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Dark Skies in National Parks Make It Easy to Spot the Space Station: Here's How to Look for It

Oct 14th - 16:49pm | LArry Smith

Thanks for the info. As coordinator of the Night Sky Program @ The Badlands NP, we use Heavens-Above.com to alert us for the ISS but also some amazing Irridium Flares...over 9,000 guests attended our programs and used our state-of-the-art telescopes to view the mysteries of our galaxy as well as other far-away galaxies...come see us next season!

Reader Participation Day: What Parks Lure You In Winter?

Oct 14th - 15:14pm | y_p_w

Yosemite NP. I don't ski, but they have ranger guided snowshoe walks every day at Badger Pass. I was afraid that they might cancel because it was snowing heavily, but apparently only a blizzard would cancel.

Oct 14th - 14:37pm | Connie Hopkins

Jon Merryman's input on Valley Forge sounds terrific! Throughout High School, our youngest daughter joined a "Venturing Crew" (Co-ed Boy Scouts) that were Civil War Re-enactors. She earned the rank of Corporal and ran her own cannon crew. As a family, we have wonderful memories of going to these "battles" and supporting our daughter. The Valley Forge experience would be right up my alley!

Oct 14th - 11:22am | WAB

Everglades NP. I'll always remember camping there one particularly chilly January weekend when I encountered only one mosquito during the entire stay! It's also a great time of year for bird watching.

Oct 14th - 05:59am | Jon Merryman

Valley Forge has a great scout encampment every Presidents' Day weekend (February). If you live in the Philly area, you owe it to yourself to get out there and enjoy the demonstrations and support the scouts durng the time of year that epitomizes everything that happened at Valley Forge. Great event.

Oct 13th - 18:16pm | tomp

Cabrillo NM, specifically the tide pools. They're stuck inside the gate of a military installation; the gate closes at 4pm and everyone has to leave by 5pm. Most of the year the lowest low tides are before you can enter at 9am or after you have to leave, but in winter some of the low low tides are while the park is open.

Oct 13th - 15:03pm | pkrnger

Among our most memorable park visits in the dead of winter was a recemt trip to Carlsbad Caverns, NM in early January of 2008. Once we entered the Caverns via the Natural Entrance self-guiding trail, we just about had that immense dimly-lit underground gallery of calsified art to ourselves.

Oct 13th - 14:27pm | Janine Smith

Rocky Mountain National Park for me too! Same snowshoeing event as Aaron. Can't wait!

Oct 13th - 12:30pm | Connie Hopkins

My only experience is Yellowstone in Winter. Last year we spent Christmas in Yellowstone and it was magical! Giantess Geyser erupted in the Upper Geyser Basin starting on Christmas Eve and erupted throughout Christmas Day!! I'd like to add Grand Teton NP to those experiences!

Oct 13th - 11:19am | justinh

Backpacking through Joshua Tree and Death Valley. Can't wait!

Oct 13th - 09:51am | Aaron

Rocky Mountain National Park of course. We'll be there in February for a big snowshoeing get-together. We do this every year. We'll be building igloos and some of us will stay in them out in the backcountry. I'll have my kiddos with me so I won't be in the igloos overnight.

Oct 13th - 09:51am | Gaelyn

I'm thinking Hohokam Ima NM, Casa Grande Ruins NM, Saguaro NP, Fort Bowie NHS, Carlsbad Caverns NP, Guadalupe Mts NP, Big Bend NP, Rio Grande WSR, Amistad NRA and Padre Island NS. Can you tell I'm taking a journey to Texas?

Ansel Adams In The National Parks

Oct 14th - 14:32pm | Connie Hopkins

Maybe I should have been more clear with my comment on manipulation. Swapping out an item and replacing it with another isn't authentic to me.

Oct 14th - 11:30am | Pittsburgh in t...

Actually, the comment about Photoshop and Lightroom is not accurate. Ansel Adams believed that half of a photo was made in the camera and half of it in the darkroom. Photoshop and Lightroom are today's darkrooms. Most people familiar with Adams believe he would have used those tools, too.

Oct 14th - 07:21am | Connie Hopkins

Long before Lightroom or Photo Shop, Ansel Adams projected images with authenticity. My husband is an amateur Photographer and too many times we see that so many images are manipulated and have become a commodity. The images might be beautiful but lack "soul". Mr. Adams' photographs have depth and soul to them.

