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Fireside Reads

Review | U.S. Rangers, The Law of the Land: The History Of Law Enforcement In The Federal Land Management Agencies

The latest edition of a book that explores the history of rangers in the land-management agency illustrates problems with law enforcement in the National Park Service, but comes across as one-sided and with an axe to grind.

Review | Brave The Wild River: The Untold Story Of Two Women Who Mapped The Botany Of The Grand Canyon

In 2023 if a woman wishes to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, she can, and many do. If she decides she wants to be a scientist, or a science journalist, she can do that too. Melissa Sevigny, a science journalist, rafted the Colorado through the Grand Canyon to visualize the journey two botanists, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, made in 1938, the first women to successfully boat the canyon.

Review: George Melendez Wright: The Fight For Wildlife And Wilderness In National Parks

In the beginning, national parks were mostly about scenery — not entirely because some early parks like Yellowstone, Mount Rainier, and Crater Lake featured unusual marvels of the natural world. But the focus was on scenic beauty and providing opportunities for visitors to enjoy it. From those earliest days wildlife, particularly big critters like bears and elk, were one of the attractions in some parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite where they were on “display” at, for instance, the Yellowstone garbage dumps. Wildlife protection was an afterthought if a thought at all in the establishment and management of national parks. George Melendez Wright changed this, at least for a while.

Fireside Read | Guardians of the Valley: John Muir And The Friendship That Saved Yosemite

A library of books has been written about John Muir, many of which mention Robert Underwood Johnson, but not many adequately describe his long collaboration with Muir. In this book, Dean King remedies that oversight. Muir’s life story and his contributions to the preservation of what is now Yosemite National Park have often been chronicled and King presents the highlights of that story. What King adds to the Muir story is who Robert Underwood Johnson was and what his role and contributions were in helping Muir in his many battles for protection of Yosemite.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.