Think it'd be nice to spend some time relaxing this winter in Death Valley, or maybe in Sedona, or perhaps in Wyoming right outside Yellowstone National Park? Those destinations could be on your calendar if you're the winning bidder in a fund-raising auction for Friends of Saguaro National Park.

Death Valley National Park has plenty of colorful place names, including Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Last Chance Mountain and Devil's Golf Course, so modern-day visitors might be curious about the one given to a popular scenic overlook in the park: Zabriskie Point. The explanation may be a bit surprising, since the name is tied to an activity not usually associated with national parks, and the story of the overlook itself offers a fascinating glimpse into the park's history.

It long has been expected that as the climate warms, vegetation would react by moving. Both north in latitude, and up in elevation. Now new research confirms that "because of the combination of climate change and habitat loss, up to one-quarter of the total area of the National Park System is vulnerable to vegetation shifting up slope and northward."

Getting rovers to Mars is one thing, getting scientists to monitor how those rovers perform is another thing. That's why the hot, barren-looking dunescapes of Death Valley National Park in Nevada and California are attractive to scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.