Tag Archives: National parks

2016 – Positive Thoughts

Carolina Mountain Club, National Parks

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times – that was truer this year more than ever. And the worst certainly upstaged the best.

As a wise man said, “Nothing lasts forever except the earth and sky.”

But this, like most other blog posts, will stay positive. I managed to have some high notes in 2016.

Like the rest of the United States, I celebrated the National Park Service Centennial. After visiting over seventy national parks in the southeast over six years, I published
Forests, Alligators, Battlefields: My Journey through the National Parks of the South through Kimberly Crest Books.

Publishing is one thing; marketing is another. I visited bookstores, outdoor stores, hiking clubs, schools, churches, and national parks to introduce the world to the national parks of the South. And to my surprise, I’m not done. More invitations came for 2017.

In this, the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, I visited or revisited several parks including:

* Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. I’ve now been in all fifty states.

Yorktown Victory Monument

* Yorktown National Battlefield, the end of the American Revolution. Since the park in Virginia, it’s not in the NPS Southeast region. But I refer to it so much that I had to visit it.

* I gave a talk at Fort Moultrie in Charleston

* Bandelier National Monument and the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Los Alamos when I went to Family Nature Summits in New Mexico.

Up to the cliff dwellings in BAND

That doesn’t include my four home parks: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, the Appalachian Trail, and Carl Sandburg Home.

A new section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail around Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway opened this year. We had a big, big celebration.

And of course, I had my day job: leading hikes for Friends of the Smokies and Carolina Mountain Club.

But wait – the year isn’t over.

All I want for Christmas is the National Parks to stay open

National Parks
Up to the cliff dwellings in BAND
Up to the cliff dwellings in BAND

It has been a week since the world learned the outcome of the Presidential election – and Congress as well.

While Republicans may still be celebrating, it is time for Congress to get back to work. As it stands now, the government is only funded until December 9 at 11:59 pm. That’s only 23 days from now.

Are we ready for another government shutdown? If our Congress doesn’t act, all “nonessential services” will close. That means our National Parks will be shuttered. No hiking, no visitor centers, no open restrooms, no boating… It will be a bleak Christmas indeed.

National Forests and all Federal lands will also be affected but it’s more difficult to police them.

Bison in THRO
Bison in THRO

Not all park visits are in the summer months. In this great and spacious country of ours, many parks are at their best in the winter. Families have plans to travel to Everglades National Park in Florida or Big Bend National Park in Texas.

More extensive plans call for flying to Virgin Islands National Park or even Hawaii. Think Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island or Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Moloka’i – a once in a lifetime visit.

NPS flat hats
NPS flat hats

I’ve contacted my Congressional Representative and two Senators from North Carolina and I encourage you to do the same, several times. It is sad that we have to remind our Congress to go to work.

For the next 23 days, I will post a picture of a national park unit and a countdown on my Facebook and Twitter account. So you may want to follow me. Share the post, comment on it, but most important contact your legislators.

It sounds like I’m in a Charles Dickens novel and all I want for Christmas is coal in my stocking to keep warm.

So all I want for Christmas is for our government to keep our government functioning.

Keep our National Parks open after Dec 9

National Parks
In the Smokies
In the Smokies

We’ve been so inundated by presidential politics that most voters haven’t noticed that our government isn’t funded after December 9. And right now, if our Congress doesn’t pass a budget, all nonessential services will be cut by then.

On Saturday December 10, you’ll find Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed. Same with every other national park unit from Yosemite to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

We can write or call our senators and representatives and tell them to get back to work and fund our government.

If you have trouble remembering who your two senators are, try this link.

For your Congressional representative, here’s the link.

Frozen Niagara
Frozen Niagara at Mammoth Cave

Here’s the letter I sent. Please contact the people who work for you in Washington and let them know that you’re paying attention.

Dear Congressman XX:

Congress has only authorized a budget until December 9. If you and your colleagues can’t agree about how to govern, you will cause another government shutdown. With all the media attention focused on the presidential election, you might think that voters aren’t paying attention, but we are.

The first agency that is considered nonessential and has to shut down is the National Park Service. Imagine families going to the Smokies, the Everglades or Carl Sandburg and finding the parks and visitor centers shuttered. Imagine hard-working families finally planning a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii during the Christmas holidays and finding Volcanoes National Park closed! We’re celebrating the National Park Service Centennial this year – not the time to close our parks.

Families take the time to enjoy our national parks during the holiday season. In North Carolina, we have eight national park units and they all protect, preserve, and interpret an important part of our American culture.

Are you really prepared for another shutdown because Congress isn’t doing its job?
Please tell me that the budget problem will be solved, hopefully once and for all.