Recent comments

I guess I really don't understand what would motivate someone to do this. It's an odd act of vandalism.

The beauty of the Vietnam war memorial is that it touches deeply to the core of every visitor, regardless of their political affiliation or their feelings about the war. I've seen stanch supporters of the Vietnam war weep at the bold listing of each name and I've seen Vietnam protestors weep at the austerity and anguish the wall represents.

It seems to me a grave unfortunate act of vandalism and I hope for future generations (and for the sake of those the memorial honors and their families) that the Park Service can find the means of mitigating the damage.

I agree SOME ONE like this shouldn't be allowed to walk FREE in a FREE country.. HOW LOW can an human animal go!!!

Jeremy, this is absolutely pathetic that one can stoop so low to create such an grievous act of horrendous vandalism. If the perpetrators of this sick act of vandalism are caught, may justice be swift to the fullest extent of the law...and SEVER...and I mean SEVER!!

Jon, okay, but St. Louis should be one of those places? (Isn't one Kansas City enough? JUST KIDDING!)

Jim Macdonald
The Magic of Yellowstone
Yellowstone Newspaper
Jim's Eclectic World

The Statue is really not very large. I remember fondly several lunch breaks from my days as a trainer -- munching on a reuben from the Stage Door Deli, sitting at the top of the World Trade Center, staring off to the south, amazed at how small the Statue of Liberty really was in the scheme of things. When you're young, it's outrageously huge. When you see it again as an adult years later, you're amazed at how small it really is -- like Mount Rushmore -- you expect it to loom so much larger because of the thing it's come to represent -- which is far bigger than any statue any human can ever build.

Leave it alone. Have people sign the waiver. Limit the access to those able to make the climb. No food. No backpacks. Bring your own water. Simple.

It was closed for a big chunk of the early 80s when they were giving it a face lift for its centennial. It's been closed a lot during my adult years -- way too often.

You nailed it Jeremy. The inscription that I was referring to, that is. I agree that a permanent closing, for whatever well intended (or misguided) reason, would be viewed in the court of world opinion as caving in to some ridiculous foreign agenda, not as an introspective study in American morals gone wrong or any other reason that might be proposed, even the old "for public safety during the renovation process", no matter how true the later might actually be. And I agree that closing the barn door after the horse is gone is pointless, even if leaving the door open is more pointless. Solutions? I don't believe that this is a black and white issue, and with every muted gray-scale comes it's own set of interesting considerations. Safety for climbers? It never was before, but in this sue-happy society, can it afford to be left in it's present condition? Addition of fire escape routes and emergency access (panels or otherwise)? I seriously doubt it that can be accomplished while not compromising the intergrity of the structure, externally speaking. Elevator access is in my view a tremendous waste of funding, and I personally would rather have a coronary on the stairwell than be stranded in mid-stream during on of NYC's famous brown-outs. Open for all at any time......too dangerous. Closed permanently.....too un-American. Talk about your no-win situation!

Lone Hiker - you are indeed stirring the pot! Here is the poem you make reference to (I think), engraved on a plaque found on Liberty's pedestal:

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883

Yes, the statue is a gift from the French, but it looks like Lazarus was born in New York City.

I find the Statue of Liberty inspiring. I wouldn't agree that she stands for a lost ideal. Perhaps she stands for an ideal that has yet to be achieved. At some point in the past, it was probably a mistake to open up the interior of Statue for public tours. As has been said by the Park Service, Bartholdi never intended for it to serve such purpose. But, you can't put toothpaste back in the tube; what's done is done. By denying access now, the impression is she's been shut down in the face of terrorism. The ideals she stands for, feel a bit muted today without that access restored.

