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Three Canyoneers Survive Flash Flood in Zion National Park

Jul 26th - 14:01pm | Justin

I was in a group of four that descended Lodge Canyon the same day. The three men from Las Vegas gave us a ride up to the start of our hike, which shares a trailhead with Spry canyon. We were at the last final repel of our canyon when Lodge flashed. I am very happy to hear that they survived and I wish them a speedy recovery.

Bison That Charged Yellowstone National Park Visitors Was Provoked

Jul 26th - 12:28pm | y_p_w

yellowstone fan: They were way too close but that stick or what ever it was came from the animals head either from the ground or the tree he was by. They broke the rules on distance but the stick wasn't "thrown" by anyone but the animal!

Jul 26th - 08:22am | Bob Janiskee

I lived in Germany -- and drove the highways and byways -- for several years in the mid-1960s. Back then, most of the Polizei vehicles were green VWs. I can assure you that the police-grade Tootengefunkenthinge installed in those VWs was not wimpy at all. It was the vehicle itself that was the wimp.

Jul 26th - 08:08am | Toni B

I believe the "absolutely true!" part, but is there really such thing as a tootengefunkenthingen?

Jul 24th - 14:26pm | y_p_w

http://www.nps.gov/yell/photosmultimedia/safetyvideos.htm

Jul 24th - 12:18pm | melrob

My stars, how can people be so stupid. I saw the stick that someone threw at the buffalo. What did they think would happen. The buffalo was provoked in that video, they normally do not attack unless they are provoked in any way shape or form.

Jul 23rd - 19:08pm | yellowstone fan

They were way too close but that stick or what ever it was came from the animals head either from the ground or the tree he was by. They broke the rules on distance but the stick wasn't "thrown" by anyone but the animal!

Jul 23rd - 14:57pm | Anonymous

Reminds me of when I was walking alone on the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake and decided to climb the bank and go back to the lodge. There was a small herd of bison. Thanks to the park's warnings about not getting close, I was able to duck back down without getting a stir out of them. Wild animals should always be considered wild.

North Dakota is Still on My Bucket List

Jul 26th - 09:57am | Bogator

Bob, let me encourage you to follow your wishes and get to North Dakota. In 2008, my wife and I traveled westward the entire width of North Dakota on I-94. There were miles & miles of prairie as far as the eye can see. There was the National Buffalo Museum, Frontier Village and beautiful Jamestown College (not to mention the world's largest buffalo) to see.

Jul 26th - 09:35am | jessstryker

Bob,

Smokey the Bear Campaign Enters the 21st Century!

Jul 26th - 09:57am | tomp

I hate to get back to the content of the article (I'm firmly on the side of "no the"!), but did the numbers of acres burned per year dropping from 22 million in 1944 to 6.5 million strike anyone else? I doubt that Smokey Bear was that effective, and I don't think the big drop was a good thing.

Jul 26th - 08:15am | stormy

OK-this could be the start of a great 'thread'. Here's mine; The La Brea Tar Pits. The literal translation would the 'The the tar tar pits', la brea being Spanish for 'the tar'.

Jul 25th - 19:27pm | Bob Janiskee

Never did hear Tony complain about those. Just out of curiosity, Rangertoo, how many of those examples do you have? You've cited three very good ones already, and I suspect there may be plenty more where those came from.

Jul 25th - 19:19pm | Rangertoo

Bob: Did he feel the same about the Sierra Nevada Mountains or the Rio Grande River?

Jul 25th - 15:17pm | y_p_w

Bob Janiskee: Incidentally, my fussbudget friend was absolutely correct. "Sahara" is the Arabic word for desert, so when someone says Sahara desert, he is saying "desert desert," which is a trifle redundant.

Jul 25th - 14:15pm | Bob Janiskee

I once had a geography professor friend who practically flew into a rage every time he heard somebody say "Sahara desert." He would say, "It's just Sahara, you bloody morons!" We would say "Get a life."

Jul 25th - 14:00pm | stormy

Let's all sing it: Smokey the Bear Smokey the Bear Growlin' & a-prowlin' & a-sniffin' the air He can smell a fire Before it starts to flame That's why they call him Smokey That's how he got his name!

