Memorial Day will see thousands of people converging on the National Mall. Many will visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and its iconic deep-vee black marble wall bearing the names of more than 58,000 American casualties.

Ask most camping families to name national parks in the Southeast, you'll likely hear about Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, Shenandoah National Parks in Virginia, and the Everglades in Florida. Most people have never heard of Congaree National Park in South Carolina. And that's not too surprising when you consider that little more than 122,000 folks visited the park last year.

Wayward bears addicted to Kentucky Fried Chicken are the least of a park ranger’s worries. Just ask Bruce Bytnar, who worked at the Blue Ridge Parkway for 27 years before he retired in 2008. In his book, A Park Ranger’s Life: Thirty-Two Years of Protecting Our National Parks, Bytnar tells the real story behind what it is like to patrol a 469-mile long park through some of the best scenery the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina have to offer.

Winter's lingering grip is impacting Yosemite National Park in a variety of ways. On the up side, the snowmelt is fueling spectacular waterfalls in the Yosemite Valley. On the down side, the Tioga Road remains closed, as does the route to the top of Half Dome.