National Parks

Re "Dispensing profit," June 17 The only reason some people are still making a lot of money selling cannabis is because the state law on medical marijuana has never been fully implemented, and local governments severely limit the number of suppliers. When cannabis is truly legalized, the price will drop to a point at which no one is going to make a killing from selling it. This might be bad for tax revenues, but it would good for everyone else. Dave Lane Santa Cruz Whether you approve of marijuana use or not, and whether you believe it has medicinal uses or not, selling marijuana is one of the few growth areas in our economy.

Re "There for the ride," Business, June 16 A photo with the article shows re-created scenery that vaguely resembles Zion National Park. One Disney fan featured in the article said she might spend $5,000 on souvenirs during her visit to the new Cars Land at Disney California Adventure Park. You could spend a lot less money visiting one of the majestic state or national parks. I've enjoyed my visits to Disneyland, but for $5,000, let's pile in the car and go to the Grand Canyon.

WASHINGTON -- Sites of the once super-secret Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II, could soon become a national park under legislation expected to pass Congress. The bill would designate sites at Los Alamos, N.M., Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash., as the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. But at least one anti-nuclear activist expressed concern that "such a park, if done in a historically inaccurate and biased way, could end up presenting a false picture of the development of nuclear weapons and the monumental costs and ongoing environmental impacts of the Cold War. " "Given their political influence, those that have profited off nuclear weapons would likely have a disproportionate say in the park's development and could turn it into some kind of nuclear Disneyland," said Tom Clements, nonproliferation policy director of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.

HORSESHOE CANYON, Utah - In a remote arm of Canyonlands National Park, deep inside a warren of rock and sand, is one of the greatest and most mysterious collections of ancient art in North America. Towering, enigmatic pictographs, some more than 6,000 years old, stare down from stone walls, their meaning unknown yet their allure universal. This is Horseshoe Canyon, one of the loneliest places you're likely to find in this country, nestled amid southeast Utah's labyrinth of slickrock, arches and desert.

Do we really need a day set aside to remind us to take a walk in the woods? Apparently so. National parks and forests across the country will waive entrance fees June 9 to mark National Get Outdoors Day, or GO Day, as it's called. The deal: GO Day visitors to Grand Canyon National Park save the $25 entrance fee. There are also free  ranger-led activities, such as a three- to four-hour hike down the South Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge; an easy walk to see marine fossils; and a guided bicycle ride on the South Rim. When: Fees will be waived June 9. Details: The fee-free day in Southern California means you won't need to display a $5 Adventure Pass to visit the Angeles, Los Padres, Cleveland and San Bernardino national forests.

Re "Gay marriage clause added to defense bill," May 19 Conservatives recently pushed legislation through the House that would prohibit same-sex marriages from being performed at military chapels. This prohibition would even apply to chapels that are located in states where same-sex marriage is otherwise recognized. In 2009, conservatives overturned regulations that banned firearms in national parks. The logic was that people should be permitted to carry firearms in national parks located in states where it is otherwise legal to carry them.

Fade to ... almost dark? An annular solar eclipse will be visible in part of the West on Sunday hours before sunset when the moon will cover up all but a sliver of the sun. Inside what's called the annular path, a "ring of fire" will appear as the moon passes in front of the sun. Just about every national park in the West is hosting some type of viewing party or astronomy fest Sunday to mark the heavenly occasion. (Check out all the national park events .) The roughly 200-mile-wide path begins in southern China and sweeps east across southern Japan , the Pacific Ocean, touches land again roughly around Redding, Calif., then continues to central Nevada, southern Utah, northern Arizona, New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, according to NASA's website . "We're just off the center line and will see about 81% coverage [of the sun]

Active U.S. servicemen and women and their families will receive a new perk come Saturday: free passes to more than 2,000 public lands nationwide. The Department of the Interior and the Joining Forces initiative announced Tuesday that passes would be available starting on  Armed Forces Day on Saturday. "Just 1% of Americans are fighting our wars, but we need 100% to support our troops and their families," Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar said in a news conference Monday.

Two apps that feature national parks have arrived just in time for Earth Day. And they're free, which goes nicely with the Saturday start of fee-free National Park Week . So download the app, pick a park to visit and go. The deal: These apps are available to download to an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (sorry, Android users and others, you're out of luck). Fotopedia National Parks features photos taken with a large-format camera (which means super-sharp images)

House Republicans are backing legislation in Congress to give the Department of Homeland Security control of more than 50 national parks and forests within 100 miles of the U.S. borders. The legislation involves a sweep of land along the frontier with Canada and Mexico, but exempts state land, private property and federal holdings used for mining, livestock grazing and timber harvesting. The new authority would carve through 54 national parks, including Joshua Tree, Saguaro, Acadia and Glacier.