Jul 25th - 13:54pm | PauletteB

Sorry, Rangeroo, but it has nothing to do with being a "purist" and everything to do with being correct. Despite the incorrect lyrics of the song, Smokey's name is and always has been "Smokey Bear," no "the." [Edited for gratuitous remark]

Jul 25th - 09:27am | Rangertoo

You're going to hear from the purists who will tell you it's "Smokey Bear" not "Smokey the Bear."

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Announces Plan to Use Volunteers to Help Cull Elk Herd

Jul 26th - 07:52am | Bob Janiskee

Dan: You'll find the information you need at this site. Good luck.

Jul 25th - 22:39pm | Dan Dillon

Tonight (7/25/2010) the news carried notice of plans to hold the cull in November, but gave no details about the application process. Anybody know any more details?

Boy Scout on Backpacking Trip to Zion National Park Found Dead

Jul 25th - 23:50pm | Ray Bane

The fact that the young man died in the park does not necessarily mean that he died primarily from park related causes. He may have been diabetic. Considering the season dehydration and heat exhaustion would be suspect. Apparently, the troop leaders had not used the buddy system as a safety measure.

Jul 25th - 17:32pm | Anonymous

you are discussing something you know nothing about. I was on the hike with him, he had a buddy, he went off the trail. this was no one's fault.

Jul 25th - 08:35am | Anonymous

What was the cause of death?

Jul 25th - 01:26am | Anonymous

Heard about this while i was in the park I was on that trail the day after he was found. just goes to show that the buddy system is really needed

Jul 23rd - 22:53pm | Anonymously-Yours

Strange. I don't recall that as being a particularly strenuous or dangerous area to hike in.

National Park Service Extends Comment Period on Proposal To Vaccinate Yellowstone Bison

Jul 25th - 17:07pm | Anonymous

If the government is going to vaccinate the Bison at Yellowstone, they also need to do the Elk as well. They carry the same disease as the Bison, but they are not hazed back into the park nor treated in the same manner.

Segway Tours Being Demoed -- At $55 Per Person -- At Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

Jul 25th - 16:53pm | Gail

Took the Segway tour yesterday and it was great! I've toured Spotsylvania several times, by car, bus and walking and never felt more connected to a battlefield. You can cover far more than when you walk and you are "on the ground," so to speak not constantly getting in and out of and car and missing the features in between.

Visit Independence National Historical Park to Listen To Ben Franklin's Musical Invention

Jul 25th - 12:25pm | grayrebel

Obviously, Franklin's glass armonica was not made of water filled dishes. If the whole thing is on its side, the water would run out. Wetting his finger in another dish of water was the key.

Jul 25th - 06:28am | Barky

wild stuff. The man was clever, of that there is no doubt.

National Park Quiz 84: Ringer II

Jul 25th - 11:10am | Bob Janiskee

Nice catch, Rangertoo. I've edited the item to reflect the multiple instances instead of just the Dry Tortugas example I provided. These edits, incidentally, don't change the answer to the "find the ringer" puzzle.

Jul 25th - 10:20am | Rangertoo

Kings Canyon and Sequoia are administered by one superintendent but are two different parks. Arches is overseen by the superintendent of Canyonlands.

Jul 24th - 19:00pm | Bob Janiskee

Anon, you need to read that question more carefully. It refers to a National-Park designated unit of the National Park System. There are only 58 such units in the 392-unit system. The quiz also refers to the Lower 48. None of the NPS units you've listed is a National Park-designated unit, and some of your examples aren't in the Lower 48.

Jul 24th - 18:36pm | Anonymous

Actually lots of NPS units are administered by other parks, or by Superintendents of other parks.

Fall From Tokopah Falls Kills Visitor to Sequoia National Park

Jul 25th - 01:52am | Joel

The sad thing here is that a little common sense and a show of respect for things unknown would have totally prevented this accident. You can't blame the rangers, who are too few and too far between, to be right on the spot for every event. This is a huge park and there are probably 5 or 10 "stupid incidents" every day.

