Infos querbeet zu NPs, NMs, SPs, etc.

Einmal die Sicht der Indianer zum Thema Bears Ears National Monument und seine mögliche Annulierung

Native Americans prepare to battle Trump over Utah national monument

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In late 2016, then-President Obama designated a 1.35 million acre swath of forest and red rock canyons in southeast Utah as the Bears Ears National Monument. According to a White House statement, the monument was established “to protect some of our country’s most important cultural treasures, including abundant rock art, archeological sites, and lands considered sacred by Native American tribes.” It was a victory for local tribes and conservationists, but some Utah residents are wary of what they see as government overreach and are encouraging their state officials call on the Trump administration to rescind the monument status.

When word came down on Dec. 28 that President Barack Obama had created a 1.35 million-acre national monument called Bears Ears, Jonah Yellowman celebrated. So did leaders of his Navajo people and other tribes that rarely have much to cheer about, such as the Hopi, Ute and Zuni.
Yet the festivities did not last long. Angered at Obama, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and other Republicans quickly lobbied President Donald Trump to rescind or scale back the monument. For Yellowman, such a reversal would represent a historic betrayal. He and other activists have spent years trying to protect Bears Ears and its cliff dwellings and other antiquities.
“People are target shooting at our rock carvings,” said Yellowman, a Navajo elder. “They are cutting out our pictographs, our stories, and taking them away and selling them.”
Across the West and beyond, Native Americans are resisting the administration on multiple fronts. In North Dakota, two tribes have filed lawsuits against Trump’s approval of the 1,172-mile-long Dakota Access pipeline, which skirts the Standing Rock reservation. Tribes are fighting oil and gas projects in Texas, Oklahoma and other states.
While Native Americans have long organized to counter perceived threats, Trump’s election has made it “more visceral,” said David Rich Lewis, a historian at Utah State University who specializes in tribal environmental issues.
Trump has a history of clashing with tribes over casinos and other developments. He also has vowed to open up more federal lands to energy development, including those in and around Indian Country. More recently, he has embraced as a hero former President Andrew Jackson, a leading advocate of “Indian removal” in the American West.

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Glacier National Park plowing has begun

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The annual chore of digging out Glacier National Park roads from the winter snowpack has started.
Plowing has started on the east side of the park and will start on the west side the first week in April.
The Daily Inter Lake reports that crews have cleared the Many Glacier Road to the Many Glacier Hotel, though it is not open to vehicles. The road was plowed a bit earlier than usual to allow contractors to get to the hotel, which is undergoing a $13 million renovation.
The bulk of the construction work is slated to be done by June to accommodate guests at the hotel.

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Dieser Bericht hat nur insofern mit National Parks & Co zu tun, weil einige der Kleinstädte in der Nähe von so etwas liegen.
Aber ich wusste nicht, wohin sonst damit.

21 Nicest Small Towns in America Everyone Should Visit Before They’re 50

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Consider this an ode to knowing your neighbors, having the baristas at the coffee shop know your order by heart, and seeing everyone come together to root for the local high school football team on weekends. These are our finest quaint communities—the best small towns in America.

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Devils Postpile Campground Update for 2017

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Due to winter storm and flood damage and prioritization of trail repairs including Rainbow Falls, the monument's 20 site campground is not anticipated to reopen in 2017. We regret any inconvenience, but this delay will allow the park to ensure the safety of our visitors and necessary preservation/restoration of the park's natural resources impacted by the storm.

However, within the Reds Meadow Valley, there are another 128 first-come, first-served campsites we encourage visitors to consider visiting. The Minaret Vista Station provides site availability information before you enter the Reds Meadow Valley.

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Big Sur parks may not reopen until Summer and spring tourism down already

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California State Parks is hoping to reopen Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park in June and take camping reservations starting July 1, 2017.

