Featured News Results

As the first of the area's beloved, endangered whooping cranes make their annual descent into the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, it's likely there will be fewer of the tourist draws to whoop and holler over. The flock is the only naturally occurring whooping crane population in the world. Every fall it migrates south to the refuge north of Rockport with youngsters in tow. They stay through early spring before heading back to Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada where they nest and raise babies.

A spokeswoman for Glacier National Park says work to correct health and safety issues at the Many Glacier Lodge will begin in a year. Amy Vanderbilt says a contract hasn't yet been awarded for the work, but that it will likely begin next fall. Last April, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that $15.6 million in stimulus funding would go to the project. Crews will work on plumbing and electrical issues and add seismic bracing under the lodge's north wing and dining area.

Here's proof that you can indeed land a steal of a deal on airfare to a fabulous year-round destination - Salt Lake City. American Airlines to Salt Lake City of $72 one-way ($93.20 including all extra fees, taxes) is good on trips taken through October 13, 2010. And, this deal is good any day of the week (based on availability) with just a 3-day advance notice of travel. There are just a few blackout dates to avoid: Nov. 20, 28, 30; Dec. 18, 19, 23, 24, 26-30 and Jan. 2-4.

A North Carolina man is facing charges for allegedly shooting a bull elk inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. GSMNP spokesman Bob Miller said rangers found a bull carcass around 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13. It was lying along the edge of a pasture in the Cataloochee area of Haywood County, North Carolina.

I’m not much of a morning person, so if I’m going to get up at 3:00 am and trek up a 10,023-foot dormant volcano to watch a sunrise, it better be worth it. Watching the sunrise at Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui will live on in my memory as a truly ethereal moment – standing above the clouds and watching the day being born at my feet was like having a view from heaven. Known for its stunning sunrises and sunsets, Haleakala means “house of the sun.” With a circumference of 22 miles and a depth of 3,000 feet, Haleakala last erupted in 1790.

The National Park Service is trying to find the culprits behind a Wyoming ghost town cemetery vandalism spree that damaged several historic tombstones. Kane, Wyo., about two miles from where Shoshone and Bighorn rivers meet in Big Horn County, was abandoned around 1965 when the Yellowtail Dam in Montana flooded the area surrounding the small town. The cemetery, located on higher ground a few miles north of where the town stood, wasn't inundated.

During the December “From Shore to Sea” lectures, sanctuary and park cultural resource experts Robert Schwemmer and Kelly Minas will discuss current research about historic shipwrecks and submerged airplanes around the islands.

The National Park Service says it is increasing police patrols to stop illegal off-highway vehicle use and vandalism in wilderness areas in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area southeast of Boulder City. Chief Ranger Mary Hinson says some sites in the Black Canyon and Eldorado wilderness near the Colorado River have become popular places for illegal dumping, target shooting and nighttime bonfires. Officials are encouraging visitors to follow "leave no trace" principles and to pack out anything they pack in to minimize human impact to the land.

John Denver sang about "Almost Heaven West Virginia" and Colorado "Rocky Mountain High," but I guess he never went to Sierra Nevada in California.This summer we went on an amazing 47-mile five-day backpacking trip in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in the southern Sierra Nevada on the Rae Lakes Loop Trail and saw some of the best nature has to offer.

As Rocky Mountain National Park comes close to attracting 3 million visitors this year, a new study shows the park pumped more than $230 million into the economy of the surrounding region in 2008.The study, conducted by Michigan State University and the National Park Service, examines how much money park visitors and employees spent in the regions surrounding the 391 National Park Service sites nationwide in 2008.

With days getting shorter, the weather getting markedly cooler and the transition from leaf-peeping season to what we euphemistically refer to as stick season, most sportsmen and women are focusing their attention on deer and turkey season and have put their fishing gear away. But for a few of us in the know, we who believe that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad gear, November and December is a great time to go fly-fishing. Not only are the fish still biting, you’ll have entire rivers to yourself. 

Did you know that you can order our little, green Oh, Ranger! guides, and all the rest of the gear your next trip, online right here at OhRanger.com?

Whose scat is that? What critter made those tracks? Are these berries an animal’s unfinished snack? Find the answers to these questions and more in Mammal Tracks & Sign: A Guide to North American Species by Mark Elbroch.

Entering the busiest travel weeks of the season, it may come as a surprise that there are a lot of great deals to be found, especially in the few-week period between the peaks of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. The vast majority of national park visits occur between May and October, so a visit during the slower season will give you a chance to have the park all to yourself.

In recognition of American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month we’re highlighting this recipe for American Indian Corn Chowder. It’s sweet—and savory—and is the perfect meal for a chilly autumn night. Ingredients1 can corn, drained1 onion, chopped1/2 pound mushrooms6 cups meat stock or water1 green pepper, chopped1 potato, diced2 tablespoons butter1 tablespoon dill weed, chopped