majors we visited many National Monuments, Forests, and Recreation Areas. I'm still kinda particular to the Pine Barrens National Preserve in my backyard though.

Mar 31st - 05:01am | dhuggins30

We're going to Denali this summer.

El Capitan Gets Nod To Showcase Yosemite National Park on Commemorative Quarter

Mar 31st - 14:46pm | pkrnger

Ranger, thank you for commenting and giving us the link to the finalist prototypes for the Yosemite quarter. I personally would have selected the first candidate. It's the one which featured Yosemite Falls and the north granite wall with a bear in the foreground. I would have preferred Half Dome to El Capitan, but as you implied, the artwork on the image of Half Dome was clearly inferior.

Mar 30th - 12:56pm | Ranger

For anyone interested, here are the design choices that were submitted: http://news.coinupdate.com/2010-america-the-beautiful-quarters-design-ca...

National Park Quiz 80: Water

Mar 31st - 14:42pm | pkrnger

Bob, Did you know that , that Crater Lake, based on a comparison of average depths, is the deepest lake in the world, among those lakes whose basin's are entirely above sea level? Lakes Baikal and Tanganyika are deeper, but both of these lakes have basins that extend below sea level.

Mar 31st - 08:44am | Carl Robinson

I'm ashamed of myself for missing that. But, 8 out of 10 is still better than normal for me.

Mar 31st - 08:31am | Kirby Adams

Actually, if someone read the directions, they would have either 8 or 10 correct, not nine, as picking the wrong ringer would lead to two incorrect answers. Just trying to be argumentative because I'm bitter that I got 8. :)

Mar 31st - 07:34am | Carl Robinson

I did enjoy it. I only got 9 right. I've been to the Delaware Water Gap and figured there had to be another park with water in it's name.

Mar 31st - 06:30am | Bob Janiskee

Right you are, Carl. Nice catch. Since the standard quiz-grading information obviously doesn't fit the "ringer" quiz format, I've deleted it. Hope you enjoyed the quiz, despite this glitch and the lack of bonus items.

Mar 31st - 05:30am | Carl Robinson

Bob, you need to change your grading system for this quiz. Anybody who didn't get at least 9 right didn't read the directions.

NPCA: Independent Review Shows Wolf Population Goals Too Low in Washington State

Mar 31st - 14:15pm | RodF

The ultimate stable "target" wolf population (300 to 500?) will be determined by prey populations and habitat. It is likely 2 to 3 times higher than the minimum sustainable wolf population (75-150?) proposed by WDFW for delisting from sensitive status.

Great Progress Means Loop Road around Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Will Reopen Early

Mar 31st - 13:24pm | Brad

Kudos to the staff at GSMNP and the contracting company that finished this so quickly.

Are National Park Brochures Beginning to Rely on the Internet For Depth?

Mar 31st - 11:07am | Ranger Lana

As a former Jeff employee, it is a shame that they changed the text, since most visitors to the site have no idea what it's about. However, since the park charges (25 cents) for the brochure, it may have been done to entice folks to buy it. Or, the older version may have been changed in the early 2000's to reflect the ramp-up of the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery, which was in 2004.

Mar 30th - 00:36am | Cornell

I think it's the USA Today effect. More graphics/photos, less text. First USA today, then many daily newspapers, then ....

Mar 29th - 20:10pm | Sparky

I am lucky if I even receive a detailed brochure when visiting an NPS unit anymore. The frequent response cited now is often that the budget has been cut back, and there are none available. Yet, one could also theorize that the NPS is taking steps to reduce waste and be "green" by not generating excess paper which people will just end up throwing away.

Zion National Park Shuttle Returns to the Road April 1, And That's No Joke

Mar 31st - 09:38am | Lee

I wish that they had the shuttle going a couple weeks ago. Being spring break the parking areas were crowded with cars. We had to park 1/3 mile up the road from the parking area to hike Angle's Landing and once on top we could hear motorcycle engines echoing off the canyon walls. I've heard a lot of good things about that shuttle system and I look forward to using it during my next visit.

Save 25 Percent On Your Next Visit To Mesa Verde National Park

Mar 30th - 19:47pm | tahoma

Judging by several of the photos at http://images.google.com/images?q=sedan+chair&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE...

Mar 30th - 14:26pm | Cutter

That's a great image! Or how about in that thingy Cleopatra got toted around in? Perfect for the Southwest parks! For an extra charge, can I get some hunky guys waving palm-leaf fans and feeding me grapes? (Hubby votes for scantily-clad lasses for his fan-wavers!) Even without the couches, that sounds like a neat deal.

Mar 30th - 10:01am | tahoma

I suspect the itinerary meant to say 'coaches', but when I read "comfortable couches transport guests...", I couldn't help visualizing those Chinese contraptions. There's probably a huge untapped concession market of people willing to pay to be carried around NPS nature trails...

Botanists At Grand Canyon National Park Working to Bring Plant Back from the Brink

Mar 30th - 15:52pm | Kelcie Douglas

Emily, you are doing a fabulous job, using your well-honed knowledge, skills and experience to revive this beautiful plant. I always knew you were talented and that you could make plants grow and thrive by just looking at them, but this, this is a monumental success! Congratulations sister!

House Republicans Say Interior Secretary's Proposed Snake Ban Bad for Business

Mar 30th - 13:23pm | Anonymous

Through selective breeding for specific genetic traits there is a huge list of boa constrictors that will be illegal to transport accross state lines to sell at reptile shows . This list of boa constrictors are currently worth thousands of dollars for each animal if the government was to ban these they would all be worthless. here is a list of them:

Mar 29th - 22:18pm | Donna Fernstrom

There are many specialist breeders out there who have chosen to focus on only 1, or only a few species. The biggest investment is in VERY high dollar 'morphs'--color mutations of animals, such as albinos. Single animals can be worth over $10,000...but only if you can sell them to someone who also feels they are a good investment.

Mar 29th - 18:56pm | Carolina constr...

Ok the snakes can not take the cold weather this fact has been proven. So even if your scared of what you dont know about educate your self before you speak.

Have You Looked Recently at the Traveler's Flickr Page?

Mar 30th - 12:52pm | Anonymous

Thanks for doing this!! I've enjoyed adding my photos to the site but also love looking at all the others. I've been inspired both to visit new parks and also to work on my photography. There are some great shots on here!

Mount Rainier National Park: Reaching Out to Camping Newbies

Mar 30th - 12:39pm | Adhil

Hello All, Does anyone know if this will be happening agian this year (2010) ? Anybody could share their experience from last year ? Thanks Adhil

Updated: Alaska 'Gunners' Wipe Out Wolf Pack From Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Mar 30th - 11:43am | Anonymous

I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and we now have a thriving wolf population and cougar seem to be doing pretty good too. I'm a woman who has always utilized the woods and what it had to offer. Yes, I hunt, but never violate; I fish, kayak, camp and have a great love of the outdoors. Everything has it's place.

Commemorative Quarter Places Old Faithful Geyser, Bison On a Quarter

Mar 30th - 09:31am | Stephany

Yellowstone National Park doesn't deserve to don the American buffalo on their quarter; they are responsible for slaughtering and harassing thousands of wild bison to appease cattle interests. Yellowstone hazes, captures, kills and otherwise harms bison on a consistent basis. They are signatories to the infamous and extremely controversial Interagency Bison Management Plan.

Wild Horses in a Georgia Wilderness? Cumberland Island National Seashore Completes Annual Count

Mar 30th - 09:20am | RangerLady

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