Park News
More bad behavior in the parks
To the person who left a full bag of Cheetos in New Mexico’s
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the Park Service wants you to know it took 20 minutes to recover, and several days to clean up the mold and odor the food left behind. “At the scale of human perspective, a spilled snack bag may seem trivial, but to the life of the cave it can be world changing,” the park
noted.
Yosemite National Park called out those who bury toilet paper within its borders: “Because really, nobody wants to stumble upon a surprise package left behind by an anonymous outdoor enthusiast.” Pack-in, pack-out…
If you have a cat, you know they specialize in bad behavior. Take as an example Rayne Beau (say the name out loud and you’ll get its meaning), a cat who shot out of her owners’ truck and disappeared into the forest surrounding their campsite in
Yellowstone National Park. About 900 hundred miles and nearly two months later,
she showed up back home, presumably a sadder but wiser feline. (At right is my naughty cat trying to look innocent.)
Anniversaries in the parks
This is a big month for park milestones!
Celebrating 100 years in the Park Service:
• I just finished reading Erik Larson’s
The Demon of Unrest, which I highly recommend. While the book is mostly about
Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, (also in the Park Service) Georgia’s
Fort Pulaski is mentioned as well. The stronghold was seized by Georgia in January 1861, just before the state joined the Confederacy. Located on Cockspur Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River, the fort holds a centennial celebration the weekend of October 12-13, a few days ahead of its anniversary date on the 15th. (Its namesake is
Casimir Pulaski, above, the Polish-born soldier who fought and died while defending Savannah during the American Revolution.)
•
Castillo de San Marcos and
Fort Matanzas, both National Monuments, also came into the park system on October 15, 1924. Spaniards began construction of the Castillo in 1672; Fort Matanzas in 1740. Both are in St. Augustine, Florida.
Marking 50 years in the Park Service:
•
Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and Florida’s
Big
Cypress National Preserve were established on October 11,
1974. Learn about them both in this Park Service trivia
quiz.
Special events at Big Cypress continue into 2025; Big Thicket offers
several ways to celebrate.
• The “Angel of the Battlefield” during the Civil War, at right, is remembered at
Clara Barton National Historic Site in Maryland. This home also served as the headquarters for the organization she founded, the
American Red Cross. The location joined the Park Service October 26, 1974.
Books Galore!
Just out—my second book in the Life Lessons from the National Parks series!
Whoo-hoo! The hard work is done, and you now can purchase
More Life Lesson from the National Parks: God’s Still Present in America’s Most Glorious Places on
Amazon. It’s available in paperback and Kindle editions.
My fellow Pelican Book Group authors have three new releases this month:
• Emily Gray’s
Master Plan for Love ebook will be out on October 4
•
The Keeper’s Secret (this romantic suspense ebook involves a lighthouse in a fictional New Jersey town) by Penelope Marzec arrives October 11
• The cover of Mallary Mitchell’s
Virginia Creeper is truly creepy, and will be available October 25
What the Bible has to say about fortresses
I’ve mentioned several fortifications in this month’s post. They aren’t used anymore for their original purpose, but we enjoy seeing these relics of the past.
As we’ve seen especially from Hurricane Helene, our fortresses—our homes, businesses and even our very lives—can be destroyed in a moment. Biblical personalities such as David acknowledged that need to hold on to something—or Someone—offering permanent protection:
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; the God of my rock; in Him will I trust: He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior.
2 Samuel 22:2-3
Is your world “rocked”? Look to the One who stands firm (2 Timothy 2:19)
