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National Park Mystery Spot 32: At the Mouth of a Feeder

Dec 14th - 08:23am | celbert

My guess would be the Mystery Spot #32 is the reconstructed earthlodge at Knife River Indian Villages NHS in North Dakota.  The clues sound like they reference Sacagawea, and I think there were 3 villages preserved at the site.  I'm also thinking the rivers referred to are the Knife, Missouri, and Mississippi.

Reader Participation Day: Rewrite a National Park Warning Sign

Dec 14th - 06:23am | Lawrence J. Caldwell

These signs are all over Great Smoky Mountains National Park  - Bob Was Here.  They warn visitors about the issue of defacing property. There once was a man named Bob. By habit a bit of a slob. Leaving behind his name he did rob. If sufficiently fined, he'll lose his job.

Obama Administration Proposing Worrisome Change In Endangered Species Act

Dec 14th - 04:56am | MRC

Basically that is the status quo. A simple loss of habitat never was enough for species to be listed anyway. It always needed an additional threat to the remaining populations. And don't get this wrong, a few isolated populations or just one habitat left is a threat, if one local or regional issue can wipe out the species. 

Dec 12th - 19:53pm | Anonymous

Seems reasonable:).  Am aware of the Bat issues and the bad rap they typically get.  I like them a lot in my area and don't believe the fungus has reached here.  

Dec 12th - 18:51pm | Steve H

Thanks for this excellent article.  In Vermont we are dealing with the local extinction of several species of bats that have wintered in Vermont for as long as anyone knows.  In the past 4 years 99% of the bats have died from White Nose Syndrome.

Dec 12th - 14:40pm | Anonymous

Oh, actually, there are quite a few people that know reality.  They are the ones that aren't consumed by their own strong opinions or attaching themselves to devisive political B.S., trying to play by the ever changing rules that don't favor them.  How would it be if the different user groups of our National Parks used demeaning rhetoric toward to destroy every other user group in the Parks.

Dec 12th - 13:42pm | Lee Dalton

I think we've just about reached the point where, with all the electronic communication screaming around, all the TV commercial soundbites, all the "expert" pundits punditing, and politics in general there is simply no one in the whole wide world who really knows what reality is. But we all have strong opinions. 

Dec 12th - 12:02pm | Anonymous

Being reasonable is the third way, Justinh.  It often comes with humbling :).  The opposite of stridency.

Dec 12th - 11:23am | justinh

Anon,   Why does this have to be an either/or?  Given all the scientific evidence that points to a mass extinction of plants and animals currently underway, I wonder if there's a third way to deal reasonably.

Dec 12th - 10:05am | Anonymous

Far reaching results not often considered, Lee.  This goes back to our previous conversation.  You think out of work citizens or endangered small business's (or large) are going to prefer to vote for an often contrived straw specie rather than their own endangered status?  There's a reality out there and better to embrace it and deal with it "reasonably."  

Dec 12th - 09:27am | Lee Dalton

Wanna bet there's some special interest with big money hidden behind this?  Maybe we voters need to make all politicians endangered species every couple of years.

Dec 12th - 09:15am | Anonymous

We need to protect endangered species, to not make it difficult for them to thrive. 

Tethered To Cyberspace On the Face Of El Capitan In Yosemite National Park

Dec 13th - 21:05pm | A Phoenix Rising

Life in it's "pure state" is always changing, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the not so good. Technology in general tests this factor everyday in everyway. Climbing can not and will never be removed from that reality.

Visitation Continues To Slide At Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Dec 13th - 18:47pm | Aurora

Perhaps another reason for the decline: the number of catastrophic natural disasters that have affected folks in many Southeastern states and all those within a day's drive of GRSM.  However, I hardly ever noticed a decline in traffic heading through the Sugarlands entrance or the flow of cars through Cades Cove. 

Dec 13th - 10:48am | anonymous

Yes, the Parks are sliding into the domain of the 1%'ers.  How ironic but predictable.

Dec 13th - 10:13am | Bob

I stopped going years ago when the traffic got so bad, perhaps fewer cars will enhance the experience.

Dec 13th - 10:00am | Carolina Outdoo...

