National Parks

[Volkonski]

[AndyinPA]

I know exactly where that is. Very close to where we stayed.

[humblescribe]

This reminds me of those souls who built their homes in the canyons of the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles on stilts. Gorgeous views! Half the home was on the mountain side and half was supported by stilts and other structural devices.

Then the torrential spring rains would come and erode the foundations for the stilts until they collapsed, and down the canyon slid these houses.

For those who've never spent much of their lives in Southern California, it was not uncommon for four to six inches of rain to fall in a 36-48 hour period in March and April.

(In fact, one such torrential downpour in the late 19th Century was responsible for the Los Angeles River to change course. Its former mouth was where Ballona Creek enters Marina Del Rey--the river was essentially horseshoe-shaped flowing east from the Calabasas area near Ventura Blvd., then hooking south between Griffith Park and Glendale [the Glendale Narrows]. Past Olvera Street in downtown LA the river then headed west to Santa Monica Bay roughly following the present day Washington Blvd. After a week of rain, the deluge forced the river channel more due south to its present-day mouth at Long Beach.)

We now return you to Yellowstone and the National Park thread.

[Volkonski]

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Smoky Mountain National Park was born today. I'll add link later.

[Kendra]

Apparently MT governor has gone absent during this catastrophic flooding. Comments on this thread are hilarious.

[Volkonski]

-xScplNu0tw&s=19

The gateway towns depend on summer tourism to survive. Since most of the park will be closed for months these towns will suffer greatly.

[AndyinPA]

We stayed in Gardiner, which now looks to be a ghost town. We stayed in a cabin owned by one of the top rangers in the park. Nice people, neat little town. I feel bad for all of them.

[MN-Skeptic]

[Volkonski]

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Daily Kos article before he was "found".

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/6 ... hian-Trail

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte is missing, and we can only hope he's not hiking the Appalachian Trail

Yes, Gov. Greg Gianforte has gone missing, with the governor's office staff refusing to tell reporters where he's gone or why it's a secret. While that would be a problem in the best of circumstances, it's a much bigger problem now that massive flooding has hit the southwest portion of the state, not just destroying homes but shutting down water treatment in Billings, the largest city in the state.

Signing an executive order declaring a state of disaster was left to now-acting governor Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras, however, because Gianforte is somewhere overseas on a "long-scheduled personal trip" with his wife.

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported Wednesday that both Gianforte's whereabouts and his return date are "unclear," though now his staff is claiming he "is returning early and as quickly as possible." It also reports that Gianforte's staff "did not respond to requests for a copy of the governor's written authorization putting Juras in charge," which is also ... a little weird.

But the weirdest part is the refusal by all parties to even give a rough approximation of where it is Gianforte ran off to, as his state prepared for the predicted flooding. That's not generally considered secret information! It's a bit fishy!

[RTH10260]

They still don't get it

[pipistrelle]

These aren’t bison attacks on people. They are people attacks on bison.

[Mrich]

[RTH10260]

[AndyinPA]

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... e-main-t-3

If you can access the site, it's a list of the 63 national parks. You can check off the ones you have been to. 42 out of 63. I think they republish this about once a year. I've seen it before.

Out of the ones we will probably never get to are several in Alaska that are truly remote. We have been to Denali (1, 2, 3 times?). Glacier, and Wrangell-St. Elias, the largest national park in the system. Given time, we think we will make about a dozen more. A few we don't have much desire to go to.

[pipistrelle]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... e-main-t-3
A few we don't have much desire to go to.

Which ones?

[AndyinPA]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... e-main-t-3
A few we don't have much desire to go to.

Which ones?

The ones where It's really hot, in Florida, Arkansas, probably any others in the South. I don't mean they aren't spectacular. We just can't take that heat and humidity. Congaree, Dry Tortugas (almost got there once), others in Florida. I think Pinnacles in California is also very hot, maybe Lassen, although they are almost certainly not humid. The only one that we didn't enjoy, although it's spectacular, is Yosemite, which came as a real shock. It's a parking lot, and we went before Memorial Day, which was not supposed to be as busy. I think that's probably just not as true any more. I know people in California who used to go frequently, and loved it. Lots of reason to, but I sometimes wonder if going there now doesn't make them sad.

