Well, it's "Public Lands Day," which means you can get into your favorite national park for free. Newspapers across the country are heralding this rare event, but I find it hard to jump on the bandwagon. Frankly, I wish they'd focus on the substantial issues the national park system is facing.

With Fall officially under way, it won't be too long before the season's most spectacular colors are daubed, stroked, and splashed across the national park system. The good news is that you haven't missed the peak yet. The bad news is that if you don't already have a room reservation, you probably won't find a vacancy in any of the well-known fall foliage parks.

For the last 31 years, Yosemite Park Ranger Laurel Boyers has had your dream job. She's been working for the park, patrolling and managing the wilderness backcountry of Yosemite. In a few days, she'll retire. Our story links to a WildeBeat audio program.

Phil Frank, the author of the comic strip 'Farley' which appears in the San Francisco Chronicle, has died. Only days earlier, he had announced his retirement from the newspaper. Frank had been suffering from a brain tumor. He was 64.