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National Parks Traveler Housekeeping: Updating You On Us

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For new, and long-time, readers of the Traveler, here's a quick update of what we've been up to.

Got an Apple?

National Parks Traveler now is part of Apple News. Read select articles via your iPad or iPhone.

Summer Centennial Guide To The Parks

Traveler’s Essential Park Guide, Summer 2016, arrives in mid-May and will feature special NPS Centennial content, as well as our usual articles exploring the wonders of the National Park System. Have you stayed in a lock keeper’s house along the C&O Canal? Wondering how to spend three days at Crater Lake National Park? Need to hone your Dutch oven cooking skills? Read all that and more next month.

World Ranger Congress

Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek will lead a panel discussion at the World Ranger Congress in Estes Park, Colorado, late next month on the role media can play in not just promoting national parks, but raising public attention to issues parks the world over face.

Float With The Traveler

Traveler is teaming up with Holiday River Expeditions to host two float trips this summer:

June 18-21: Float the Green River through Gates of Lodore and down through Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. Special guest Dr. Alfred Runte, the country’s preeminent national park historian, will join the trip to provide lively conversation tied to America’s best idea.

http://www.bikeraft.com/specialty-trips/national-parks-traveler-lodore-c...

September 26-Oct. 1: Join us for six days on the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park and famous Cataract Canyon. Each day after the sun goes down, Kevin Poe, the National Park Service's original "Dark Ranger," will take us on a tour through the starry skies overhead. With the “new moon" in phase during this period, the skies should be particularly well-suited for star gazing.

http://www.bikeraft.com/specialty-trips/national-parks-traveler-cataract...

In mid-July, we've reserved for Traveler readers a weekend sea kayak trip on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park. The guides from O.A.R.S. will be taking care of us. Beneath towering Mount Moran, our base camp for Days 1 and 2 is secluded on Grassy Island in Moran Bay, on the far side of the lake. This island provides us with a more restful, even contemplative, exploration of Grand Teton. To sign up for this trip, contact O.A.R.S.'s Wyoming Adventure Consultant, Ashley Sozzi. Her direct line is 209-753-4800 or 800-346-6277 ext. 4800.

Paying the Bills

To actually report each and every story we wish we could do, and which are suggested to us, would probably reduce the content on the Traveler to three or four stories a week. Maybe.

And while we realize not everyone cares about the shorebird nesting situation at Cape Hatteras, smartphone selfies at Yellowstone and how they can kill you, or trail repairs and reroutes at Rocky Mountain, each and every unit of the National Park System has its audience of supporters/lovers that is interested in that content.

Those other bylines you occasionally see on the Traveler? Those are wonderful folks who treasure the National Park System, believe in the Traveler's mission, and by and large volunteer their time and talents to contribute with the hope that one day there will be an editorial budget to pay them.

Ten years ago there was no single website devoted entirely to covering the National Park System and the National Park Service. We've filled that void...but there's so much more to be done, and we realize that. But we're making progress.

We've looked at the threats "oil trains" pose to the National Park System, called on the National Park Service to be fully transparent in how it acts to wipe out sexual harassment at Grand Canyon National Park, raised awareness of a crude oil refinery proposed to be built next to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, reported on opposition to the Obama administration's plans to installed a solar energy plant near Mojave National Preserve, and much more. We were one of the first to really dig into the LSI issue at Grand Canyon National Park, and also had deep coverage on the trademark issue at Yosemite National Park.

We've also suggested strategies for avoiding crowds in the parks this summer, and strategies for landing a room in a park lodge this summer. Our feature well has also looked at SUPing Lake Powell, exploring Channel Islands National Park, enjoying Mesa Verde National Park by lantern light, and the rebirth of Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique.  

All told, there are nearly 10,000 stories on the Traveler

No other media outlet performs such a role on a daily basis. It’s a role that has been accomplished on a shoestring budget. The importance of national parks the world over as land- and water-based founts of biological diversity and habitat protection, and the interest in those parks, demands broader and more in-depth coverage.

So far in 2016, the centennial year of the National Park Service, most media coverage of the agency and the parks has been superficial. For the Park Service, and its unique collection of national park units, strong journalistic coverage of the agency and the parks, the good as well as the bad, is required.

We’re looking for readers, businesses, and organizations who value the national parks as we do and who believe there should be a daily, multi-media editorial presence covering the national parks. Such support would enable us to increase our editorial coverage, both in number of items and depth of stories.

If you fall into the category of "readers but not contributors," and you want to see the Traveler both broaden and deepen the content you see, please donate. If your business or organization values what we do and would like to help underwrite the Traveler, contact us.

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The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.