You are here

Home

All Recent Comments

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Crushed By Vehicle At Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Jun 26th - 06:16am | TurtleDude

I just finished two years of documenting Sea Turtles on Miami Beach. I was also a permited volunteer. There are some real heartless people down here. The things people do to our turtles is Unbelievable. Judging from the photos, this person ran this turtle over on purpose. Turtle Dude

Jun 25th - 19:59pm | Evan Wilson

To Lee Dalton: Is there anything, sir, in my post that indicated I blame it "all" on Obama. Until the oil spill I supported him, even here in Texas where he sure ain't very popular. I certainly never wrote anything about his birth certificate. I even was pledged to him in my nominating convention and executed my pledge. But I would decline to do that next time.

Jun 25th - 19:34pm | Anonymous

Prolly a Park Service vehicle !!

Jun 25th - 18:33pm | TexacoRide

For Jim-Spoken from someone who has clearly never been to CHNSRA. This has been gone through over and over and over and over..................If you have never been there you do not understand the terrain, dynamics, access areas, etc. Go there and drag your gear from the limited parking areas to the beach. If you don't drive out in an ORV this is your only choice.

Jun 25th - 18:25pm | Barky

I visited Cape Hatteras in late March, the off-season. I stopped by the local pub, and the locals there were chatting about stuff like this. Clearly these particular guys cared more about riding their trucks on the beach, making the roads wider, trenching the waterways to build better bridges, etc. than they did about their local environment.

Jun 25th - 17:50pm | Lee Dalton

Submitted by Evan Wilson (not verified) on June 25, 2010 - 1:52pm. Right on Evan boy. Yes indeedy. It's all Obama's fault. Yup. Probably has something to do with that birth certificate.

Jun 25th - 17:45pm | RangerLady

I'm not sure about Cape Hatteras, but I do know that on Assateague it's a very long walk to get to the fishing spots. I do not like driving on the beach, but I do sympathize with the fishermen who want to get away from the masses and who don't want to carry all their gear. I've gone surf fishing and I wouldn't want to walk 2+ miles with that stuff.

Jun 25th - 17:39pm | Jim

Do you need to drive on the beach? Are you so lazy you can't get off your DUFF!! and walk like most people?

Jun 25th - 16:42pm | TexacoRide

To Extinction For Rednecks-You my friend just showed YOUR complete lack of intelligence, intellect, and complete lack of any common sense. Whew......I'd hate to be the recipient of your genes down the line (and that does not mean blue jeans.......)

Jun 25th - 15:49pm | Extinction for ...

There is no reason that people need to drive on beaches, period, let alone at nesting season. The OBX redneck bullies who are so loudly in opposition to any limitations on ORV access are NOT the majority, they are just the loudest.

Jun 25th - 14:53pm | Salvo Jimmy

From the NPS press release "It is believed to be the first time a nesting sea turtle has been killed by an ORV at the Seashore." Sort of parallels gun control. More rules, less guns, more crime. No turtle ever harmed by vehicle for almost 60 yrs. In go the draconian Consent Decree rules and bingo, a problem.

Jun 25th - 14:52pm | Evan Wilson

First, the Kemp's ridley trussed up and drowned while being dragged behind a boat off Topsail Island, now this. I can't escape the realization that both these outrages occurred during an Administration that thinks so little of animals that there's still no movement whatsoever from Washington about BP's burning turtles alive in an effort to make its oil spill invisible.

Jun 25th - 14:44pm | Anonymous

And here we go with the "ban all driving down there" comments.....THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS BEEN KNOW TO HAPPEN.....It is very sad, and it should have never happened but you can't control all idiots of the world.

Jun 25th - 14:31pm | Jim

How about no vehicle access!

Jun 25th - 14:23pm | Anonymous

"Unfortunately, for Cape Hatteras beach-goers, these birds nest from late spring through July, and restrictions imposed to protect the birds block some stretches of seashore from those who prefer to drive their vehicles on the beach." If you are going to write something, then make sure it's factual.

Jun 25th - 12:59pm | RangerLady

This article seriously upset and depressed me. I hope they find the people responsible and throw the book at them. Of course the fines are never enough to compensate for this. I just can't understand how someone couldn't have seen a 3ft long turtle on the beach. I know it was night but vehicles have headlights. I can see mice run across the road at night with headlights on!

