We like to think that national parks are just that: serene, picturesque "parks" where we can, if only for a moment or two, escape the ugliness and stress of the world beyond their borders. But as the New Year's Day shooting at Mount Rainier National Park that left a young ranger dead proved only too well, national parks are not always the sanctuaries we'd like them to be.

If you find yourself in South Dakota during the long Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday weekend, swing by Wind Cave National Park to take one of the free cave tours being offered then.

The National Parks Conservation Association, which operates a number of offices across the country to stay on top of national park issues, has opened an office in St. Paul, Minnesota, to keep an eye on parks in the Upper Midwest.