As an avid outdoor enthusiast, I have a great deal of respect and fond memories of my interactions with Park Rangers.
Those feelings, however, are eroding. During the government shutdown, the National Park Service seems to have completely lost it’s little hive mind in various parts of the country:
- Locking veterans out of the World War II Memorial, but allowing an illegal alien rally;
- Using armed guards to detain tourists into their rooms at Yellowstone;
- Refusing to allow the same tourists to stop at public restrooms as they were bussed out of the part;
- Erecting barricades to keep people out of Mount Vernon – a privately owned and privately managed venue;
- Removing handles from drinking fountains to stop people from drinking the valuable (and free) water;
- Using many more resources to keep people OUT of parks than it takes to keep them open in the first place.
According to a widely-published quote from an Park Service Ranger, “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
The State Park and Recreation Commission, in conjunction with the 
The California State Parks Foundation continues to push for better policies and legislation that will protect California’s park system. If you haven’t read through their Park Excellence Project, you really should.
Hadley Meares has posted a new article at KCET.org about one of my personal heroes, Walt Disney. I’m always fascinated by the intricacies of Disney, and finding out that he ate at the same places I like – like the Tam O’Shanter that was right up the street from one of my parent’s apartment buildings on Los Feliz – builds a stronger bond within me, linking me to those great people who shared the same likes, dislikes, and views as I do.
CSPF’s Discretionary Grants Committee met September 11 and awarded 10 grants totaling $49,743 to benefit a number of California’s state parks. The organizations that received grants include: