The National Visitor Center was a bad idea that came to a bad end. When it was abolished on December 29, 1981, the NPS breathed a huge sigh of relief. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that $100 million back?

The current occupant of the Oval Office has ties to the Lone Star State, but the term "Texas White House" is normally associated with a former president. Public tours of the Texas White House became available for the first time this year, along with other changes at the park that commemorates the 36th president from his ancestral roots to his final resting place.

Winter, it seems, is everywhere these days. Even poor Las Vegas has been hammered (relatively speaking, of course) by a snowstorm. And Death Valley National Park has seen snowflakes this winter. So shouldn't you be planning a national park ski trip?

Whether you oppose Wal-Mart's plans to develop a super center near Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park or could care less, you have to smile at the ingenuity of some of the opponents.