You are here

All Recent Comments

Gateway NRA Officials Seem to Run Counter to Other Park Managers

Jul 6th - 10:53am | Arthur Allen

This situation smells to high heaven. I have been following the story for several years, and at no time has the Superintendent even tried to offer an explanation for the long string of "extensions". That, in itself, should bring about a detailed investigation into the matter

Jul 6th - 08:02am | Anonymous

Don't you love the quote by the park superintendent? If they are not in real estate then what are they doing leasing out 36 buildings to a developer, especially one who hasn't even shown that he has the financial backing to do the work???

You Want How Much For That Campsite?!?

Jul 6th - 08:54am | Beamis

"You can become decidedly 'unfree' if you aren't at the top of the trading chain." I disagree. I am certainly not at the top of the trading chain, nor do I aspire to be, but the free market offers me a virtually unlimited set of options with which to innovate, collaborate and grow that have nothing to do with climbing some hierarchal ladder of domination and control.

Jul 6th - 08:15am | jsmacdonald

Beamis, I'm a little surprised you have me pegged, after my remarks, as a "government as equalizer" sort of person, especially when I criticized government solutions, pointed you to a set of essays where I said that a government "right" to Yellowstone National Park simply does not exist, and let you in on the fact that I was "anti-authoritarian."

Jul 6th - 07:39am | Beamis

"If people think they need to bid on a public service, they are way off base. Public means open to everyone and to me, at a reasonable price". In a nation where equality is everything, and where advantage need not be earned, but only redistributed, how could anything be more virtuous?

Jul 6th - 06:00am | Anja Leiendecker

I totally agree. Non-transferrable reservations would be the way to go here. If people think they need to bid on a public service, they are way off base. Public means open to everyone and to me, at a reasonalble price. Should people want to pay a lot, put a donation to the Yellowstone organisation. Then you know it will be put to good use.

Jul 5th - 21:21pm | Merryland

It's not that difficult folks -- you ask to see some ID and ask for the reservation number before you give the guy his space. No ID match, no campsite. Even an illegal alien with no English skills can manage that process.

Jul 5th - 16:16pm | Beamis

Jim----I'd like to recommend the work of the Austrian school of economics, most especially that of Ludwig Von Mises. True freedom is derived from private property and the voluntary exchange of goods and services. The government as equalizer always ends in disaster and tyranny. Just look at history.

Jul 5th - 15:17pm | snowbird

Jim, excellent response. You have done your homework!

Jul 5th - 15:11pm | snowbird

Beamis, good points well taken! But I also think, that those that can out bid a average smuck like me, probably is one happy camper with the big bucks to spend. Now, that doesn't make me happy...does it!? I guess, as the old adage goes: "he with the most toy's wins"...sad but true. With that kind of philosophy (or adage) I don't think this makes one holistic happy society.

Jul 5th - 15:09pm | jsmacdonald

Those left outside the process are not happy. Trade does not exist in a vacuum. Let's say one guy owns the water, your neighbor owns the boats, and you own the navigator schools, and assume that all are equally valuable.

Jul 5th - 12:17pm | Beamis

$25 to enter Zion and Yosemite is larceny, especially for a taxpayer funded facility. Confiscating our wealth through a corrupt tax code to drop bombs on Baghdad is larceny. A voluntary exchange of goods and services between consenting adults is NOT larceny. It called free trade.

Jul 5th - 10:51am | Snowbird

Beamis, I know there's a little bit of larceny and greed in all of us, but were not talking about the parks being part of the stock market or the New York stock exchange. Were talking about a feasible price system within the parks that fits the needs of every visitor. The parks should never be used for some type of football scapling to the highest bidder.

Jul 5th - 09:55am | Anonymous

i agree with beamis. who in their right mind would pay that much for a campsite in a national park? let someone voluntarily do it if they want. it's not so much a widespread problem at this point, it's a blip on a highly topical blog.

Jul 5th - 09:43am | Bemis

So you don't invest? You don't own stocks? Would you be ashamed to sell your house for twice the price you paid for it? I sort of doubt it.

Jul 5th - 09:16am | Snowbird

Beamis...capitalism also breeds pathetic consumptious greed! The parks are not pawns to enhance the pockets of the greedy. We learn to share not exploit!

