The death from hantavirus of a Californian who had stayed at Curry Village in Yosemite National park has led to a call for better sanitation and inspection of the popular village in the Yosemite Valley.

August is on the run, but that doesn't mean the time to get the most out of your favorite national park in the western part of the country has passed by. Take the following tips from friends groups in Big Bend, Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone national parks to heart and you'll create years of memories.

The odds of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest are dismally low, especially if the crisis occurs in a remote location. A visitor to Crater Lake National Park last month beat those odds, thanks to a combination of good staff training and modern medical care. It was a situation where every link in the "chain of response and treatment" worked to perfection.

Have you started your back-to-school shopping yet? You might consider sending your kids to class with the national parks, or at least images of the parks.