Though some still debate whether a handgun is better than bear spray when traveling in grizzly country, a hiker at Glacier National Park was able to drive off an attacking grizzly with a burst of spray to the bruin's face.

Aramark Sports and Entertainment Services, LLC, which had been running concessions at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska under a temporary contract, has landed a 10-year contract to continue operations.

Though Hurricane Joaquin was heading farther east and out into the Atlantic Ocean than earlier forecasts had predicted, heavy rains and flooding expected along the Outer Banks of North Carolina led to closure of Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores.

I met a charming lady while standing atop what’s left of Glines Canyon Dam – a dam recently removed from Elwha River in Olympic National Park. Sharon Francis and her son were there with a girl who I guess is probably her granddaughter. I offered to take a photo of all three of them together and that led to the discovery that I was talking to the woman who had been Stewart Udall’s speechwriter.