While the Plains states and Northeast have been drubbed again and again by winter in recent weeks, they've got nothing on Mount Rainier National Park. In the past week the park has received more than 6 feet of snow at Paradise.

With all the current attention on the Winter Olympics, we have a two-part question for this week's Reader Participation Day. In an earlier era, a U. S. National Park was one of three finalists vying for the right to host the 1932 Winter Olympics. Do you know which park was in contention then...and should a NPS site ever be considered for some events for a future Winter Games?

Observant readers of the Traveler no doubt noticed some new sponsors and advertisers who believe in our mission to nurture advocates and stewards for the National Park System while exploring how best to get the most out of the park experience.

A former Mount Rainier National Park employee has been found guilty of violating the Clean Water Act, a felony, for letting nearly 200,000 gallons of sewage flow into the Nisqually River.