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New Director in National Park Service's Intermountain Region Looking Forward to Challenges

Oct 1st - 17:54pm | Anonymous

We're waiting John - let's see some leadership and a clean break from the past, a past that you were very much a part of. You, perhaps more than anyone other than Mike Snyder, were the champion and architect of Core Operations. Many of the parks have yet to recover from that era, please lead us into a new and revitalized Intermountain Region.

Search For Hiker in Joshua Tree National Park Has A Happy Ending

Oct 1st - 16:06pm | Anonymous

For someone supposedly experienced he was not too bright. First he should have been better prepared. Coming from an experienced family of woods people the minute he found himself lost he should have taken a radius and tried to find come sort location marker. The he should have tried to find some water, made some shelter and STAYED PUT.

Oct 1st - 13:52pm | tomp

This was in InsideNPS today, along with "Ailing hiker rescued from Panamints", "Hiker's body recovered from remote are of [Grand Canyon]", and "Suicide victim found in pecan grove area" (Jean Lafitte NHP&P). It's a good day when half of the incidents have happy endings. I have a lot of respect for the rangers and others in the parks having to deal with these almost every day.

Oct 1st - 07:54am | Anonymous

I fell his pain. My sister and I were out at Joshua tree in Feb and wandered around looking for a specific rock formation that meant a lot to our Grandmother and got lost while searching. I had a photo of the formation in my hand so walked all around many formations looking for the one in the photo and before I knew it I couldn't see or hear anybody and went into a panic.

Sep 30th - 23:36pm | Arlene Garelick

I am ecstatic that Ed Rosenthal has been found safe and sound. God has so greatly blessed him and his family. May the search and rescue team forever be as blessed. Thank you very much for your hard work and perseverance.

Sep 30th - 20:39pm | Travis Puglisi

I saw your piece on the hiker found in Joshua Tree this morning. I happen to live very near that area and heard the helicopter going over head this morning. That is very good news.

Record Summer of Turtle Nesting at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Spawns....Debate

Oct 1st - 15:56pm | SS1

Dapster, Spin is interesting. You implied that environmental organizations were dishonest about filling a lawsuit about the Park’s Interim Protected Species Management Plan (IPSMP). “which the SELC parties jumped ship from mid-process, going against their own pledges not to do so.” Not so.

Sep 30th - 12:43pm | Anonymous8

Dadgum Ghost Crabs. There's your problem. Put a bounty on 'em, say 50 cents each. Then let the kids catch 'em and turn 'em in by the bucketful. Do this every year starting right before hatching time till the end of it :)

Antelope Fire in Yellowstone National Park Approaching 4,000 Acres

Oct 1st - 12:46pm | Les & Jill Taylor

As you know, we spent September 9-18 in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. While the other two couples in our party of six had never visited a national park before, no one was more excited than I since it would be my first visit to my personal favorite park in 15 years.

Time Running Out This Year For A Visit To Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim

Oct 1st - 08:22am | Gaelyn

Better hurry. The aspen are gold.

Here's the Denali Road Lottery Schedule

Oct 1st - 04:31am | G & C Flothe

We won the Denali Road Lottery this year for the 17th and had a wonderful experience. The weather was warm with sun and blue sky the whole day. We saw Denali all the way up the highway and all the way back toward Anchorage, as well as all through the Park. We spotted most of the big five mammals (including many bear), but didn't seen any caribou.

Reader Participation Day: Help Us Name the Best Adventures In the National Park System, Lower 48 Edition

Oct 1st - 03:01am | MRC

Best adventures don't have to be big tours for the experienced wilderness expert:

Sep 30th - 21:23pm | Anonymous

Some of my favorite hikes: Mist Trail at Yosemite, Delicate Arch at Arches and Hidden Lake at Glacier. However, my favorite national park memory is walking around Biscuit Basin at Yellowstone after an October snow. My husband and I were the only people in sight; steam was rising up through the snow and there was a small herd of elk nearby.

Sep 30th - 17:11pm | Bogator

You know, everything is relative. For my wife and I, two seniors from FLORIDA, driving in and out of Mesa Verde is all the adventure we need. Same goes for driving the Rim Road in the Colorado NM. I also agree with Meg, watching Grand or Great Fountain Geysers put on their show is exhilarating .

Sep 30th - 15:04pm | stampling

Some that have not been mention: 1) Rock climbing on El Capitan at Yosemite 2) Canoeing in Conagree NP 3) BASE Jumping from The New River Gorge Bridge during Bridge Day 4) Wind Surfing at Cape Hatteras 5) Kayaking in Apostle Islands 6) Snow shoeing or cross county sking in Yellowstone 7) 4X4 driving in Canyonlands NP

Sep 30th - 11:12am | pkrnger

A few experiences come immediately to mind: (1) Signing out for and hiking the 1 mile ledge trail behind Curry Village to the top of Glacier Point.

