On September 17, 1862, savage combat at the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, yielded 23,000 casualties. This Friday, on the 148th anniversary of the battle that blunted the first Confederate invasion of the North and opened the way to the Emancipation Proclamation, an all-day guided hike at Antietam National Battlefield will give visitors a close encounter with the scenes of the action on "the bloodiest day in American history."

Can the irony be any richer? A Republican congressional candidate in North Dakota has suggested drilling for oil and natural gas beneath Theodore Roosevelt National Park. But then, Rick Berg is only the latest GOP candidate to cast eyes on a national park for energy exploration.

Pending the results of management plan vetting currently under way, the National Park Service is primed to turn administrative responsibilities for the South Unit of Badlands National Park over to the Oglala Sioux Tribe for management as America's first tribal national park.

Mention "Death Valley" and often those words conjure images of hot, blistering sands and no water. Mention "Hawaii" and lush tropical forests and wave-washed shores come to mind. Well, so far this year Death Valley National Park has received twice as much rain as Pu`ukohola Heiau National Historic Site in Hawaii.