National Parks/Being a ranger

It's not easy to be a ranger. Most tourists don't know much about nature and aren't shy to show it in questions.

Task

1. Explain what is wrong (or goofy) with each of the questions. (Hopefully you won't give dumb answers. :-) )

Yellowstone National Park:

• Does Old Faithful erupt at night?
• How do you turn it on?
• When does the guy who turns it on get to sleep?
• What time do you feed the bears?
• Is it OK to keep an open bag of bacon on the picnic table, or should I store it in my tent?
• How do the elk know they are supposed to cross at the "Elk Crossing" signs?
• How do you pronounce "elk"?
• We had no trouble finding the park entrances, but where are the exits?

Grand Canyon National Park:

• Was this man-made?
• Do you light it up at night?
• I bought tickets for the elevator to the bottom — where is it?
• Is the mule train air conditioned?
• So where are the faces of the presidents?

Everglades National Park:

• Are the alligators real?
• Are the baby alligators for sale?
• Where are all the rides?
• What time does the two o’clock bus leave?

Denali National Park (Alaska):

• What time do you feed the bears?
• Can you show me where the yeti lives?
• How often do you mow the tundra?
• How much does Mount McKinley weigh?

Mesa Verde National Park:

• Did people build this, or did Indians?
• Why did they build the ruins so close to the road?
• Do you know of any undiscovered ruins?
• Why did the Indians decide to live in Colorado?

Carlsbad Caverns National Park:

• How much of the cave is underground?
• So what’s in the unexplored part of the cave?
• Does it ever rain in here?
• How many ping-pong balls would it take to fill this up?
• So what is this — just a hole in the ground?

Yosemite National Park:

• Where are the cages for the animals?
• What time do you turn on Yosemite Falls?

Weblinks

• Questions Asked of Park Rangers (snopes.com)
• DUMB AND FUNNY QUESTIONS AND STATEMENTS MADE BY TOURISTS (longer version, directly taken form usenet)
• Park rangers of reddit, what is the stupidest thing you have ever seen a tourist do inside a national park?
• Work with Us (National Park Service)
• How to Be a Park Ranger (wikiHow)

National Parks in the USA

1. General Overview
2. Yellowstone NP - the first national park
   1. Geysers and Volcanoes
   2. Managing Wildlife
   3. Born from Fire
   4. Wildlife Jams
3. Bear Safety
4. Being a ranger
5. Planning a trip