The National Park Service will turn 100 years old in 2016, and that’s one of the reasons why the parks finally got a little budget boost this year. But you don’t need a centennial celebration to appreciate America’s greatest legacy. You can go now, or over spring break, or this summer, or maybe even this weekend.
In the course of my work-related travels, whether I’m reporting on fracking in North Dakota or a “Ron Paul blimp” in North Carolina, I make sure to go to the nearest big chunk of green on the map. I’m not picky—state parks, national forests, national monuments, wildlife reserves, land conservancies, the Great Dismal Swamp, anything with nature and critters is fine. (A bar with good beer on tap and a local trout on the menu reaches a level that ancient philosophers describe as “transcendence.”) (more…)
Greenfriar 