Beyond the Scenery

 
Park News

Two more national park sites added to the list: #430 & #431

 •  The Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa,Texas is the newest spot in the Park Service relating to Hispanic culture. The schoolhouse and close by Band Hall are where Mexican and Mexican American children were educated segregated from other races.
 
 •  In Springfield, Illinois is the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument, memorializing a vicious assault by a White mob on a Black community. Ironically, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site is nearby. This house was the only one Lincoln every owned, and formally became part of the Park Service in 1972.
 
    This racially-motivated attack gave rise to the civil rights organization now known as the NAACP.
 
And one will finally be completed…
 
The World War I Memorial on the District of Columbia’s vast National Mall will install the last and perhaps the most important part of the site on September 13. The bronze sculpture called “A Soldier’s Journey” will have its First Illumination that evening at 7:15 p.m., and the ceremony is open to the public. Find details at https://worldwar1centennial.org.

 
Most Disappointing Park??
 
Seems someone rated Mammoth Cave National Park “one of the most disappointing U.S. tourist attractions,” calling it “very dark” (what a surprise…). The park responded in good humor, writing on Facebook, “A world of regret awaits you!”
 
Free day in the parks!
 
As I’ve mentioned before, only 109 of the Park Service locations charge admission. This month has one of the six days where the entrance fee for those parks is waived. National Public Lands Day falls on Wednesday, September 28 this year. Explore for free!
 
Books, Books, and More Books!
 
My fellow authors at Pelican Book Group are again busy with new ebook fiction releases:
 
 •  M. Jean Pike’s King of Hearts comes out September 13
 
 •  Without a Dream by LoRee Perry is available on September 20
 
 •  Barbara M. Britton debuts Escape to Whispering Creek
   September 27
 
And my newest book is in its final editing stages! More Life Lessons from the National Parks: God’s Still Present in America’s Most Glorious Places has just been sent back to me by the top editor at Elk Lake Publishing! A final read-through for me to see her (few, she claims) corrections/changes/rewrites, and the manuscript goes to the printer!
 
No Darkness Here!
 
“In Jesus was life; and the life was the light” John 1:4
 
Caves are supposed to be dark. Jesus never is. The first chapter of John in the New Testament notes He is light that shines in every corner of this world, and darkness in no way overpowers Him.
 
Where are you searching for enlightenment? Look no further than Jesus. The book of John is a great place to learn about God “made flesh [to] dwell among us,” so we could “[behold] His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
 

 
  USA Today put together a list of national parks that now require timed-entry reservations. This is an attempt at crowd control at popular sites, and usually is just for the busy season, from around Memorial Day through at least Labor Day, and sometimes into the fall.

  Some spots have had measures like this in place for a while. I’ll be visiting Washington, D.C. in August, and will have to select a specific time in advance to enter the Washington Monument and Ford’s Theatre

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cool parks for hot days

  Beat the heat by going underground! Here’s a list of national park sites where you can go below the surface:

  Jewel Cave National Monument, situated in South Dakota’s Black Hills, has over 220 miles of surveyed and mapped passages (so far). The space was first written about by a pair of brothers in 1900—Native Americans had populated the area way before that, of course, but there’s no record they ever explored it. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the cave as a national monument in 1908.

  This is a free-free park, meaning walk the trails and explore the Visitor Center without cost, but the only way to enter the cave is through one of four ranger-guided tours. Advance reservations are recommended, and you must follow strict rules for safety reasons and to prevent White Nose Syndrome among the cave’s bats.
 
About 30 miles away, in Custer, is Wind Cave National Park, which is closed through the fall for elevator replacement.
 
  Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park is a UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and International Biosphere Reserve. At more than 400 miles, it's the world’s largest cave system. Again, no entrance fee is charged for the Visitor Center, grounds, or regular ranger talks, but cave tours require a ticket, best reserved in advance.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico is so popular you now need a timed ticket to visit, which costs one dollar, as well as $15 to get in (save on national parks and federal recreational lands entrance fees by purchasing a pass). Here, you can explore the cavern on your own, or reserve a spot on one of two guided tours . Ranger programs include a bat flight viewing, in which you may or may not see these creatures swarm out of the cave in the evening, and monthly star parties through October. On the third Saturday of this month is the Dawn of the Bats program, to watch the free-taileds return to their home down under.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  In Utah is Timpanogos Cave National Monument, undoubtedly known about and explored for thousands of years before Whites “discovered” it. President Warren Harding declared the property a national monument in 1922. Strenuous three-and-a-half hour main tour (https://www.nps.gov/tica/planyourvisit/cavetours.htm) during the short caving season include an uphill 1.5 mile hike from the Visitor Center to the entrance, and a tramp through three different colorful limestone caves. Additionally, two early morning lantern tours, and an arduous Introduction to caving excursion for those who don’t mind crawling on their knees, also are offered. All need booked-ahead paid reservations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

  If the outdoors is more to your liking, check out these tips from the National Park Service. Click on “Ways to Play Outside” to find places near you for water sports, hiking, birding, and camping, among other warm weather pursuits.

  Where not to go in the summer: Death Valley National Park. That’s when temps average 100 degrees and often climb over 120 degrees. Save a visit for the other three seasons.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
*****

Planning to move anytime soon? How not to get taken for a ride in my latest article.

*****

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

  Have you ever read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible? What was your first impression? A real downer, right?

  The quote in bold above comes from that book (chapter 1, verse 9). Written by King Solomon, Ecclesiastes can seem cynical or pessimistic, as he examines the seeming aimlessness of our existence. His conclusion, though, is this: life is to be enjoyed to its fullest, because it is a gift from God (3:12-13, 5:18-20).