Visitors have a view of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River flowing below from a skywalk extending out over the Grand Canyon and its incomplete building, on the Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona February 28, 2012.
Even as the government shutdown drags on, you can visit some national parks, thanks to taxpayers in Utah.
Since large parts of the federal government shut down on Oct. 1, all 401 national parks have been closed and 20,000 National Park Service employees have been furloughed. But on Thursday, the Obama administration said some parks could reopen if states paid for their operations.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert didn’t waste any time, agreeing to pay $1.67 million to reopen the state’s eight national sites for 10 days, CNN reports.
The governors of Arizona, Colorado and South Dakota also requested permission to reopen their parks, and businesses outside the Grand Canyon have pledged nearly half a million to help foot the bill.
[CNN]