DNA Tests Indicate Yellowstone National Park Elk, Not Bison, Most Likely To Spread Brucellosis

Oct 13th - 19:43pm | Glenn Hockett

Kurt:

Oct 12th - 21:36pm | Anonymous

Agree!

Oct 12th - 13:08pm | Lee Rademaker

I may be wrong, but when it comes to sample size in a test of this nature (looking at genetic variation) you don't need a large sample. In fact, DNA evidence that is submitted in court often compares only two samples (one from the evidence collected and one from the suspect).

Oct 12th - 11:19am | Bogator

I still say, dump the cattle and raise bison. The meat is tasty and better for you. After all the bison is America's cattle. The bison is well adapted to the environment of the American plains. We really do not need European cattle.

Visiting the Parks: National Park of American Samoa Isn't Easy to Get To, But the Trek is Definitely Worth It

Oct 13th - 18:31pm | Jill

Great article, I learned so much in a few paragraphs about a place I know little about. Thank you for sharing.

Oct 13th - 12:02pm | Rick B.

The trails are very well maintained. The trail crew is well led, has strong morale and is very cohesive as a unit. While we were there this summer they got rugby shoes to help them on the steep hillsides. Also, not necessarily a job requirement, but when a good-bye ceremony was held for departing NPSers, it turns out the trail crew can really sing!

Oct 13th - 02:06am | John

Nice job. The MOST amazing facet of the hike from Mount Alava to the village of Vatia is that the trail transits four regimes of the rain forest; cloud, ridge, littoral and strand. In each regime, very apparent to the educated eye, species of plants dominate according to moisture, soil, climate, altitude and proximity to salt spray.

Point Reyes National Seashore Superintendent Promoted to Yosemite National Park

Oct 13th - 15:48pm | y_p_w

The oyster farm debate is going to the public. It will include an open house style meeting at three locations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Two of these meetings are going to be in Marin County, and the other will be in Berkeley. http://www.nps.gov/pore/parkmgmt/planning_dboc_sup.htm

More Calls For "National Park" Designations Across The National Park System

Oct 13th - 14:01pm | Bob Janiskee

Good catch, Anon. We've made the correction. BTW, the Red Book lists the area of Pinnacles National Monument at 24,513.64 acres (including 10.8 acres of nonfederal land). Federally designated wilderness in Pinnacles totals 16,048 acres.

Oct 13th - 13:30pm | Anonymous

For what it's worth, the acreage of Pinnacles National Monument is more like 26,000 acres, not the 14,500 you report. Major additions were made in 2000.

Oct 13th - 05:05am | Anonymous

Dinosaur National Monument - yes. Dinosaur is spectacular, with the dinosaur dig area, the rivers, and incredible geologic diversity. Colorado National Monument - no. Too small, and while it is very beautiful it pales in comparison to nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

Oct 12th - 15:57pm | y_p_w

Golden Gate NRA presents an interesting case. Inclusion of the Presidio of San Francisco required that they had a self-sufficiency plan that included rent-paying tenants and commercial enterprises.

Oct 12th - 15:28pm | Anonymous

I LOVE Cedar Breaks...especially in the winter when the roads are closed and I can cross country ski on them.

Oct 12th - 15:05pm | Anonymous

Totally cosmetic.

Oct 12th - 14:34pm | Jeanie

I'm in total agreement with making Dinosaur a National Park. My daughter and son-in-law worked there for around three years and we made a couple of trips out there, and it is an awesome place. From the rivers to the mini-grand canyon area on the Colorado side, and then the dinosaur bones themselves....it is beautiful, and so unexpected in such a remote location.

Oct 12th - 14:07pm | Jerry Freudenburg

While I think all these places deserve to be national parks, I however seen a major downside to making them national parks as well.

Oct 12th - 11:30am | Ron Tipton

It has been our consistent position at NPCA that we will support existing Monuments being re-designated and "upgraded" to Nationla Parks if sufficient land is added to the current boundaries to meet the diversity of resources and attractions test that is set forth by the Park Service in the National Parks Index.

Oct 12th - 11:23am | Lawrence J Caldwell

The tea color is mostly tannic acid, a byproduct of the dense concentration of vegetation decay unique to the area. Interestingly, at this time of year through the winter, the water color actually diminishes to near crystal clear. The iron smell is unmistakable in the bogs, swamps, and rivers. But my favorite smell of all is the cedar.

