PBS special on our National Parks

[kelpie]

Is anybody else excited about the new Ken Burns documentary being aired on PBS stations starting tonight and running thru Fri Oct 2 = 12 hours worth. I'll have to miss a couple nights and my DVR is only for satellite stations (which my PBS is not) so hopefully, they will air again or be on DVD soon.

[Carolinagal]

Yes, I have been watching it this afternoon, it is so good !!!! I'm watching it over, so maybe I will remember it better. The scenery in it, is absolutely gorgeous and stories about Muir are very interesting to me, first I had heard of him was in Alaska and was impressed then, more so after this afternoon.

For those who can get the station, you will enjoy

Safe travels,
Carol

[JanetA]

ME too!

they are great!

I learned some things i didn't know about the founders of the parks and the fighting they had to do w/ the govt in order to save the parks from development!!

[snowball]

I'm the same way can't get PBS stations cause we are on satalite but they do sell the dvd if you got 99 dollars your not attached to
PBS.org
sheila

[jemek]

We are and I wish I had a DVR so I could record them. I would want to save them. Then show the appropriate one before going to that park.

[Nasoosie]

I had the show on while I was 'renovating' yesterday afternoon, and found the history of the parks very enlightening. I am so glad I got to go there in the early 60s before the masses of people discovered how wonderful they are. That Going To The Sun Highway was an experience I will never forget.

Our Adirondack State Park is larger than any of the Federal parks, and, due to VERY stringent rules and regulations, has been kept more wild and undeveloped far longer than the fed parks. But, again, I am so very glad I hiked and climbed our ADK mountains back in the early 60s before the tourists discovered us, and before it became 'fashionable' to hike and climb and mountain bike. Back then, many of the highest mountains were truly trail-less, and the only way you could climb them without getting lost was with a map and a compass----no cell phones, and no GPS back then! And no herd trails made by humans over the years. That experience cannot be replayed.

[kelpie]

Really enjoying this series and google Ken Burns regularly to see what the reactions are. He gave a speech about the series and said something along the line of " we are all the property owners of these places and we need to visit them often to mak sure they are being properly cared for." and he hoes that every superintendent of every park will be mad at him because of the crowds that show up. I have heard so called environmentalists whine about the big crowds at some of the parks and how they are "messing up" nature. But watching these shows, I'm reminded that this is their very purpose - to make sure that access to them in guaranteed to every single citizen. If that isn't the very essence of the ideals we were founded on, I don't know what is. ok ok I'll get off my soapbox now lol

[BirdbyBird]

I have always thought when I drive into a National Parks that "this belongs to me." ...... I have been trying to watch the special....the winds here at the fairground have made the digital picture come and go.......

[Bethers]

Would love to see it.

Soos, just a note - your state park is probably not bigger than some of the fed parks in Alaska, which are probably bigger than your state

[jaymesullivan]

Exciting comments on the park series. I'm recording it but have not had a chance to start watching. I'll try to do that tonigh. One of my travel goals is to get a list of National Parks, Forests, Grasslands and Monuments to visit. I was thinking of going to all of them but have decided to pick and choose the ones that look best to me.

[Bethers]

Be careful about "picking and choosing" as that's what I WAS doing. Then I started trying to stop at each and every one in NM when Sparkle and I did the NM trip in April and discovered that some that weren't on my list became a couple of my favs and some on it were not so good. If you have the time - take it to stop - because you just never know. Now, that doesn't mean I've stopped at every park and monument - but I'm trying to if within reach and it's at all possible.

[WickedLady]

If you miss an episode you can view it on http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/

[Nasoosie]

Would love to see it.

Soos, just a note - your state park is probably not bigger than some of the fed parks in Alaska, which are probably bigger than your state

Very true, Beth-----I forgot to add, 'excluding Alaska'!!! Here's a short quote about us:

The Adirondack Park
The Adirondack Park was created in 1892 by the State of New York amid concerns for the water and timber resources of the region. Today the Park is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States, greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined. The boundary of the Park encompasses approximately 6 million acres, nearly half of which belongs to all the people of New York State and is constitutionally protected to remain “forever wild” forest preserve. The remaining half of the Park is private land which includes settlements, farms, timber lands, businesses, homes, and camps.

Of course, those Alaskan parks are in a category by themselves, in many ways, and I can't wait to visit some of them, especially Denali.

The others down here in the rest of the country I have visited, and they have animals we don't have here, such as elk and grizzlies and wolves, which I found spectacular to see, hear, and smell. Each park has something unique, including topography. We are very lucky to have had forefathers smart enough to set aside these properties for our use. Many land owners here in the ADK Park get frustrated and angry at our APA (Adirondack Park Agency) and Department of Environmental Conservation for their stringent rules about building within the 'blue line' park boundaries. But those rules have kept us quite a wild place in this populated state. And I am lucky enough to own a chunk right in the middle of some its wildest areas!

[JanetA]

Ditto to all of you gal's statements......

I never knew how hard some of those guys fought to obtain and keep our National parks public! WOW,, to think the GREED some ppl ,,, even ppl in the govt (ha,, duh!) were to try to commercialize and capitalize on God's greatest handiworks!(some of them).

I am enjoying these broadcasts beyond belief! I look f'ward to them every night. Like ya'll, I plan to visit every one that's humanly possible as soon as I'm able!

I pray that no one ever destroys our rights to them!

love ya'll.....

how do you like my maps??? i'm proud of myself at being able to post the darn things! was a JOB! had to cut out my scissors comment...