Kansas City Star: National Parks

Badlands National Park teems with nice surprises

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:18 CDT

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, S.D. | Marcia McMacken stepped off the boardwalk and took a long look at the sweeping scene around her — bright green meadows in front, craggy tan peaks and deep forbidding canyons behind. She was clearly enamored.

Custer State Park is a paradise for lovers of ambling wildlife

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:51 CDT

CUSTER STATE PARK, S.D. | Lesson No. 1: Don't tailgate. If the driver ahead of you hits the brakes or suddenly pulls over and parks on the shoulder, he probably has seen something that you'll want to see, too. A pronghorn maybe. A wild burro and her colt, perhaps. A buffalo wallowing in the dirt.

Traveler's check | Great Sand Dunes National Park

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:43 CDT

This story originally appeared in the Sunday, September 30, 2007 edition of The Kansas City Star

Sand stats

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:59 CDT

Sand in the dunes comes from the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mountains.

About the park

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:58 CDT

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve encompasses 150,000 acres in south-central Colorado. It is among the newest national parks, after being expanded from a national monument in September 2004. It had been a national monument since 1932.

Changing seasons

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:56 CDT

This story originally appeared Sunday, September 30, 2007

Vistas of sand

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:53 CDT

This story originally appeared in the Sunday, September 30, 2007 edition of The Kansas City Star

A glimpse of heaven

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:53 CDT

This story originally appeared in the Sunday, October 28, 2007 edition of The Kansas City Star

Crowning the desert canyons

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:00 CDT

The article originally appeared in the Sunday, October 28, 2007 edition of The Kansas City Star

Florida's forces of nature

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:38 CDT

This story originally appeared in the Sunday, February 24, 2008 edition of The Kansas City Star

Swamped with surprises

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:26 CDT

This story originally appeared in the Sunday, February 24, 2008, edition of The Kansas City Star

American Treasures: Big Bend National Park blends desert, mountains and history.

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:37 CDT

BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Texas | “Excuse me, did you see a lion?” That was a question I hadn't been asked before.

Amid the drab landscape in Joshua Tree National Park lies a bounty of treats

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 16:58 CDT

I'm headed south along Park Boulevard, just outside the town of Twentynine Palms, and everywhere I look it's the same: unrelentingly brown, brown, brown.

Discovering Bryce's best

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:44 CDT

Bryce Canyon was established as a national monument in 1923 and became Utah National Park in 1924. In 1928 its name was changed to Bryce Canyon National Park. The park comprises nearly 36,000 acres in southwestern Utah. The park draws 1.5 million visitors a year, said ranger Kevin Poe.

More things to see and do in Joshua Tree National Park

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:23 CDT

Ranger activities

A rich desert

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:19 CDT

Brown. I'm headed south along Park Boulevard, just outside the town of Twentynine Palms, and everywhere I look it's the same: unrelentingly brown, brown, brown.

The call of the Colorado Rockies

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:06 CDT

TRAVELER'S CHECK | ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

Lull of the wild

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:58 CDT

Everyone has a favorite place in the world. This is mine.

Much hoodoos

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:26 CDT

A few years down the road I want to be like Jack Wells.