Isn't this good? Great Smokies has always been overcrowded. The park doesn't derive significant revenue from fees, especially roadside tourists. Fewer people means a better experince for everyone else in the park.

Dec 13th - 09:54am | Tom

I'm kinda glad to see the drop. The park is damaged more by the more people that are there, The traffic is a nightmare trying to get there. A little less pressure for awhile is a good thing for the park but probably not so good for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. This may also help clear the air pollution some. 

Dec 13th - 08:26am | Anonymous

I visit the park every chance I get. I consider the Smokies my second home.  I believe it is nothing but the economy keeping people away.  I haven't noticed as many foreigners as I usually see up there.  It seems it is mostly the weekend warriors who are driving in and doing they thing and leaving.  I believe if the economy gets straightened out, everyone will be coming back.

At Statue of Liberty National Monument, Save Ellis Island, Inc., Works to Restore Ellis Island’s Time-Ravaged Buildings

Dec 13th - 17:24pm | amelia barra la...

I watched the movie about forgotten ellis island. My grandparents came from Italy and were at ellis island. I have certificates of their arrival. Please restore this and hospitol I cant wait to see it someday. Either restored or not! I am from Indiana so not to far away. It is closer then Italy!

Humans, Comfort-Loving Animals That They Are, Are Changing Their National Park Habits With Climate Change

Dec 13th - 15:04pm | Dick G.

Talk about beating a dead horse!!LOL

Dec 10th - 22:48pm | Steve H

Stating that you are making an assumption doesn't make the assumption correct.  Does the author cite support for the assumptions?

Dec 10th - 18:55pm | richp39

I know Kurt. I'm guilty of it myself.  But if the assumptions are based on other research then go ahead and say so. Otherwise you lose credibility.

Dec 10th - 16:34pm | Kurt Repanshek

rich39, I've read a lot of research over the years, and can't recall when an author made a definitive statement without some qualifier involved...

Dec 10th - 14:41pm | BigJon46

I doubt it very much. All chicken littles tend to think in the same way.

Dec 10th - 13:56pm | richp39

I'm sorry Kurt but I have to disagree. The paragraph you cite is statistics-speak for "There are probably other factors involved but we're going to assume they have no affect on what we're trying to prove.

Dec 10th - 13:43pm | Anonymous

The first sentence of the quote is an assumption and the study does not seem to account for the baby boomers becoming empty nesters.    Bottom line:  Does anyone plan a national park vacation because the temperature in the shoulder season is now say, 70 instead of 67? 

Dec 10th - 11:55am | Kurt Repanshek

Actually, the study seems to have taken into account many of the aspects that are being called out:

Dec 10th - 11:37am | Anonymous

When I went to Canyonlands, Arches and Gettysburg in September and October, almost all the visitors were baby boomers.  It's the increasing numbers of this demographic that in my opinion accounts for the increase in off season attendance. 

Dec 10th - 09:43am | Steve H

I agree with the comments above.  Every article of advice on visiting the Grand Canyon and many other popular parks begins with the suggestion: "Summers are impossibly busy...consider going in a shoulder season." I hope the author of this study is being critically reviewed by peers. 

UPDATED: Economists, Academics Urge President Obama To Protect Public Lands, Create New National Parks

Dec 13th - 14:06pm | Anonymous

Parks and wildernesses are great, but who's going to pay the operating costs? Come on, any real economists, tell us how. Especially since existing parks are so funding poor now.

Top Six Family Adventures In National Parks

Dec 13th - 12:46pm | Matt W

Wow. Thanks for sharing.  I've been getting in a summer NP trip each summer for the last three years.  Our favorite destinations are Great Smokey MNP, Yellowstone NP, and Badlands NP.  As the kids get older we hope to take on a little more in the way of adventure, but for now they enjoy the hiking, camping, and ranger led activities.

Dec 12th - 14:42pm | mbf

Amazing trips!  How much money would one have to save up theoretically to take on any of those adventures? 

Dec 12th - 12:30pm | Julie Trevelyan

I'm a huge fan of getting kids outside and enjoying our national parks--all of our public lands, actually. These are some great trips you've mentioned here! Agree with the above comments as well. Sometimes it seems like an uphill battle, but all we can do is keep encouraging families to get active outside and appreciate our amazing landscapes.