Jun 25th - 12:07pm | Anonymous

This is unacceptable. Ban driving on the beach entirely during nesting season. It's ridiculous. And the attitude of the people down there at Hatteras, just like all the idiots who insist we keep on drilling in the Gulf while knowing full well the oil industry doesn't know the first thing about averting disaster, astounds me. It sickens me. I hope someday there is a reckoning.

Underwater Archeology Projects in Outer Banks Parks Address Intriguing Questions

Jun 26th - 05:06am | Bob Janiskee

The remains of the Laura Barnes will be preserved and displayed in the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum. An article about this project is in the queue and will appear in Traveler this coming week.

Jun 25th - 20:36pm | Anonymous

They are excavating the Larua Barnes on the location it was moved to a mile from where it originally wrecked. What do they expect to find?

Glacier National Park Visitor Pulls .357 On "Weird" White-Tailed Deer

Jun 26th - 02:00am | Anonymous

I would have just hung out or backed up some distance. 5 feet is way too close for comfort, if the doe was that close. The front hooves of a deer can rip a person wide open. Only the two women can be the judge of their actions. As far as the gun law, I am an NRA member.

Jun 25th - 18:41pm | Anonymous

Why didn't they just walk away?

Jun 25th - 18:13pm | Volpe

After pepper spray, noises, waving jackets the deer didn’t respond and they didn’t shoot to harm the animal but get it to leave which seems an appropriate action when all else failed. It’s possible the deer could have butted one of them and caused internal injuries and that was avoided.

Jun 25th - 17:41pm | Lee Dalton

Oh, mercy. Here we go . . . . . A better headline might be "Weird Glacier National Park Visitor Pulls .357 On Hungry White Tailed Deer."

Jun 25th - 17:10pm | y_p_w

They're from Montana and can't figure out that maybe there was nothing much to worry about with a deer? We've got mule deer all over my neighborhood, and short of actually charging anyone, I've learned to accept that none of their behavior is really "weird"; they just do their thing.

Jun 25th - 17:05pm | Anonymous

"The women were not cited for firing the .357 as there was no real intestinal fortitude on the part of park administration for actually enforcing clearly artiiculated park regulations, even when presented such a ridiculous scenario as this." Fixed it for you Amy.

Updated; Fire Burning in the Backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park

Jun 26th - 00:24am | Anonymous

I'm not sure what the offical policy is, but since we can see this from our living room up in the lumpy range, I'm GLAD they are fighting it!

Jun 25th - 20:33pm | Anonymous

Isn't it good to have the forest burn unless it threatons homes and people, in light of all the beetle kill?

Jun 25th - 19:29pm | G

No...it's the National Forests that have a "natural burn" policy. National Parks are very pro-active!

Jun 25th - 18:57pm | Anonymous

Angie Dickinson, I believe. :)

Jun 25th - 18:46pm | Anonymous

I thought our national parks had a "natural burn" policy? Are they fighting it because they don't know if it was "naturally" started or has there been a policy change?

Jun 25th - 18:24pm | august west

Who is Mt. Dickinson named after? Any idea if you can see Mt. Dickinson and the area effected from Mt Crosier outside of Glen Haven? I'm going to try and get up to Crosier tomorrow night and check it out, full moon! Last time I was up there my headlight picked up two green eyes, 75-100 yards away checkin' me out... meow!

By The Numbers: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Jun 25th - 22:58pm | james harper

we saw an old water cistern marked oct 1936, some old fire hydrants, water fountains, old large fireplace hearth, lots of foot bridges, you can still see where they pushed back to earth to make a clearing for the camp,

Virgin Islands National Park Grows by 2 Acres Thanks to Donation

Jun 25th - 18:28pm | Barky

Nice! More "boundary" folks need to do the same. :-)

Traveler's Checklist: Chickasaw National Recreation Area

Jun 25th - 18:27pm | Barky

Actually, I'd advise you to try to visit as many of the natural springs as you can. Each one has its own particular properties and chemistry, all quite naturally. I found that fascinating myself, but I can be geeky that way.

Jun 25th - 09:32am | brohoward

Great notes - but I'd like to make one additional comment. The Chickasaw Nation has recently completed the Chickasaw Cultural Center's construction, and it is located adjacent to the Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur.

