I wasn't really sure what to expect from Glacier Bay National Park, outside of glaciers, of course, but it didn't take long for me to realize this Alaskan park is a birder's paradise. From the "poor man's puffin" to dwindling numbers of Kittlitz's murrelets, I was rewriting my birding success, and not in days, but in minutes.

Even before Yosemite became a national park, tourists who endured the wearying journey to Yosemite Valley and suffered the valley's many discomforts were refreshed by some very special amenities at the Cosmopolitan Bathhouse & Saloon.

Inspired in no small measure by others who gave so much to the National Park System, Roxanne Quimby is offering 70,000 acres for a national park embracing Maine's North Woods.

Perhaps President Obama, in his effort to get Congress to support his jobs bill, should have mentioned the economic might of investing in national parks. While here at the Traveler we believe you don't need to stress economics when discussing the value of parks, their ability to generate jobs can't be ignored.