Here in the Potomac Gorge, my refuge from the insanity of the D.C. area, it's two different stories in two different states.
On the Maryland side, parking lots are barricaded, but rangers are not doing anything about people parking there and accessing the park as long as they are not blocking gates. So yesterday, there were a lot of hikers, bike riders, and kayakers out.
On my way back from kayaking, I swung around to the Virginia side to see what access there was like. People were apparently being allowed to park in the exit lane at the entrance station. There was even a police officer there, and he was not writing tickets or making people leave. So back at home, I grabbed a different kayak and headed back out to run some rapids more easily accessed from the Virginia side. When I got back, all the cars were gone. An NPS staffer was there in a vehicle turning people away. So I and a few others were reduced to sneaking in from outside points. I had to carry my kayak almost a mile through woods both ways.
But on the plus side, the few of us out there practically had the place to ourselves.
Also, the public workers will be getting back-pay, but what about all the private enterprises that draw income from the tourist trade related to our public lands?
Exactly. I've already canceled some plans and changed others for my trip to Colorado next weekend. I'm sure I'm not the only one now avoiding gateway towns such as Estes Park in light of the shutdown. And the merchants there will
not be getting back pay for the lost revenue.