ESTES PARK, COLORADO ‒ As her kids danced their stuffed animals around a 3D map of Rocky Mountain National Park's peaks and valleys, Chrissy Whissler began ticking off all the national parks she and her family visited this year: Nine so far, with at least three more planned before year's end.
While she tallied, her green Guadalupe Mountains National Park souvenir sweatshirt swung open, revealing a T-shirt from Bryce Canyon National Park.
A Los Angeles mom who homeschools her kids, 13 and 10, via experiential learning, Whissler said she entered this year with safety concerns about how widespread staffing cuts by the Trump administration might impact national parks ‒ places she treasures.
But after a summer of adventures, Whissler is glad to report her fears about staffing cuts were largely unfounded: "We definitely had a bit of a toilet issue in Yosemite but they corrected that the next day."
President Donald Trump's administration has slashed staffing across the park service , and longtime park advocates and frequent users worried the cuts would lead to messy parks and dirty bathrooms.
