We are beginning the ultimate 2010 road trip: North along the 469-mile length of the Blue Ridge Parkway followed by 105-mile-long Skyline Drive that winds through Shenandoah National Park. Then west to St. Joseph, Missouri, to follow the Oregon Trail to Oregon City, Oregon, before returning via the route followed by Lewis & Clark along the Columbia and Missouri rivers.

Stick your head into Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park and you'll quickly come to appreciate why they say that 95 percent of the park's visitors can be found in the spectacularly scenic valley. And while it's good they've come to explore the valley, they'll head home greatly shortchanged if they don't explore the rest of the park.

Summer is here and warmer weather has arrived in most parts of the country. For many park visitors that prompts the desire to go for a swim, but taking a dip isn't always a good idea. A recent "not so excellent adventure" at Dinosaur National Monument led to two rescue attempts, and the first effort nearly ended in disaster.

In National Park Service lingo, interpretation is the process of providing each visitor an opportunity to personally connect with a place. We interpret for the visitor informally when we talk to them in the visitor center or on the trail and formally when we give a program.