One of America's most unforgettable natural wonders remains accessible, even as a government shutdown threatened its closure.

As of Thursday, the Grand Canyon National Park remained open to visitors.

The National Park Service advised that national parks, including Grand Canyon, "remain as accessible as possible," but services may be limited.

Jon Kelley, an experienced hiker who traveled from Salem, Oregon to visit the park, told The Associated Press people are just driving through.

“There was no stop for the van I was in and no checking on any of us, ” Kelley said adding; “this has never happened in my life.”

Thursday is day two of the government shutdown, and Congress remains at a standstill.

Democrats are demanding any bill to reopen government save healthcare funds. Republicans say they're willing to have talks about health care, but not now.

President Donald Trump is seizing on the shutdown as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce and punish detractors.

The administration is threatening mass firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to programs and services important to Democrats.

The aggressive approach coming from the Trump administration is on par with what certain lawmakers and budget observers feared if Congress failed to do its work and relinquished control to the White House.

Many national parks stayed open during a five-week shutdown in Trump’s first term. Limited staffing led to vandalism, overflowing garbage, damage to natural resources and illegal off-roading.

A group of 40 former National Park Service superintendents last week urged the Trump administration to close the parks during a shutdown to prevent a repeat of the damage that occurred in 2018 and 2019.

They warned a shutdown now could be worse with parks already under strain from a 24% staff cut and severe budget reductions.

AP Video shot by Ross Franklin