Saturday mash-up: June 16, 2012
This sounds like a fairly ominous collection: detailed maps, rolling protests, killer kilocalories and powerful 80-year-olds. Read closely, though, all is benign. Except the calories. Ever find yourself in a new town and wonder about nearby recreational resources? It’s easy enough to find the national parks, and fairly easy to find the state parks. But...
Saturday mash-up: June 2, 2012
This appears to be late but we were here yesterday and no one showed up so we took off. Look for a slightly less pristine experience in your national parks this summer. You shouldn’t let that stop you from going: any visit there will still be a deep dive into unparalleled natural beauty. Or a...
Saturday Mash-up: May 19, 2012
Like the other photos for Saturday mash-ups, this one is picked not for its relevance but just because we like it. It’s a photo of a “black ice growler from a recently calved iceberg closing in on the shore at the old heliport in Upernavik, Greenland. Such black ice growlers originate from a glacial crevasse,...
Saturday mash-up: May 12, 2012
By separating these odd lots into discrete posts spread over several days, we might appear more professional. But alas, we are what we seem to be: The National Park Service is reminding folks that 33 national parks will offer premier seating for the solar eclipse on May 20, and six parks “are at the center...
Saturday mash-up: May 5, 2012
Yes, yes. A day late. But what is time if life is an eternity? You are exhausted with special events—Tax Day, National Parks Week, Derby Day—so you may have failed to notice that May is Older Americans Month. You should go to the web site, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration...
Did you have a happy National Parks Week?
Why does anyone think we need a National Parks Week? To “celebrate” these treasures? No. Bogus. You don’t “celebrate” good wine or the Sistine Chapel. Yes, you acknowledge the joy they give us, so in that sense you celebrate them. But the main idea is that you are supposed to partake of them. Consume them....
Happy National Parks Week!
A gentle reminder: in the United States, this is National Parks Week. Free admission to all 397 properties managed by the National Park Service, “84 million acres of the world’s most spectacular scenery, historic landmarks and cultural treasures.” (Note to the National Park Foundation, which penned the citation above: the parks are inarguably excellent places...
Happy John Muir Day, Happy Earth Day
So much to celebrate. In case you missed it, California Governor Jerry Brown proclaimed yesterday as John Muir Day, and he urged Californians to visit one of the state’s “public open spaces.” A bit of a catchall, that—one that would in theory include a municipal parking garage—so he quickly clarified that he meant a “national...
Happy Tax Day!
Your taxes are due. Pay them, because you must. Then ask yourself if you’re getting your money’s worth. It won’t matter. Even if you don’t like the hand you’ve been dealt here, you still have to pay. And pay. If you’re paying, it’s because you’re making money. In this economy, that’s a good problem. You...
National parks not likely to be vaporized next year
Anyone who’s a fan of the U.S. National Park Service knows that it’s been a rough few years, what with the chronic underfunding, and the occasional bear-mauling, and now the looming likelihood of a 9 percent budget hit if Congress’ super-committee can’t figure out a rational way to take care of its...