Fatal Fall from Angels Landing in Zion National Park

Jun 25th - 17:03pm | Anonymous

My adult daughter and I just returned from Zion where we hiked up to Scout's Landing, then decided to trust our instincts and not go farther. I was horrified to see a dad instructing what looked to be a four-year-old on how to grasp the chains. It's one thing to make that decision for yourself and another to put a child in that position.

Forest Service Open to Allowing Mountain Bikes on Continental Divide Trail, But What About Park Service?

Jun 25th - 13:27pm | Eric

First , Let me leave no doubt that I AM ANTI-CYCLIST! It has been my experince that the cycling community is on the majority the RUDIST of outdoor users. Their bikes destroy more habitat the any horse or hiker ever could . They are a menace that should be regulated to using only ATV trails or roads. They have no buisness in ANY WILDERNESS AREA!

House Seals Deal To Allow Wide Range of Firearms into The National Park System

Jun 25th - 12:54pm | RangerLady

Thanks Walker! As scary as that is to me, it also gave me a chuckle during a very slow day in the office. I can understand have a problem with the aggressive deer, I've used sticks to push animals away from me and have even hit them before (not hard!) and have them come right back. I seriously doubt I'd ever use a gun though.

Jun 25th - 12:17pm | Random Walker

'Aggressive' deer sparks first Glacier gun incident By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News Published: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 9:26 AM PDT Glacier National Park has had its first incident of a gun being fired inside the Park boundaries since carrying them was legalized.

Investigation Launched Into Grizzly Bear Mauling of Botanist Outside Yellowstone National Park

Jun 25th - 12:40pm | Anonymous

In my opinion this is a case of shoot first as questions later. Every day we are encrouching more and more into theses animals habitats.There only line of defense when they feel threatened is their claws and teeth. A man that was aware of the dangers and what was going on in the area chose to ignore the the consiquences and trek through anyways and because of this the bear and his life ended.

Litter of Mountain Lion Kittens Found At Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area

Jun 24th - 20:53pm | Anonymous

This shows they are brave and smart as well as gorgeous!

Woman Falls Into Snow "Sink Hole" At Mount Rainier National Park

Jun 24th - 19:54pm | Ryan

Does the Paradise parking lot really have 20 feet of snowpack in the middle of June or am I missing something?

Traveler's Top 10 Picks For Movies Involving National Parks

Jun 24th - 16:09pm | RangerLady

When I was down there for training my supervisor pointed out the damage done to the trees from the film crew right on the Linville Falls trail. I'm not sure if that trail exited the NPS boundaries before coming back in near the falls.

Jun 24th - 16:03pm | Bob Janiskee

The Last of the Mohicans does have scenes shot in the Linville Falls vicinity. Linville falls has been part of Blue Ridge Parkway since the early 1950s and is accessible via a spur road. However, my understanding is that the footage used in the movie was shot on a trail near Linville Falls in the Linville Gorge Wilderness, which is in Pisgah National Forest.

Jun 24th - 15:13pm | RangerLady

I just have to add some mroe to this on-going list. Misty of Chincoteague filmed at Assateague Island (part of the VA side does belong to the NPS so it counts!) and Last of the Mohicans filmed at Linville Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Jun 24th - 14:23pm | y_p_w

Anonymous: I'm pretty sure the scenes in "Indiana Jones" filmed at Arches were during Indy's youth. I believe they were, but the era in the film was probably before Arches became a National Monument. I know that isn't critical here, but I thought I'd mention it. And CAPTCHA for today is "barking observation".

Jun 24th - 12:30pm | Bob Janiskee

Yes, you're correct about the footage shot at Arches. See the recent Traveler article National Park Movies of the 1980s. The entry for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade contains this bit of info:

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park Should Be Fully Open Today

Jun 24th - 11:51am | Paul

This is the road that I told you about....Ann and I have been across twice....most impressive thing to me is no guard rails.....

National Park Movies of the 1980s

Jun 24th - 11:16am | Anonymous

"Big Trouble in Little China" also features one of Yellowstone's 1930's White Touring Cars!

Historic Cabins In Zion National Park Get Renovated, But Retain Old Look

Jun 24th - 11:15am | Kurt Repanshek

Ya know, anonymous, I think you're right. Even fooled the PR folks! But now folks know what the cabins at Bryce Canyon look like.

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.