Beyond the Scenery

 
Park 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…

 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)

 
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).