The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Tomorrow night, KCTS TV (Channel 9) will air the first of a two-part series called National Parks: Northwest Stories. The two 30-minute features (the second will be aired next week) will focus on Mount Rainier and other Washington national parks, including the role of volunteers in Mount Rainier's flood recovery efforts over the past few years:

KCTS 9 shares stories from the National Parks in Washington State. From the magnificent peaks and glaciers of the North Cascades, to the dense rainforests of the Olympics, to the awe-inspiring and iconic Mount Rainier, we take you deep into our National Parks, bringing you stories of the land, and the people who have dedicated their lives to preserving these "sublime wonderlands" that belong to all of us.

The films will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on Friday September 18 and 25.

These features add a local angle to the "Big Event" coming up a week from Sunday (8:00 September 27), the new documentary by Ken Burns entitled The National Parks: America's Best Idea. This 12-hour, six-episode series will focus on the people who made the National Parks what they are today:

Filmed over the course of more than six years at some of nature's most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska — The National Parks: America's Best Idea is nonetheless a story of people: people from every conceivable background — rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy. It is a story full of struggle and conflict, high ideals and crass opportunism, stirring adventure and enduring inspiration - set against the most breathtaking backdrops imaginable.

If you love the national parks, this is must-see TV!

For a special 45-minute preview of the Ken Burns film, plus a showing of the KCTS specials, join us for National Public Lands Day on Saturday September 26. Meet at Longmire at 9:00am with water, lunch, and work clothes, and be prepared to work on trail maintenance, native plant revegetation, and historic campground restoration for the day. Gather at the historic Community Building afterward for pizza and movies. Then watch the Ken Burns series with pride, knowing that you--you!--are one of the special people Burns is talking about when he tells stories of those who have worked to protect some of the most extraordinary places in the world!