How do you think the National Park Service's Centennial Initiative (or Challenge, depending on whom you ask) should be funded? And how do you think those funds should be spent? There were quite a few suggestions tossed about in Washington today as both the House and Senate held hearings on legislation proposing ways to fund the Centennial Initiative.

There's a passage in Director's Order 53, one of the many documents that guide National Park Service management decisions, that warns of proverbial icebergs ready to assail superintendents who truly believe their mission is to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Seattle-area residents who've heard about the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative but want to learn more have a golden opportunity from now through the end of the year. A collection of Florian Schulz's photographs that captures the heart and soul of Y2K are on display at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle.

Hidden out of public view, behind the heads of Mount Rushmore is a room called the Hall of Records. The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, envisioned a room to store America's most important documents. Time and money ran out before it could be completed, but part of his vision remains. Read on for more details and photos of the room.