The park has suffered significant damage from both the Soberanes Fire in the summer of 2016 and winter storms in 2017.
This week crews got to work clearing out material from debris flows off Pfeiffer Canyon.
The same landslide that caused Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to fail also filled campsites with mud and rocks in the south camp of Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.
Trails throughout the park have also been damaged and rangers are keeping the area closed for safety reasons.

John De Luca the Supervising State Park Peace Officer said possibly one to two trails within Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park will reopen this summer but most will remain closed.
“A complete reopening will not happen this year,” he said.
The emergency foot trail around the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge Closure is complete within Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, but it is for residents only.
The trail is open from a half an hour before sunrise until a half an hour after sunset. Use of the trail is limited to local residents, school children, and employees who live or work south of the demolished Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge.
State Parks is issuing waivers and passes to use the trail but De Luca said he is not staffing anyone to do enforcement.

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Für Blütenfans - und das nicht nur im Frühling.

10 U.S. Parks with Amazing Wildflower Blooms

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It was way back in 1557 when Thomas Tussler reportedly penned some form of the phrase “April Showers Bring May Flowers” Fast forward 450 years, and there’s no longer any reason to wait until April to get your bloom on. Across the west, wildflowers started making noisy and colorful appearances in early March.

But if you're a late bloomer (sorry, pun intended), don't fret. There's still a great deal of wildflower action to be found.
In fact, while the most famed sites for wild blooms might be Washington DC and its delicate cherry-blossom-infused vistas and the western deserts with their riotously blooming wildflowers, these are by no means the only locales across eh country to enjoy the spring and summer bloom.
Recreation.gov, an information and planning portal that represents 12 federal partners, among them the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, reminds travelers that plenty of parks across the country serve up unique blooms and distinct viewing seasons.
Looing for a place to go? Recreation.gov has some suggestions:

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27 national monuments under Interior Dept. review

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Nearly two dozen national monuments will face a federal review period following an executive order by President Trump.
The Department of the Interior, under new Trump appointee Secretary Ryan Zinke, released the names of 27 monuments Friday that it will put under a review, including a public comment period that will run for 60 days.
“Today’s action, initiating a formal public comment process finally gives a voice to local communities and states when it comes to Antiquities Act monument designations,” Zinke said in a written release. “There is no pre-determined outcome on any monument. I look forward to hearing from and engaging with local communities and stakeholders as this process continues.”
Trump ordered the reviews last week, covering a 21-year period bookended by two of the more controversial monument designations in recent memory, both in Utah: the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument designated by President Clinton in 1996 and the Bears Ears National Monument designated by President Obama late last year.

The monuments under review are:
• Basin and Range, Nevada
• Bears Ears, Utah
• Berryessa Snow Mountain, California
• Canyons of the Ancients, Colorado
• Carrizo Plain, California
• Cascade Siskiyou, Oregon
• Craters of the Moon, Idaho
• Giant Sequoia, California
• Gold Butte, Nevada
• Grand Canyon-Parashant, Arizona
• Grand Staircase-Escalante, Utah
• Hanford Reach, Washington
• Ironwood Forest, Arizona
• Mojave Trails, California
• Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, New Mexico
• Rio Grande del Norte, New Mexico
• Sand to Snow, California
• San Gabriel Mountains, California
• Sonoran Desert, Arizona
• Upper Missouri River Breaks, Montana
• Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona
• Katahadin Woods and Waters, Maine
Several other marine monuments will also be reviewed under an order to prioritize an "America first" offshore energy strategy:
• Marianas Trench, Pacific Ocean
• Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, Atlantic Ocean
• Pacific Remote Islands, Pacific Ocean
• Papahanaumokuakea, Hawaii/Pacific Ocean
• Rose Atoll, American Samoa/Pacific Ocean

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The wildly shaped rocks and picture-perfect panoramas have been around for eons, but the beauty of Chimney Rock State Park has only been owned by the public for 10 years.

