| Page 1112 | National Parks Traveler

Chavez is undoubtedly a world hero, and he deserves some sort of national recognition. But to add yet another little-known and low-visitation unit complete with all the lifetime costs of a unit (another superintendent, another maintenance department, etc.) is not the answer - especially in light of a huge maintenance backlog. How much is it costing to fund this study? I say we put up a stat

May 9th - 18:35pm | tomp2

Lone Hiker's suggestion would eliminate ~50 of the 475 named entities (not all qualify as "units") in the NPS, and that's not counting Theodore Roosevelt, De Soto, Wright Brothers, national trails, parkways, or other places with significant natural resources or honoring 2 or more individuals.

May 9th - 17:55pm | ecbuck

@Lahat If those were the criteria for establishing a NPS unit, I would agree. But they're not. And I would say the same about Rosie the Riveter if that is indeed how it happened.

May 9th - 16:00pm | S. Lahat

Of course it should be added! Cesar deserves all of the recognition and honor we can bestow upon him - even posthumously.

May 9th - 15:40pm | Anonymous

Dr King, I guess is special, they want to Honor him in Washington DC. Part of that area is National Park.

May 9th - 15:27pm | y_p_w

There are some NPS units where site selection was probably an idea looking for a home. Take for instance Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park. I believe it started out as an idea, but with a question of what area would best represent the idea. I'm not sure how they settled on the former shipyards of Richmond, California.

May 9th - 14:55pm | ecbuck

The fact that you had to ask the question the way you did says "no". If there is a historical site worthy of NPS status and it happens to be related to Cesar Chavez - then fine. But to state the goal has establishing a NPS unit in Cesar Chavez's name and then going out to find a suitable site is clearly contrary to the intent of the NPS system.

May 9th - 12:59pm | Lone Hiker

In an effort to be succinct, NO. For that matter any site designated to one person's achievements (good or bad) should be eliminated from NPS authority. That's what state parks are for. Kinda. But this manner of "honor" has no place in the context of the national park service.

Does Today's Technology Offer A Better Connection, Or A Disconnect, To Enjoying National Parks?

May 9th - 16:51pm | Loisb

I love all the new technology despite the fact that I don't have a cell phone for personal reasons ( I worked on developing the stuff and got quite sick of it). However, I download podcasts, videos, audio tours and whatever I can find for the parks I am interested in. I visit many parks via their webcams and love it. Most of my bookmarks are for parks and associated information.

May 9th - 16:22pm | AnonymousD

About that Grand Canyon audio tour sign: it's along the South Rim in the area where most of the nonhiking tourists take their photos before tracking down lunch, not on the hiking trails below the rim.

May 9th - 15:29pm | Dave Crowl

Great discussion! I think the NPS needs to adopt a rule that they use some sot of Parkitecture that cell towers need to blend in to their surroundings. I have seen places in Colorado where the cell phone towers looked like Pine Trees. If they adopt a policy that reviewed placement and style of each tower, they could minimalize most unsightly views.

May 9th - 14:03pm | Meghan Hicks

This is a national park topic about which I get pretty excited. Thanks for covering it, Kurt!

May 9th - 13:33pm | Kurt Repanshek

Question, Ranger 01101011100: For some of that data to be viewed -- weather reports, trail and stream conditions -- wouldn't a cellphone signal be required? And if so, will the NPS soon be permitting more cell towers throughout parks to ensure signals are available in areas currently off the grid?

May 9th - 13:27pm | Ranger 01101011100

These devices augment the NPS experience for many visitors, especially those who are considered part of the digital native generation (those born after 1996 who do not know a world without the Internet). Just as you can choose to skip the park film and go for a hike, you can choose to turn off your cell phone.

May 9th - 13:23pm | Real Interactive

This sign popped up on the South Rim of Grand Canyon NP about the same time the most "interactive and meaningful " experience to visitors of the Park was diminished by 75%. Like so many things today, we're headed in the wrong direction and a correction is needed, I believe.

May 9th - 13:02pm | Danny Bernstein

Nothing beats a live NPS ranger giving a live talk outside in the National Park. They are the best most lively talks - professors (and I was one of them) could learn from them. Rangers should be teaching education courses.

