We do have a public safety issue at Grand Canyon National Park. People hike down into the Canyon, thinking that they won’t get into trouble and then have to be rescued.
I’m not wild about the National Park shutdown and fail to see the reason why inns on the Blue Ridge Parkway have been forced to be closed or why the parking lot at Mount Vernon has been blocked. I’m no fan of the Barrycades and cannot fathom why Obama thinks imposing these difficulties is a good idea.
Grand Canyon is my favorite National Park and I hate to see it be closed. But, given that people increasingly don’t know their limitations, closing that particular site may be necessary.
As an aside, I wonder what is being done about the rafters on the Colorado River. If all goes well, then they will have no contact with the National Park staff after putting in at Lee’s Ferry, but I assume that someone is manning the emergency call line should a rafting party have an emergency and need assistance.
Do you like close by? Sounds like you know the area. For safety reasons I could understand, but I just don’t think that’s the real reason theyre keeping folks out. If they’re paying rangers anyways to patrol to keep folks out then it doesn’t seem like it’s a money issue.