Dec 12th - 09:19am | Lee Dalton

And that is all the more reason why you need to keep doing what you are doing.  I'll be watching for your book and will buy a copy for my daughter so she and her hubby can get some ideas for helping their daughters learn to enjoy these places.

Dec 11th - 20:05pm | mlanza

Thanks, Lee. I agree completely. But I also believe that it's up to those of us who already enjoy our parks and outdoors to spread the word to people who haven't had the exposure to these places yet.

Dec 11th - 19:26pm | Lee Dalton

It's a shame all American families can't do things like this.  We'd have an entirely different -- and certainly better -- nation if we could. Your kids are lucky. 

National Park Road Trip 2011: Lodging in Badlands National Park

Dec 13th - 12:33pm | Amy Kruse

Nice informating article. We're disappointed that you didn't stop by the Circle View Guest Ranch, just 6 miles south of the Badlands National Park Visitors Center. We're a family run operation high atop a butte on our 3,000 acre cattle ranch. Our family has lived in the Badlands since 1915 and we offer a slice of history and first hand knowledge of the Badlands.

Can, And Should, The Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park Be Restored?

Dec 13th - 11:47am | Anonymous

Interesting article in today's L. A. Times.  Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA) is asking the Interior Department to investigate whether San Francisco is violating the terms of the Raker Act by not seeking other sources of water and wasting the Tuolumne River water.  Of course, Senator Feinstein is against even this so I doubt Interior will do anything either. 

At Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Things are Not Always as They Seem

Dec 12th - 23:28pm | Anonymous

"The purpose of a firearm is not to kill everything in sight."

Where in the World is Paul Fugate?

Dec 12th - 13:43pm | Rick Taylor

Most of the paragraph submitted by Rob seems correct, although I have no knowledge that Paul had had any contact with trappers in the Monument, nor that they might have been from the Safford area.  If so, they certainly should have been investigated.  I'm positive that I did not provide those nuggets of information to Rob or anyone else.

Snowshoeing And Cross-Country Skiing In Yellowstone National Park

Dec 12th - 10:55am | Kurt Repanshek

Harriman State Park is indeed well worth a stop. Skiing is great, and so is the wildlife!

Dec 12th - 10:52am | knbrown

The park officially opens for "winter" on the 15th of December.  How long the snow stays depends on the weather - last year it stayed through the end of May in some of the higher elevations though over-snow travel ends in March.

Dec 12th - 08:57am | Janes

Thanks for this, Traveler, makes me want to go. Yellowstone is especially beautiful in winter. What is considered the snow season?

Fatal Fall from Angels Landing in Zion National Park

Dec 11th - 10:10am | Anonymous

I hiked Angel"s Landing last Wednesday.My wife and I were the first ones up the trail.As we entered the trail a man named Cliff walked up.I asked if he minded if we hiked together.My wife had already decided to stay at Scouts Landing.I am glad Cliff went the rest of the way.I dont thnk I would have tried it alone and it was nice to have someone to hike with past Scouts Landing.I would have turn

House Natural Resources Committee Hearing On ESA Presents Diverging Viewpoints

Dec 10th - 23:45pm | Anonymous

I'm giving time for others to chime in here, Lee.  

Dec 10th - 17:22pm | Lee Dalton

Anon, agreed.  But how?  Reason seems to be gone.

Dec 10th - 11:14am | Anonymous

The politicians and attorneys won't do it on their own unless it's not productive either financially or politically.  It's up to the change in public opinion if there is to be reasonable outcomes.  A bit more than just about compromise but reasonable approaches with reasonable results.

Dec 10th - 09:59am | Anonymous

Like I've said before, Lee, discount the extremes in language and actions on both sides of the ESA issue and most everything discussed in todays deceptive/destructive environment and let reason take the stage front and center.  Doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

Passport Picks For Winter: Where In the National Park System Should You Visit?

Dec 10th - 14:06pm | Danny Bernstein

On our annual Florida trip to see family, we always stop at a couple of National Park units. De Soto National  Memorial and Fort Frederica National Monument are on the list for this trip. Danny Bernstein www.hikertohiker.com

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.