| Page 1505 | National Parks Traveler

Well, Sabattis, I think it might take some more research on our part to get the exact answer. Unless we know for sure that the no-repeat rule has been in play since the first list was generated, we can't be sure that there weren't at least a few repeat winners of the #1 ranking. It's possible that Dr.

May 27th - 21:15pm | Sabattis

Well, I believe it should actually only be 27. 17 winners from previous years can all claim a permanent "top beach" ranking, along with the 10 beaches on this year's list.

May 27th - 20:02pm | Bob Janiskee

No offense taken, Sabattis. (And anyway, I've been married 44 years and am quite used to punishment.) How did you derive that total of 28 beaches that can claim to be top-tenners?

May 27th - 18:55pm | Sabattis

Hi Bob - I do hope that you don't take it personally. I'm obviously only here because I enjoy the blog, but my personality does often trend towards being the resident gadfly. Thanks for explaining the "retirement rule" on this List - so I guess that means that there are only 28 beaches that can claim to be on the "Top 10 Beaches in America" list... Not so bad, I guess...

May 27th - 12:29pm | Rangertoo

I cannot understand why he includes beaches in the Hamptons. Beaches open only to residents and not to the general public. At least all NPS areas are open the whole pblic. Hard to beat the beaches of Cumberland Island and Fire Island that are free from roads and parking lots.

May 27th - 08:28am | Kris

I'm no expert, but my only argument here is that CHNS deserves to be higher up on the list! Where else can you find such an unspoiled, fragile ecosystem? Perfect vacation spot. Dreaming of the day I retire to a quiet cottage in the shadows of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse... I'm open to offers to take a B&B off a frazzled innkeeper's hands as well! :)

May 27th - 07:39am | Stephen L Martin

Add this to my list of "must do before too much longer." I feel so deprived. ;-)

May 27th - 07:12am | Bob Janiskee

Sabattis, it seems like every time I turn around I find you yanking my chain. :o) OK, here's the deal with that "no-repeat" rule. A beach that attains the number one ranking is retired from the list. Ocracoke Island's Lifeguard Beach was ranked number one in 2007, so the no-repeat rule rendered it ineligible for consideration this year.

May 27th - 06:46am | Sabattis

No doubt that Cape Hatteras has some great beaches - but if "Dr. Beach" has a "no repeat" rule - doesn't that meant that there are about 180 beachs out there now that can claim to be one of the Nation's "Top 10 Beaches'?

National Park Quiz 4: Beaches

May 28th - 14:13pm | MRC

If you don't want to spoil the fun, please use different file names for the picture, accompanying the quizzes. The picture's name gives away the answer to one of the questions. Same last time with the bridges. And the file name is shown in Firefox browser whenever your mouse is over the image.

May 28th - 07:22am | Bob Janiskee

I've fixed the problem by deleting the "super bonus" question #12. Thank you very kindly for spotting that error. BTW, perhaps you can tell me why Lowell's river swimming beach was closed for a time. My notes indicate that it was "reopened" in 1996.

May 28th - 07:09am | PsL

Not to be a dud, but the river swimming is not in or administerd by Lowell NHP. It is property of Massachusetts DCR and staffed by the City of Lowell Parks and Recreation.

May 28th - 06:36am | Sabattis

Good, tough quiz. I got 8 out of 12. I would have thought with the Ft. Pickens road being down at Gulf Islands NS that they would have permitted ORV access there - but I guess not.

Traveler's View: Concealed Weapons Have No Place In Our National Park System

May 27th - 19:21pm | Kurt Repanshek

Neil, If you've been reading the Traveler long enough to have it on your homepage, you should have recognized a long time ago where I stood on concealed weapons in the parks, not too mention recreational snowmobiles in Yellowstone, and PWCs in some areas. At the same time, I guess it shows that not all of the articles on the site are "worthless drivel."

May 27th - 18:16pm | CAF

Paula, Are you saying that you are already taking your concealed weapon w/you while you are currently going into the back country hiking , camping and hiking? So be it . From what I understand you never had a so called right to have your concealed weapon w/ you but that didnt stop you ... what is it about this proposed legislation that would alter your already established behavior/choices?

May 27th - 18:12pm | Neil

Thanks for being honest Kurt...I called you out on the carpet and you showed your true colors. Now I (and from the comments over half the others) can remove your liberal slant from my homepage and be done with your worthless drivel.

May 27th - 15:05pm | Rangertoo

Would that be the backcountry of George Roagers Clark NHP? the backcountry of the Saint Loius Arch? The backcountry of the Statue of Liberty? The backcountry of Martin Luther King, Jr.? Get real. Not all parks are wild natural areas. Do we really want guns in Lincoln's Home or at Kennedy Birthplace?

May 27th - 14:26pm | Anonymous

Speaking about carrying guns in the back country. I had a dear friend who was a naturalist ranger for Sequoia National Park, once confronted me with a real Scary Larry scenario in the back regions of the park. After a day's heavy hiking and ready to bed down for the night, he suddenly hears this drunken boisterous talk about shooting the place up.

May 27th - 13:51pm | Fred Miller

Nicely said Paula !! Don't forget to post your comments SUPPORTING the change of firearms regulations !!

