With the approach of Christmas and New Year's, some people remain undecided about what to do and where to go for the holidays. Here are a few suggestions for year-end national park vacations that are likely to result in some lasting memories.
For those who see the national parks as being preserved time immemorial under gigantic bell jars, there is evidence that each succeeding generation makes an imprint or two on the parks. It wasn't too terribly long ago, for instance, that you climbed into the bleachers to watch the bear buffets in Yellowstone National Park, or that the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon National Park had separate dining areas for men and women.
Comparatively few people think of visiting national parks during the winter months, and that's unfortunate for a variety of reasons. Not only does this season present an entirely different view of the parks than the one you normally experience during spring and summer, but lodging typically is less expensive, as the following offers demonstrate.
Tamarisk, or salt cedar, is a highly invasive plant that has caused plenty of problems in the West. A test project to control the pest with the tamarisk leaf beetle has been underway since 2001 in parts of the country, but a few of the beetles have turned up unexpectedly in the upper end of the Grand Canyon. Will this prove to be a case of "Oh, my," or "Oh, me"?
Frivolous calls to 911 centers are a growing problem all across the country, but when the call comes from a remote location in Grand Canyon National Park, both the expense and risks of an emergency response increase dramatically. A group of hikers recently activated their SPOT device not once, not twice, but three times on the same trip.
Sure, you know what can be found in this or that park, but do you what things aren’t found there? Take this quiz and find out. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we’ll tattle on you.
Many national parks have historic lookouts that are, or should be, listed on the National Historic Lookouts Register. Visitors who know where to look can see lots of splendid examples.
A trail reconstruction project on the South Kaibab Trail at Grand Canyon National Park has led to some changes in mule trips at the park. The overnight trip to Phantom Ranch is not affected, but the day trip to Plateau Point has been replaced by a ride to an overlook featuring a view with a classic Grand Canyon name: The Abyss.
There's still plenty of time to visit the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Officials say vehicle access to the North Rim will be possible until the end of November...or heavy snowfall.
In the days before interstate highways made travel faster—and usually a lot less interesting—a road trip to some popular NPS sites included a drive on at least part of Route 66. Fans of the historic highway now have a great new resource for information about the famous route.
If there's a great place to study earth science in the National Park System, certainly Grand Canyon National Park would be near, if not at, the top of the list. And if you head to Grand Canyon in mid-October, you'll be able to study earth science with the rangers and staff.
Schools in isolated national parks have a tough time attracting and retaining good teachers. This makes it all the more remarkable that the National Rural Teacher of the Year is an art teacher in the school district serving Grand Canyon National Park.
SPOT units are compact communication devices that can be used to summon help in event of an emergency in remote areas. SPOT can be a life-saving tool, but false alarms by inept users can also be a problem. Recent incidents in two parks illustrate the potential and the pitfalls of modern technology.
Call it a slow news day, but those heeding the call of nature no doubt will be pleased to hear that new vault toilets are being installed along Desert View Drive on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. And the restrooms at Desert View are being renovated as well!
Camping in the national parks is a lot of fun, and so is this quiz. Answers are at the end. If we catch you peeking, we’ll make you explain the modern-day appeal of backcountry camping in the context of the classic three-stage Pastoral Retreat model elucidated by literary historian Leo Marx.
A slow, methodical search of the canyon-riddled backcountry in Grand Canyon National Park continues to come up empty in the search for a 43-year-old North Carolina man thought to have descended below the South Rim around August 31.
Additional resources have been added in the search for a 43-year-old North Carolina man thought to be missing at Grand Canyon National Park. Park officials are seeking the assistance of anyone who has visited the park within the last week and might have information on his whereabouts.
Work is underway at Grand Canyon National Park's South Rim to help ease traffic congestion, but "progress" will mean a detour and parking changes for the next few days. Here's what you need to know if you're visiting the South Rim this week.
Slipping from the top of the arch into the abyss below was a difficult move that rattled my psyche. Even though the sandstone band I was perched on was not much more than 4 feet wide, it was stable. Putting my faith into the rope cinched to my climbing harness and dropping into the 100-foot void went completely against my desire for self-preservation.
A longstanding problem for fisheries in the Upper Colorado River Basin is the competing demands for water. It's needed for irrigation, it's needed to generate power, and it's needed, not surprisingly, to sustain fisheries. With drought a frequent visitor to the states of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, how that huge watershed is cooperatively managed is critical for all these demands.
Any career which involves regular contact with the "general public" includes situations which put the employee's sense of humor to a serious test. Those oft-envied park ranger jobs are no exception, as illustrated by the following story related to me years ago by a fellow ranger at Grand Canyon National Park.
The Park Service has introduced a satellite population of humpback chub into a Colorado River tributary. Time will tell if this translocation project and related recovery efforts can halt this endangered fish’s slow drift toward extinction.
August, thanks to its hot and humid nature in the political capital of the universe, Washington, D.C., usually is the time politicians head to the hinterlands. And while most presidents see the month as their own opportunity to escape the bluster and fury of Washington, President Obama decided to take the opportunity not to flee the spotlight, but take it with him on his windshield tours of Yellowstone and Grand Canyon national parks.
If you plan to be in either Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Parks next weekend, you may want to count on a little extra traffic. The first family plans to join you.
Have you ever had the itch to fly over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter? Do you want a bird's eye view of Crater Lake? Or do you believe the airspace over national parks should be reserved strictly for, well, the birds?
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