| Page 1478 | National Parks Traveler

I love this idea. So many times while traveling with my husband, the guided tours just do not fit into our schedule. It is nice to have the rangers available for people who want ranger led tours, but it is also great to have this option available also. We will make sure that we use the GPS tours on our next trip

Aug 22nd - 22:06pm | Bill Bowen

I have used hand held electronic tour guides in many museums and other points of interest in Germany and Austria. They were available in different languages and very helpful in providing information about the location visited. The also allow the user to explore a location at his own pace.

Aug 22nd - 12:04pm | Chas

I think this is a good idea. My family and I enjoyed using portable audio tour guides at Carlsbad Caverns some years ago as well as similar devices at the Van Gogh museum in 2000.

Aug 22nd - 11:27am | Pat

This is a great addition to the services provided by the NPS. It should not replace ranger lead tours, but is a great option for those who would prefer tours of a different pace from the norm, or would choose a less traveled path. And, as pointed out, makes it easier to accomodate the hearing impaired. I'm happy to have my tax dollars used in this fashion.

Aug 22nd - 09:51am | Anonymous

Many people today are comfortable with this type of technology and would likely get out of the cars and follow some trails to use the device. Something that is not as likely to occur with a scheduled tour given peoples desire for independence and time management.

North Cascades National Park Officials Over a Barrel With Stocking Trout

Aug 24th - 01:00am | Ted Clayton

Lakes in the high-country of Olympic Nat'l Park were also stocked with fish - as part of the very popular 'enhancement' programs early in the 20th C., before the land became Park.

Aug 23rd - 06:43am | Anonymous

If they wait for congress to do something they will die waiting.

What's the Solution For Cape Hatteras National Seashore?

Aug 24th - 00:11am | Ted Clayton

James R. Pepper, I wanted people to see that just because their favored activities on Cape Hatteras are customary & traditional, that does not mean they will be meaningful (much less decisive) in court. So I provided examples.

Aug 23rd - 16:38pm | James R. Pepper

Ted Clayton: “customary and traditional” does not provide any rights on the beaches of Hatteras. I am confused about how you present your case because at times it sounds these are common law rights, at other times, you seem to be saying they are statutory. You say: "A right is secured, based on a C&T: in this case, by being codified in an Act of Congress."

Aug 22nd - 23:22pm | Ted Clayton

dapster, Oh, what people do on the beaches of Cape Hatteras is 'customary & traditional' alright; the challenge is to 'secure' a legally enforceable right to continue the practices - based on the claim that they are C&T.

Aug 22nd - 11:59am | dapster

Mr. Pepper and Mr. Clayton,

Aug 22nd - 08:53am | Ted Clayton

James R. Pepper et al,

Aug 22nd - 01:43am | Ted Clayton

James R. Pepper, I admire & respect your participation in the great Land Claims Settlement era. It was more historic than many yet realize, and it still continues to unfold.

Aug 21st - 22:49pm | James R. Pepper

Access to inholding or private property is a Fifth Amendment right, and should not be confused with access for subsistence. Thank you, Ted Clayton, for your documentation on the current policy on subsistence access. I have been away from Alaska for quite a while, and believe me it was a settled issue then that ATV's were not "customary and traditional" access.

Aug 21st - 21:33pm | Ted Clayton

James R. Pepper, Thank you for the opportunity to give a more detailed treatment of subsistence practices in Alaska Parks, and other lands.

Aug 21st - 17:41pm | James R. Pepper

Ted Clayton is explicitly WRONG about ATV's in Alaska.

Aug 21st - 14:06pm | Bugsyshallfall

Folks I messed up my grammer, so I edited it. It was originally posted earlier in the day before the posting above. Sorry Dapster Chris, Your quote:

Aug 21st - 12:31pm | dapster

LH, The "Lip Rippers" moniker is my personal favorite too. Classic! I have seen it in print on other sites, believe it or not. This thread contained some similar sentiments, as I know you are aware.

Aug 20th - 21:33pm | Lone Hiker

"Fish lip rippers"? Now I've heard everything........that's the best someone could invent? Sounds more cartoon than derogatory.

Black Bear Attacks Child at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Aug 23rd - 08:47am | Tommy Kirkland

Dear JoAnn, Please contact me at [email protected] about your visit to the Rainbow Falls Trails. I'm doing research on bear attacks in the Smokies. Tommy

Pruning the Parks: Six National Parks Acquired via Transfer in 1933 Were Subsequently Abolished

Aug 23rd - 08:16am | Michael Kellett

Frank_C,

Aug 22nd - 16:44pm | Michael Kellett

FrankC and Ted, I appreciate your comments, even where we may disagree. As for my previous comments, I wrote them after a long day and I apologize if some things were not well stated. Here is a little more explanation, responding to both of your comments.

Aug 22nd - 00:06am | Ted Clayton

Michael, My crystal ball is as murky & cracked as all the others ... but the economic challenges we are experiencing now seem to be associated with basic 'structural' factors - domestic & global - that suggest we could be at the beginning of an historically difficult era. Going forward, the budget-conditions at NPS could even deteriorate.

Aug 21st - 22:16pm | Michael Kellett

Ted, et al., Nothing in the universe is totally permanent. But in the world of human institutions, America's federal government is the closest thing to perpetuity that we will get. It is literally the oldest democracy, and one of the oldest continuous governments, on earth.

