Sometimes, it takes a monumental event to spur Congress into establishing a national park. Such a significant event, or rather, series of events, occurred between 1914 and 1915 when Lassen Peak in northern California belched billowing black mushroom clouds of steam, ash, and hot rocks onto the landscape as far as 200 miles (322 kilometers) from the summit.

Even if you didn't visit it yourself, lakes near you in a national park may accumulate the sunscreen you slathered on.

Earlier this week I did something I thought I would never in my lifetime have to do. I traveled to my former workplace, Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows entrance, the gateway to one of the most magnificent places on earth, to protest.

In another move to "reduce the federal bureaucracy," President Trump has ordered the Presidio Trust at Golden Gate National Recreation Area to reduce its presence to the "minimum presence." Whether that would save the federal government any money is questionable, as the Trust says it hasn't received any annual federal appropriations since 2013.