National Parks Shut Their Gates

Today, October 1, 2013 is the 123rd birthday of Yosemite National Park. 

And no one can celebrate it. 

No one can even go to the National Park's websites to look at all the amazing parks, such as Yosemite. 

The gates are closed. No one is allowed to enter. People currently camping at any National Park have two days to leave.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what has been eating away at me all day long because of the Government shut down. Earlier my sister posted on my facebook wall, "Happy birthday, NASA (sorry the government won't let you do your job)." and I replied back with, "Happy birthday, Yosemite! Sorry no one can party with you." Now, this is not a political blog, so I am not going to go into my ideologies and leaning and thoughts on how things should be run, but the National Parks being closed breaks my heart. To pieces. 

I follow National Parks News (@NPCA) on Twitter and have been reading all of their updates all day long and I just keep getting sadder.

I know, it is silly. It isn't like I have any NP trips planned out right now. All I have to go visit nearby would be Grant's Cabin or the Arch. But, so many people on Twitter are talking about their plans to go visit the parks and how now they can't. And that is just sad. I know how amazing those visits are. I know how special spending time with your friends and/or family in those breathtaking parks can be. I literally day dream on an almost daily basis of which park I want to go to next. 

To me, the National Parks are the happiest places on earth. And their gates are closed. How depressing is that? 

I am curious about those who did have big plans, what they are going to do now that their plans are ruined. I am crossing my fingers that this Shutdown is brief and everything will be re-opened shortly so it causes minimal harm to people's plans and to all of the people depending on parks being open for their jobs. The parks give employment to so many people between rangers and naturalists and people working in the lodges and food services. Then there are all the small businesses in the towns surrounding National Parks that need those visitors to stay open. My sister and I a few summers back took a (nearly) 5000 miles roadtrip out west where we visited and camped in many National Parks. We were one of those people who went to small super markets and stores outside the parks to re-stock supplies. We strolled the streets of Estes Park and went out to eat and played mini-golf and I bought a ring and book. We would not have done those things we weren't there to explore Rocky Mountain National Park.  

I know this blog post is not my usual type. I am not giving input on a particular location I visited. I am not sharing my likes and dislikes on how a camping trip went. I am upset about the National Parks and needed to share these thoughts. I hope and pray that things get resolved quickly for everyone so people can go back to their jobs, back to their parks and back to their adventures.