This is getting really serious.........
http://www.today.com/news/government...tes-8C11318722
Wayne
Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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About half an hour ago, I heard an NPR interview of the head of the NPS. He sounded sympathetic about the problems users of the parks are facing, but didn't seem to offer any wriggle room: The parks are closed.
Since it appears that implementation of the closure is likely to vary by region and specific location, I'd plan to hike as normal, but prepare to be disappointed. If I couldn't afford to take a chance, then Id have to stay home.
Note to moderators: I am not advocating defiance of the law: I am suggesting that hikers take advantage, where possible, of local variations in the way the shutdown is implemented.
Something else to consider:
You can take your chances, hike where you want, and probably have no problems. But, IF you do get caught: It's a federal offense. The local Justice of the Peace has no jurisdiction. If you have to appear in court to answer charges - you have to appear in a U. S. Magistrates Court - which may not be real close or convenient. In NJ for instance, the Magistrates Court with jurisdiction over the area of the AT is located in downtown Newark.
Just sayin'.
I've been amazed at how, when I state that I'm not going to violate the law and will abide by the shutdown, I'm immediately attacked for it and told that I should just go out there and get on the trails and enter the parks anyway. My husband is in a position with his job that, should I violate a law and get caught, he could lose his job. You can call that cowardice, or bluster and swagger and say do it anyway, but we are rather addicted to being able to make our mortgage payment and eat. Perhaps the attackers are in positions (or no positions at all) where they don't need to have a regular paycheck coming in. In any case, I will abide by the rules and find other places to hike. And if you then attack me for opting to pay the bills please understand.....I will have no choice but to assume you're just one of the "takers" and have nothing to risk. I HATE this shutdown situation and my husband may be out of work next week (and he doesn't even work for the government) but still, I will NOT risk everything to prove a point.
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
There's a fair amount of individual difference in the zeal with which various rangers here in Glacier NP are enforcing the shutdown. The gates are barricaded. Every time I go I to the Park--to get to the house I'm living in, on private property--I have to stop and explain. Some rangers give me the third degree and caution me I'm basically on house arrest, and mustn't step off my property. Another one, when my co-workers who live next door said they'd probably walk down to the lake, said he didn't give a $&@#.
One bit of bizarreness is that they've tipped over all the lakeside benches and picnic tables. So if you somehow get into the Park you'll have to sit on the grass?
If not NOW, then WHEN?
ME>GA 2006
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=3277
Instagram hiking photos: five.leafed.clover
The amount of money the Fed's are losing by closing the NPS is truly unacceptable (it cost $20 bucks to visit many National Parks for a week). Also, think of the lost revenue to local communities who need tourist to make a living and the lost wages by Federal workers. As others have said, what a waste when 535 members of Congress are so dysfunctional they shut down the government as it relates to our NPS.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
Completely agree with you Mrs Baggins, your husband's job comes first and its not wise to show your strong by making some kind of "stand" when nothing positive will be gained by you and your family members.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
The closure rules are designed for maximum punishment to the citizens. Not being political at all, as any rational person can see the feds spending more payroll per hour to enforce closures then they spend for regular operations. When 90 year old disabled veterans have to storm the gates of the barricaded WW2 memorial two days in a row it's proof of the feds having a collective temper tantrum.
occupy has scheduled a protest at yosemite this friday. on the east side up Tioga Road. merely passing the information. personally, i'm not down with this. occupy was a complete failure to have a clear agenda or message. i had high hopes for them, but was disappointed. they do not represent me or my interests, and I hate to see them co-opt the national parks to their "cause" whatever that may be, all I ever heard from them was wealth redistribution and class warfare. but, protests are in order, and if they are willing to, I guess more power to them. WWII vets have set the bar. this is the peoples land were are talking about.
It might be easier to understand some bizarre behavior if you recall that the people still working have been told that they have to work but they'll only get paid someday in the sweet bye and bye. And, since they're mission essential, if they refuse to come to work, they'll be fired. Plus, whenever they do encounter the public, they get ****e for a situation that victimizes them, too. Pretty difficult to stay all cheery and Ranger Rick with that going on.
Did y'all see the story on the CBS evening news the other night where a WWII vet arrived in Washington to view the memorial, he had never seen before, in a wheel chair? He arrived just in time for the closure. The story had a happy ending though. A congressman removed the barrier so all the the vets could visit the memorial. When the interviewer asked the vet what he thought of the closure he fought to compose himself... it was heart wrenching.
This is very hard on everyone. I do feel bad for the rangers, as well, just like da fungo mentioned.
If you followed that story the rest of the way - the same Congressman than blasted a Ranger for doing her job. A furloughed federal employee came to her defense and told the Congressman the monument closure was not her fault it was his. Remember Congress is getting paid and not doing their job. The Ranger is not getting paid and doing hers.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour
I missed it? Did a vet try to hike the AT and get turned away?
The trouble I have with campfires are the folks that carry a bottle in one hand and a Bible in the other.
You never know which one is talking.
We were discussing Dolly Sods on the WV birding listserv yesterday. I believe the Mon National Forest is open, but the campgrounds and visitor center are closed. Read the posts about banding at Dolly Sods and Mon NF:
http://birding.aba.org/maillist/WV
~Trudging the road of happy destiny~
Being a federal employee who is currently furloughed you are wrong. As part of what was termed close out procedures on day one of the furlough we came into work and had to update our automated time card system with a code that equals no pay due. If you are a federal employee in an "excepted" status, you come to work, but as of now you are in a no pay due status. There is no guarantee that anyone civilian federal employee who is now furloughed will get back pay. This situation is different than last time 17 years ago when folks got their pay back retroactively. Back then the federal budget and the national economy were solvent enough that the dollars were available, not true this time around.
"Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen." Louis L’Amour