It's not a pretty job, as they say, but it's got to be done. And so Angels Landing and the West Rim Trail at Zion National Park will be closed in the days ahead so human waste can be flown out of those areas.

I scraped one more item off my Things To Do list a couple of weeks ago. I finally made it to the top of Cable Mountain. If you stand in the parking lot at Weeping Rock or the shuttle stop at Big Bend and look up toward a tall, sheer cliff to the east, you’ll see a square frame pasted to the sky up there. Most people never notice it because it’s awfully small when viewed against the backdrop of red rocks and towering cliffs. But that little thing is part of one of the most fascinating stories in a place full of fascinating stories.

A Utah congressman long unhappy with the authority given presidents under The Antiquities Act to establish national monuments has introduced legislation that would extensively rewrite the century-old act. If enacted, the rewrite would limit the purposes for which monuments could be created, require environmental review, and allow presidents to reduce the size of monuments without congressional action.

Most likely, you’re well aware that Yellowstone National Park is a great destination to see elk and bison in fall, and that Glacier National Park will reward you with mountain goat and bighorn sheep sightings. But where else can you head in the National Park System, preferably someplace without so many crowds?