Tag Archives: national parks

local news

Look what I found!

PETRIFIED FOREST NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. — My journey toward the Pacific Ocean took me on an unexpected detour … and I saw something that blew my noggin.

I took an exit off Interstate 40 toward the Petrified Forest National Park, the entry to which is just off the freeway. I entered the park — flashing my lifetime pass granted to us old folks at all national parks — and then drove about 30 miles along a road through the park.

I had to wait a while before I saw actual petrified trees, but the scenery along the way, through the Painted Desert, was a sight to behold.

Then I reached a stretch of park land strewn with logs that once stood as tall timber. They had become stones. I had been to the park once before; my wife and I brought her mother here, but we didn’t see much of the park. My mother-in-law’s lack of mobility restricted what we were able to see. Today was a bit different. I was able to walk great distances and Toby and Puppy and I made a trek along the petrified logs.

I hadn’t expected this to be so cool. Frankly, I am looking forward to seeing the Grand Canyon soon. The petrified forest was — initially! — a diversion for me.

Then I laid eyes on it.

My advice to anyone venturing this way? If you’ve got some time, jump off the freeway and drive just a stone’s throw north. Enter the park and take a leisurely drive. It’s worth your time.

Pretty damn cool, man!

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

environmental news

Hells Canyon: a national treasure that needs added status

VALE, Ore. — I didn’t snap the picture attached to this blog post, but it illustrates a point I want to make with this brief message.

The picture is of Hells Canyon. The Snake River running along the floor of this chasm separates Oregon from Idaho.

The canyon is part of what’s called the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Now, I grew up in Portland, about 330 miles west of this region, but I long have lamented that this magnificent piece of God’s good Earth isn’t a national park. Yes, I have wanted that designation since I was a kid skipping rocks across puddles in Portland.

Oregon has a single national park. Crater Lake is a beaut. It fills a caldera left by the explosion about 10,000 years ago of Mount Mazama. It’s the deepest lake in the country. It is as blue as blue gets.

Hells Canyon, though, sits on the edge of a region known as the “Oregon Alps,” also known formally as the Wallowa Mountains. I want the federal government to designate this region as a national park.

Yes, it’s not a simple task. There exists a certain amount of politics involved.

Let’s face a brutal fact as well. There ain’t gonna be a national park named anywhere in this country as long as Donald J. Trump serves as president. Trump seems to hate public land that has been set aside for recreational purposes. He has issued executive orders removing that land from public care, allowing private interests to harvest its mineral wealth.

Hey, there’s a certain irony in this discussion. Hells Canyon happens to be situated in the heart of Trump Country. The eastern region of Oregon and all of Idaho is quite friendly to this president.

I have no proof of this, though, but my strong hunch is that many residents of the northeast corner of Oregon and neighboring Idaho would welcome a national park designation for Hells Canyon with open arms.

Vale is just spittin’ distance from the Snake River just a bit south of the southern reaches of Hells Canyon. Being here simply reminds me of what I have wished for since I was a whippersnapper.

national news, Uncategorized

Bring your hiking shoes, first family

cave

President and Mrs. Obama are taking their daughters to Carlsbad Caverns, N.M., as part of a commemoration of the National Park Service’s centennial celebration.

The park service turns 100 and the Obamas are going to mark the occasion by touring the caverns, along with Yosemite National Park in California.

Take it from my wife and me, Mr. President and your lovely family: You need to have comfortable shoes if you’re going to go deep into the cavern.

We just went there ourselves.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/06/17/obama-family-to-visit-carlsbad-yosemite-to-highlight-national-parks/

I’ve got some good news and some bad news for the first family.

The good news is that they’ll be amazed at what they see once they start hiking down the path into the cavern. It’s about 750 feet down vertically from the main entrance. Sure, they’ll have plenty of company with them as they make the journey.

The bad news?

The elevator is broken. We heard some park officials say it’s going to take many months, perhaps a year or two, to repair the elevator that’s supposed to haul tourists back to the top if they don’t want to make the hike. Now you have no choice. It’s a haul.

I get that the president and first lady are quite fit. Mrs. Obama has made nutrition and exercise a hallmark of her first ladyship. She has a chance now to show she practices what she has preached.

As for Malia and Sasha, well, they’re young. Enjoy  yourselves, girls.

If a couple of older folks can make the invigorating climb out of the cavern, so can you.