In the past, several wildfires have burned at the periphery of Yosemite National Park, however, when the Meadow Fire flared up on Sept 7, 2014, it was the first time in memory that a major wildfire occured in the scenic heart of Yosemite, next to Half-Dome. Capturing the fire as a time-lapse introduced a new dimension to those already most iconic fire images.

It very likely will be a bit more costly to enter Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Acadia, Shenandoah and the other 126 units that charge entrance fees by the time the National Park Service's centennial arrives in 2016, and you also should brace for slightly higher fees to camp, shower, paddle, and participate in boat and cave tours.

If you hope to see the Tuolumne Grove of Sequoias in Yosemite National Park this month, you'll need to plan on a weekend visit if you're driving directly there. And after September passes, the parking area at the site will be closed for the rest of the year while improvements are made to it.

North of Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, and a host of other national park units in California, you might say Lassen Volcanic National Park gets no respect. You might also say it's a jewel in the rough, one that doesn't draw crowds, instead allowing you to enjoy this incredible landscape in relative solitude. A measure of solitude, of course, when compared to the Yosemite Valley, the Giant Forest, even sections of Death Valley come the cooler winter months.