Life On the Fire Lines in Rocky Mountain National Park

Oct 13th - 12:43pm | mike lee, emerg...

great article. well written. nice to be right there and then right. so many times we are answering questions based on "virtual" information and i'm always praying that we've formed the right picture in our minds.

National Park Mystery Spot 17: Isn't That a Clue?

Oct 13th - 12:20pm | Bob Janiskee

National Mystery Spot 17 is indeed Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial. Kudos to all of you who solved the puzzle, and especially to Eric, who was the first to supply the correct answer. Check back with Traveler tomorrow for an explanation of the clues.

Oct 13th - 11:37am | toothdoctor

How about Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial?

Oct 13th - 11:32am | Ed123

Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial

Oct 13th - 08:36am | Matt W

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

Oct 13th - 06:22am | Eric

The Memorial Column at Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

Reader Participation Day: Which Issue Resonates More: Yellowstone Snowmobiles or Cape Hatteras ORVs?

Oct 13th - 10:27am | fair access

Regarding snowmobile use in Yellowstone - since only Best Available Technology (BAT) snow machines are allowed to enter the park, that means they are fitted with clean and quiet 4-stroke engines from cars and motorbikes that enter the park pretty much unrestricted in the summer. So my point is, if the sleds are so bad for the park, then why not ban the cars and bikes as well?

Interior Secretary Signs Cape Wind Project Lease, Stresses Need for U.S. to Be Energy Independent

Oct 13th - 10:25am | Barbara Durkin

Secretary Salazar has no credibility. http://bjdurk.newsvine.com/_news/2010/10/06/5244767-secretary-salazar-ca...

Oct 12th - 22:54pm | Jonathan Foxrun

Clean energy is a solution only when it sustains the natural environment. When its construction decimates natural areas, it is counterproductive. We are a nation smart enough to be true environmental leaders, but Secretary Salazar would reduce us to knee-jerk competitors when it comes to energy solutions.

Visitor Survey: Acadia National Park

Oct 12th - 22:14pm | Anonymous

This sounds like a well done survey, but I wonder what wildlife "other than birds" survey repsonders want to learn about. In my visits to Glacier NP in the last two years, people went gaga over the megafauna. In Acadia, the biggest terrestrial animal may be a beaver (although I thought I saw a bobcat). Ranger Anne told us that there aren't even any moose or bears there.

Reader Participation Day: Should Rangers Cite, or Merely Warn, Visitors For Their Wrongs?

Oct 12th - 20:25pm | CharlieR

I think park regulations should be strictly and uniformly enforced by citation, with the amount depending on the severity of the infraction. When people are pretty certain that their ignoring of park rules will result in a fine, they will exhibit much better behavior.

Bison That Charged Yellowstone National Park Visitors Was Provoked

Oct 12th - 19:25pm | CharlieR

We just returned from nine days in Yellowstone, and I can tell you that unfortunately there were several similar incidents of tourist stupidity, although none that we saw that resulted in injury to the persons involved.

Reader Participation Day: Can We Afford to Save All Historic Lodges in National Parks?

Oct 12th - 12:37pm | y_p_w

Gary Shive:

Oct 12th - 11:34am | Gary Shive

"Do we desecrate the memorial and the watery graves of those heroes by razing the Arizona to prevent such a disaster?" Absolutely not! Some of the best minds in America can clearly find a method for removing the oil from a mere 30ft of water, especially if they can top off an oil well at 30,000 feet.

What's in the Water? Scientist Honored for Work at Crater Lake National Park

Oct 12th - 12:29pm | Anonymous

My early memory of visiting old Crater Lake Lodge and the Garfield Peak Trail during the 1961-64 period is marked by the horrible odor/stench of the Lodge's overflowing septic system below the beginning portion of the Garfield Pk. Trail. No one has any estimate how many thousands of gallons of Lodge septic sewerage

National Park Hospitality Association Wants More Lodging In The Parks

Oct 12th - 11:30am | y_p_w

Lynn:

Oct 12th - 11:25am | y_p_w

Adam: The problem is that concessioners who lease out lodges or campgrounds inflate prices. Remember when campsites were only 5 or 10 dollars max? and now, In Quinault where I live, campground fees can be as much as 25 dollars for a campsite. Concessioners are thieves, always were and will always be.

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