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I really enjoy your articles. Entertaining & Educational. One of my late father's favorite songs to sing me at bedtime was 'Battle of New Orleans'. The other was 'Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'. Not much of a lullaby, I'll admit, but still wonderful memories.
Thanks for the nice words, Bob. That first shot was definitely a consolation prize for me not being able to make it completely up to the top of the arch opening. I was about midway when I turned around, plopped myself on some slickrock, set up the tripod in a precarious position, and captured that image.
Don't think that is so unusual. Our buildings get "tagged," our waterfalls get "tagged", our rocks get "tagged". It comes with being near a metro area, not controlling unsupervised access to the park, and having folks with little respect for nature, history, or much, visiting the park. It is the worst because it starts small and eats progressively away at everything in the park as time goes on.
Use to be just on our trains.Now in our Natl. Parks.
No respect for anything or anybody.To hell in a handbasket we go.
Thank you for this entire photography series.
Personally, I'm less excited about BW when you have a clear blue sky, but you're absolutely right about how it can make clouds more dramatic. I find BW also covers for those dreary overcast days.
And when you see something like your first photo . . . WOW !
Horrible. Could you blur the tag or completely hide it? No sense in giving these morons a reason to do more. Thanks.
You're right, MikeG. Cruz will be a Senator from Texas as long as he wants to be. His place on the national stage is less certain.
Rick
Mr. Coburn is from Oklahoma and Mr. Cruz is an excellent young senator with a great future...
I am ready to leave Senator Coburn behind and hope the rest of you are too. Besides Senator Coburn is not that bad compared to our other Texas Senator, Ted Cruz. The horse left the barn a long time ago regarding guns and it is not worth arguing about them anymore.
..and I'm sure the Superintendents have no sway with the regional directors regarding who they would like to see get concession contracts, huh? If the public were as ignorant as the NPS wished we were, their abuses would be even more rampant.
You really need to do some homework. Concession contracts are awarded by Regional Directors, not superintendents.
I meet many people down here in Texas that are afraid of rattlesnakes, bears, and mountain lions. Don't blame them for being afraid but I would never let a little fear of wild animals stop me from doing something I liked since the odds are far lower of being hurt or killed than driving the car to town. Women have good reason to be afraid of men and wouldn't blame any of them for carrying a concealed handgun. I would consider carrying one in case I had to shoot my neighbor or his dog. In Texas both are legal if you feel threatened where you have a right to be. Stand Your Ground laws you know.
Roger - I have encountered similar overweight packers and short distance hikers that didn't have a single gun on them. That was their choice. Not my roll to be judemental on how they wanted to hike their hike.
I didn't intend to slight the women who carry guns, and some with very good reason. I mentioned men because they are the majority and I know from experience how many feel about carrying a gun. Two years ago three of us did an 80 mile backpack in the arctic refuge Our packs for 8 days with all of our food and two tents weighed 30 pounds at the start. We had no guns. On our 6th day we met a guide and his client going the opposite direction. It had taken them six days to do what we did in two.The guide had a huge automatic on his chest and I assume the client had one also. Their packs weighed almost 100 lbs. and they had to help each other get them on. I guess it depends on how scared you are in the wilderness and how much you want to enjoy the hike. Years earlier park rangers in Gates of the Arctic had to rescue one of three packpackers who had gotten lost from his companions. I talked to the lost one who was picked up by a helicopter and he showed me his campsites on a map. They were two miles apart and they were carrying so many guns and so much ammo he said that was all they could do in a day. I never did a backpack in Gates where I didn't figure on 15 miles a day. I have heard of the latest National Geographic Alaska special and it sounds real stupid like the Bear Gryllis shows.
Don't hang out in California National Forest so can't comment on that. I have never been "scared" in Colorado National Forest where I frequent. And of course shooting while drunk or poaching are illegal so why would anyone doing those worry about a law against guns in the National Park or anywhere else. Just highlights the point. If someone is going to do something illegal, they will do it. No sense punishing (risking) those that abide by the law.
I carried a pistol (357) in my saddle bags when a wilderness ranger in Yellowstone. In my 35 years in Yosemite, I would carry a 38 in my saddle bags when traveling with livestock, in case a horse or mule had to be put down. I had to do that twice. Otherwise, I did not carry a firearm while in the wilderness areas of the park. I personally am opposed to firearms being carried in parks, I think its great that there are areas where guns are held to a minimum. EC, must admit being in some of the California National Forests during hunting season can be scary, especially if there is much drinking going on, which unfortunately, is way to common. Target shooters and poachers are becoming an issue also.
Dont know about Backcountry Rangers but I familiar with Alaskan State Troopers (from the Nat Geo show). They don't leave the highway without a rifle for bear protection. But then, they are probably just a bunch of gun nuts worried about their masculinity.
This is probably a political win for Coburn, in that the gesture of the statement is more important than what it purports. So, probably not a "misstatement."
You do notice that every Backcountry Ranger in Alaska (or anywhere else) is packing don't you? Much more connected to bear behavior than visitors, obviously, but still their back-up in tense situations whether they be man or beast. Sounds like the trend is only for them to be packing. Maybe the culture needs to grow up and get real instead of fantasy (Sierra Club, no ofense). Until then.... BTW, how do Tasers work on the Griz? Haven't heard. Know they've been tried on Javelinas with mixed results:).
Really? Can you explain that to the millions of women that talk about guns?
I have backpacked in Yellowstone and have done several solo trips in Gates of the Arctic in Alaska. When I got to Alsaska many seemed scared to death of both black and grizzly bears so I thought they may know something I don't. I carried a short barreled 12 guage with a pistol grip for a few years. I only used it as something to sit on in wet tundra and as an ice ax decending steep snow slopes. After crossing several rain swollen streams I decided I should carry a life preserver if I was truly concerned about the dangers in Alaska. I never carried the life preserver, but I quit the gun and switched to bear spray which makes more sense and is much lighter than a shotgun. I realize that talking about guns is about male masculinity and the subject is immune to rationality.
I've carried a guns (in the Land Rover) into and out of National parks and they never saw the light of day. That said, IF I was hiking in Yellowstone or Alaska, you could bet you'd see me carrying one pistol and maybe a rifle... can you say GRIZ?
DD. Do you have anything to backup your assertion that there is a greater likelihood of an accidental shooting than of a defensive use of a gun. That certainly isn't the case for the nation as a whole. How many accidental shootings have there been since the law was enacted?
Yes, you can carry guns in National parks; but, using them legally in the National Parks is not straight forward and could very easily get you into trouble.
Gun Regulations in the National Parks
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parkmgmt/upload/gunsinparks_IMR_2-2010.pdf
I never mentioned anyone by name but there is a long list of questionable actions by the Smokies superintendent that have nothing to do with backcountry fees. Most recently, his relationships with concessionaires has been very scrutinized especially his rewarding of contracts to crony friends and political allies. He may have a 30 year assoc with NPS but the last 8 here in the Smokies have been scandal plagued. His handling of the cemetary issue is of great concern to North Carolina Smokies relatives. I could go on and on. This is the National Parks Traveler and he is a National Parks employee.