I'm glad to see you give these parks their due Kurt. By far, two of the most beautiful and least crowded of the national parks by any standard. Though neither is readily accessible without a bit of effort, this is, neither is near a "major" transportion hub, both parks reward the visitor with the quintessential NPS experience.....visual splendor, solitude, and unspoiled, unaltered glimpses into the history of the region, both geologically and anthropologically. While the hiking experiences at Arches are limited to say the least, the rewards greatly justify the minimal effort it takes even in the summer heat for the opportunity to view such awe-inspiring sites as Tower Arch, Double Arch, Fiery Furnace and the rest. The backcountry at Canyonlands is maybe the most remote, physically and mentally challenging region of the NPS umbrella, but the unique character of each section of the park may be the most rewarding experience one could have, provided you both enjoy and prepare for total isolation. While the Needles and Island in the Sky are indeed spectacular, the real challenge lies in negotiating the Maze district. The physical demands in this park are many, they needn't be as dangerous as a certain hiker, made famous by exploits printed in Reader's Digest and others, made them be by stretching one's limitations and eventually having to sever part of an arm to be freed from his foolishly man-made prison. To most thoroughly enjoy these areas is to leave the car behind and load up the pack, avoiding the temptation to make basecamp in "Sedona North" otherwise known as Moab, and make preparations for an extended outdoors stay, as most of the more worthwhile and pristine destinations aren't exactly a day-trip from the comfort of your B&B. But as with most things in life, the extra effort is greatly rewarded, knowing that few have ventured into this harsh environment even when temperatures allow for relative ease of off-season exploration.
Almost exactly one year ago, I was fortunately enough to venture into these "barren" lands, and save for the handful of backpackers I encountered during the week, the feeling of having one of the most visually intimidating and desolate regions of the country almost to yourself was something you have to experience to appreciate. These are the true gems of the Utah national parks, though 2.5 million visitors annually to Zion would argue the point. While anything but lush, the east- central high desert retains a stark beauty and character all it's own. And the abundance of native influences found in the pre-Basketmaker relics, Anasazi era petroglyphs, ruins and readily accessible artifacts (don't even THINK about it) are in one of their highest undisturbed concentrations in the area, if you make the extra effort to look for them.

Daniel, thanks for your enlightening remarks. I think you have shed some valuable light on the subject.

While Chicago's lakefront is one of the best utilizations of any city's downtown shorelines in the nation, Millennium Park was designed more with an eye of regenerating "local" interest in the Grant Park area than as a major source of tourism. With their existing status as a major convention site and facilities including the Museum Campus, Buckingham Fountain, the Magnificent Mile, the upcomming Navy Pier Hotel andCasino, along with the Summer Festival series (Taste of Chicago, the Air and Water Show, Blues Fest, Venecian Night, etc.) Millennius Park was hardly a required improvement, just another in the long line of mayoral whims akin to the bulldosing and redevelopment of Meigs Field into a lakefront park. St. Louis on the other hand, still retains the economic and visual blight that is East St. Louis, IL. directly across the river from any upgrade to the area surrounding the Gateway Arch. That said, the city should be allowed to customize the district into whatever viable source of revenue generating development it sees fit, although many of the better ideas have been put into place elsewhere along the Great River. For instance, where St. Louis would most likely have been a better fit, the National Mississippi River Aquarium and Museum has already been established in Dubuque (?), and does quite a competent job of displaying the history of the peoples, aquatic life and of the river dating back thousands of years. And while a site in a major city might lend some credence to the "bigger and better" notion, the idea would lose some of its luster to the "its been done before" mindset. The appropriate national history museum, as stated above, simply won't be competently done out of reluctance for correlating this monument with the true starting point for the genocide of western exapnsion, a true double entndre if ever there was one. Hotels, McArch's (no wait, that's too perfect), tee-shirts-R-us and the like simply don't fill the void. A water park on the river front.....hum, who cares if it periodically floods? Might be a novel idea, a self-flooding water park! Or how about green space, akin to the original look of the area surrounding the monument. Green space bordered by freeway overpasses........never mind. The real shame is that just a stone's throw from the arch is a wonderful riverfront region, already equipped with the majority of "notions", real and otherwise, that have been bandied about for inclusion in the monument redevelopment. But given that this structure is indeed almost solely a tourist destination, catering to that crowd will be the most likely factor in the final decision making process. And since the revenue generated by any resculpturing of the district will benefit local interests, the burden for procurement and distribution of any funding associated with this project, and thereby the content of the actual design of the project, should be the responsibility of those in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, not a directive from the national bureaucracy that is the NPS. Like they have black ink from which to draw as they see fit anyway. Yet I'm certain that Congressional lobbying at its finest will indeed win out, like it or not.

Couldn't agree with you more Kurt. Ed Abbey knew what he was talking about when he said, "This is the most beautiful place on Earth."

Another high-end option outside Moab is the Red Cliffs Lodge, about 14 miles up the Colorado River. Rooms/cabins right on the Colorado, and they have their own winery on site as well.