History of park passion
The park's history goes back more than a century. It started in 1880 when Jerome B. Freeman, a Henderson County state legislator, bought 400 acres on Chimney Rock Mountain from the Speculation Company for $25, said Todd Morse, a descendant of the next owners and general manager of Chimney Rock LLC for more than 20 years.

Freeman commissioned the first set of stairs, bridges and ladders in 1891, making Chimney Rock and the waterfall more accessible and opening the private park to the public.
Lucius B. Morse, a physician from Missouri suffering from tuberculosis, came to the gorge to relieve his symptoms in 1900. He and his brothers Hiram and Asahel bought the land from Freeman in 1902.
They built a 3-mile park road leading to the top of the 2,280-foot-high mountain in 1916, and opened the site as a park for people to hike the precarious cliffs, grottoes and boulders, and take in the wide views of the Gorge from the Chimney.
In 2004, the Morse family started looking to sell the prime piece of real estate. By 2006, negotiations with the state of North Carolina had begun and on May 21, 2007, the deal was sealed with 1,000 acres known as the World’s Edge formally creating the state park.
Intense public love for the park, nestled in the scenic Hickory Nut Gorge, fueled improvements and additional land purchases. With the help of land trusts including the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy, today the park covers 6,892 acres.
One of the goals of Morse brothers was to make the park more accessible, said Todd Morse, who is writing a book on the park’s history. "When they opened the park you could only get to the top by horse. There was very little else – an old hunting trail that went to the waterfall."

The park is now classified as a state Significant Natural Heritage Area, with nearly 600 plant species and some 90 rare plants including Carolina saxifrage and sweet white trillium, and 19 rare animal species such as the Peregrine falcon, cerulean warbler, green salamander and Indiana bat.
The natural wonders also attracted Hollywood. Parts of the 1992 Hollywood blockbuster "Last of the Mohicans" were filmed at the park.
Looking forward, an intense focus will be on improving the Rumbling Bald area, which is popular rock climbers and free to visitors. A $370,000 project to include restrooms and spaces for 90 cars, will be funded with the voter-approved Connect NC Bond of $1.5 million, said park Superintendent James Ledgerwood.
The rest of the bond money will go to create a public access at the World's Edge, the remote area on the south side of Hickory Nut Gorge.
The elevator is set to reopen by the end of the year, Hollifield said, and an alternative route to the Outcroppings trail, called Crevice Pass, is underway. It will allow visitors to squeeze between massive boulders to get to the trail while the deck in front of Gneiss Cave is being expanded.
“What makers our park special is there is so much biological diversity and diversity with hiking trails,” Hollifield said.
“Whether you want the ultimate challenge of the Outcropping Trail or a nice gentle walk to the base of waterfall, everyone can enjoy the park, including children. Large families come and they break into groups to do their own hikes. The variety keeps people coming back.”

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Pavement Preservation Project In Numerous Locations Throughout The Summer In Rocky Mountain National Park Alpine Visitor Center Parking Lot And Old Fall River Road Will Be Closed In Early August

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Today, Monday, June 12, a major pavement preservation project will begin in Rocky Mountain National Park. The work will initially take place on a 12-mile section of US 34/Trail Ridge Road between the Fall River Entrance and Rainbow Curve. During this phase of the project, which should take approximately two weeks, crack sealing and patch work will occur. Park visitors should expect rolling delays of up to 20 minutes.

All three lanes at the Fall River Entrance will be patched tomorrow, June 13. From approximately 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the two south lanes will be closed to traffic. Once patch work has been completed, the two south lanes will re-open and patch work will commence on the north lane. The Fall River Entrance will remain open during the work.

