For the last 31 years, Yosemite Park Ranger Laurel Boyers has had your dream job. She's been working for the park, patrolling and managing the wilderness backcountry of Yosemite. In a few days, she'll retire. Our story links to a WildeBeat audio program.
Phil Frank, the author of the comic strip 'Farley' which appears in the San Francisco Chronicle, has died. Only days earlier, he had announced his retirement from the newspaper. Frank had been suffering from a brain tumor. He was 64.
Death is the final appointment we can't avoid, the one we most regret. And yet we're fascinated with tragic deaths such as those that occur in the parks. Indeed, posts on this site about deaths in the parks draw large readership. For those fascinated by such stories, Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite is a must-read.
Earlier this summer we ran a list of the Top 10 Lodges in the park system. Admittedly it's a "soft" list, one that definitely is not objective. But what some might find objectionable are the nightly costs for staying in some of these places.
Unseasonably dry conditions are believed to be behind bear problems in both Grand Teton and Yosemite national parks this year, according to officials in those parks.
I was inspired recently to write an article about the problems drugs bring to the parks when I visited Olympic National Park earlier this summer. As recreational visitors to the national parks, we may not be aware of the battle behind the scenes to keep drugs out of the parks. I was told a story by a long-time law enforcement ranger that surprised me, and made me realize the burden to the resource they represent.
Check out this strange picture. At first glance, it looks like a fake, as if someone has edited out the waterfall. It's the real deal though, Yosemite Falls has dried up this summer. The dry weather has produced a fire hazard this season in Yosemite.
The long list of projects and programs for the National Park Service Centennial Initiative has been announced today. Secretary Kempthorne and Director Bomar shared the details of the plan for a crowd of reporters in Yosemite National Park.
Though much of the news involving national parks and marijuana plantations has been focused on Sequoia National Park, a bust the other day in Yosemite shows that that park has some pretty fertile ground for pot as well.
Generations of Americans got their first taste of national parks via car camping, that venerable tradition of driving to a park and setting up a tent or two in a roadside campground. That genre of park visitation seems to be slipping these days, though, and at least one car camping veteran blames it on economics -- there's more money to be made in lodgings than campgrounds.
Parks are famous as travel destinations, but for many of us, they represent more than just a road-trip. This fall, rock-climbers in Yosemite, backcountry hikers in Olympic, and students in Kentucky and Tennessee are gathering together in their favorite parks to give back to the places which have provided so much for them. You are welcome to join in.
It's been a week since an 80-year-old hiker vanished in Yosemite's backcountry, and officials are scaling back the search for her. While they're not giving up entirely, search officials say they have to weigh the risks searchers are being exposed to against the likelihood of finding Ottorina Bonaventura.
Search and rescue season is heating up in the parks, with rangers having to respond to a visitor who fell off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and one lost in Yosemite.
Camera in hand, adventure seekers are sharing their experiences in Yosemite National Park with the world via YouTube. Three videos here, hang gliding over the valley, a 3000 foot slackline attempt (like a tight rope walk), and a hike up Half Dome with hundreds of other folks. Of the three, the crowds at Half Dome give me the most chills.
Ever wonder what the most visited parks in the system are? How about least visited? The NPS office of statistics answers this question once a year with an ordered, ranked table cataloging recreation visits to each of the NPS managed units across the USA. So, what is the most visited park? Read on for the answer.
It's only a snapshot, but I'm told that visitation in Yosemite, Glacier, and Yellowstone national parks is on the upswing this year. Exactly why, as usual, is a good question.
Slender as a reed with dainty yellow flowers, the plant was first spied in Yosemite back in 1923. It then seemingly vanished, as its habitat wasn't rediscovered until 1993. However, it wasn't until just recently that botanists knew exactly what they had.
National Geographic's Adventure Magazine has created a list of the 5 best parks in 7 different categories; hiking, paddling, wildlife viewing, trekking, driving, climbing and lodges. Did they get it right?
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle is worth reading if you have been considering the day hike up Yosemite's Half Dome. Climbing on the weekends in summer can be crowded.
Ahh, you have to love Americans' capitalistic tendencies. I mean, where else can you spit in the face of someone hoping to enjoy a low-cost stay in a national park by reserving a $20 campsite in Yosemite National Park and then putting it up for auction for $249 on Ebay?
Under pressure from the gateway towns surrounding Yosemite, Director Bomar agreed to spike the proposed increase in the park's entrance fee, from $20 to $25.
It's been a rough few days in the national parks. A three-day search in Mount Rainier has led to the discovery of the body of a missing hiker, while in Yosemite another hiker has died while trying to negotiate Half Dome.
Just in time for summer's backpacking and camping season, The Last Season has arrived in paperback. I reviewed this book a year ago shortly after it hit the market in a hardcover-edition and it's well-worth your time if you like a true-life mystery involving a legendary backcountry ranger in Kings Canyon National Park.
While there are many national park guidebooks out there that include sections on lodging, they don't always cover every possibility, and if they do, it's often just in passing. The solution just might be "The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges," ($18.95 MSRP) a comprehensive, almost encyclopedic, book by David and Kay Scott that launched its fifth edition earlier this year.
As Adams was a master with film, Moran was a master with canvas. Perhaps the definitive biography of Thomas Moran, this book traces his upbringing, his introduction to art, and his time spent in the parks.
Recent comments
51 min 17 sec ago
52 min 39 sec ago
1 hour 18 min ago
1 hour 35 min ago
1 hour 38 min ago
1 hour 56 min ago
2 hours 9 min ago
2 hours 36 min ago
2 hours 38 min ago
2 hours 40 min ago