Seemingly endless wilderness exists in the National Park System -- 44 million acres, officially -- but how secure are the other 26 million acres that are considered to hold wilderness qualities but haven't gained official designation?

Vice President Pence used Yellowstone National Park as a backdrop Thursday to call for Congress to pass legislation to make inroads on the National Park System's roughly $12 billion maintenance backlog.

Yellowstone National Park covers 3,471 square miles.That is quite a bit of national park to see if you only have a short amount of time. While summer is a great time to visit, weather-wise, crowds are heavy and parking is slim-to-none. So, if you are unable to see everything you planned to see, for whatever reason (weather, crowds, time), don't be disappointed. Remember that there is so much more to this national park than geysers and big wildlife. Contributing photographer Rebecca Latson discovered this when she visited Yellowstone for the first time, during her move from Texas to Washington, and shares her observations and tips for getting gorgeous photos of everything you might see during your own summer visit.

A federal Transportation Department grant program will help three units of the National Park System tackle some much needed roadwork.