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El Capitan Gets Nod To Showcase Yosemite National Park on Commemorative Quarter

Jul 14th - 14:31pm | Laura Lizabe

I do digital work for the US Mint and wanted to let those interested know about the Yosemite coin launch event. The Yosemite National Park Quarter event is Thursday, July 29th at Yosemite National Park at 11:00 am (PT). The general public is invited to gather at the Yosemite Valley Visitor's Center where the launch will take place.

Trolley Tours Come To Crater Lake National Park

Jul 14th - 13:49pm | Mike P.

$27.50 ??? Yikes !!!

Jul 13th - 22:47pm | Meg

They had me right up to the cost. There's no way I'd pay that much for a two-hour ride. Anywhere.

Jul 13th - 07:52am | pkrnger

Providing guided transportation for the rim drive is a great idea. The former Crater Lake Company offered a similar service decades ago, using blue stretch limosines for transportation to Klamath Falls and tours of the rim drive. During the 1960's, concession-guided rim tours were only scheduled twice daily, as I recall.

Consider a Donation to Help The Traveler Remain On-Line With Its Daily Dose Of National Park Coverage

Jul 14th - 13:26pm | Mike P.

The check's in the mail!

Jul 13th - 23:44pm | Anonymous

Will do! We've benefited from our NP trips so much because of info we've learned on the Traveler. Thank you!

Jul 13th - 17:27pm | the Bat

Sold! A bargain at twice the price!

Jul 13th - 15:40pm | DFrankiewicz

Keep up the good work! Happy to help out

Jul 13th - 14:08pm | Joyce & Jim Lewis

We are glad to send in our donation. Really enjoy your site! Thanks.

Jul 13th - 12:04pm | mbolyard

donation sent - if you read it, support it

Jul 13th - 10:46am | Benjamin Lord

Support the Traveler! Who else mixes the fun of the National Parks with the business so well?

European Rabbits Facing Death Sentence at San Juan Island National Historical Park

Jul 14th - 12:49pm | RangerLady

Any idea what's going to be done with the meat? I hope they find a way of donating it instead of wasting.

Tectonic Plates Thought Responsible for Swarm of Yellowstone National Park Earthquakes

Jul 14th - 12:19pm | john delano

The deep magma pool under Yellowstone has been researched, and the temperature of the pool was reported to be only 170 degrees farenheidt. The cooling mass is again sinking and rather then rising as stated above. The pool may decend 500 miles was also reported. "The tail" of the magma pool under all the ancient calderas is under the front range, where it should be.

Jul 14th - 11:43am | john delano

When 300,000 humans die in Haiti it is not appropriate time for you to ridicule my 34 years of reseaarch. I am sorry you feel that way. john delano 07/14/2010

Reader Participation Day: Preservation, or Enjoyment?

Jul 14th - 10:03am | Gaelyn

I totally agree that preservation comes first. It's always been a fine balance for NPS to do that and also provide recreation services. Don't folks know they can visit National Forests for that? Many parks, like here at the North Rim, are already at carrying capacity. Yes, the public needs to see how marvelous these special places are. But hopefully without loving them to death.

Jul 14th - 09:52am | pkrnger

In my opinion, the principle mission of the NPS should be preservation. Opportunities for recreational enjoyment of natural and cultural resources should be provided, but only in so far as aethetics, ecology, and historic values are not compromised by overuse.

Jul 14th - 08:21am | onebigtree

The parks are preserved FOR the enjoyment of the people. While I'm generally in favor of all the preservation efforts of park rangers, sometimes I feel they get a bit neurotic about how they handle the resources we've entrusted to them. In other words, the national park service can sometimes feel that the resources belong to them and not the people who come to enjoy them.

Jul 14th - 08:14am | Lee Dalton

If we don't preserve it, it won't be there for the future to enjoy. Larry is right -- balance is needed. But it still needs to be a bit heavier on the side of preservation.

Jul 14th - 04:15am | LarryT

I agree with conserving the resources but what's the use if they cannot be enjoyed by the people. Proper management is the key-- creating a balance between the two rather than have them at opposite ends.

Was This the Most Environmentally Insensitive Movie Ever Filmed in a National Park?

