America 15: Parks

Many countries have national parks, but few have something like the National Park Service. It's an entire culture of centres, rangers, tours, souvenirs and visitors all built around a love – even a worship – of nature that spans generations. Parents take their children to the parks they saw when they were children. Even the rangers are often the latest in a long family tradition, sometimes going back as far as the founding of the park. It's a colossal institution, though not one without a cost. Ironically, one of the few groups who don't enjoy the national parks are those whose families once lived on them. They were displaced when the parks were established, and their resentment, too, spans generations.