Other areas of the park that will be impacted by this ongoing pavement preservation project include the Endovalley Road, Moraine Park Campground Road, Glacier Basin Campground Road, Sprague Lake Road and Parking Area, Hollowell Park Road and Parking Area, Moraine Park Discovery Center Parking Area, Park & Ride Parking Area, Longs Peak Trailhead Parking Area, Lumpy Ridge Parking Area and the Alpine Visitor Center Parking Area. Some parking areas will have full closures and others will have partial closures in order to complete the work. The work in parking areas will mainly occur in August and September. Weather permitting, Alpine Visitor Center and Trail Ridge Store Parking Area and Old Fall River Road will be closed August 1, 2 and 3 and again on August 17, while the parking area is being resurfaced and then striped. When specific work dates are scheduled for other areas this information will be disseminated.

This important project is critical for the long term protection of park roads and parking areas. Work will not take place during the weekends.

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Trail linking two parts of Big Sur may open to public by July 1

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Officials hope the trail connecting the two segments of Big Sur severed by the downed Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge will open to the general public July 1, with a shuttle service bringing visitors to the footpath on one end and picking them up on the other.
A total of $275,000 was allotted by Monterey County supervisors for the program in an effort to bring tourists back to an area that is seeing an estimated shortfall of about $20,000 per day in tax revenue. According to a study, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties could face a $554 million loss in revenue because of closures on Highway 1.
“Were really enthusiastic about it,” said Supervisor Mary Adams, who represents Big Sur on the board. “We are just absolutely hopeful that it will stimulate business. Just among locals, there are so many people who are really willing to go and help the businesses on the island.”

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Going-to-the-Sun Road reopens in Glacier National Park

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Have you ever seen the light from a sunset hit the mountains in the evening on the way up to Logan Pass in Glacier National Park?
The iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road opened to motorists Wednesday, and the colors on the mountains don't get much better than ones you see on a summer evening near the top of the pass. Sit on an old stone guardrail and look.
Ever indulged in a huckleberry macaroon at the Polebridge Mercantile? Or a bear claw?
"We're just baking away," said Will Hammerquist, at the infamous Merc in the northwest corner of Glacier park.
Already, the million-acre park is busy. Last month, Glacier logged its second busiest May on the books, and the park's Lauren Alley said visitors are flocking through the gates.
"Anecdotally, it seems like there's a lot of people in the park, but we'll have to wait and see what those official numbers look like at the end of the month," Alley said.
Far on the other side of the park established in 1910, a crew put finishing touches this year on a $42 million renovation of the Many Glacier Hotel. A double helix staircase, like the original one built in the Swiss style lodge, is wowing visitors, said Sara Spencer, front desk manager.
"We are open, and it's back to its former glory of the showcase of the Rockies," Spencer said.

Going-to-the-Sun Road at Logan Pass sits at an elevation of 6,646 feet. Every year, snow plow drivers negotiate the harrowing highway to clear it for tourists.
Alley said a June 28 opening is about average, with a historic log noting an opening as early as May 16, in 1987, and as late as July 13, in 2011. In 1987, though, weather closed the pass one day after it had opened, and it didn't reopen until June 6.
This year, crews have cleared out snow, cleaned up rocks and debris, and finished installing guard rails, but keep your eyes wide open because the mountains still rumble and shed onto the road.
"Of course, we did have some slides that came down and caused a little bit of replowing that needed to happen even earlier this week," Alley said. "We had a slide that came down around Rim Rock that was both snow and also rocks."
So park officials encourage drivers to travel with caution, and hikers to do the same. Alley said it's especially important for guests traveling from a long distance to check trail status reports if there's a specific hike they want to do to ensure the area isn't closed due to bears.
Glacier counts 762 lakes, and visitors are already playing in park waters. But the park is closed to motor boats because invasive mussels were found in central Montana, according to the National Park Service website; it also notes that hand-powered vessels will be allowed with an inspection permit.
"People are hitting the rivers, and we're just getting ready for a good safe season, safe and fun. You've got to have them both," Hammerquist said.
In Polebridge, he said tourists have already visited from as far away as the Czech Republic, and guests are liking the Merc's new accessible restroom, one of the biggest additions there this year.
"We like to say we finally entered the 20th century. We're just 117 years late," Hammerquist said.

