October 2024
Posted by Penny Musco onPark News
Hurricane Helene damaged several parts of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While some sections are still open, many roads, areas, campgrounds and trails are temporarily closed. Check on conditions here.
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…

Anniversaries in the parks
This is a big month for park milestones!
Celebrating 100 years in the Park Service:

• 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.

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)