May 9th - 12:55pm | Lone Hiker

Planning your trip is one thing, executing it safely and successfully is a completely differrent animal. If people get even the slightest notion that their techno-prowess is going to save them once "on the trail" and removed from the relative safety of the immediate vicinity of the visitor's center you had better start expanding the number of SAR units across the system. That's why I'm still

May 9th - 10:59am | Anon

As someone working with the NPS' websites and social media, I still would rather talk to a person at the visitor center then sit in the parking lot watching a podcast. I totally agree wih the earlier statements that the internet is a great resource for research ahead of time. When I reach the park or historic site, talking to a human and seeing a program is a much more personal connection.

May 9th - 10:49am | Bruce

Well said, Lee.

May 9th - 10:41am | AnonymousD

I don't accept the either/or construct but prefer a mix. Pre-trip research is an obvious use, but I'd love to see a few in-park applications. Up-to-the-minute weather updates are crucial for those of us going on lengthy hikes, for example, especially when we use secondary or tertiary trails. And when taking off on a desert hike at 7 a.m.

May 9th - 10:38am | Lonesome Traveler

Gotta say the internet is a tremendous help in planning a trip. Just got a reply to a question about Rocky Mtn Park's Trail Ridge Road conditions; took a virtual tour of the fiery furnace at Arches; checked out HI/LO forecasts at several CO/UT locations; etc. etc. etc. Also can't say enough good things about the NPS website. Clean-looking, informative, and no popups.

May 9th - 09:48am | Ryan

"While we don’t have a new federal highway system, we do have the Internet, which may bring us closer together than our father’s Chevy ever

May 9th - 08:45am | Owen Hoffman

I just spent a week away from computers, cell phones, and the internet. For entertainment, I had views of the Eastern Deciduous Biome covering the Snowbird Mountains and other ranges of North Carolina. In the mornings, I enjoyed attending guided wildflower walks into the Cherokee National Forest and Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. In the evenings, I enjoyed reading nature and adventure books i

May 9th - 08:17am | Lee Dalton

If gasoline prices keep climbing, it may soon be that the only way Americans can afford to see their parks is via Internet. Unless, of course, you are a CEO of one of our health insurance companies, or a bank, or an oil company, or . . . . .

May 9th - 08:01am | samsdad1

Embrace technology or be left behind. If we truly leave it like it should be then Old Faithfull would not have a deck built around it. "Leave only footprints" is only the beginning of the NPS motto.

May 9th - 08:00am | Jan

Not everybody has mobile devices, whatever they are called. Not everybody wants cell towers ruining all of those wonderful sights. Sure, it would be cheaper than having a body there, but the days of "using dad's Chevy" was far superior than modern technology.

May 9th - 06:32am | Lawrence J. Caldwell

Unless the NPS opens a unit in Steve Jobs' garage, keep the technology out of visitor centers. Keep the experience pure and unadulterated, as if every visitor were the first to ever lay eyes on the landscape before them. Keep up the great work with the ranger-led experiences. They are the best.

May 9th - 05:35am | MRC

I'm a fan of the nps.gov website. Not just the obvious "plan your visit" parts but also the photo and multimedia galleries, the digitized background publications, the nature and science section and more. Some parks have "virtual tours" online, that could certainly be expanded into location based information to be accessed with a smartphone or similar device on the spot.

"State of Birds" Report Points To Value of National Parks, Other Public Lands For Birds

May 9th - 16:05pm | Ron Saunders

Very interesting report. Sounds like we are on the right track. Particularly concerning Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. Get the people off the beaches, have NPS trap and kill hundreds of animals (even some other birds and turtles have been incidentally killed) and they will come. The Plovers, That Is. Just thought a little elaboration was appropriate here.

Traveler's View: Rethink National Park Pass Fees

May 9th - 00:59am | y_p_w

Yeah - I understand the idea that perhaps those who are younger might not necessarily have as much means to pay. However - it really does depend on individual circumstances.

May 7th - 12:02pm | Random Walker

Public Lands recreation is not a product.

May 6th - 12:32pm | Rick Smith

Here's a park area, Fort Scott National Historic Site, that rethought its fee structure: For the first time in 24 years, visitors to the Fort Scott National Historic Site will not be charged fees to enter the park.

May 6th - 12:02pm | y_p_w

shaff01: I look for NPS sites near all my travels and knowing I will get in free if I decide I have time to visit increases the chance that I will. Just like any place else with a “yearly” pass, I’m sure the parks make money off every person they get through the gates no matter how they do it once they hit the gift shop or any food vendor.