Blind Hiker Trevor Thomas Tackles Pacific Crest Trail One Step At A Time

Jul 25th - 01:35am | Steve Van Zandt

We just came back from a backpacking trip out of Highland Lakes near Ebbetts Pass. We were on a five day trip to train three goats to be pack goats and we met Trevor, his hiking name "Double Zero" and his compadre "Fire Marshal" at Noble Lake. They are the nicest guys you could meet. Thy were engaging to talk with and also interested in what we were doing.

Hazing of Yellowstone National Park Bison, A Controversial Rite of Spring

Jul 25th - 00:12am | Anonymous

I work for the BLM in Eastern Montana and it is a joke what is going on and how much money is spent to subsidize the cattle ranchers. I agree with everything you say lets stop what is essentially cooperate welfare and the slaughter of wildlife for a meager few. The land is for the people not for a select few. All kinds of wildlife suffers because of the these gun toten ranchers.

At Ninety Six National Historic Site, Management Strives to Serve Steak on a Mac & Cheese Budget

Jul 24th - 21:55pm | Anonymous

Um...but they did build a new theatre for $65,000. The Historian position was termintated. They were funded over $60,000 for the museum tech and the Chief Ranger is a naturalist. Most projects do not come from the budget, they come from other funds. All they have to do is ask for it and spend it on the project that was funded.

Reader Participation Day: California, or Utah, For A National Park Trek?

Jul 24th - 18:29pm | Jude

Utah is next door; California--well, I've been there. There are too many people in California. I'll choose Utah.

Jul 23rd - 23:37pm | y_p_w

pkrnger:

Jul 23rd - 16:35pm | MRC

Think Redwood, think Lassen Volcanic, think Joshua Tree. None of these California parks are crowded. Yosemite Valley is, of course. But is Toulumne meadows crowded? Wawona? The Hetch Hetchy area? Kings Canyon is not crowded and Sequioa is certainly less flooded than Arches.

Jul 23rd - 15:47pm | pkrnger

California has one major factor that detracts from all other attributes, crowds and traffic. It's hard to escape them. Unfortunately, industrial tourism. which is rampant throughout California, has also come to southern Utah, in a big way.

One Dead, 16 Injured Following Lightning From Thunderstorm in Grand Teton National Park

Jul 24th - 15:37pm | Jim Burnett

The logistics and skill required to pull off this rescue in the time available - and under those conditions - are hard for most of us to appreciate, but this was the real deal. Congratulations to everyone who had a part, and sympathies to the friends and family of the one who didn't survive the ordeal.

Popular Wall Street Trail Reopens At Bryce Canyon National Park

Jul 24th - 09:57am | Anonymous

I'm glad it's re-opened, we were able to hike this trail in August 2007 when it was re-opened, a don't miss portion of the park!

Battle Against Mountain Pine Beetles Launched at Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Jul 24th - 00:41am | Tom

Surely an infestation of beetles should be considered a natural phenomenon. Even if it has been agravated by global warming, isn't it still 'natural'? If man is changing the environment, then by all means allow nature to adapt to that change. Isn't that natural? I wish that we and our governments would work harder to stop global warming, but we're just not.

Grand Teton National Park Rangers Investigating Death of College Student Who Fell From Middle Teton

Jul 23rd - 22:56pm | Anonymously-Yours

busy week for those rangers!

National Park Mystery Photo 25: No Carpenter Nearby

Jul 23rd - 21:50pm | Tara

Been there!

The Presidio's Historic Public Health Service Hospital has Been Recycled into Luxury Apartments

Jul 23rd - 20:14pm | Mike Painter

Removing the wings was also a solution to neighbors' concerns that the project would bring too much new traffic to the neighborhood. 15th Avenue is the only street providing access to the old hospital.

Jul 23rd - 13:42pm | MRC

The 1950s wings had an asbestos problem, that is probably another reason why they were demolished.

Yellowstone National Park Officials Offer Six -- 6 -- Alternatives For Winter-Use Plan

Jul 23rd - 19:15pm | Martha Weaver

Open the roads up in the winter for vehicles. After all this is a national park.the scrooges

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