| Page 1223 | National Parks Traveler

how dare you, you inconsiderate, cold hearted...You do not know what happened or what might have been said between the two of them, or how any of this all came to be....how do you think the man feels at his time, how do you think it felt to hear that his GOOD FRIEND AS WELL had died shortly after his departure,i am sure he feels terrible, and wishes things had happened differently but you have

Jul 10th - 09:52am | William Shepley

I know this women. She was a wonderful, humble person who helped all those she came to know. I was a good friend of hers.

Jul 9th - 20:45pm | Anonymous

The "friend" was poaching a river trip in a small inflatable kayak - traveling solo, no permit, no itinerary. He was not joining an existing river trip as mistakenly reported. Illegal move, ill-planned, and ultimately deadly for his companion. Please think before you head into the Grand in July.

Jul 9th - 18:04pm | Anonymous

Geez, is it just me or are there a lot of deaths this year.

Hiker Falls to Her Death In Zion National Park

Jul 12th - 09:57am | Anonymous

As of July 21, 2006, Zion National Park estimated that 5 people had fallen from Angel's Landing since the Park's establishment (1909) http://www.nps.gov/zion/frequently-asked-questions-about-zions-hiking-tr...

Odds and Ends from Around the National Park System

Jul 12th - 09:16am | Cheryl F

Stop GIVING our open spaces and parks to the cattle industry...they will push and push for more and more of OUR precious land to graze their cattle which they then sell to the public at hugely exorbitant prices.

Jul 8th - 11:31am | Kurt Repanshek

I like your tenacity, Anonymous, but I'd venture that if you asked a roomful of folks whether they'd prefer to own a piece of land entirely surrounded by a national park, or one abutted by golf courses, putt-putt, etc, they'd choose the former. Perhaps we've got the foundation here for a future Reader Participation Day question!

Jul 8th - 10:55am | Anonymous

Kurt-

Jul 8th - 10:46am | Lee Dalton

Ooops! But he does have an almost entirely ********** legislature, doesn't he?

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

Jul 12th - 08:46am | Jonathan Parker

Kurt, Thanks for this post - it is much stronger than the Miami Hearld's reporting on the issue. These are the kind of in-depth, incisive posts that keep NPS employees reading the Traveler.

Jul 12th - 08:42am | Lee Dalton

Excellent!

Mr. President, Some Suggestions for Your Long Weekend At Acadia National Park

Jul 12th - 08:39am | Lee Dalton

I think it's wonderful that we finally have a President who is actually visiting out parks and enjoying them with his family rather than trying to destroy them.

Jul 12th - 08:16am | Anonymous

Your comments are pretty much on the mark, nice job (glad you mentioned Cafe This Way)! Another exceptional dinner spot as you may know is The Burning Tree. Either way you can't go wrong. I would remove Jordan Pond House from the recommendations though (a bit cliche not to mention crowded) in favor of a more authentic place for baked goods and breads like the Morning Glory Bakery.

Rock Falls In Yosemite National Park, the Video!

Jul 11th - 17:54pm | Kurt Repanshek

Meg, My guess is that the download took a little while, and until it loaded there was nothing to see. Glad it showed up!

Jul 11th - 16:46pm | Meg

Never mind. The whole article showed up after I clicked send my comment. But there's something wrong with the links that wouldn't let me get to the whole article before I commented. Just so you know.

Jul 11th - 16:45pm | Meg

Is there any more to this article? I'm not seeing anything except one short paragraph, even when I click on "read more." The paragraph reads as if there should be a video. I'd love to see it if there is.

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

Jul 11th - 14:43pm | Anonymous

Amen!!!

Yellowstone National Park Officials Working on Management Plan for Lake Area

Jul 11th - 12:18pm | Anonymous

My reply would be to simply look at any traveler's review site like TripAdvisor.com. It's filled with comments, critiques and revelations about Xanterra. Look at Yellowstone for instance: bad food, bad service, bad maintenance of facilities.

Jul 9th - 11:55am | Kurt Repanshek

Anonymous, Any chance you could provide some examples to support your criticisms? I ask that not as a defender of Xanterra, but rather to see if others agree with you.

Jul 9th - 11:48am | Anonymous

Everything possible should be done to confront the NPS's unwillingness to challenge Xanterra's horrible management of parks nationwide. They are emptying the pockets of Americans who are oblivious to the choices they have as the owners of the parks as to who should be managing the parks.

The Hunt for Red (and Yellow) October. It's Officially Fall - Let the Quest for Color Begin!

Jul 11th - 10:34am | Bogator

I know it is not a NPS site, but the color at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in SW Pennsylvania is absolutely spectacular. We were there a few years ago on the peak day and the explosion in color was something to behold.

Road Trip 2010: Report from the Pisgah Inn Along the Blue Ridge Parkway

Jul 10th - 12:10pm | Bob Janiskee

I would add only one thing to this great review. While the views from the deck are wonderful, in the restaurant proper only the tables closest to the window offer what you could call a truly great view. If you want to sit at one of those tables during dinner, you will need to plan ahead. The Pisgah Inn currently serves dinner from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. and does not take reservations.

Jul 10th - 11:25am | cheryl cummings

I work at the Pisgah Inn and am very pleased to call it home.I love to see that ya'll had a great time here.I hope to see you soon:) Check our facebook site for specials and updates as well as new pictures.Remember, our goal is to "make your day" just like everyday the guests make ours.Happy trails..

