The Smoky Mountains are home to more than 1,600 species of flowering plants. During each month of the year, some forb, tree or vine is blooming in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. During the spring, wildflowers explode during the brief window just prior to trees leafing out and shading the forest floor (from about mid-April through mid-May).

The Pueblo Indians in New Mexico and northern Arizona are descendants of the Ancestral Puebloans who abandoned the cliff dwellings now preserved in Mesa Verde National Park. Does the modern pueblo culture straddle the ages? See for yourself. Just cue this composite audio/video, turn up the volume, and get ready for a surprise.

It was just about a year ago that a college professor headed into the remote backcountry of Canyonlands National Park to find his final resting place. His remains recently were discovered by another hiker.

At Gettysburg, the old visitor center and the Cyclorama Building were constructed atop a key part of the historic battlefield. The NPS has long planned to remove both buildings and return the site to its 1863 appearance. The old visitor center is now being knocked down and toted away, but preservationists have blocked demolition of the Cyclorama Building.