Generally speaking, the parks are so much busier the last few years. Many of the parks now require reservations in the high season. Most of the ones we re-did last summer now require them. We try to travel out of season, but can't always.

[humblescribe]

Yosemite can be problematic depending upon the severity of our winter. The Merced River and its Nevada and Vernal Falls is spectacular when the snow starts to melt and the falls are at their peaks. The best time for avoiding the crush at Yosemite is usually in autumn as the river slows to a trickle and the kids are back in school. If you did not make it up to Tioga Road and Tuolumne Meadows, you missed a real treat. There are some easier trails for hiking out and back in that part of the park. But that part of the park opens in May or June and wraps up by early October.

Pinnacles won't be hot in winter. I don't recall right now, but my guess is that the average highs in early February will be in the 60s--perhaps lower. Rain will be a concern (if we ever get rain again!) There is not much if any water available in that park, so take your canteen for any hikes you may undertake.

Lassen is the last park to be open to automobile traffic every year. Usually it opens in late May or early June--sometimes later. Lassen has many enjoyable hikes with easy parking access. Yes, it can get hot there--especially July through early September. But once autumn with its shorter days arrives, it cools off a lot. If you like the smell of sulfur and its simple compounds, you will love Lassen! Drakesbad is a neat place to stay and is off the beaten path and highway 89 that goes through the park.

I don't know your heat tolerance. I'm from California, and think nothing of 90+ degree days to enjoy nature's wonders.

Hope you can persuade yourself to give California one last shot for your National Park list!

[AndyinPA]

I don't know your heat tolerance. I'm from California, and think nothing of 90+ degree days to enjoy nature's wonders.

Hope you can persuade yourself to give California one last shot for your National Park list!

We've been to Redwoods, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and maybe one more I'm forgetting. We like California, and 90 there is likely not as bad as 90 here, but still hot for us. I stepped off the train at one stop in California or Nevada, and then stepped right back on. Humidity or not, too hot!

We did see Yosemite when it was early enough that the falls were lovely. It's spectacular scenery, and I'll never be sorry we finally got to go, but we didn't expect to spend most of our time driving around the valley, trying to find a place to park. There was only one road still closed when we there.

I don't know where we're going next in national parks. Maybe Voyageurs and Theodore Roosevelt, both stops on the Empire Builder, or maybe more parks in Colorado? Also, high on the list, a tour set up that goes on all the scenic railroads in Colorado. I know a nightmare when I see it, and setting it up with tickets, hotels, and timing would be a real nightmare. Maybe we'll combine the two?

[humblescribe]

Enjoy your planning and experiences, Andy!

Other National Parks in California: Death Valley (always go in February or March after a rare winter when DV receives about 3 inches of rain. The desert wildflowers are ubiquitous.) Then take the short hike to Darwin Falls. The trail starts inside the park and follows a brook about a mile to a 25-foot waterfall that is outside the park boundary.

Channel Islands is only visited by boat. Those are five (I think) islands that are many miles off the coastline south of Sta. Barbara and Ventura. I think arrangements can be made to spend the night, but am not sure. A friend invited me along with his family to visit one of the islands in the late 60s (before it became a National Park). We spent the night before sailing back to the mainland.

[AndyinPA]

We had planned to go to the Channel Islands in 2020. You can guess what happened. Death Valley is a dedicated trip to one park, I think.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Arkansas is best enjoyed in late September-May. There are over 200 waterfalls and cascades in Arkansas AND a guidebook and Facebook thread. Petit Jean Mountain has several great hiking trails with turtle rocks, a bear cave and fabulous views. It is only an hour from Little Rock which is a fun city. Amtrak has an LR stop off.

The Pig Trail through the Ozark National Forest is gorgeous!

[AndyinPA]

Food for thought!