There's an intriguing page within the vast nps.gov domain that opens a wonderful portal of history, one that allows us to compare today with yesteryear. The site, within the National Park Service Fire and Aviation Management section, compares historic photos taken from fire lookouts in the National Park System with today's landscapes.

There have been plenty of tales over the years of hikers marooned by snowstorms in national parks, but one of the latest occurred in what may seem an unlikely location: Hawaii. Earlier this week, a New York resident, and an experienced hiker, found himself in that situation high on a mountain at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area may be centered around water, but there also is a land mass attached to the NRA, and wilderness areas within that mass. Now the park staff is working to develop a management plan for those areas.

The Beartooth Highway that rambles between Red Lodge, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park's Northeast Entrance is the most scenic approach to the park. Unfortunately, this maintenance-heavy route is in need of someone other than the National Park Service to care for it.