It's only a snapshot, but I'm told that visitation in Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone national parks is on the upswing this year. Exactly why, as usual, is a good question.

Slender as a reed with dainty yellow flowers, the plant was first spied in Yosemite back in 1923. It then seemingly vanished, as its habitat wasn't rediscovered until 1993. However, it wasn't until just recently that botanists knew exactly what they had.

Warming temperatures are remaking the Alaskan landscape. Sea ice is shrinking, permafrost is melting, glaciers are retreating, polar bears are changing their habits. In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the warming trend is opening a window into the past, as melting glaciers are revealing artifacts from both the somewhat recent past and prehistoric cultures.

Over the past five years the National Park Service has paid more than $4 million as the result of lawsuits following drownings at a popular swimming area in Haleakala National Park. After the most recent payment, of $2 million, the Park Service moved to adopt safety measures at Seven Sacred Pools.