Originally Posted by DeltaboundRedux

"Purpose of a system is what it does."

POSIWID

11 shutdowns since 1981.

On a positive note, while some administrations used the moment for (useful) political theatre by shutting down things like access to Mt Rushmore and Yellowstone NP, there's some online commentary that suggests you can currently just drive by the entry gate to quite a few National Parks without having to pay the fee.