A disadvantage of living in South Georgia is the scarcity of fall colors as the days grow cooler and the nights become longer. The glorious reds, bright yellows, and vivid oranges produced by oaks, maples, cottonwoods, sumac, and other broadleaved trees and shrubs are in short supply where we live. Having both grown up in the Midwest, we miss the changing of the colors during the fall seasons.

Some serious roadwork likely is in the future of the Blue Ridge Parkway, as National Park Service officials are evaluating the repair needs of four bridges that date to the original construction of the scenic parkway that winds from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina

As Congress works in the coming months to reach accord on legislation that would provide billions of dollars to address the National Park System's nearly $12 billion in maintenance work that's been put off for a year or longer, the backlog continues to inch higher and higher. If a funding mechanism is passed, then the National Park Service will have to craft a national priority list of projects that need to be tackled. While that list doesn't exist yet, here's a look at some possible top priorities.

A Virginia man who used spray paint, paint balls, and marbles to vandalize signs, structures, equipment and vehicles in Shenandoah National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway has been sent to prison for 11 months and ordered to pay nearly $15,500 in restitution.