Gun-friendly national parks possibly coming soon

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve been in national parks from Acadia in Maine to Glacier in Montana to Zion in Utah to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. (You can start humming “This Land is Your Land” if you like.) I’ve always felt safe–aggravated sometimes by over-sized RVs, but safe.

I even felt safe when I was hiking in Glacier with my husband, then boyfriend, when we saw a mother grizzly bear and her cub in the distance. We were far enough away from them that they looked like dogs. Even when my husband, then boyfriend, said, “All I have to do is out run you if they come for us,” I felt safe.

Evidently, I may not have been as safe as I thought. If I had had a gun, I’d feel safer. That’s the general idea of the proposal that is on the table to allow guns in the national park system. The people who think this is a good idea must have seen the “The River Wild’ several times over. That’s the flick when Meryl Streep‘s character takes on Kevin Bacon’s character–the bad guy, during a family raft trip down a river in some western state. It was filmed in Montana and Oregon.

There are people that think this idea is about as dumb as they come. According the this article in The New York Times, The national parks are supposed to be family-friendly. Family-friendly places don’t have guns. Look at this picture taken in Yosemite by James Gordon. Is there any place that looks more family-friendly than that? Plus, there is a chance someone feeling threatened might kill an animal when there isn’t a threat at all.

Personally, I’m on the side of folks who aren’t happy with the idea of guns in national parks. I’m a fairly calm person, but I know what it feels like to not find a parking space because some large vehicle pulling another large vehicle is taking up more than one space–or what it’s like to not be able to get around a large vehicle pulling another large vehicle on a windy road. Add summer heat, limited vacation time and you have to pee, but can’t stop because there’s no room to pull over, and you’ve got trouble. “Road Rage at the Grand Canyon” coming to a theater near you.

John Muir: An Earth Day ode

by Jamie Rhein on

Even though this weekend was filled with Earth Day activities, the actual Earth Day is today. Because yesterday was John Muir’s birthday, it seems fitting to mention those places that travelers are able to appreciate today due to Muir’s dedication to the environment. Besides, he was a traveler with a capital T, the kind Abha referred to in her post on Henry Lee McGinnis, the 80 year-old who has been walking for 16 years.

Born in Dunbar, Scotland, April 21, 1838, Muir quit his job at age 29 after a machine accident almost blinded him. He decided to start walking to learn about nature. The journey took him to Cuba, Florida and California. Remember he was walking. He was so enamored with California that he made it his home. Muir is credited with helping to create Yosemite National Park, as well as, Sequoia, Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest, and Grand Canyon National Parks.

And if that wasn’t enough, Muir helped influence President Theodore Roosevelt to form the National Monuments program and founded the Sierra Club.

Here’s a quote of Muir’s to take along with you this Earth Day.

Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer,.Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings, Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.

–from our National Parks, 1901.

Roads in Yellowstone National Park are beginning to open to car travel

by Jamie Rhein on

This winter has dumped several feet of snow on Yellowstone National Park’s roads. Getting them cleared for tourists is an undertaking that is not yet done. In the winter, snowmobiling takes over, but in March, the plows start getting the roads ready for car traffic.

If you think you might want to head to Yellowstone to check out the spring flowers and the thaw, find out which roads are open. Supposedly, Mammoth to Norris Junction to Madison Junction to Old Faithful; Madison Junction to West Entrance; and Norris Junction to Canyon are already open according to Yellowstone.net.

These are the road opening dates for others if all goes well. I would call the park office to make sure the section you want to see is one you can get to.

May 2, 2008: Canyon to Lake; Lake to East Entrance.

May 9, 2008: Tower to Tower Fall; Lake to West Thumb; West Thumb to Old Faithful; South to Old Faithful.

May 23, 2008: Tower Fall to Canyon via Dunraven Pass; Long Lake Gate to Red Lodge via Beartooth Pass.

Animated Mt. Rushmore: a singing quartet

by Jamie Rhein on

When I was browsing the The Black Hills Travel blog to write a post about it, I came across this video of an animated Mt. Rushmore. If this won’t perk up your day, I don’t know what will. At first I thought they were going to start bursting out with “Good Morning Star Shine” from the musical “Hair” which would have been just too perfec considering the other post I just wrote, but that’s not the song. You’ll recognize it. By the way, I’ve said this before, but Mt. Rushmore, as hokey as it might seem, is worth going to. Thanks HerBunk for sharing this on YouTube. Click here for details about the video.

Helping out Mother Nature: Volunteers Needed for National Public Lands Day on Saturday (USA)

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s time to step up and return some of the lovin’ that America’s National Parks have been dishing out for so many years now.

This Saturday is National Public Lands Day, an annual event in which more than 100,000 volunteers donate their time at local public lands to build trails, pick up trash, plant trees, and perform whatever other maintenance is desperately needed.

Entrance to National Parks will be free for volunteers on this day. Some National Parks–such as the Grand Canyon–are even giving out one-day passes to volunteers for future visits as well.

One doesn’t need to travel so very far to help out, however; National Public Lands Day isn’t just about National Parks. It’s about any public space where nature is involved. For example, Eaton Canyon in Pasadena, California–not so far from my home–is looking for volunteers to help clean up the trailhead. They’re not giving anything away, except for the satisfaction of helping out Mother Nature. And that’s good enough for me.