Sep 30th - 00:56am | Rick B.

Oh - and snorkeling the underwater nature trail at Buck Island Reef National Monument in the Virgin Islands. When a memory sticks with you for 30 years, it's a good one.

Sep 30th - 00:15am | Meg

Here's one that's not so strenuous -- watching Grand Geyser in Yellowstone. I've sat and waited for it for four hours before and never regretted a moment.

Sep 29th - 23:03pm | tahoma

Great topic, Kurt; lots of fine suggestions! I especially like the examples from the areas east of the Rockies that I'm not familiar with. Amoung those previously mentioned, my western favorites are the Green River paddle, the Zion slots, and anywhere off the tourist trails in Grand Canyon. Here's a few of the best adventures in our Northwest parks:

Sep 29th - 22:08pm | Sabattis

Lots of great nominees here. I tried to come up with some other not-yet-mentioned adventures that are either at some less-famous Parks or are less-obvious adventures than, say, climbing Mt. Rainier or climbing Mt. McKinley in Sequoia NP: - white-water rafting in Gauley National Recreation Area on an autumn dam-release day

Sep 29th - 21:36pm | smokeylover49

Hiking in the rain forest in Olympic National Park - awesome!!!

Sep 29th - 20:56pm | Anon

4-wheeling on the north rim of Grand Canyon out to Point Sublime. Snowshoeing at Crater Lake. Early morning walk up to Mount Rushmore. Nothing like having a little of those great places all to yourself.

Sep 29th - 19:21pm | Jon Merryman

Ok, on a serious note, I'd put snorkeling at Dry Tortugas NP, around Fort Jefferson and amidst the surrounding reefs, barrier islands, and shipwrecks. Really makes you have second thoughts about your position on the food chain.

Sep 29th - 18:27pm | Anonymous

Hiking the Panorama Trail in Yosemite

Sep 29th - 18:16pm | Island Paddler

Canoeing the Green River through Canyonlands National Park. It's my all time number one vacation.

National Park Mystery Spot 16: Shuck Your Clothes

Oct 1st - 00:47am | Anonymous

Below Lincoln Rd and below the Presidio. Baker Beach is to the west. Marshal's beach is the shoreline between the Presidio and the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Every San Francisco native is naked. Some tourist stay shy and covered. It's also referred to as "Nasty Boys Beach". The boys are not nasty, but they are playful.

Visitor Survey: Grand Teton National Park

Sep 30th - 19:43pm | stormy

Along with the money factor for younger families, there is also the fact that kids today are so tethered to their electronic games/gadgets. Now, I know not all of them are, but if you pay attention to tweens/teens in public most of them have some type of electronic gadget in their hands or ears. We made our 1st trip to Yellowstone in 2004 when our younger son was 15.

Sep 30th - 18:35pm | Cornell

RE: "Nearly half -- 48 percent -- of the respondents said they were visiting Grand Teton because they were also visiting Yellowstone National Park. Just 17 percent said Grand Teton was their primary destination."

Sep 30th - 09:50am | MikeD

I wonder if any of the trend is a more general trend of younger, working people favoring "staycations" as opposed to heading out to a remote part of the country. Part of this would be due to the economy, of course, which presumably hasn't hit retirees with pensions, etc... quite as hard. Just a thought.

Sep 30th - 08:14am | Kurt Repanshek

I would agree that the main reason folks head to Grand Teton is to look at the mountains, but am not ready to get entirely behind your argument, MRC. The park map very clearly points out the "Cunningham Cabin Historic Site" as well as "Menor's Ferry Historic District" and even lists Mormon Row, though says nothing to indicate its historic nature.

Sep 30th - 07:18am | MRC

Well, the historic sites are totally unknown to first-time visitors. So it comes at no surprise to me that those visitors don't rate their importance as high. Who knows about Mormon Row even among the readers of this blog and of this article? Who's been there?

Visit To Mammoth Cave National Park Shows Off Above- and Below-Ground Wonders

Sep 30th - 17:30pm | haunted hiker

Great post prkranger!..Hope to see more from you here.

Survey of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Visitors Points to Need For More Rangers, More Funding, Better Access

Sep 30th - 15:46pm | Rangertoo

It is a coal-powered plant, not a nuclear reactor.

