National Parks Traveler

Canyonlands National Park is divided by the Green and Colorado Rivers into three distinct districts. Needles, Island in the Sky, and the Maze. There are no roads connecting them because the rivers and some very deep ditches are in the way. Island in the Sky is about a two-hour drive north of the Needles. The Maze is another matter. It can be reached only via a very long and circuitous route.

In a conclusion that has been reached in many other court cases across the country, a federal court has found that resource protection trumps recreational interests in a case from Cape Hatteras National Seashore. U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle also found that the National Park Service did not rely on shoddy science when it developed an off-road management plan.

The Black Hills have long been considered sacred ground by the native people, and after a visit here, perhaps you will too. Start your journey in Rapid City, South Dakota, which is set against the eastern slope of the mountains. The history here, of miners, soldiers, and native tribes, is fascinating. Gold drew the original settlers, but tourism now sustains the region.

In an ideal world, those of us on a trip to a park could take off our watches, never glance at the time on our electronic devices, and not even care what day of the week it is, much less the hour of the day. That's unfortunately not always the case, of course, so it's important to know there are some parks where the answer to "What time is it?" may not be what you expect.