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National Seashore North Carolina

National Park Service and Dare County Urge Visitors to Use Caution When Attempting to Access New Sandbar

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Over the last two to three months, a large sandbar has formed off Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) in the Cape Point area. Due to the number of recent water rescues the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad has made between the tip of Cape Point and the sandbar, the National Park Service and Dare County are urging all park visitors to use caution when attempting to access the offshore sandbar.

The Cape Point area is a highly dynamic location that is constantly changing through both erosion and accretion of sand. Currents between Cape Point and offshore sandbars can be very strong; therefore, the Seashore does not recommend that visitors swim or wade to these areas. The life guarded beaches at Coquina Beach, Hatteras Lighthouse Beach, and the Ocracoke Day Use Area Beach are excellent choices for swimming, especially when conditions bring dangerous rip currents to the area.

If interested in accessing the new sandbar, Seashore Superintendent David Hallac states that, “traveling to the sandbar is best accomplished by experienced kayakers or paddle boarders that are using appropriate flotation and mindful of the tides and strong currents in the area.”

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Neun Tote nach Sturzflut in Arizona

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Im amerikanischen Bundesstaat Arizona wird eine Großfamilie beim Baden von einer Sturzflut überrascht. Unter den Todesopfern sind auch vier Kinder.

Nach einer Sturzflut in einem Fluss im amerikanischen Bundesstaat Arizona sind nach Behördenangaben mindestens neun Menschen ums Leben gekommen. Sie gehörten laut lokalen Medien zu 14 Mitgliedern einer Großfamilie, die am Samstagnachmittag an dem beliebten Badeplatz Cold Springs Abkühlung gesucht hatten. Die Badestelle liegt an einem Fluss im Tonto National Forest in der Nähe des Orts Payson, knapp 150 Kilometer nordöstlich von Phoenix. Sie ist besonders an heißen Tagen ein populäres Ausflugsziel.
Wie Augenzeugen berichteten, wurden die Opfer beim Baden von einer meterhohen Flutwelle überrascht. Zunächst sei nur ein lautes Rauschen zu hören gewesen, dann sei wie aus dem Nichts eine rasende Wand aus schmutzig-braunem Wasser, das Äste, Geröll und ganze Baumstümpfe mit sich trug, durch den Canyon geschossen. Die Menschen versuchten sich an Bäumen und Sträuchern festzuklammern, andere wurden von der Kraft der gewaltigen Wassermassen mitgerissen.
Unter den Opfern waren nach Aussagen von Angehörigen vier Kinder im Alter von zwei bis sieben Jahren und zwei Jugendliche. Eine Person wurde zunächst noch vermisst. Nach Angaben der Rettungskräfte waren zum Zeitpunkt des Unglücks mehr als 100 Menschen im Wasser. Ursache für die Sturzflut war offenbar ein schweres Unwetter, das sich zwölf Kilometer nördlich des Unglücksorts ereignet hatte.

Höchste Gefahr nach Trockenperioden und Buschbränden
Im Sommer kommt es in den Wüstengebieten der Bundesstaaten Arizona und Utah immer wieder zu Sturzfluten mit Todesopfern. Im September 2015 waren durch eine Flutwelle im Short Creek, an der Grenze zwischen Arizona und Utah, 13 Menschen ums Leben gekommen, als der Fluss fast drei Meter über den Normalstand gestiegen war. Die enormen Regenmengen, die bei den Unwettern niedergehen, können dabei vom Erdboden nicht mehr aufgenommen werden und fließen in sonst oft trocken liegende Flussbetten ab. Dort sammelt sich das Wasser und kann in seinem Verlauf, besonders wenn es sich durch schmale Canyons zwängt, zu reißenden Fluten anschwellen.

