Yellowstone is rising

If you haven't yet visited Yellowstone National Park, move it to the top of your list this summer. Not only is the nation's oldest national park amazing for its vistas and abundant wildlife, but also for its hardly-slumbering monster of a volcano laying below the park.

Yellowstone sits square on top of this active volcano, one of the world's largest, and one fully capable of playing havoc with much of North America. That is why scientists keep an eye on it using a network of seismic and GPS sensors.

Professor Emeritus Robert Smith, a geophysicist with the University of Utah, says, "We monitor it in real time for earthquake swarms and ground deformation."

Ground deformation? Oh, yes. He says the park is in constant motion. You can't see it, but the ground is moving up and down as fiery hot magma pushes against the Earth's thin crust. It is this hot magma that makes all the park's geysers blow.

The changes are most evident at the Norris Geyser Basin, where the surface changes daily from the heat coming from the volcano gurgling under your feet.

Beginning in 2004 the volcanic pressure caused an amazing rise at the park -- three inches a year for five years.

Professor Smith says, "That's a lot of uplift and it's over an area that's over the entire Yellowstone caldera." The Caldera is the crater at the center of a volcano, and Yellowstone's is 50 miles long. That's right--50 miles!

And when the center bulges up, it creates a slope downward from the center of the bulge, so much so that Yellowstone Lake has tilted enough that its water has flooded out trees on the south arms.

And now, the ground is sinking.

And the drop has brought up a whole new set of questions for scientists, who say that it is like a doctor monitoring a patient. The patient takes a deep breath (between 2004-09) and is now letting it out. That much is clear from the observations.

The unanswered question is, "why?"

Spring comes to Mt.Rainier National Park

Some think it looks like a great mound of vanilla ice cream. To others this slumbering volcano hosts a forbidding and harsh climate, covered with perpetual snow and glacial ice. The Native Americans called it Tahoma, "The Mountain that was God."

Rising from the forested Cascade Range to 14,411 feet, Mount Rainier is the tallest mountain in Washington state. It is so huge that on clear days it appears to loom within rock-throwing distance from Tacoma and Seattle--which it certainly is if it ever decides do emulate its sister, Mount St. Helens, also in the volcanically active Cascades and only a handful of miles to the south.

Not to worry though, since the last major eruption occurred over 2000 years ago. However, who would have figured Mt. St. Helens. . . but never mind that. Just be careful of the volcanic mudslides that periodically gush out of the ground just to let you know she's still alive.

If you're into changeable weather and wild places, you've found the right spot, especially in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall. The visitor center on more than one occasion has still been buried in snow when the rangers came to open up--sometimes as late as the first day of July. Then again it might be sunny and warm. It all depends on whether you've recited the right incantations and haven't done anything to upset the spirits of the great mountain.

In Spring the wildflowers bloom for their all-too-brief season. Not only do they have to survive the harsh climate, but also complete their propagation in the short two to three months of decent weather. With this short season, many of the flowers wait years before flowering. Since it requires about twenty times the energy to flower as it does to send out leaves and produce food, the plants must store up energy and grow strong until the big day.

"As hardy as these plants and flowers appear, the environment is still fragile considering how destructive people can be," warned a ranger, "like stepping on them and grinding them into the sharp volcanic rocks. Some of the heather plants on the mountain are almost a thousand years old, yet they can be destroyed in a heartbeat by careless or thoughtless actions."

Of the five RV campgrounds in the park, only Sunshine Point in the southwest corner, stays open all year, so check with the park for seasonal openings and closings. None take reservations, so on busy summer days plan to look for a camping spot by early afternoon.

Tickets issued for tourists walking on Old Faithful Geyser cone

An alert webcam viewer halfway across the country tipped off rangers in Yellowstone National Park this week when he saw members of a tour group walking on the Old Faithful geyser cone. When park rangers arrived they found about 30 people walking around the geyser cone and taking pictures.

"They're out there in the evening walking in this fragile area near a geyser that erupts every 90 minutes," a ranger said. "When you're putting out thousands of gallons of scalding hot water that can spew hundreds of feet into the air, people could have been seriously hurt."

Park rangers issued three citations for being off-trail in a thermal area. The $125 tickets were issued to the group leader, the bus driver, and one other person. Group members said they didn't see any signage indicating the dangers or the park's rules that visitors stay on the boardwalk, though signs are prominently posted throughout the area--and should be common sense to most people.

