Yes, our national parks are grappling with the loss of millions of dollars due to the failure of Congress and the Obama administration to treat the country's ailing fiscal condition, but they're still open, and still spectacular places to explore.

Got a hankering to spin your wheels or dip your paddle in a national park setting? Our friends at Holiday River Expeditions have a special on now where you can save up to $250 on such a trip, but you have to act quickly.

Pretty pictures of national park vistas are commonplace. But how would you react to a photo that showed the crumbling side of the parks?

A proposal to create a 1.4-million-acre national monument wrapping Canyonlands National Park in Utah should not be dismissed out of hand, but receive serious consideration from the Obama administration. And it should receive equally serious consideration from Utah officials who promote the state's recreational wonders in one breath and demand a turnover of federal lands in the next.