I love the Merced river valley in Yosemite for its deep clear pools, calm power, and the meanders.

The riparian botany there is unique and beautiful. Little I've known compares to a (prohibited) night under the stars in 'the meadows.' Or a misty morning walk through the dogwood blossoms.

West of the park the rapids seem unnavigable and are truly impressive - again, that power, but with a speed not seen in the Valley.

There seems to be a never-ending dispute re for whom our National Parks exist, visitors or flora and fauna. I think they are there to preserve in as pristine a condition ancient sites for viewing by as many visitors as possible within guidelines. I'd like to see these paying guests required to undergo a formal introduction to each park and sign a form stating that they understood the orientation's safety, courtesy, and environmental protocols and the reasons for them.

If that seems extreme... In 1950, when I was still seven years old, I was fortunate to visit the wonder that was Yosemite. We stayed in large, square wood-framed tents, much like those in MASH, except that they were white--anyway, they seemed spacious to me at that age. We returned in 1960 to find cabins for rent occupying the landscape, together with parking lots, and people swarming all around. I never want to go back.

When my girls were young, our favorite spring break destination was the Fort Pickens National Park on Santa Rosa Island, off Pensacola, FL. It was quiet, safe, clean, and blessed with spacious campsite. We returned in 1999, for nostalgia's sake, for an overnight visit on the way to Miami to catch a flight to Panama so they could see where I'm from. That's another place I won't be revisiting. It was littered, as can only happen when too many insensitive "guests" are cramped together so that you are virtually sharing your meals and conversations with your neighbors. The feeling of being IN nature and history, as with Yosemite, was gone, as was that of being safe as the clientelle seemed to have devolved as much as the park itself.

When I finally got to Mesa Verde and revisited the Grand Canyon a few years ago, I was horrified how masses of visitors had impacted these sites. I think the park service does a disservice by allowing commercial intrusions AT ALL and by not limiting access to these parks, although they do off special permits for experienced backpackers and scientists to traverse particularly pristine and sensitive areas. Wanna go to a national park???? Plan ahead...years ahead. Everybody could get to their park(s) of choice and experience them as they have been (or were) for centuries, and learn a thing or two about the value of conservation and what human "progress" has spawned.