I understand that Congressman Mark Souder is heading back on the road during the August recess to continue collecting information on the financial and structural fitness of the national park system. He supposedly is heading to Alaska, where he'll hold a meeting on the 14th.
     Already Mr. Souder, a Republican from Indiana, has staged similar meetings in Boston, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, and Honolulu.
     Earlier this year the congressman shared with me some of his thoughts about the condition of the park system. Among the highlights of that exchange were Mr. Souder's beliefs that the parks currently are "in a slow decline" and that "the parks have suffered some neglect."
    One would point out that media coverage this year -- not to mention a fairly detailed Government Accountability Office report -- have reached the same conclusions supported by distressing examples, but that's beside the point.
    While it seems a waste of time to trod the same ground, Mr. Souder is continuing his parks road show to build a record he can present to Congress, hopefully with a plea that it commit greater resources to the National Park Service.