As you plan your park travels for the summer, don't overlook Badlands National Park's outstanding Night Sky Program. The combination of dark skies, a chance to look through top-quality telescopes and excellent interpretation provides a rare chance to see and enjoy the wonders of the heavens in ways most of us have never experienced.

Long before Ken Burns' PBS series on the national parks, the filmmaker produced another multi-program epic that features several NPS areas. THE CIVIL WAR, which first aired in 1990, remains the highest-rated series in the history of American public television. The series is being rebroadcast in early April to mark the 150th anniversary of the beginning of America's Civil War.

If you enjoy hiking or backcountry camping at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, here's a chance to help make a difference for everyone who takes advantage of those opportunities. The park is recruiting for volunteers for its Adopt-a-Trail (AAT) and Adopt-a-Campsite (AAC) programs, and training is coming up soon.

Though National Junior Ranger Day is still just about a month off, that doesn't mean you can't start planning to attend the festivities at Cape Lookout National Seashore in celebration of junior rangers.