Jul 14th - 09:12am | Bob Janiskee

I'm familiar with The Long, Long Trailer, David. I've written about it, and one of my movie reviews even had a photo of the official LLT poster(see this Traveler article ). I'm going to watch LLT again as soon as it pops up in the loan queue.

Jul 13th - 13:16pm | David Page

Great post, Bob. Crazy. I imagine you've seen Long, Long Trailer--also Lucy and Desi, also shot in part in Yosemite (1954). There used to be some footage from it on YouTube but it doesn't come up for me in a cursory search...

Jul 13th - 08:34am | Kurt Repanshek

Good catch on the link to the trailer, Jewel. Dang operator failures. It works now.

Jul 13th - 08:26am | Lee Dalton

Son of a gun! I was chief ranger at WUPA/SUCR back in the '70s and had never heard that story. Interesting!

Jul 13th - 08:25am | Jewel

Your link to the trailer doesn't seem to work. Even back in those days, it seems like the movie premise was a bomb. One giant Bug Bomb.... So to answer the question - I would guess Yes, at least one of the most environmentally insensitive movies - other than maybe the numerous zombie/horror movies using similar ideas ....only thing missing was apparently giant mutated bugs!

Jul 13th - 05:44am | another andrew

Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is a U.S. National Monument in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona, intended to protect Sunset Crater, a cinder cone that is part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field. It is maintained by the National Park Service in close conjunction with nearby Wupatki National Monument.

Progress Continuing on New Visitor Center At Dinosaur National Monument

Jul 14th - 00:11am | Jill Jackson

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like I should still plan on driving out there, hopefully this year.

Jul 13th - 10:59am | *Pixie*

It's hard to believe they're actually going to finish this! By the time of its "planned" completion the quarry will have been closed for OVER 5 YEARS. Luckily for us dino lovers, the quarry got a good portion of "stimulus funds" to complete reconstruction; otherwise there may have never been a new visitor center.

Jul 13th - 10:59am | Kurt Repanshek

They have a temporary visitor center set up, Jill, but you won't be able to stand in front of the cliffside with its fossils until the new facility is completed.

Jul 13th - 10:47am | Jill Jackson

I was thinking of visiting Dinosaur Nat'l Monument this summer. Does this mean there is no visitor center until fall of 2011?

Grizzly Bear Shot and Killed By Hikers In Denali National Park and Preserve

Jul 13th - 19:53pm | Anonymous

I would encourage you Kurt to follow up on this with the park Chief Ranger. Surely the investigation is finished by now.

"Let's Leave the Balcony Door Ajar"

Jul 13th - 17:20pm | the Bat

Another hilarious story from Bob! We just got back from Big Meadows and it is just the place to unwind. I have to say you were pretty lucky though - in season the courting barred owls love to perch on those porches at night and make a real racket. We stayed at the campground not far from the lodge last week and was told to be on the lookout for a young bear looking to scarf easy munchies.

Jul 12th - 21:13pm | Anonymous

Raccoons can definitely climb. Twice I've heard of them coming down a two story chimney. Be careful chasing them out of doors - they'll bite if cornered and occasionally carry rabies. Worst I've had to deal with personally are mice - at both Yosemite and Bryce Canyon Park lodges.

Jul 12th - 16:10pm | jessstryker

Gee, to think I was "bugged" about a huge centipede crawling across the floor in our room at Skyland this past spring! Glad I closed the doors and windows. Of course it was cool and raining so we had no desire to leave the doors open, or the even windows for that matter. If that is a typical raccoon it probably makes the rounds of all the units each night looking for open doors.

Jul 12th - 14:07pm | plet39

Thanks for sharing your experience; racoons are indeed ingenious creatures. I visit Shenandoah every spring, either the first or second week in May, staying at Skyland. Planning my trip to the Southern Appalachians helps get me through the Connecticut winter!

Civil War Flag, Dress Coat, and Sash To Go On Display at Gettysburg National Military Park

Jul 13th - 17:18pm | Sandra Mandia

I am a relative of Capt. Isaac Nicoll. He was my grandfather's uncle, who also was named Isaac Nicoll. He was killed at Devils Den, Gettysburg. I have visited there. Capt. Isaac Nicoll is buried in the Nicoll Plot along with my grandparents and his parents etc. at the Washingtonville Cemetery, Washingtonville, NY. I have a picture of him in his full military uniform.