Jul 5th - 07:45am | Beamis

Why is reselling something dishonest? The person buying the campsite reservation on eBay is paying for the added value of not having to deal with the concessionaire or sitting on the phone with credit card in hand waiting to make the transaction. Obviously it was worth it to them to pay what they did, because they willing forked over the dough.

Jul 5th - 00:17am | Merryland

The problem is you can't tell the honest person (intended to use the reservation, something came up) from the dishonest person (grabbed a reservation knowing full well they weren't going to use it with the intent of reselling it). Since there's no way to sort these people out, you shut it all down.

Jul 4th - 14:28pm | Beamis

Gary---I'm glad you're also a free market capitalist. Happy July 4th!

Jul 4th - 13:50pm | Gary

Beamis, your post sheds the most clarity on the subject of 'em all! Bravo!!

Jul 4th - 09:33am | Beamis

More power to the persons who want to voluntarily exchange lawfully obtained goods or services in a free and open market. It's nobody's business what someone else does with their campsite reservation once they have purchased it from the NPS. Making them nontransferable will open a whole can of worms that is something the park service would be wise to steer well clear of.

Jul 3rd - 22:50pm | Gary R.

There are many nice sites in the Yosemite Valley campgrounds. There are no soda machines, and I've always gotten the site I've reserved, which I choose so it's not next to the bathroom. It's not wilderness camping, but many of us enjoy camping in the valley for various reasons. The $20 per night is similar to state park campgrounds in CA...a bit high, but I think worth it.

Jul 3rd - 18:06pm | Judge bill

Alot of parks state and federal charge 20.00 a night for camp sites. thats 600 U$D a month for something our taxes paid for. The governments are out of control...

Park Shuttles, More Than Just A Bus?

Jul 6th - 07:50am | Anonymous

Although I personally think the shuttles are a much better alternative to severe overcrowding of roads and parking lots, they do have their drawbacks. At the Grand Canyon, my senior-citizen parents had troubling getting on the shuttles as they were often standing-room-only after the first stop - and they didn't feel they could stand for many stops.

Jul 5th - 20:15pm | Phil

Get over your silly love affair with your car people. The absolute BEST way to travel in the national parks is by utilizing their shuttle system.

Jul 5th - 17:02pm | Tim B

I just did the Zion National Park shuttle. It was very nice not having to drive. Sit back and listen to your tour guide / bus driver and learn. The waiting time between shuttles was a massive 5-7 minutes. Just enough time to take a few more pictures of this natural wonder.

Hikers in Grand Canyon Resort to PLB To Save Themselves

Jul 6th - 03:35am | jersu

Erik,

Jul 6th - 00:37am | Erik

The real problem with these devices is not that wilderness values will be lost. It's that more rangers and pilots will be lost if the unnecessary use of the these beacons proliferates.

Jul 5th - 21:36pm | Merryland

Good answer Ken, and I agree 100%. People will rely on this "Get out of Jail Free" card too much and push themselves too far. I even wonder how most people these days can function without a cell phone in their possession. We get so attached to these gadgets we forget how to strategize, plan, and think for ourselves.

Jul 5th - 14:59pm | Phil

Idiots and technology are a dangerous mix. The NPS is already understaffed with rangers, and now this "safety alarm" is going to be standard equipment for any unprepard, over-zealous wanderer who now thinks that the beacon is an entitlement to pursue goals far beyond their reach, with the alledged securing of safe rescue by the rangers at their disposal.

Jul 5th - 14:10pm | Steve Sergeant

Jeremy Sullivan wrote: "It brings up an interesting argument, one that I'd love to see continued in additional stories and comments on this site and around the web, which is, what is the role of wilderness?"

Jul 5th - 12:41pm | jersu

Steve,

Jul 5th - 12:08pm | Steve Sergeant

One thing that seems to be driving these more and more frequent call-outs of rescue services is the media romanticism of extreme sports. These media portrayals reduce the public's perception of the risk of the less extreme activities. People don't feel like they need either the training, the skills, or the all-around preparedness because they've got a way to summon a rescue.