This wasn't the first time a webcam viewer had notified park rangers of visitors walking off the boardwalks and onto the cone of Old Faithful. In 2009, six visitors were spotted urinating in the geyser cone. They were convicted of various charges, fined up to $750, and banned from the park for two years.

Every year several visitors are burned by the park's thermal features because they didn't adhere to park rules. RVers should know better, but let this be a reminder that not only are such areas fragile and easily damaged, but thermal areas can be dangerous--even life-threatening--as well.

Grand Tetons opening for season

The National Park Service has announced the official 2011 opening dates for facilities in Grand Teton National Park and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway.

The Teton Park Road and Moose-Wilson Road opened May 1. The Grassy Lake Road in the Rockefeller Parkway opens on June 1; however, deep snow may limit the extent of accessibility.

For current road conditions, call the park’s road information hotline at 307-739-3614.

The Moose, Moran, and Granite Canyon entrance stations are open.

The Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center is open daily year-round. Other visitor information centers open on the following dates: Colter Bay, May 7; Jenny Lake Visitor Center, May 13; Jenny Lake Ranger Station, May 21; Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Center, May 22, and Flagg Ranch Information Station, June 6. Ranger-led activities begin Monday, June 6.

The opening dates for campgrounds are: Gros Ventre and Signal Mountain, May 6; Jenny Lake, May 13; Colter Bay and its RV and trailer park, May 26; Flagg Ranch, June 1, and Lizard Creek, June 10.

At any of the concession-operated campgrounds within Grand Teton National Park, fees for individual campsites run $20-$35 per night. All campgrounds, except the RV parks, operate on a first-come, first-served basis.

Reservations can be made for RV camping at either Colter Bay or Flagg Ranch RV parks; added fees are charged for RV campgrounds with hook-ups. Camping sites, including showers, are available at Flagg Ranch Resort for $35-$64 per night; call either (307) 543-2861 or (800) 443-2311 for reservations. Fees for Colter Bay RV and Trailer Park run $55 per night; call (307) 543-3100 or (800) 628-9988 for reservations.

Visit the Grand Tetons website for further information.

RV pursuits: Chasing wildflowers in the parks

If you're one of the millions who thinks spring was designed for wildflower chasing, then you must be on top of your form. Many of the National Parks are either now arrayed (or getting near it) with the fullness of spring's colors. Here are a few suggestions:

Out west, California's Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area has a plethora of wildflower hikes and (for the not-so-strenuously inclined) wildflower walks. As an example, at Rancho Sierra Vista, on May 7th you can sign on for an easy paced bilingual (Spanish and English) walk. Become familiar with native plants in the Santa Monica Mountains and discover some of their impressive uses. Meet in main parking lot. Information at 805-370-2301.

Other hikes and walks will be covered through the month, visit the park's special magazine here.

Mid-country, On May 7, orchid expert Joe Liggio will lead a walk in Big Thicket National
Preserve in Texas searching for wild orchids. For more information, please visit the park's calendar here and click May 7.

Back east, native flowers will be in the spotlight during the 25th annual Wildflower Weekend at Shenandoah National Park (Virginia) on May 7 and 8,2011. Shenandoah National Park is a haven for native woodland wildflowers. Participants will search for wildflowers in the Big Meadow and along various trails.

Special programs will include “Nature Photography: Simply Beautiful,” presented by professional photographers Ann and Rob Simpson. Peter Mazzeo, a retired botanist from the National Arboretum, will present “Fronds and Allies: Shenandoah’s Amazing Ferns.” Visit the site here for more information.

photo: Bloodroot blossom, Barb Stewart, National Park Service

Exploring national parks on water trails

If you've never paddled a kayak or canoe you have likely missed many scenic and pristine areas of our national parks that are accessible only by water.

And by paddling, instead of using a motor, you will be less apt to frighten away birds and wildlife, often enabling intimate close up views from their eye level.

Water trails, or blueways, are networks of points along the water that paddlers can access using human-powered boats. Water trails also provide pleasant physical exercise and recreation, and promote environmental awareness.

The National Park Service has helped communities create water trails nationwide for over a decade. This year, the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program is partnering with state and local governments and other organizations to work on improving and creating water trails in roughly thirty states. You can find out more about these efforts at the watertrails page of the NPS website.

Even if you don't yet have a kayak or canoe, often local providers will have boat rentals available for use on the park's waterways, and will a few simple instructions, you are good to go.