There's plenty of debate about the pros and cons of "social media" in today's world, but among the advantages of those sites are the opportunities to enjoy some photos of "wish I'd been there" moments. The Facebook page for Grand Canyon National Park includes some recent images that remind us that our parks offer some special views of the ever-changing natural world.

It was a (hopefully not) one of those once-in-a-lifetime visits to a far off national park, and I was flat on my back. That, however, was not all bad at Virgin Islands National Park on the Caribbean island of St. John, where basking under the February sun on the sugar-sand beaches in between snorkeling adventures is de rigueur. Preferably with a cool drink in hand and a rattan mat beneath you.

Year-end holidays, with a Western frontier flair, will be observed at Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site in Colorado on December 6-7.

Holiday events, and concerns over light pollution from solar power projects, are among the news flowing from around the National Park System.