Greetings from Far View Lodge in Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park. It is early in the season and the park’s campground doesn’t open until later in the week. An added bonus of an early visit is a reduced entrance fee; $10 as opposed to $15 during high season.

As David and Kay Scott set out on their trip to visit national park lodges to update their guidebook, they come upon a rarity at Gulf Islands National Seashore -- a campground with hot and cold running water and electricity...run by the National Park Service.

If you've got time to squeeze in a fall visit to a national park, here's some good news: There's quite a bit of lodging available in places such as Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Death Valley national parks.

We were on our second-floor balcony reading when we noticed someone below walk to the wooden railing separating the lodge grounds from the surrounding countryside. He pointed west toward the woods. Coming through the trees and into the small meadow were two bear cubs that commenced frolicking in the grass. They ran back and forth and one suddenly jumped and caught the side of a tree.