Videophilia

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by Pangloss62

I don't know how old you are, but Death Valley "went National" in 1933. I suppose you've noted cultural/behavioral change over time. I would hope the rangers are still nice. Our new Secretery of The Interior is more to our liking than Gale Norton.

Death Valley was originally a National Monument and not a National Park. As a NM it was still open to mining -- both corporate and individual prospecting. And to livestock. As a NP (~1990) it is now offlimits to mining but also offlimits to 'open' camping. I used to go there alot and camp -- zero impact camping (no fires, no offroading) -- off any established road. You can't do that any more. You must camp in established, parkinglot campgrounds (ugh).

But, on the other hand, it is now more protected from the 'maximum' impact offroading types. So, fo me it's a mixed blessing.

[Pangloss62]

Good point, serpent. Whether Monument or Park, so many things have changed in terms of what you can and cannot do. They used to make a fire waterfall at Yosemite; after the ranger did his spiel at the fire ring on top of the cliff, he would dump all the coals over the edge, creating a cool pyro effect. In Mammoth cave in KY, they would go into this big "room," turn off the lights, and then the ranger would throw a flaming oilly rag thing through the air. They even had lunch service in a special cave room. That was before radon was a concern.