Julie Andrews made some Austrian mountains come alive with the sound of music, but for seventeen years visitors to the backcountry in Glacier National Park played a different kind of tune. That ringing sound heard in some pretty remote sections of the park wasn't exactly melodious, since it was limited to a single note from a large bell, but it was apparently dramatic.

A former brownfield on the Lake Michigan shoreline now sports a marvelous new recreational facility. The Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is finally up and running, thanks to years of planning, an innovative partnership, and a $10 million construction project incorporating green technology.

November 12, 1958, was an auspicious day for the climbing world and Yosemite National Park. Using siege tactics now considered primitive, a team led by Warren Harding finally conquered El Capitan, a granite monolith that was considered unclimbable. The Nose Route that Harding established is now a classic climb attracting talented weekend climbers, pros, and audacious speedsters.