Saturday October Evening Programs at Rocky Mountain National Park

Date: October 18, 2010
Contact: Kyle Patterson, 970-586-1363

Saturday, October 23, 7 p.m. - The National Park Idea Abroad - Poland's Tatra National Park

Tatra National Park is a "sister park" to Rocky Mountain National Park, sharing similar mountainous terrain, plant and animal species, and management issues. As part of the formal sister park agreement, three staff members from Rocky traveled to Tatra for a month long staff exchange last fall. Come hear what they learned from their fellow park rangers in Poland and discover why Tatra is so beloved by the Polish people. We will also have in attendance three colleagues from Tatra who are in Rocky Mountain National Park this month.

Saturday, October 30, 7 p.m.  - The National Parks: America's Best Idea Fall Film Series at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center

Rocky Mountain National Park and PBS's Education Series is proud to present The National Parks: America's Best Idea Series starting October 30. Nearly a decade in the making, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, a documentary series from acclaimed filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, is a breathtaking journey through the nation's most spectacular landscapes and a celebration of the people, famous and unknown, who fought to save them for future generations to treasure. Each Saturday evening, at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, the National Park Service is proud to host an hour long segment from the PBS series from October 30 through January 20.

The first showing is The Scripture of Nature: Yosemite

In 1851, a band of Indian fighters in California encounters a place of astonishing beauty, setting in motion events that bring other newcomers to Yosemite Valley: artists, writers, entrepreneurs, tourists, and eventually John Muir, who becomes a national voice for preservationists.  He lobbied successfully for the creation of Yosemite Park in 1890 and then asked for additional protections when he toured President Theodore Roosevelt in the park in 1903.  Muir's persuasive words to Roosevelt and state authorities led to the return of Yosemite Grant to the federal government in 1906. His published writings were also instrumental in the creation of Grand Canyon and Sequoia national parks. Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more. We learn from the stories of those who walked Yosemite's trails before us, allowing appreciation of their lasting footprints that led to conscious preservation. Today, 3.5 million people enter the park's gates to explore.

The national parks spring from an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most precious portions of the land should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone, for all time. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan share the stories of those magnificent places and the unforgettable people who kept them from destruction; stories of struggle and conflict, stirring adventure and enduring inspiration, set against a backdrop of stunning beauty and grandeurs.

These evening programs are held at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center in Rocky Mountain National Park at 7:00 p.m. They are free and open to the public. For more information about Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park's Information Office at [phone].