Nationals Park

In their most recent hot stretch, the Orioles have milked the drama -- with their previous seven wins coming by a margin of three runs or fewer. For much of Saturday's 6-5 victory, the trend looked like it finally would end, with their most consistent starter, Jason Hammel, cruising, and Adam Jones and Nick Markakis each hitting two-run homers against the Washington Nationals to take a 6-0 lead into the fifth. But these surprising, exciting, befuddling Orioles apparently don't do things the easy way. There must be no fun in that after all these years of losing.

With three days of pool play down and two to go at the Cal Ripken World Series, the five-team National Division was being led by the undefeated Southeast representatives from West Raleigh, N.C, who were 2-0 through Monday. Trailing the leaders by a half game is the Ohio Valley squad from Lexington, Ky., and tied with 1-1 records are the Midwest Plains team from Waite Park, Minn, and the Mid-Atlantic squad of Clifton Park, N.Y. Down at the bottom of the division are the host-team Bel Air Braves, who have been shut out three times.

If your heart is set on a national park vacation this summer, now -- not June -- is the time to nail down plans. Majestic Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, for example, reports that its lodging is more than half booked for this summer. California's iconic Yosemite National Park reports heavy bookings as well. It's not uncommon for people to make reservations a year in advance at the most popular parks. Though the National Park Service projects that visits will be down slightly from 2009, these national treasures will still attract a whopping 282 million American and foreign visitors, in part spurred by Ken Burns' 2009 documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."

This country's national parks remain hallowed ground for most Americans, even as the number of sites managed by the National Park Service has soared to nearly 370.From the initial effort to preserve the unique majesty of Yellowstone 125 years ago, the national parks system has mushroomed to include seashores and highways, historic houses and memorials, the White House, battlefields and cemeteries.It's a vast empire of 80 million acres, with a $1.6 billion budget that is still inadequate to fund needed upkeep and new additions.

BILLINGS, Mont. - Glacier National Park has lost two more of its namesake moving ice fields to climate change, which is shrinking the rivers of ice until they grind to a halt, the U.S. Geological Survey said Wednesday. Higher temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre, an ecologist with the agency. He warned the rest of the glaciers might be gone by decade's end. "When we're measuring glacier margins, by the time we go home the glacier is already smaller than what we've measured," Fagre said.

— Neil and Mary Edith Flynn waved goodbye to their son and his family and turned to their sand-colored RV. A high ridge of sea grasses and bayberry bushes blocked the ocean from view in this stretch of the state park, but the sound of hurricane-driven surf smashing onto the shore traveled over the dunes. "Well, we put everything inside and battened down the hatches," said Mary Edith Flynn, 77. "We're just going to sit here and watch the storm go by. " As Hurricane Earl hurtled up the East Coast, families along this spindly barrier island folded up tents and lugged boogie boards, chairs and dejected children to their vehicles.

The City of Westminster's Department of Recreation and Parks is celebrating National Parks and Recreation Month with a number of events, including these listed below. Some are special events, others are simple suggestions to keep children and families active for the summer. The department is also hosting a "Parks of Westminster Scavenger Hunt," which involves visiting various parks in the city for details on the hunt - or on any of the events listed below, go to http://www.westgov.com/recreation/rec_events_july.html or call 410-848-9161.  Monday, July 16 - The Rec on the Move program will be at the Charles Street Tot Lot, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 17 - Fly at Kite Day at King Park, Chase Street.

.—Fifty years ago this week, President John F. Kennedy signed legislation creating the Cape Cod National Seashore, which protects a 44,000-acre stretch of land across six towns ranging from the northernmost tip of Provincetown some 40 miles south to include the barrier beaches and coastline here in sleepy Chatham, situated at the Cape's "elbow. " With the benefit of a half-century's hindsight, the creation of the National Seashore seems a remarkable achievement. This is most obviously true for the Cape, its residents and the millions of people who come here every summer to swim, sail, fish or just relax in the sand with a book and a cold drink.

The site of the largest and most storied of all Civil War battles, Gettysburg National Military Park has the grandest visitor center of the battlefield parks. The 22,000-square-foot museum features relics and interactive exhibits on the struggle, a film and the restored Cyclorama, a 360-degree painting done in the late 19th century depicting Pickett's charge — the climactic, futile attempt by Lee's army to break the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded then by Gen. George G. Meade. Practically surrounding the old town, Gettysburg battlefield park almost requires locomotion to see it all. The park service offers guided bus tours, escorted auto tours and a self-guided auto tour, with short walking trails along the way. For the hardy, though, there's a trail guide put together by the Boy Scouts of America that covers hiking most of the battlefield.