The Eastern box turtle is one of 10 species of turtle that are found on the Parkway. This commonly seen critter sure is cute and we think they are mighty photogenic as far as Parkway wildlife goes, so snap a pic next time you see one but don't disturb them by picking them up or moving them to new places. They deserve the same respect that we show other wildlife in our National Parks!#turtleday #wednesdaywisdom #turtle #turtlepower
Visit Arches National Park in Utah to discover a landscape of contrasting colors, land forms and textures unlike any other in the world. The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. This red-rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets. This photo was taken moments after sunset courtesy of Oz Santana. — with Ozéias Sant'ana at Arches National Park.
"And from the eastern boundary of this vast golden flower-bed rose the mighty Sierra, miles in height, and so gloriously colored and so radiant, it seemed not clothed with light but wholly composed of it, like the wall of some celestial city.... Then it seemed to me that the Sierra should be called, not the Nevada or Snowy Range, but the Range of Light. And after ten years of wandering and wondering in the heart of it, rejoicing in its glorious floods of light, the white beams of the morning streaming through the passes, the noonday radiance on the crystal rocks, the flush of the alpenglow, and the irised spray of countless waterfalls:
It still seems above all others the Range of Light."
— John Muir, 'The Yosemite', chapter 1.
Located in southern Ohio, the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks is where the Hopewell people built enormous, landscape-scale geometric earthworks during the Middle Woodland period (1,500 – 2,100 years ago) in an extraordinary expression of cooperative cultural activity. Because of its cultural value, Interior is proposing that the United States nominate the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a World Heritage Site. If selected, Hopewell would join other cultural and natural sites of universal importance such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador. Learn more: https://on.doi.gov/2KNnQuL
This gorgeous picture of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin won the Scenic, Seasons and Landscapes category of the Share the Experience photo contest. Photographer Michael DeWitt captured a sublime sunrise casting its morning glow over some of the islands that make up this remarkable park. Water recreation and boating are so popular here that even this sea stack looks like its trying to set sail. Photo by Michael DeWitt (www.sharetheexperience.org). — at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
There seem to be two types of people in the world – those who love mushrooms and those who can live without them. For many parts of the country, this is prime Morel hunting season when daytime highs reach into the 60s and evening lows drop into the low 40s. It seems a little strange that the men of the Corps didn’t mention mushrooms more than one time in the journals, considering the many cool and moist areas through which they traveled. The only time the fungus is mentioned was on June 19, 1806 when Pierre Cruzatte brought several large Morels to Captain Lewis, who roasted and ate them “without salt pepper or grease.”
If you’re a hunter, we wish you the best of luck. Here are 10 tips to finding the perfect stash of Morels, from the website Wide Open Spaces: http://www.wideopenspaces.com/10-tips-hunting-morel-mushrooms-pics/
Happy birthday, Glacier National Park! On this day in 1910, President William Taft signed a bill into law establishing this Montana park -- making it our nation’s 10th national park. 108 years later, Glacier remains the Crown of the Continent with glacier-carved peaks and valleys, pristine turquoise lakes and streams, and dense ancient forests for all to enjoy: https://on.doi.gov/glacier. What is your favorite memory at Glacier?
Photo of Wild Goose Island by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service. — at Glacier National Park.
Turtles are out soaking up the sun! Painted turtles prefer bodies of water with soft bottoms, aquatic vegetation and plenty of places to bask in the sun.Photo: Painted turtle by Courtney Celley/USFWS.
Sunlight shining through the trees. With the warm weather and rain this past week, the trees are rapidly leafing out.Jessica Bolser/USFWS
Enjoy Utah’s Archaeology and Preservation Month with us by visiting some of our historic locations, like Hole-in-the-Rock. This feature stands as a monument to the tenacity and ingenuity of the 250 Mormon men, women, and children that spent the winter of 1879 pickaxing, blasting, and widening a natural fault so that their wagons could pass down the 2,000 foot descent to the Colorado River and then on to a new settlement in what is now Bluff, Utah. #archaeology #pioneers #VisitWithRespect#FindYourPark