May 6th - 11:50am | y_p_w

Megaera: But I still feel very strongly that either all parks should charge admission or none should. It's a matter of fairness. The amount isn't the point (and I can see why the large parks should charge more than the small ones), but it should be all or nothing. Period.

May 6th - 09:54am | shaff01

Buying the pass is not a lot different from buying a yearly membership at the local Zoo or Museum. Some years you visit enough to come out ahead and some you don’t but in the end part of the cost is you know you are supporting something you care about and reaching into your pocket for your pass or membership card seems easier than paying a fee.

May 5th - 22:33pm | Megaera

I buy a pass every year because I live 2 hours drive from Paradise on Mt. Rainier (45 minutes from Carbon River), and 2.5 hours drive from Olympic, as well as shorter distances from several National Wildlife Refuges.

With A Growing Number of National Park Phone Apps, What Should You Expect?

May 8th - 21:45pm | Jon Sparks

Anybody found some more national parks apps that are good?

National Park Road Trip 2011: Big Bend And Chisos Mountains Lodge

May 8th - 12:46pm | Rick Smith

For those who don't wish to stay in lodges, I recommend the campground in the Chisos Basin. Kathy and I stayed there a couple nights and thoroghly enjoyed its rustic atmosphere. The night sky is fabulous and there is easy access to nearby hiking trails. We saw a family of javelinas while in the campground. Rick

May 8th - 07:04am | Jim Burnett

My wife and I spent several nights at the Chisos Mountain Lodge in March 2010, and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The room was comfortable and the setting superb. We ate several meals in the dining room and found both the service and the quality of the food to be very good. All in all, a very positive experience.

The Ghosts Of Yellowstone National Park

May 8th - 10:14am | MEH

Ive never been to Yellowstone or OFI but my aunt has and when she back she had a book about Yellowstones ghost stories it's pretty interresting i would reccommend people read it.

Free Shuttle Buses Will Roll Again This Summer At Sequoia National Park

May 8th - 09:11am | George

Hiker shuttles are also used in Europe, where some narrow valleys in the Alps have been closed to private cars. In the valley of the Clarée, near Briançon, we rode a van that runs up a one-lane road to the trailhead. It's not in a national park, but it is managed much like one. Obligatory parking for private cars is at a village farther down the valley, in flatter terrain.

May 8th - 08:50am | Lone Hiker

I find the terms "7:30am" and "early start" to be rather contradictory. But that's just me.

The Case of the Indian Trader: Billy Malone And the National Park Service Investigation At Hubbell Trading Post

May 7th - 18:22pm | Skeptic...

Don't believe all that you hear from many in leadership when they have a predetermined mission and EI outcome on ANY public comment requests. They know best it would seem.

May 6th - 22:21pm | Anonymous

Readers, Don't believe everything you read.

Traveler's International Readership Expected to Show Dramatic Increases

May 6th - 14:14pm | Steve Nelson

You have to wonder if they understand all the commentary that goes on here. I don't, and I've been to many of the various units. Still, it's good for the NPS and this site that foreigners are viewing this site.

Group Urges NPS Director Jarvis To Reject ORV Plan For Big Cypress National Preserve

May 6th - 12:08pm | k.w.

i happen to be one of the "joy riding yahoos" me and several friends of mine take every oppurtunity we can to take my swamp buggy out there and go for a "sunday drive" i have met several people out there on there own swamp buggies and hunters on atv's as well...

May 6th - 03:39am | Jorge

Or perhaps Hugh can refrain from calling others "yahoos"? The sad part of this is most people crying foul over ORV use are doing so from their McMansions built upon what was previously the very swampland they claim to want to preserve. Give me a break!

FAA Rules Might Ground Rocketman's Bid To Fly Over Grand Canyon On A 'Wingsuit'

May 6th - 11:41am | Anonymous

He is not a daredevil, he has flown over the English channel. The idea of a deposit makes sense. But look at the other activities the parks service approves, bike races, marathons, etc.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park Growing By Nearly 200 Acres Thanks to Nature Conservancy Donation

May 6th - 10:11am | K Norwood

WONDERFUL!!!! One of our VERY favorite places to visit and lucky us---we can travel there and back in 1 day if we want to!!! So many things and places to see in that 1 park!!! Much exploring to do!!

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