During my recent hike in Shenandoah National Park along the Appalachian Trail, I came upon a tight crook in the trail that carried Ivy Creek downhill amid a flurry of gold, red, orange and yellow leaves of fall. There can be no more spectacular setting that the hardwood forests of the East. Unless it's set ablaze by the pastel daubs of spring wildflowers in places such as Glacier, Saquaro or Canyonlands national parks.

In a precedent-setting move, the U.S. Public Health Service has agreed to take over operation of the Yosemite Medical Clinic, which was threatened with closure at the end of the year.

While mandatory shuttle bus service into Zion Canyon at Zion National Park ended at the end of October, the popular shuttles will continue on an optional basis Saturdays and Sundays through the end of November.

A visitor to Apostle Islands National Lakeshore provided a different twist on the expression, "A miss is as good as a mile" when he fell over a 35-foot cliff into the very chilly waters of Lake Superior. In his case, quick thinking and fast reflexes allowed him to miss the rocks at the bottom of the cliff, but his wet landing meant his troubles were far from over.