Aug 21st - 18:04pm | SaltSage236

After taking many South Carolina history classes in middle and high school while I was growing up in Charleston, the significance of Castle Pinckney was certainly under the radar and was hardly mentioned.

Aug 21st - 17:31pm | Ted Clayton

Lepanto said: ... "Rick Smith is exactly right at the core of this." On the contrary, it is precisely at the core of it, that he sets fact & reason aside.

Aug 21st - 17:24pm | Lepanto

Chris: Heritage Areas should not be considered as "substandard parks," or at least National Heritage Areas should not be.

Aug 21st - 13:59pm | Bugsyshallfall

Beamis,

Aug 21st - 13:41pm | Rick Smith

I do not believe in these kinds of exercises, but if we all sat around a table and listed the top ten NPS areas that we would prune, I suspect that our lists would be significantly different. And that's the rub. One person's pork barrel park is another person's crown jewel.

Aug 21st - 10:53am | Lepanto

Ted Clayton, there is a difference between the mature reflection of a nation and most of what we hear from people shaking their fist at the sky who complain about too many parks and parks that don't deserve designation. This is the context, I believe, of the Rick Smith remarks.

Aug 21st - 10:41am | Rick Smith

I agree with you, Beamis, that it is important to subject policies--feeding bears, killing wolves, etc.--to constant scrutiny. In my mind, "delisting parks" is a significantly different issue. Rick Smith

Aug 21st - 10:30am | Bugsyshallfall

Ted,

Aug 21st - 09:39am | Ted Clayton

Rick Smith & Michael Kellett, I have to agree with Lone Hiker. Little or nothing about the United States, its citizens or anything else human, is established in perpetuity. Certainly - absolutely - as Rick said:

Aug 21st - 08:43am | Bugsyshallfall

Rick, Yes, I agree

Aug 20th - 23:51pm | Anonymous

Beamis - Yes, Platt became an NRA and is now Chickasaw NRA http://www.nps.gov/chic/

Aug 20th - 21:45pm | Lone Hiker

The ebb and flow of units within the NPS isn't exactly the most catastrophic event that might occur within our lifetimes, or the blackest mark attributable to the current generation "in charge".

A Century of National Parks in Utah To be Celebrated Labor Day Weekend

Aug 22nd - 17:06pm | Michael Kellett

Thanks for the warning, Lone Hiker. Actually, I have been working with the folks at Glen Canyon Institute and am totally aware of the politics of Lake Powell reservoir. I think things are rapidly changing, however.

Aug 22nd - 13:45pm | SaltSage236

There are currently no proposals that I'm aware of to allow energy development within any of Utah's national parks, the possible exception being Glen Canyon NRA, where a proposal for exploratory wells was struck down a year or so ago. I'm not sure of its current status, however.

Aug 22nd - 12:55pm | Lone Hiker

Careful Micheal, you're opening up yourself to a ton of anti-recreation e-mail expressing those sentiments regarding Lake Powell. Which, by the way, I happen to agree with and have been resoundingly blasted for on past threads. Such is life.

Aug 22nd - 07:41am | Anonymous

Ditto, Salt Sage236 recommended: "Glen Canyon should be restored and elevated to National Park status. Adjacent wildlands, such as Great Gulch, Little Rockies, Dirty Devil River, and Dark Canyon, should be added to this new park." How true this is.

Aug 21st - 22:33pm | Michael Kellett

SaltSage236, I totally agree. I have been to all of Utah's national park areas (except Rainbow Bridge -- still need to get there). They are all extraordinary. But we also need to expand Utah's existing national parks and create several new national parks, to protect many other lands threatened by oil and gas drilling, mining, livestock grazing, off-road vehicles, and other abuses.

Aug 21st - 17:53pm | SaltSage236

I consider Natural Bridges to be one of the greatest units of the national park system on the Colorado Plateau. In celebration of this anniversary, I hope the federal government will begin to respect the national treasures we have in Utah and not abuse or destroy them with oil, natural gas and oil shale development outside Utah parks' boundaries.

NPS Retirees Oppose Carrying Guns in National Parks

Aug 22nd - 10:31am | Anonymous

"I definitely agree with the Coalition that the current gun regulations should not be changed. I feel safer when I visit a National Park knowing that some fool is not carrying a gun that could endanger my life or anyone else's life. And just as important, wildlife is safer and can do there own thing in their habitat, not the humans habitat. Please do not change this law!!!!!!!"

Congressman Accuses Sec. Kempthorne of Pandering to NRA on Gun Issue

Aug 22nd - 09:56am | Johanna

I've read the stories of the patients in the Los Angeles Drug Rehabilitation. Marijuana should be the least of our concerns. No one there has an addiction problem from smoking only pot.

Should the NPS Be Given Mount St. Helens?

Aug 22nd - 08:01am | Mountain lover

Yes of course. the more publicity the better it is

"Designing the Parks"

Aug 21st - 14:30pm | dapster

I would have to agree with the statement provided by Frank C. on the on-line forum, submitted below. After having witnessed firsthand what can happen to a National Park Unit when sued by special interest groups, (Specifically the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area (CHNSRA)), I would agree that the need for a decentralized park service is painfully evident.

Support Journalism about National Parks!

National Parks Traveler is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Donate Now!

The Essential RVing Guide

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.

National Parks Traveler

Search