Besonders hoch ist die Gefahr nach längeren Trockenperioden und Buschbränden. Auch die Vegetation in der Unglücksregion hatte zuvor unter Buschfeuern gelitten. Dazu kommt, dass die Fluten oft ohne Vorwarnung, buchstäblich aus heiterem Himmel, über die Opfer hereinstürzen – offenbar auch in diesem Fall: Am Unglücksort hatte es unmittelbar vor der Flutwelle nach Aussage von Augenzeugen nicht einmal geregnet.

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Arizonas State Parks feiern 60. Geburtstag
Mehr als zwei Dutzend Naturschönheiten locken mit aufregenden Veranstaltungen

Zitat

Unberührte Wüstenlandschaften, Wälder voller Gelb-Kiefern, Bergketten und rauschende Flüsse - die 35 State Parks in Arizona beeindrucken jährlich Tausende Besucher mit ihrer unvorstellbaren Natur. Das Besondere in diesem Jahr: Die State Parks feiern Geburtstag. Vor 60 Jahren wurde Arizona State Parks & Trails ins Leben gerufen, um die Vielfalt von Arizonas Natur und Kultur zu bewahren.

Das Jubiläum ist der perfekte Anlass, sich auf Abenteuerreise zu den abwechslungsreichen Orten zu begeben. Insbesondere im Spätsommer und Herbst versprechen spannende Veranstaltungen einmalige Erlebnisse.

Catalina State Park
Naturliebhaber zieht es häufig in den nur 30 Kilometer von Tucson entfernten Catalina State Park inmitten des Coronado National Forest. Hier finden sich ein gepflegter Campingplatz, Picknickeinrichtungen und sogar ein Reitzentrum. Damit ist der State Park der ideale Ort für einen Erkundungstrip in die Berge, vor allem, weil er mit seinen gut 5000 Saguaro-Kakteen eine wahre Naturschönheit und eine beliebte Fotokulisse ist. Die vielen anderen Wüstenpflanzen und verschiedenen Tierarten, darunter allein 150 Vogelarten sowie die gut ausgebauten Reit- und Wanderwege locken nicht nur im Sonnenschein. Auch nachts gibt es hier einiges zu entdecken. Insbesondere bei der Star Party am 14. Oktober 2017 wird der Horizont der Besucher buchstäblich erweitert. Die Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association wird zehn große Teleskope aufstellen, mit denen der klare Sternenhimmel beobachtet werden kann.

Red Rock State Park
Bei Gästen ebenfalls sehr beliebt ist der Red Rock State Park in Sedona. Mit seinen vielen Bäumen und Vögeln ist er besonders für Vogelkundler ein Highlight. Die spektakulärste Aussicht über den ganzen Park haben Wanderer zweifelsohne nach dem Erklimmen des Eagle’s Nest Trail, der einen Berg hinauf zum höchsten Punkt des Parks führt. Auch hier sollte der Tag nicht vor dem Abend gelobt werden, denn der hat einiges zu bieten. Am 4. Oktober findet beispielsweise ein Full Moon Hike statt, der zu den beliebtesten Wanderungen im Red Rock State Park gehört. Zusammen mit einem sachkundigen Naturforscher erhalten die Wanderer die seltene Gelegenheit, im Park den Sonnenuntergang zu genießen. Nach 2 ½ Stunden geht es dann im Mondschein zurück.

Slide Rock State Park
Wer es lieber actionreich mag, sollte den Slide Rock State Park im Canyon des Oak Creek elf Kilometer nördlich der Stadt Sedona nicht verpassen. Dieser verdankt seinen Namen einer spektakulären natürlichen Wasserrutsche, die den Park während der Sommermonate zu einer der meistbesuchten Touristenattraktionen in Arizona macht. Das jährliche Highlight ist übrigens das Fall Fest, das 2017 am 21. Oktober stattfindet. Die Besucher sind dazu eingeladen an einem großen Picknick teilzunehmen, sich Ausstellungen anzuschauen oder Musikern zu lauschen. Badesachen sollten aber auch im Herbst nicht vergessen werden, denn es wird immer noch heiß.