Mike Snyder, Intermountain Regional Director for the National Park Service, Opts for Retirement

Jul 13th - 17:08pm | UNK

If "Core-Ops" has been "eliminated", why is it still in practice at the "World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument"(VALOR), aka, the"USS Arizona Memorial"? A new management team with ties from the IMR, took over the park in 2007. They rule by intimidation, bullying, and fear.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Dispute Places Birds, Turtles, and Humans on Small Strip of Sand

Jul 13th - 16:21pm | Non-resident be...

There are numerous problems identified in this article, and some of those could be solved. Yet there appears to be a real lack of "community" action to solve any of them. No one is donating their land for parking; no one is on the beach educating visitors; no one is having fund raisers to support tax money that is supposed to support national government actions.

Judge Tosses Personal Watercraft Rules at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Jul 13th - 12:45pm | RangerLady

Lee - J.T. certainly does deserve something. He was one of the greatest superintendents I worked under. I was very sad to see him retire, but luckily he's still helping the parks during his retirement.

Jul 13th - 11:23am | Lee Dalton

Wow. I just read through the story from Vanity Fair and even though I thought I was pretty much aware of the struggle to save NPS from Hoffman, Bush and Cheney, that article really was eye-opening. http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2006/06/nationalparks200606

Jul 12th - 14:27pm | Kurt Repanshek

Here's your answer.... The park boundary extends one-quarter mile out over the surface of Lake Superior along the length of the park. National Park Service authority is limited to the surface waters within this one-quarter mile.

Jul 12th - 14:18pm | R Stefancik

My only question is, "How do they determine the amount of Lake Superior that falls within the jurisdiction of the Feds at Pictured Rocks?" Was a given distance from the shoreline included in the Act creating the park? Don't get me wrong.

National Park Mystery Plant 5 Revealed: It’s the Red Baneberry

Jul 13th - 09:44am | Kasia

Thank you very much for your answer.

Jul 13th - 05:39am | Bob Janiskee

The berries of the red baneberry are so weird-looking and bitter-tasting that only a naive child or an extremely heedless adult would be likely to get a harmful dose. The fact that there has never been a reported fatality from baneberry ingestion in the U.S underscores that fact. Your other two questions deal with medical issues that take me way out of my depth.

Jul 13th - 01:31am | Kasia

Mr. Janiskee, thank you so much for this interesting article. I was wondering if there is a chance for someone to intentionally poison himself to death with the Red Baneberry, considering how bitter this think is? Also, what kind of immediate help should be given to that person.

21 National Park System Units Nominated For "Marine Protected Area" Status

Jul 13th - 05:20am | Bob Janiskee

Watch for an update on this topic in Traveler. There are now 26 NPS units in the National System of Marine Protected Areas. Padre Island and Gulf Islands have not yet been added to the system.

Jul 13th - 02:52am | Anonymous

Why not Padre Island NS and Gulf Islands NS?

Wouldn't It Be Nice If the National Park Service Resumed the Distribution of Park Window Stickers?

Jul 12th - 23:41pm | Anonymous

The easy way to solve the visibility problem would be to make them bumper stickers instead of window decals. The real issue at the present is government spending, I'm sure there are many out there who would see this as government waste. Other than these "snags" it would be great to resume handing out stickers.

National Park Road Trip 2010: Pioneer Missionary

Jul 12th - 18:59pm | R Stefancik

Welcome to Pendleton! I hope you also got to take the Underground Tour where the Chinese laborers had to live and where the saloons were located during prohibition. It also includes a tour through a former bordello that operated into the 1950's! The September Roundup is the 5th largest rodeo in North America and will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year.

Female Hiker Found Dead Below North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Jul 12th - 18:25pm | Anonymous

My raft trip passed the young man Thursday morning on the River. He was kayaking solo in an area that is foolish to kayak - 40 miles of flat water an hot sun to the nearest pullout. He was "hiding" from the search teams by pulling his boat onto shore and hiding in the bushes when they went by.

Updated: NPS Director Jarvis Ends "Core Ops" Budgeting Across The National Park System

Jul 12th - 13:12pm | National Crony ...

Managing positions is nothing more than a crony hiring club in the NPS; has too little to do with balancing and completing operations across the board.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

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.