Jul 5th - 11:37am | tom

One thing about the beacon: it seems like it would reduce the "search" element of a search & rescue considerably. Some searches take days, whereas the beacon sends a chopper directly to the point of need.

Jul 5th - 10:02am | Anonymous

charge them for the costs of rescue. no wonder they are suffering from heat exhaustion, has anyone seen the weather in that area lately? i agree with your conjecture, kurt, people are using technology to overstep the boundaries of their abilities. it's similar to folks skiing in the backcountry without much avalanche experience simply because they have a beacon and a cellphone.

Alcatraz Event on YouTube

Jul 5th - 19:31pm | jersu

Merryland,

Jul 5th - 18:56pm | Merryland

The reply came in from Director Bomar via Sue Masica... look familiar? No doubt Mary asked Sue who asked Rudy who pulled out his template response and it got forwarded down the line. How efficient of them! <><><><><> Mr. Merryman:

Jul 4th - 23:04pm | Merryland

Mr. Evenson, Thanks for response. I'm sure you've had to entertain a fair number of these kinds of inquiries. Sorry I wasn't more specific. Not sure if this qualifies as "ecologically sustainable fashion", or perhaps this was that "educational component" you spoke of: http://media.sfweekly.com/923164.36.jpg

Product Testing in West Yellowstone

Jul 5th - 13:32pm | jsmacdonald

I think the Bookworm is the world's best bookstore, and it's in West Yellowstone. Get some good ones. And, I love the Playmill.

Mount Rushmore Recreated in Cheese

Jul 5th - 00:07am | Merryland

I think that guy loves his job a little too much... -- Jon

Jul 4th - 13:02pm | Dave O

Sure glad it's Wisconsin cheese. That fake California stuff just wouldn't cut it! Who has the crackers? We were just out at Mt. Rushmore on vacation. Now I'll have to make a run up to Little Chute before it hits the road.

Repairing Rainier: A Question of Values

Jul 4th - 23:59pm | Merryland

Happy thought for the day: Mount Rainier will one day resolve the whole issue, wiping out every bit of construction under millions of tons of debris on its slopes and taking out several towns downstream when the flow of water and rock and mud and trees races toward the ocean, squashing all the people and their belongings like little bugs.

Jul 4th - 19:01pm | Anonymous

The public HAS access. It's called two legs and two feet in motion, otherwise known as walking you fat lazy Americans! For those who can't walk, someone else can carry them or they can ride an ass.

Jul 4th - 13:12pm | Roger

We need to get back to the 40s and 50's...get rid of all these stupid environmental regs...they have to just drive these Superintendents batty. The public deserves and needs ACCESS...otherwise, quit taking our tax dollars for parks....

Jul 4th - 13:09pm | Anonymous

What good is wilderness if nobody can see it? Wake up and smell the real world, enviropukes.

Congressman Calls for Investigation Into Fort Hancock Deal

Jul 4th - 23:47pm | Merryland

There are many locations in the NPS goody bag that aren't particularly scenic or memorable, but hold strategic positions of importance for one reason or another. Across the river from Mount Vernon is an otherwise boring piece of land run by NPS that does little more than preserve the view from Mount Vernon.

Jul 4th - 10:18am | Anonymous

The bigger question is this: Is Fort Hancock a nationally significant historic site? For that matter is the Gateway NRA actually something that taxpayers in Oregon and North Dakota should be paying their hard earned tax money for? Why were these particular plots of ground made into a national park area in the first place?

Does Niagara Falls Need the Park Service?

Jul 3rd - 18:30pm | judge bill

Unless you have been to the Canada side; in my humble opinion you haven't seen the Falls. the Canadians have the most beautiful Falls you have ever seen and the keep it clean and bright.

Concessionaire News

Jul 3rd - 18:14pm | judge bill

Carlsbad is the most fantatic adventure a citizen can take. Take your children and your grandchildren to Carlsbad caverns...

Tragedy Stalks the National Parks

Jul 3rd - 18:12pm | judge bill

As vast as the US is; I would imagine someone dies in a state or federal park daily. I recently cam back from Niagara Falls, Ca.. The older generation 78 and over do everything the younger generation does. Do not go to Niagara Fallsy and stay on the US side, go to Canada and see parks like they should be.

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.