Arizona Man Dies in Fall at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Jul 9th - 18:04pm | Kurt Repanshek

Details are sketchy in these cases, but I'd guess the woman hiking in the Grand Canyon ran into heat-related problems, while the man in Glen Canyon probably was scrambling and lost his footing. As you note, most tragedies can be avoided with proper planning and care. But then, too, accidents do happen.

Jul 9th - 18:02pm | Volpe

Next year we are planning a visit to both the north rim, previous article, and Glen Canyon Dam, plus some other parks in the west, with limited hiking as everyone in the party are senior citizens and it would be a benefit to us to know the details of why these incidents occurred. Usually the lack of water and or stress or carelessness.

Reprise of Winter Briefly Closes Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park

Jul 9th - 14:57pm | Connie Hopkins

I'll be interested to see if the weather had an influence on the plane crash there?

Rocky Mountain National Park Rangers Cleaning Up After Climbers

Jul 9th - 12:27pm | Anonymous

to JayHero: I don't know where you are getting this from. Most coloradans are decent people! It seems people from boulder would match your stereotype. As for the article, boulders are by nature lazy.. They pretend that they are climbing hard, without gear.. They just don't want to lug up the ropes and gear to the base of a cliff, and are most likly too scared to try.

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

Jul 9th - 11:12am | Kurt Repanshek

Anonymous, this approach might not be exactly as you envision it. Volunteers are picked by the park to help with the culling, and the meat -- if the elk test negative for chronic wasting disease -- would be donated to groups. The volunteers would not be able to take it home.

Jul 9th - 10:57am | Anonymous

I think finally they got it right! Hunting is the least expensive way of reducing numbers, and it gives people an opportunity that otherwise might not have one to hunt this beautiful animal and provide some of the world's best meat for their families. Way to go Nodak!!!

$1,000 Reward Offered In Connection With Crushed Loggerhead Sea Turtle at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jul 9th - 10:43am | Anonymous

Loggerheads are a big part of the diet of some rural communities, such as in the Antillean and Caribbean areas. Much money is paid for their meat and eggs, which are used to make turtle burgers and turtle soup and the eggs are even used to make cakes. In Cuba, the eggs are dried in the oviduct and sold like sausage. The turtles also provide oxidizing oil, which acts like varnish.

Which National Park Is Home to the World's Largest Beaver Dam?

Jul 9th - 06:43am | Jean Thie

This dam is certainly not claimed as "the longest beaver dam ever". Historical records and folklore mention much larger dams. Nowadays with exceptional tools like Google Earth, we can find such long dams and provide 'proof' to the world, as well as a visual record.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Needs Packers To Help With Elk Culling

Jul 8th - 21:32pm | Josh

The volunteer hunters better get the meat that they successfully harvested, they worked for it and they should take it home with them. Forget this stupid idea with bring wolves into the park, it's the dumbest idea.

Managing Elk at Theodore Roosevelt National Park – The NPS has Released Its Plan

Jul 8th - 21:17pm | Josh

This is the best way to go about this problem we have in the park, let the volunteer hunters in. I think Jeanie and others that think hunting is such a terrible thing need to stop being such hippy-liberals and pick up a gun and go hunting! If you think poor Bambi is being shot by hunters your pathetic because hunting is nothing like killing a poor little baby deer.

Reader Participation Day: Should Rangers Cite, or Merely Warn, Visitors For Their Wrongs?

Jul 8th - 20:48pm | Connie Hopkins

The incident I referred to in my earlier response was actually with Grizzly Giant tree. My husband was up at the overlook preparing to take my picture while I was down by the tree. The Father had his family climb over the fence to stand against the tree. I politely told them that the signs showed that wasn't allowed and the father began arguing with me. I told him,

Jul 8th - 19:05pm | Rick Smith

As a former protection ranger, often now called law enforcement rangers, I always opted for the lowest level of law enforcement activity that would produce the desired result, i.e. compliance with the regulation or rule.

Jul 8th - 16:32pm | RangerLady

@ Connie,

Jul 8th - 16:15pm | y_p_w

Connie Hopkins:

Jul 8th - 15:46pm | Connie Hopkins

By nature I am a rule follower and have a strong sense of justice when others deem themselves above the laws that apply to the rest of us!! I WOULD NOT make a good park Ranger because I would in all liklihood be sarcastic with law breakers! I have seen visitors walking across thermal areas at Yellowstone where it is clearly marked with the universal hiking bootprint with the slash through it.

Jul 8th - 13:45pm | Betty H

When the National Parks rules are broken, the offenders should be fined !!! The fines should stay in that National Park and help pay for more rangers.

Trails I've Hiked: Anthony Creek Trail to Spence Field in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jul 8th - 14:58pm | Anonymous

The last time I visited Spence Field, I lay in the grass while my hiking buddies went on up Rocky Top, a crest just shy of Thunderhead. So very refreshing. During the fall, when views tend to be best, expect many busy bees wishing to share or at least investigate your lunch.

Jul 8th - 07:40am | Smoky Mtn Hiker

Kurt - great write-up. This is probably one of the most underrated hikes in the park, and one of my most favorites. If hikers still have the energy after arriving at Spence, continue walking eastward along the Appalachian Trail for another 1.2 miles to reach Rocky Top - the first "peak" on Thunderhead Mountain. The views up there are some of the best in the Park. Jeff

National Park Roadtrip 2010: On the Oregon Trail

Jul 8th - 10:02am | Beth Carmichael...

Hi to both of you! I hope that all is going well on your travels on "The Trail"! I found this article and thought you might find it interesting! Safe Travels! Beth http://www.marysvilleonline.net/articles/2010/07/07/news/doc4c34f03ac810...

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