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

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.

"Let's Leave the Balcony Door Ajar"

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!

Jul 12th - 12:58pm | jim Olson

Great story-reminds me of a second story scorpion at Sequia NPS. It could have been even more interesting if it had been the black bear and her cubs.

Jul 12th - 09:40am | Bob Janiskee

If by "advantageous" you mean rascally, I heartily agree. :o)

Jul 12th - 09:38am | Brad

Too funny! Raccoons are very advantageous little creatures.

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.

Jul 12th - 12:38pm | Anonymous

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

Update: Small Plane Crashes in Rocky Mountain National Park, Occupants Alive

Jul 12th - 12:41pm | Dave O

Doc Michaels used to own both a P-51D and a T-6 Texan. Now he owns an American Champion, probably the same model Steve Fossett was flying when he crashed in the California mountains. And I bet Doc also got caught in a mountain wave, which probably only a military jet could get out of.

Jul 10th - 08:46am | Lee Dalton

Submitted by Lee Dalton on July 9, 2010 - 11:17am. Or a good pilot who flew the aircraft all the way to a safe touchdown. (With an angel for a co-pilot . . . . )

Jul 9th - 14:55pm | Connie Hopkins

I love a happy ending!

Jul 9th - 12:17pm | Lee Dalton

Or a good pilot who flew the aircraft all the way to a safe touchdown.

Jul 9th - 09:24am | wil

Wow... That is a miracle!!!

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.

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.

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