As the country endeavors to become more and more energy independent, new techniques for extracting oil and gas from beneath the landscape are greatly expanding the footprint of energy exploration in the country. These efforts have greatly increased the production of oil and natural gas in the United States, and they also are creating problems when the drilling operations turn up on the doorsteps of national parks.

Despite taking in what the Green, Yampa, and other tributaries large and small contribute, the Colorado River is in a death spiral, over-allocated and a victim of growing climate change, left in a state of constant thirst that has made the river the most-endangered in the country, according to American Rivers.

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.