On a recent Monday, as I was hiking near treeline in a quiet part of Rocky Mountain National Park, I rounded a corner to see a gigantic bull elk. He hadn’t seen me, but ran down the open hillside to a creek, where he pawed at the water and thrashed at it with his antlers, sending up silver curves of droplets and a splashing sound through the small valley. He then slowed to drink.

Work is underway at Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim to help ease traffic congestion, but "progress" will mean a detour and parking changes for the next few days. Here's what you need to know if you're visiting the South Rim this week.

The National Park System lost a strong advocate when Arthur C. Allen passed away on Friday.

Slipping from the top of the arch into the abyss below was a difficult move that rattled my psyche. Even though the sandstone band I was perched on was not much more than 4 feet wide, it was stable. Putting my faith into the rope cinched to my climbing harness and dropping into the 100-foot void went completely against my desire for self-preservation.