Sep 30th - 10:33am | MikeD

Their visitors center is a joint one with local governments. In fact, federal staff are apparently prohibited from putting up exhibits there. There is/was a bill to change this, but I'm not sure what its current status is:

Sep 30th - 09:59am | Terry Oldes

I was at the Dunes last weekend and was very impressed by a ranger led tour of Indiana's only bog, quite a long ways from the main dunes area (10-20 miles in fact). It was only open one day a month and if the ranger hadn't been there I would have probably been underwhelmed, not really knowing what I was viewing.

Search in Joshua Tree National Park Continues For Missing Californian

Sep 30th - 15:24pm | Anonymous

go josar! he was found alive!

Sep 30th - 10:18am | Connie Hopkins

Sadly, every time I read stories like this, it re-emphasizes to me the importance of hiking with someone else! I certainly hope this has a good ending.

Sep 30th - 09:55am | MikeD

So perhaps he headed off the trail to get a view or for some other reason? Amazing how easy it is to get lost. I read a book called "Lost in the Wild" about 2 such occasions in/near the Boundary Waters area of Minnesota (near Voyageurs NP). Interesting read, especially to get sort of an in depth look of how these searches take place and one of the stories is pretty compelling.

Interior Secretary Salazar Issues "Scientific Integrity" Order

Sep 30th - 14:53pm | Ron Saunders

Just a few thoughts and observations.

Sep 30th - 10:51am | Kurt Repanshek

YNP4everyone, You are right that another judge, in this case U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer, did indicate he would rule contrary to how Judge Sullivan did. However, does that not lend credence to the contention that politics trumps good science?

Sep 30th - 10:14am | pkrnger

This is very good news. Something needs to be put into place to prevent government-sponsored science from being politically manipulated to discourage inconvenient truths from reaching the general public (let alone the peer-reviewed scientific literature or Congress). In fact, I would surmise that in order for a Democracy to function properly, there must be integrity of information.

Sep 30th - 09:54am | YNP4everyone

All the 2 stroke snowmobiles that were banned from Yellowstone during the Clinton administration continue to be banned today. The ones allowed now weren't even produced at the period of time. The Arctic Cat has used an small automobile engine that is allowed in the park on wheels and on tracks. How can an engine be allowed in the park on wheels but not on tracks?

Sep 30th - 08:56am | Nate

This must be why the Obama DOI bizarrely continues to deny Greater Sage-Grouse or American Pika, among others, endangered species act protections. Or why they keep lowering the bar set by the awful Bush Administration with regard to funding and enforcement of the ESA. It's "science".

Cavallo Point: New National Park Lodging in Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Sep 30th - 13:52pm | Anonymous

My wife stayed at the Cavallo Point for one night (as a gift from a well to do relative). From her perspective, only people with a high disposable income can afford to stay at CPL. It's elegant and most definitely an eco-lodge, however this kind of lodge experience comes with a high price tag.

Commentary: How Do You Prefer National Parks, Utilitarian, or Utopian?

Sep 30th - 12:05pm | Anonymous

My vision of the parks would retain as much of the "wild and untouched" landscape as possible. This wouldn't necessarily preclude interpretive centers and should include disabled access to the most popular areas within reason. Certainly we can reduce traffic and increase access by busing groups through. Whether any park should include ORV activity - that's a topic with which I take issue.

Sep 30th - 09:43am | Sparko

I do wholeheartedly agree with you...The offroad enthusiasts have already destroyed the Mojave desert...Snowmobiles up north, jetboats in the lakes, rivers and oceans - blah blah blah...Where are we to go?

Death Valley National Park Working To Protect Fish That Live in 90-Degree Hot Spring

Sep 30th - 10:31am | Jamie Edelman

This is amazing, a fish that has no migratory routes and sustains itself in such a contained area, I am sure there is much to be learned by this species, It would be the most foolish thing ever if they allowed anyone to harm this very special, micro-climate.

National Park Mystery Spot 16 Revealed

Sep 30th - 05:45am | Jon Merryman

Yet another poorly worded sign. NUDE SUNBATHING PERMITTED BEYOND THIS POINT would have been more direct and less susceptible to misinterpretation. This sign gives permission to confront them if I so desire.

National Park Service Ships Historic Railroad Cars to East Troy Electric Railroad

Sep 29th - 21:59pm | PM

I visited the Illinois Railway Museum a couple of years ago. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in railroading.

Fall Into Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone Kills California Woman

Sep 29th - 21:42pm | Anonymous

Yes, three years later... I miss you Charlotte so much. I'm so sorry you died and I will always love you. You will always be in my heart.

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