May 27th - 12:42pm | pjtyler1928

I am a single women and I love going into the National Parks. I love going into the back country, hiking and camping. If I can not carry my concealed weapon... (which I carry for my personal protection)... I would not use the Park System at all. I would not be paying entrence fees to enjoy America.

May 27th - 10:44am | Bill Wade

Kurt - thank you for your principled position on this issue.

May 26th - 22:58pm | Fred Miller

Kurt - I can see where you spent a HUGE amount of time on this article. Your love for our National Parks is blazingly obvious. Where do you find the time? Do you sleep? Although we disagree strongly on this issue, I commend your tireless efforts to make your case known. You may have forgotten that the NRA has actually been working on this issue for more than five years:

May 26th - 14:22pm | RangerTyler

"The constitutions of most of our States assert that all power is inherent in the people...that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed." --Thomas Jefferson

May 26th - 10:32am | Gary Turenr

I enjoyed reading your column until this staunch view. I support concealed permits and carrying them into any back country in the US. I will now delete the feed from my homepage.

May 26th - 08:47am | Anonymous

It just proves how dumb the people in Washington DC really are. This has to be the dumbest thing that I ever heard come out of that town yet. The National Parks to me are one of the last places in this country that we can take our children on a safe vaction.

May 26th - 07:36am | Anonymous

Wow. Nothing like anti-gun hysteria backed with false statistics and groundless claims of doom and gloom. It seems that you have clearly fallen victim to the political pandering of none other than the Brady Bunch. You should rename this webzine to National Parks Sheepdog. You certainly have staked your claim as leader of the sheep in the National Park System.

Rare Letters Stolen From Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace By Historian Recovered

May 27th - 10:07am | amwdew

Wow, this gives historians a bad name! And Theodore Roosevelt had their collection in a vault, no less. Meanwhile, at Blue Ridge Parkway, it has taken years to get the archives into a safe place with proper climate control, security, and organization.

Creature Feature: The American Marten

May 27th - 07:43am | Stephen L Martin

All this time, and with a fairly interested view of wildlife, and I've never even heard of this animal before. Color me deprived.

May 27th - 05:45am | seo services

If this animal is rare then i think you should protect it.........

May 27th - 02:14am | Andrew.Nystrom

Great info, Chance. You make a sighting sound very unlikely, but I spotted one in Yellowstone last week during a book update research trip, in broad daylight, scampering into the cozy confines of the rafters of the "Old House" section of the Old Faithful Inn.

National Park Entrance Fees Frozen at 2007 Levels

May 27th - 07:37am | Stephen L Martin

I suspect it won't matter that rates are kept the same if visitors are down due to these exploding gasoline prices. I do know that less visitors mean less revenue means less ability to maintain that which is there.

May 26th - 15:19pm | Kitty Benzar

National Parks are not an "entertainment option" like movies, sports, or dining. They are the birthright and heritage of every American and must be kept affordable so all Americans who want to can visit them. Just because $25 is not a lot of money to you does not mean everyone is so comfortable.

May 25th - 18:53pm | Sabattis

More bad news for the Parks, as sadly politics has gotten in the way of raising entrance fees to reasonable levels. For example, 3.5 million people visited Yosemite last year. An extra $5 per car entrance, could easily mean an extra couple million dollars (obviously, many of those people traveled in groups, and others used passes like the America the Beautiful Pass).

Bear #399, And Other Grizzlies, Are On the Prowl In Grand Teton National Park

May 26th - 22:48pm | Richard

What a legend these bears have become. It's so great and I feel so fortunate to have seen them last week. I was in Grand Teton National Park on a guided tour. Taylor with EcoTour Adventures was our guide. He was so informative about the area which really added to our trip.. Any way we were in the north part of the park and we saw momma 399 send her cubs off on there own.

Is the National Park Service Obligated to Better Promote Proposed Change in Gun Regulations?

May 25th - 10:45am | Caf

being that this is the election count down, does this have anything to do with a kind of holding back on promoting more public response/attention.... god forbid if the candidates have to address( make a decision) the regulations/ or a change of such !!!!

May 25th - 08:20am | Sabattis

The answer to the title of this post is quite simple - actually. The answer is "no", the NPS is not obligated to better promote proposed change in gun regulations.

National Park Quiz 3: Bridges

May 25th - 10:20am | Kurt Repanshek

Why, that would be the bridge that spans the Colorado River at the bottom of the South Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park.

May 25th - 08:21am | Sabattis

BTW - in what Park *is* that bridge in the photo?

National Park System Benefits From Omnibus Natural Resources Bill

May 25th - 08:14am | Sabattis

Omnibus bills are often a mish-mash of things, and despite the fact that the Section D on "Memorials, Commissions, and Museums" is included under Title III - National Park Service Authorization, many of the provisions of Title III, Section D don't actually impact the National Park Service.

Is Your Backcountry Safety Net A Personal Locator Beacon or Cell Phone?

May 24th - 13:32pm | Fred Miller

You tell 'em dtroutma !!

May 24th - 11:39am | dtroutma

PLBs will attain the same status as 911 operators, called routinely to give baking instructions or time of day. The good part of cell phones is that in much of the remote west, you may have six square feet of "coverage" in 2,000 square miles of desert.

May 24th - 08:24am | Hypermommy

Thanks for a great article. It's been featured on the front page of my website, http://www.scoutingwiththemouse.com (of course, with full credit given to you as the source) becuase I think this is very important information for folks to know.

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