Lake Havasu State Park
Arizonas Westen braucht sich ebenfalls nicht zu verstecken. In der Nähe von Parker und Lake Havasu befindet sich der Cattail Cove State Park. Mit seinen 61 Campingplätzen ist der Ort zudem ein idealer Ausgangspunkt für Tagesfahrten in die Region. Nicht weit entfernt liegt der Lake Havasu State Park mit seiner wunderschönen „Küste“. Strände, Wanderwege, Bootsanleger und Campingplätze machen den See zu einem absoluten Besuchermagneten. Es ist zwar noch etwas früh, doch Besucher sollten sich bereits jetzt den 1. und 2. Dezember im Kalender eintragen, dann startet die beeindruckende 35. Annual Christmas Boat Parade of Lights mit mehr als 50 Booten.
Bei dieser großen Auswahl an unterschiedlichen Parks und Veranstaltungen findet jeder Reisende sein perfektes Erlebnis in der Natur, für deren Erhalt sich seit 60 Jahren Arizona State Parks & Trails einsetzt.

Tipp: Für alle diejenigen, die mehrere Parks besuchen möchten, empfiehlt sich der Jahrespass für 75 US-Dollar. Mit diesem haben der Passhalter sowie drei weitere Erwachsene im selben Fahrzeug Zugang zu allen staatlichen Parks. Teilweise gibt es allerdings saisonbedingte Besuchseinschränkungen. Mit dem Premium Pass für 200 US-Dollar können diese umgangen werden. Die Tickets gibt es hier: Arizona State Parks Pass

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3 incredible places to view the Milky Way

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There is so much light pollution these days that it can be almost impossible to spot anything other than the Big Dipper in most places, but the International Dark-Sky Association put together a list of national parks where you can get clear views of the night sky including the Milky Way. Kristina Guerrero and Jared Cotter have three of their favorite spots to gaze on the Buzz List.

3. Death Valley National Park in California
Close to the Nevada border, Death Valley has almost no light pollution and is considered one of the darkest locations in the world. The park covers over 3.3 million acres along the southeastern border and it barely has any of its own light sources so it's the perfect place to see the elusive Milky Way.

2. Goblin Valley State Park in Utah
It's known for the rock formations known as hoodoos which are these weird mushroom shaped rocks. When night falls at this small park northwest of Arches National Park it gets dark so you can see meteorites as they streak across the sky.

1. Blue Ridge Star Park in North Carolina
This cool spot is just north of Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was the first park in the southeast to be designated an International Dark-Sky Park. The Star Park is such a cool name! It's only about 6 acres, but it's super dark and surrounded by a rugged mountain landscape. It's also home to the Bare Dark Sky Observatory where you can get your star gazing education on.

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Zitat

Road Work Begins July 31, 2017
Pavement Preservation Work will occur on the North and South Rim Drives including the overlooks. Some areas will be inaccessible during this time. Expect delays while work is in progress. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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Dieser Trail ist ja auch "national"

The Appalachian Trail turns 80

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There’s something about the Appalachian Trail - or, A.T., as it’s affectionally known by enthusiasts - that draws people to it, from day-hikers, to section-hikers who spend days, weeks, or even months traversing its sections’ ups and downs, to “thru-hikers” who hike the entire trail, from start to finish.
“The A.T. is a place that balances me; it grounds me,” says section-hiker Maureen Cacioppo of St. Petersburg, Florida, who has hiked sections of the A.T. in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine over the course of about 14 years. “I can reconnect with myself and Mother Nature.”
When Benton MacKaye revealed his proposal for “An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning” in October 1921 and established the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 1925, he probably imagined just that - a place where people could get away from their daily surroundings and immerse themselves in nature.
Over the course of the following decade or so, conservancy leadership and volunteer clubs worked side-by-side, and in August 1937, the (roughly) 2,190-mile-long, footpath was complete from Maine to Georgia, passing through 14 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The A.T. is one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world.

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