National Geographic Guide To National Parks

Above, Yosemite's North Dome. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Buffalo News has an article on the latest edition of the National Geographic Guide To National Parks of the United States.

The writer of the piece, Scott Scanlon, may have been in Yosemite National Park at about the same time as I was in 2015. He had lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel, I opted for breakfast instead.

He wrote this about the book:

National Parks have the ability to astound, often greatly. I have learned that it pays to seek out the experts in places like Yosemite, Acadia and the Grand Canyon, not only after you arrive but preferably before you go. 

The eighth edition of the "National Geographic Guide to National Parks," issued to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service, is an invaluable starting point to help you get the most out of a visit to the parks. A used edition can be found online at only about one-third its original cost. 

Its glossy pages boast more than enough tidbits to make its purchase on amazon.com a better and more reasonable investment than lunch at the former Ahwhanee. (Though, if you ever go to Yosemite, I encourage you to book a lunch reservation. It's much less expensive than dinner.)

His article recounts a visit to Yosemite by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1983.

To read more, go here. 

Yosemite Icons Have Names Changed

It's finally happened. The new concessionaire, Aramark, took action in renaming several iconic attractions at Yosemite National Park due to the trademark dispute and lawsuit by the former concessionaire, Delaware North against the National Park Service. It remains to be seen if these changes are permanent or, hopefully, temporary.

The Buffalo News reported:

Delaware North is plowing ahead with its court case against the National Park Service even as work crews Tuesday changed the names of popular attractions on buildings, restaurant menus and directional signs throughout Yosemite National Park. They even switched out bars of soap bearing hotel names. 

The Buffalo-based hospitality and tourism conglomerate is enduring a wave of bad publicity as the Park Service and the new Yosemite concessionaire, Aramark, started changing the names of the Ahwahnee Hotel, Curry Village and other venues at the park just after midnight California time Tuesday. 

The move came as the parties remain embroiled in a bitter trademark dispute that shows no sign of ending soon.

If there was ever a corporation who deserves to be boycotted, Delaware North is definitely it!

To read more, go here.