OREGON KEEPS OPENING PARKS
Thanks for your story noting the excellent status of Oregon's state parks ("Our Priceless State Parks," September/October). Gov. Ted Kulongoski has been able to open a park a year, including Stub Stewart State Park for camping, picnicking, and hiking 31 miles from Portland, and my favorite, Thompson's Mills State Heritage Site (left), our oldest water-powered grain mill, near Corvallis. On behalf of all visitors, kudos to the parks department for their leadership and foresight.

Mary Oberst
First Lady of Oregon
Salem, Oregon

BOATING BARE IS A BAD IDEA
I loved the cover of your September/October issue with the couple canoeing on Seeley Lake. Unfortunately, it leaves the impression that paddling without life jackets is all right. As an avid canoeist for over 25 years, I have to say this is exactly the wrong message to send. There are even more fatalities on lakes than on rivers. Never set out in a canoe without your life jacket unless you want to get some kind of Darwin Award.

John Hagey
Fairbanks, Alaska

You're right; we inadvertently endorsed an unsafe practice. Although it's the law in Montana, Wyoming, and Alaska for boats to carry a
personal flotation device for each adult on board a watercraft, we recommend that all boaters wear a life jacket or vest whenever
on the water. —Editor

AS FOR SEELEY LAKE ITSELF …
I enjoyed the article by Lynn Donaldson ("Sweet Seeley Lake," September/October). I was surprised that she thought people had to be "hardy enough to swim so close to snowcapped mountains." I and my children and now my grandchildren love the beaches and the water and don't consider Seeley to be that cold. My son loved it so much he got married in the Catholic church there, and the wedding party spent the day before waterskiing and swimming.

Alice Klundt
Great Falls, Montana

A TALLEST TALE
In your September/October issue, you write incorrectly that the 235-foot-tall sea stack called Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Ore., is the world's third tallest ("This Rock Stacks Up "). There are several sea stacks of that name in Oregon, including one near Pacific City, which is taller at
327 feet.

Donna Love
Seeley Lake, Montana

Dan Mancuso
Portland, Oregon

Solid facts: The Cannon Beach Haystack Rock is actually the third-tallest sea stack in Oregon, not the world. Finley Rock at Three Arch Rocks is second at 275 feet. —Editor

WANT TO STAY IN A LIGHTHOUSE?
Readers of your article on lighthouses ("Beautiful Beacons," September/October) might like to learn how they can stay in, work in, or even own one. The United States Lighthouse Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving lighthouses and their history, maintains a list of these opportunities at uslhs.org/resources_be_a_keeper.php."

Skip Sherwood
United States lighthouse society
Hansville, Washington

AAA + IPHONE = HAPPY EXPERIENCE
My car's battery failed today and I used the AAA iPhone app to get help. First, the app already knew through GPS where I was. Second, the Roadside Assistance team of Maria Contos and Marcos Navarro of Walnut Creek, Calif., showed up in 15 minutes. In just half an hour, I was on the road with a new battery and a lovely memory of a breakdown gone right.

Charlotte Cook
Oakland, California

TO BOLDLY GO
Where can I find the rocket-ship climbing gym on page 10 ("What Does Your Future Look Like?") of the September/October issue?

Scott Robbins
Santa Cruz, California

Find that playground at Los Arboles Rocketship Park in Torrance, Calif., at 5101 Calle de Ricardo. —Editor