Most people explore Acadia National Park by foot, pedal, or paddle. Contributing photographer Rebecca Latson is not like most people. She toured the park from the air...in a biplane!

Sooner or later we'll once again be able to enjoy visits to parks around the country, and while we're waiting, we can start to compile a list of potential activities in NPS areas. If you'd enjoy a challenging, ranger-guided trip into a section of "wild" cave, the Spider Cave Tour at Carlsbad Caverns National Park may be just what you've been looking for.

The shutdown of our national government, driven by an extremist minority in the U.S. Congress, is economically reckless and, ultimately, politically self-defeating.

National Park Service officials have found themselves turned into political pawns, first as the administration's face of the government shutdown and now by being splintered through a handful of park openings.