In between two rainy weekends, six of us grabbed a beautiful, mild and sunny weekend at Shenandoah National Park's Loft Mountain campgrounds, hiking the 6.5 mile Browns Gap trail and enjoying the great outdoors. The waterfalls present in early fall attest to the recent heavy rains.

Remember, the national parks are under siege by those who'd like to loosen time-tested policies and regulations for greater commercialization, so write to your Congressman and Senators to let them know you support preservation of America's Best Idea - the national parks! It's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil...