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Greening the Parks: A Former Brownfield is Converted to a Lakefront Gem at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Nov 16th - 02:37am | Lone Hiker

I'm probably preachin' to the choir here Bob, as you're most likely aware of the fact that throughout much of the 1800's, the burgeoning "village" of Chicago was committing that very environmental holocaust by utilizing the Chicago River as their residential and industrial waste transport system.

Nov 15th - 10:34am | Bob Janiskee

Lone Hiker makes a very good point about water quality issues, which seem intractable. I would only add that Lake Michigan can't be described very well in generalities.

Nov 15th - 09:05am | Lone Hiker

Having been a frequent visitor / explorer of the area (and this site) in years past, the terms "marvelous" and "miracle" are even an understatement of the transformation of this once industrial dump site. The local shoreline is indeed a precious resource with unique, sweeping vistas spanning the greater Chicagoland metroplex to the west and the shores of Michigan to the east.

That Ringing Heard by Backcountry Visitors in Glacier National Park Wasn't in Their Ears

Nov 15th - 22:44pm | Anonymous

Pardon my ignorance, but why would the ringing of the bell be considered inappropriate?

Nov 15th - 20:36pm | Rick Smith

Bob-- Please do not mention "age". It is a subject I would like to ignore. Rick Smith

Nov 15th - 17:29pm | Bob Janiskee

Your age is showing, Rick. Yosemite's firefall was discontinued in 1968! Thanks for jogging my memory. I've got an article on the firefall in my "Gone But Not Forgotten" queue.

Nov 15th - 17:24pm | Rick Smith

Jim--

This Park Wins the "Most Visits by a President" Award

Nov 15th - 19:51pm | marylander

The park was absolutely stunning this year for the fall foliage! We brought our kids and dogs for 3 weekends in a row to enjoy the leaves. The trails are easy enough for hiking strollers, too! Extra bonus

Yellowstone National Park Releases Winter-Use Proposal

Nov 15th - 09:10am | jsmacdonald

Yeah, big mess, and no one is sure how to deal with conflicting judicial rulings or how to interpret Brimmer's ruling. Does it mean that if the 318 rule passes that it overrides the ruling or is it an actual order to go back to 720 and start the process over again?

Nov 14th - 18:22pm | Random Walker

Lets see, Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled the plans to allow 540 snowmobiles a day in Yellowstone was not backed by science. So Our Yellowstone National Park decided to allow 318 snowmobiles each day as a good thing. Now a Judge Clarence Brimmer commands Our Yellowstone National Park to up the limit to 720?!? [size=30]ARRRGH![/size]

Our Only Privately-Owned National Park Celebrates a Birthday and a Vital Conservation Easement

Nov 14th - 16:35pm | Bob Janiskee

Chris, I honestly don't know what ought to be done with Steamtown, or what might have been done to make it viable. I just know that it shouldn't have been made a national park.

Nov 13th - 14:55pm | Bugsyshallfall

I wonder if this or a National Herritage model would have worked better for Steamtown, even though it would have made a great State Park not a National one for which it is unsuited.

You Still Can Visit Herman Melville's New Bedford

Nov 14th - 13:52pm | Omar Quadovich

Great Little Article. Got me reinterested in the book once again. I keyed on your "Traveler tip" and found the downloaded version to be quite expensive. Here in the "Most Historic City in America", Fredericksburg, VA. Our library subscribes to "NetLibrary". For the price of a library card (which is usually $0.00) you can download an unabriged, CD quality recording (21 hrs +) of Moby Dick.

President-Elect Obama's Team Hints At Reversing BLM Leasing Decisions in Utah

Nov 14th - 09:39am | JimB

Lone Hiker - An interesting summary of our relationship with the rest of the world in terms of energy, and our overall "energy policy." I agree with much of what you say.

Nov 14th - 09:17am | Lone Hiker

And finally, to the point made by Mr.

Nov 14th - 01:28am | Cookie

I did not intend to imply I "bemoan" foreign travelers. I am just amazed that there are so many more of them than US travelers. We like to camp in or near the parks and have truly enjoyed sharing them with people from all countries.

Nov 13th - 22:26pm | d-2

I fully agree with the insights of Rick and Lone Hiker, and the full respect to all visitors. There is also a lift you can get from the thrill you can see in foreign travelers; they seem to be energized by a freshness in how American the parks are.

Nov 13th - 22:24pm | Anonymous

Lone Hiker: Good points and I myself enjoy the camaraderie of those hearty foreign visitors. Wow, those Germans and Swiss sure love our mountains and endless miles of hiking trails through our National Parks. I love there energy and robust attitude towards the great outdoors. The more the better attitude!

Nov 13th - 20:43pm | Lone Hiker

In the past I've made mention of my interactions with the various manner of person who choose to "indulge" themselves on the road less traveled, such as those I frequent.

Nov 13th - 11:56am | Rick Smith

Cookie--

Nov 13th - 10:17am | Cookie

This refers to use of BLM land, not National Parks land. In my area (Nevada) BLM land is being taken constantly for housing, retail and manufacturing. Is drilling more obtrusive (noisy, smelly, brightly lit) than that?

Nov 11th - 15:14pm | JimB

One of our major problems is that we've never had a truly viable and comprehensive national energy plan. I'm not interested in which label is attached to the party currently in power, nor in the personalities, but I am interested in the results.

Flooding Forces Closure of Mount Rainier National Park

Nov 14th - 01:31am | Justin

You can thank the tree-huggers for the flooding shown in the picture. The park wanted to clear the Kautz Creek channel just upstream from the bridge after the last event to ensure that the river stayed in-channel and protected the infrastructure, but the misguided enviros stopped 'em with all their EIS paperwork. So now, the taxpayer will probably have to pay to fix the road again.

Recalling Yellowstone National Park's Historic 1988 Fire Season

Nov 13th - 23:04pm | Anonymous

im doing a report on the fire of 1988 in Yellowstone and this artical reallys helps.

At Big Thicket National Preserve, a Combative Drug Dealer Changes His Mind When Ranger Stafford Shows Him His Taser

Nov 13th - 21:43pm | JimB

Brandon - Well said!

Nov 13th - 18:30pm | Brandon

I think the main topic of the story has only been briefly touched on. These offenders were on National park service property, property that tax payers pay for in order to hike, canoe and share time at the beach with their family and friends. Law Enforcement rangers make sure that the park remains a place where people want to bring their families.

Fifty Year Ago Today, Warren Harding and His Buddies Conquered “Unclimbable” El Capitan

Nov 13th - 16:10pm | Bob Janiskee

Fascinating stuff, Owen. Thanks for clarification. I've tweaked the title and abstract.

Nov 13th - 15:34pm | pkrnger

Bob, Here is what I was able to find in writing online at http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/features/batso/index6.html "The Life of Warren "Batso" Harding" by Burr Sneider (orignially published in the SF Examiner's Image Magazine, March 9, 1986):

Nov 13th - 14:35pm | Bob Janiskee

I haven't heard that version before. The way I heard it is that Harding got the nickname Batso because he could hang from a rock wall "like a bat." The Dustin Hoffman character in the movie Midnight Cowboy went by the name "Ratso," which is phonetically similar. Can anybody out there clear this one up?

Nov 13th - 12:01pm | pkrnger

One small point, 50 years ago Warren Harding was not known as "Batso". This is a nickname supposedly ascribed to Warren sometime after the film "Midnight Cowboy" was released in 1969. Owen Hoffman Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Nov 13th - 08:57am | Bob Janiskee

Rick, your comments suggest that you don't consider that initial ascent a cut and dried example of unethical climbing. If that's your opinion, I agree with you.

Nov 12th - 22:20pm | Rick Smith

Warren Harding and his partner, Dean Caldwell, completed another epic climb on El Cap's Wall of the Early Morning Light. This multi-day climb required the placement of many bolts for protection, something that other climbers felt was not "pure climbing". The second ascent of the route was completed by Royal Robbins and his partner, Don Lauria.

Zion National Park Planning To "Rehabilitate" Mount Carmel Highway

Nov 13th - 13:58pm | JimB

Here's a short excerpt about the project, which I find encouraging: Pavement rehabilitation would likely involve in-place recycling of the existing deteriorated pavement, followed by an overlay of new asphalt paving. The new pavement would later be covered with a red cinder chip-seal.

Nov 13th - 11:56am | Lone Hiker

While this section pavement is truly a Road to Nowhere, as the "development" east of the tunnel along Hwy. 9 will verify, I'm as guilty as anybody of utilizing it as a pass-through to Bryce.

Nov 13th - 11:12am | Kurt Repanshek

True indeed, the railroads exerted enormous pressure in the formative years of the National Park System to see that roads linked railheads to parks, that lodges be built so those passengers would have somewhere to sleep and eat once they reached the parks.

Nov 12th - 22:59pm | JimB

Frank – Although I certainly respect the high regard you hold for areas such as parks, Vince has a good grasp of the political realities involved in setting those areas aside in the first place – along with the even more pressing realities confronting those areas today. A broad constituency will become more critical than ever if our parks are to survive.

Nov 12th - 18:48pm | Vince M

The presence of roads in our national parks is the primary - if not the only - way that most people visit them. Without visitors, the parks would have little constituency. Without a constituency, the parks would be overrun by those would would destroy them.

Nov 12th - 13:22pm | Kurt Repanshek

So Frank, is it not also hypocritical to call for the Mount Carmel Road to revert to its "former road-less condition" and yet use a computer, drive to work, and take advantage of all the latest technologies and conveniences of today's world? On one hand you seem to detest all infrastructure in parks, and yet have no qualms about using that infrastructure outside the parks.

Nov 12th - 10:16am | Kurt Repanshek

Hey Buzzman, not to worry, no plans to change the gradients or switchbacks. And I'd bet the red asphalt will remain as well. I don't think it costs significantly more. More pullouts would be nice, though not sure where to squeeze them in....

Nov 12th - 10:11am | buzzman

Having just visited beautiful Zion and having driven on this road in Oct 2008, it was easy to see that the road has been repaired and patched a lot and needs to be re-surfaced. But I think the switch backs and steep grades should remain. I drove a small RV, a pick-up truck camper, and didn't have any problems. The switch backs and steep grades add to the character of the place.

Election 2008: Fearless Forecasts, Foregone Conclusions, and Prescient Prognostications

Nov 13th - 06:14am | Sabattis

When it comes to Steamtown, I'd endorse another left-leaning policy.... "Mend It, Don't End It..."

New River Gorge Bridge Hosted 1,062 BASE Jumps on Bridge Day, and Jumpers Say that is Not Nearly Enough

Nov 12th - 19:32pm | Jason Bell

This was one of the better Bridge Day stories I read this year. Great job and excellent research. I'm the Bridge Day BASE Jumping Coordinator since 2002 and it appears that we're finally making some progress in obtain additional jumping days from this bridge (despite NPS being against it). Hopefully, BASE jumpers and the NPS can work together in the future. Thanks. -BASE #428

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historical Site Commemorates a Great Achievement in Early Transportation

Nov 12th - 18:48pm | Bob Janiskee

Wow, Mike; that's some interesting genealogy! Having a connection like that will make your visit very special -- something to really look forward to.

Nov 12th - 14:43pm | Mike

My great-great-uncle died in the boiler explosion at incline plane #6 in 1852. He would have been 22 yoa. I would very much like to visit the area and see the park.

Arches National Park Finds Its Birthday Overshadowed By Drilling Concerns

Nov 12th - 16:43pm | SaltSage236

This is all the more tragic because you can already see oil wells from famous vistas within Arches. Spend some time at the Windows at night, look west toward Canyonlands, and lo and behold, it's very easy to spot flames from two or three flaring oil wells that sit just off the highway to Canyonlands' Island in the Sky District.

A Bison Roundup and a Birthday Celebration Make for Busy Times at Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Nov 11th - 16:20pm | Bogator

My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting the south unit of this park on 9/15-16 and it is indeed a beautiful park. I find it to be much more colorful than Badlands NP with a lot more wildlife. We are from Florida and we were on a month-long trip with our main destination being Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone NP. Our main purpose of visiting Roosevelt was to see wild (feral) horses.

Crews Remove Garbage From Marijuana Farms in Sequoia National Park

Nov 11th - 15:59pm | johnnyunger15

I will agree with your argument that moonshine is just as bad for one if not worse than someone growing marijuana and if marijuana were legal than people would not be growing it on forestry lands. Moonshine is illegal, just as marijuana is illegal and marijuana is harmful to the human body just as alcohol is.

New Solar Power System Puts This Park in the Forefront of Alternative Energy Use

Nov 11th - 15:51pm | GlenW

Good postings all. Hope this page gets a lot of visits.

23,110 Candles -- One for Each Soldier Killed, Wounded, or Missing

Nov 11th - 15:44pm | Stephen

I have done the Illumination tour twice before, and it is truly an awesome sight - you will be left breathless. To think that each light represents one soul...it sends chills. I highly recommend that you go if you are able! Once when I went, there were several "vignettes" of living history reenactors scattered across the field...I've often wondered if all the scenes were "real".

Mammoth Cave National Park Adding Hiking, Biking Trail

Nov 11th - 15:22pm | StuCrew

We spent the wonderful fall color change during the first week in November biking the new Railroad Trail. The article with pics can be found at www.Adventure-Space.com.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

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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.