Mookie


Biography

A self-described National Park junkie, I whole-heartedly agree with Wallace Stegner's famous statement that the National Parks are "America's best idea". My goal is to visit all 58 parks before I die, and I hope there are many more than that by the time I finish. My outlook on life can best be summed up in the words of Edward Abbey:

Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am-- a reluctant enthusiast...a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is still there. So go out there and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, and bag the peaks.... and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over your enemies, over those deskbound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box... I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.



Mookie's Most Recent Comments (view all)
  • 8/11/2008 1:34 pm - Sierra Club Caught Standing Atop Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park : National Geographic Adventure magazine had a cover earlier this year with a woman doing yoga on top of Mesa Arch. They got a lot of criticism for that, and I remember the editors responding that while it probably wasn't the safest/smartest thing in the world to do, they didn't break ...
  • 8/01/2008 6:58 am - Did the NRA Infiltrate Groups Opposed to Overhauling Gun Regulations for the National Parks? : The topic of this post was about the supposed tactics the NRA is using to try to roll back the current NPS guidelines on carrying weapons in NPS units. Do we really need to re-hash all the same arguments again about whether the NPS has a right to have these ...
  • 7/24/2008 6:52 am - At Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Things are Not Always as They Seem : It reminds of the great scene from "The Naked Gun": Mayor: Now Drebin, I don't want any trouble like you had on the South Side like last year, that's my policy. Frank: Well, when I see five weirdos dressed in togas, stabbing a man in the middle of the park ...
  • 7/21/2008 7:13 am - Why Stop At Golden Gate National Recreation Area? What Other NRAs, Monuments, Etc., Should Be Renamed? : Does the Department of the Interior, or Congress, or any government agency, have any sort of guidelines to differentiate what should be "labeled" a National Park vs. National Monument?
  • 7/11/2008 7:00 am - Man Bitten at Saguaro National Park by Gila Monster : And how does being homeless equate to not being mentally fit? I know that there are many homeless people that have psychological problems and ailments, but don't paint the picture that if someone is homeless he must have something wrong him mentally.
  • 7/11/2008 6:22 am - Another Black Bear Put Down, This One In Yellowstone National Park : Fred, the answer is in Kurt's article: "Park officials say that based on the animal’s aggressive behavior, lack of fear of people, and its success at getting human food, the decision was made to capture and kill the bear." Even relocating a bear that has no fear of people and ...
  • 7/09/2008 7:15 am - National Park System Quiz 10: Speak of the Devil : An early morning hike in Arches on the Devil's Garden Primitive Loop trail is one of the more special places I've been in the NPS. Early morning, as the first part of the trail gets pretty crowded with people trekking to Landscape Arch and a bunch of other arches along ...
  • 7/03/2008 6:22 am - National Park History: Renaming National Parks Can Show Respect for Native Cultures : Another mountain that has recently tried to have its name changed is Mt. Clay in NH. In 2003 the NH State Legislature passed a bill changing the name to Mt. Reagan; however, the USGS won't even consider any feature named after a person until they are dead for 5 years, ...
  • 7/02/2008 12:28 pm - National Park System Quiz 9: The American Revolution : BTW Bob, love the quizzes. Also, the Freedom Trail from the Bunker Hill Monument to the Common is an easier walk -- all downhill. [Ed.: There is a nice map of the Freedom Trail at [url=http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/maps/pdfs/boston-nps-map.pdf]this site[/url]. You can zoom to 50% for greater clarity and and still see the ...
  • 7/02/2008 6:50 am - National Park System Quiz 9: The American Revolution : The Freedom Trail in Boston does not actually go to Bunker Hill. It starts (ends) at Bunker Hill Monument, but that is actually on Breed's Hill, where most of the fighting of the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. [Ed: Nice catch! The Hauptquizmeister has edited the referenced item to ...