A truly old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration is planned at Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, where they'll turn back the calendar to the 1840s.

Autumn comes to Denali National Park and Preserve between the last week of August and the first week of September. During this time, the entire tundra floor (almost the whole landscape) turns shades of yellow and red. This is my favorite time to be in the Alaska interior (except for high-altitude mountaineering where conditions are better in the spring), with changing weather and the mosquitoes gone.

If you're planning a summer visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, there are two special programs on the calendar that you might want to work into your schedule.

Swift currents and an uprooted tree proved a tricky combination for two Wyoming men, who found themselves needing a rescue from Grand Teton National Park rangers after their boat capsized in the Snake River.