Maintenance work to cut back vegetation along a stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway later this month will close about 21 miles of the scenic road for two weeks.

An environmental organization with chapters in a handful of Eastern states has launched a campaign to get the public to lobby Congress for better funding for national parks.

An important question for travelers on the Blue Ridge Parkway, especially in the winter, is "How's the weather?" The Parkway is open year-round, with one important caveat: "As long as snow or ice do not create dangerous driving conditions." Now, thanks to a new website, BRPweather.com, it's possible to get real-time weather conditions and forecasts for multiple locations along the popular roadway before you decide to go for a drive.

Though the landscape within the Blue Ridge Parkway --outside of the parkway, itself -- was closed during the recent closure of the National Park System, rangers had plenty of work to attend to, including the arrest of a man poaching mushrooms in the Parkway.