National Park Service

The National Park Service is a bright spot in a coliseum of dim bulbs, an example of government at its best.  Although proud of my country, I've become less and less a fan of big brother over the years.  My participation in the Vietnam debacle didn't inspire warm fuzzy feelings towards the DC gang, for starters.  Since then, congress has gotten progressively more worthless, accomplishing squat, focusing on keeping their places at the trough, and when their mouths aren't stuffed full of pork, parroting the party line like platoons of brain dead zombies.  Were it within my power, I'd shit can the lot of them.

But, I'm quite delighted with the NPS.  Having visited over 100 NPS locations (there are about 400) gotta say that they get it right a lot more often than not.  With the exception of the occasional Nazi campground host, NPS employees are dedicated, knowledgeable and helpful - despite, I suspect, marginal monetary compensation.  NPS sites are popular with foreigners, also, especially Japanese and Germans.  At some NPS campgrounds foreigners outnumber natives, or at least it seems that way.*  I'm pleased that so many foreigners still find the USA worth touring but saddened that more of my countrymen apparently don't.

 

Brochures from some of the NPS sites I've visited.

I have 2 copies of some brochures and thought I'd removed all the duplicates before I took the picture but I see I missed a couple.  Want to play Where's Waldo?

 

There are 29 different NPS designations, about 20 more than needed.  Take rivers for example.  There are 7 designations for rivers: National River, National Recreational River, National River and Recreation Area, National Scenic River/Riverway, Scenic and Recreational River, Wild River, Wild and Scenic River. 

Then there's the historical battlefield designations.  There are National Battlefields, National Battlefield Sites and National Battlefield Parks - plus National Military Parks.  Also, some  historic battlefields are called National Monuments and a few more are named National Historical Sites.  It appears that all of these places are managed the same, regardless of designation.  According to Wikipedia, the various designations have little meaning in themselves and are simply a reflection of the whims of congress on any given day, nothing more, nothing less.  Let's hear it for congress and inconsistency!

*Japanese come in herds (tour groups); Germans come in Cruise America rental RVs.  I wasn't aware of the German/CA connection until Trish pointed it out a couple years ago.  Seems like 90% of the CA rigs are filled with Germans.  It's become a private joke with Trish and I.  We meet a CA rig on the road and one of us invariably says, "Germans."