Recent comments

It's not like Death Valley was offering guided road tours with a ranger in the first place. These gadgets are just replacing the cassette tapes you could buy at the visitors center in the olden days. Before that you had the written road logs (which required the use of mathematics in determining how far you had traveled using your odometer). These GPS gadgets are just an old idea using modern satellite technology.

Has anyone actually listened to one of these Bar Z Adventure tapes? As Homer Simpson would say "Booooooorrring!" Talk about turning the younger generation OFF. I'd be real surprised if very many people fork over real dough to make use of these tapes.

I see the day coming very soon, because I'm involved in helping to develop it, where you will be able to get this same kind of tour through an XM or Sirius satellite radio subscription, not only for national parks but also major cities and scenic regions like the Wine Country or Big Sur coast in California. It is also being developed for Onstar and other onboard navigation systems that will be installed in the cars of the future.

The truth is none of this will ever replace a real live ranger who can point his finger at something many miles in the distance, answer your question in two different ways or make you realize something that only he or she can convey at that particular moment in the time-space continuum. The public knows this, I just wonder sometimes how much the folks in WASO do?

And SAR folks aren't very good at interp... although there are a few out there that can do it all -- my heroes.

These sound like the 21st century of those audio tapes you used to be able to buy or rent to describe places motorists were passing.

Claire @ http://travel-babel.blospot.com

Finally a way to visit a national park without having to get out of my car!

I was thinking about this issue on my Labor Day trip to Yosemite. Believe me, there was plenty of diversity of visitors in Yosemite Valley. Asians, East Indians, Hispanics and blacks. California is diverse so Yosemite visitation is diverse. So at least as far as Yosemite is concerned, I don't think there is any diversity 'problem'. These studies have to be broken down based on the ethnicity of the population surrounding each park. Many parks are in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Northwest, the least diverse areas of the countries. Their visitation numbers may skew the study. The mission of the NPS is to protect the parks, not to engage in some sort of social engineering to make sure they have the politically correct mix of visitors. If anything, the NPS needs to protect the parks from more congestion.

$11.50 is a lot of money on a per person basis. I don't blame the tour operators for seeking some sort of redress to these outrageously high rates.

Since the parks are so politically controlled I'm not surprised that industry leaders appealed to whomever they can get to listen to them about the negative economic impact these outrageous fees will have on an international travel industry that the park service always touts as a positive benefit of having a national park in your neighborhood. I'm sure that some sort of Congressional pressure was applied first before the poobahs in WASO relented to the concerns of the tour operators.

I hope this will keep fees down for everyone, so I'm glad someone was able to put this issue on the table.

I hate to throw this into the mix without double checking first, but I *think* one big difference between the motorcycle noise and snowmobile noise, is that snowmobile noise is unregulated. Motorcycles have to meet federal standards for highway travel, whereas snowmobiles are an off-road vehicle not confined to the same regulations. I know that modern snowmobiles are a lot less noisy than older models, but I don't think that is because of a federal mandate.

Someone, please feel free to clarify, or shoot me down if I'm wrong!

By the way, a year ago, I wrote about my own perceived sense of overly loud motorcycle noise, associated with Sturgis Ralley, in Devils Tower National Monument. You can read those articles here:
Boom City
Boom City: Follow-Up

I agree with Merryland above. The internet and other electronic means of communication are excellent mechanisms for promoting inter- and intra- staff communications. The internet and other forms of electronic communications can be very effective in keeping interim employees like seasonals and volunteers current on park administrative changes, new procedures for the operation and conduct of duty, upcoming events, and recent research findings. This information is especially useful when communicated to the returning employee during their off-season away from their park.

Owen Hoffman
Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Amen Brother Randy!

I am continually amazed at people who are "offended" by religious symbols or the beliefs of another person. No where in any documents of this country except the liberal media does it give you the right to not be offended. You're offended by something? So what? Live with it. How about if I say that religious symbols should be placed on everything because otherwise the government is endorsing atheism?

What is atheism but a belief system. No one knows 100% what is true and what is not. You just choose to believe there is nothing. Others choose to believe in something. Why should your belief take precedence over theirs?

Oh wait, let's trot out the argument that religion causes wars. Religion doesn't cause wars or persecution or anything else. People cause those. People that are either power hungry or offended. I've been around the world several times and I can assure you that 95% of the people in it want to live their life without anyone bothering them. The power hungry or offended people call them sheep and feel that because they don't care about "the cause" then they don't matter. Sometimes they manage to spin up the sheep and point them in a direction that causes damage and that sucks.

But it's not the fault of the sheeps belief system, it's the fault of the wolves.

If you dropped 100 atheists on an island full of easily obtained food and shelter pretty soon you'd have at least two groups duking it out over who should be in charge.

Don't read history and be confused by whether the wolves call themselves Christians or Muslims or atheists or whatever. They use the belief to further their own cause.

I consider myself a follower of Christ. I read the bible. I spent 10 years in the military. I have a brother who lives in California and is married to a man. I don't understand it but he's my brother and I support his right to make a choice. I'm white and so is my wife but my other brother has children that are mixed race. I love spending time with them. I believe in evolution and that God created life. I think people should be able to pray in the street or school or wherever they want or don't if they don't want to.

I'm offended by things in life but I don't feel I have the right to go out and tell other people how to live just because it violates my personal worldview. I think if you see something that "offends" you you should sit down shut up and pike off. And if my saying that offends you, good.

Yes, Bandelier has ladders available for folks to climb, to get a good look at the dwellings carved into the cliff face (cavelets I think they are called). To get to these ladders requires visitors take a somewhat steep and narrow path that includes many stairs. I don't really see how wheelchairs and strollers would manage it, and I'd think that crutches and canes would have a difficult time too. The trail isn't so steep or so narrow that overweight folks or those with heart conditions would have much trouble. Of course, it would be left to their judgment whether or not to attempt the ladders (which are bolted to the walls, so they don't really move). Most ladders are fairly short, nothing more than 10 feet tall that I can recall, although, there is a more remote location which may have taller ladders. Flickr has confirmed for me that at the more remote location, there is a warning sign.

The sign reads, "a 140 Ft. vertical ascent. Those with health problems or fear of heights should not attempt the climb. Close supervision of children is required. CLIMB ON LADDERS ONLY."

I support the administrative merging of co-located parks to reduce the upper management ranks.

What's funny is that the techno-approach being used to reach visitors could also easily be used for management and staff to regularly interact.