Besides working on health care reform and extending the housing credit, members of Congress are working on another pressing issue. Those from Delaware’s congressional district are looking to get the ball rolling on the creation of the state’s first national park. We’re all for more national parks, but we’ve been through Delaware, and park isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, we hear the Delaware Water Gap is pretty nice and it’s already a National Recreation Area—too bad it's not in Delaware.

Senator Thomas Carper is the one pushing hard for the First State National Historical Park, and he wants $5 million to preserve land near New Castle and to probably build a cool gift shop. Things at the park would focus on the state’s early settlers from Europe as well as other stuff perfect for an elementary school field trip. Besides the attractions in New Castle, there will also be sites outside of town like the Old Swedes Church in Wilmington. ]]> kjb 2009-11-06T09:05:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/28/82332/762

Now that Southwest Airlines has announced that they are all about St. Louis, the city is eager to get to work on their most famous attraction. After all, with an influx of new visitors thanks to cheap flights, the city needs to show off its offerings. Late last week the National Park Service released an almost 300 page set of plans dealing with the future of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial—that’s the Gateway Arch for those less familiar with its full name.

The park service is looking to preserve and maintain the grand lawn area beneath the Arch and wants to add some snazzy new stuff to the north and south ends of the area. The entire memorial is almost 100 acres large, so they have a lot of room to play with. One of the biggest updates would be to expand the park across the Mississippi River. That would provide East St. Louis with a little Arch love, and would allow the Arch to be better connected to the downtown area. Certain blocks downtown could be cleared to allow for new walkways for pedestrians to check things out. ]]> kjb 2009-10-28T16:09:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/23/75556/252

On your next road trip to one of the country’s national parks you may want to consider taking the Prius rather than the minivan. Scientists have revealed their findings from a recent study, and apparently bears love minivans and SUVs.

In an article published in this month’s Journal of Mammalogy we learn that black bears within Yosemite National Park prefer to steal some human snacks from the insides of larger cars. Researchers looked at data between 2001 and 2007 to see if there were any connections between over 900 car break-ins caused by black bears at the park. Almost half of the vehicles that were broken into were either minivans or SUVs. ]]> kjb 2009-10-23T08:46:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/18/74121/4020

We’ve been waiting on Ken Burns' latest project for more than a year now, and it’s finally time to make the popcorn and turn on the television. The National Parks: America’s Best Idea is slated to air later this month on your local PBS station. The film took nearly a decade to create, and we’re ready to witness some breathtaking imagery as well as learn a little something. We might actually want to take a few notes so we don’t miss anything good—it could come in handy for trivia night at the local bar.

The documentary begins with the birth of the national park and traces its evolution over the years through modern times. Burns uses first person accounts, old photographs, and over 40 interviews to illustrate where the country’s greatest treasure has been and where it plans to head in the future. There are plenty of contemporary anecdotes juxtaposed with the historical accounts throughout the film, so it won’t be just a lecture on what has been. ]]> kjb 2009-09-18T10:36:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/10/14525/6356

It seems like just yesterday that the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor re-opened her crown to the public. And ever since that day, which really was back in June, Lady Liberty has had a head full of tourist, with tickets for the 354 steps to the top selling out well in advance.

Seeing as how that went so well, the city is kicking it up a notch in celebration of National Public Lands Day on September 26. On the evenings of September 24 (for Ellis Island) and September 25 (for the Statue of Liberty), you'll be able to visit the landmarks after dark. Spooky? Not so much; you'll take the tour boats over to island as normal, and are free to wander around so long as don't expect to go up in Lady Liberty or get lost on Ellis. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-09-10T08:38:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/25/8433/98089

Free weekends at the country’s national parks may be over for the summer season, but there’s still plenty of excitement to be found—especially at Yosemite National Park. There is a lot of new plant life to discover, especially if you are looking to find some of the illegal variety. However, you better hurry up!

Last week, park rangers destroyed almost 5,000 marijuana plants within the park, and these little green buds had a value of nearly $19 million. Not only are the plants obviously illegal, but the growers are leaving all kinds of crap in the parks as well. Rangers got rid of 400 pounds of fertilizer, 3,000 feet of irrigation hose, and 200 pounds of trash. We’re just glad the rangers got to it before Yogi and friends did. ]]> kjb 2009-08-25T11:19:40-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/17/02625/0644

With vacation destinations like Miami Beach or Las Vegas, one wonder if American families are still game to take in natural sights at the once-popular National Parks. Well, there's at least one family that kicked off their summer vacation with little good old road tripping out west, and that's the Obamas. Before they head to Martha's Vineyard for some well-deserved down time, the first family spent this last weekend admiring the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park.

Alright, so it wasn't exactly a road trip in the traditional sense, since the family took the Marine One helicopter from the White House to Air Force One to reach the west, but they did hop from one park to another in one weekend, and Obama even brought along his half-sister and her family. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-17T09:30:52-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/