You can add Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the growing list of parks that are offering stargazing programs thanks to the generally dark skies overhead.

Even sea turtles need a hand from time to time. At Biscayne National Park, the work of students and park staff resulted in mixed results from turtles that came ashore in the park to lay eggs this year.

As the weather cools and available daylight decreases, many wild animals become restless. They know winter is on the way and they could face months of freezing temperatures and food shortages.

Horace Kephart is best-known for his role in raising public support for what became the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and as the author of two non-fiction books that have become classics. Tucked away for 80 years was a literary surprise: the completed manuscript for a Kephard novel. It's just been published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and the timing is appropriate: this year is the park's 75th anniversary.