National Park Service officials say they've added a new, "high resolution," map feature to each park's web site. Has anyone seen it?

Now, even though the snow continues to pile up in various parts of the country, is the time to begin planning your backcountry escape into the national park system.

In the past few days there have been posts about threats non-native species pose to national parks, about rafting permits for the Grand Canyon, and about the president's proposed parks budget. And yet the post that far and away has gained the most attention explored whether we should allow concealed weapons in the parks.

If you've long wanted to run your own trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, now's the time to get your application in. Grand Canyon National Park officials are accepting lottery applications for 2009 non-commercial trips through February 27th.