Best National Parks to View Fall Colors

The National Park Foundation has released a list of the top ten National Parks to view fall colors.  You may note that the first listed is The Blue Ridge Parkway.

http://www.greenrightnow.com/kabc/2010/10/14/best-national-parks-for-viewing-fall-foliage/

Fall Color In Those Mountains

A few quick shots taken today on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

Blue Ridge Parkway Shooter Goes To Federal Court

Ralph "Leon" Jackson who is accused of shooting two people on the Blue Ridge Parkway on April 5 will now be going to Federal court to answer for his alleged crimes.  State charges have been dropped and Jackson has been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury.  His trial will now be conducted by a Federal District Court Judge.  According to The News Leader this decision was made since Jackson may face stiffer penalties in the Federal system.

Jackson is accused of shooting Timothy P. Davis and Christina S. Floyd on April 5, 2010.  Davis and Floyd were fired upon with a shotgun as they sat in the Rock Point Overlook enjoying the sun set.  Four days later Davis died from his wounds and complications after falling off the overlook as the result of the shooting.

For more details check out the link below to The News Leader:

http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010120329

Ralph "Leon" Jackson

Suspect Sentenced in Assault on National Park Ranger

A man accused of assaulting a National Park Ranger at Independence National Historic Park last year was sentenced in Federal court.  For details see the link below.

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/breaking/news/20101012_After_attack_on_park_Rangers__he_faces_jail.html

Park Ranger Tips for Fall Color Season Travel

If you are planning a trip to the Southern Appalachians for the fall color season and want to stay in hotel or lodge accommodations, have reservations in advance. Many times I have seen travelers on the Blue Ridge Parkway during October thinking that they would just take a leisurely drive and find a motel room at the end of the day. In many cases they would find no room at the inn. I have seen people drive seventy five miles or more away from the park to find a vacant room.  

October is the peak visitation season for this region of the country and a pretty weekend can see huge crowds in the parks and surrounding communities.  Many small towns and rural areas will be hosting festivals and art events that draw hundreds if not thousands of people.  

October is also college football season. Colleges also sponsor their family and alumni weekends durng the beautiful fall weather. Such events can fill hotels for miles. You can check college web sites for their schedules. Some of the key colleges that may affect hotel availability are:

The University of Virginia
Virginia Military Institute
Washington and Lee University
Virginia Tech
Appalachian State University
University of North Carolina At Asheville

Competition for hotel rooms can be almost as exciting as some of the football games.
Traffic in prime viewing areas may also become congested which will result in slow downs and delays. So make sure your plans for the distances to travel are reasonable and attainable. Allow a cushion of time in your planning for heavy traffic. Come the end of the day you do not want to be hundreds of miles away from your planned stop for the night.

When ever possible travel during the week. Weekends are always the peak traffic times. Hotels rooms are also more easily obtainable on weekday nights.

"A Park Ranger's Life" at The Peaks Of Otter

I will be returning to the Peaks Of Otter Lodge this Friday October 15 for another book signing.  We will be in the Lodge lobby starting at 5pm.  Stop by and enjoy the fall foliage, hiking trails, and a delicious seafood buffet.  There is nothing like the Blue Ridge Mountains on a fall evening.

Abbott Lake and the Peaks of Otter Lodge at mile post 86 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Bedford County, Virginia

Just a reminder that I will be in Charlottesville, Virginia for the authors event on November 19.

Meet the Authors Book Signing Event

Friday, November 19, 2010

Holiday Inn University - 1901 Emmet Street

(Hydraulic Rd. and Rt. 29)

11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

 

Free Admission

 

The Holiday Shopping Season is fast approaching!  Over 35 Virginia authors will be in attendance...anxious to meet the public and sell/sign their books.  30 local companies have signed up to sponsor the event !  You will notice the event advertised on NewsPlex TV stations 16,19,27; NBC Channel 29; WINA radio; Victory FM radio; Daily Progress 11/14 Sunday circular, 11/14 and 11/17 Lifestyle ads; the Sun Trust digital sign; and The Hook and C-Ville Magazine community calendars... all starting Sunday, Nov. 14.

"A Park Ranger's Life" In Roanoke, Virginia

This Saturday October 9 I will be in Roanoke, Virginia for a book signing at Ram's Head Book Shop. The Shop is located in Towers Mall and I will be there from 1pm to 4pm. If you are in the area, stop by.

The Wildfire That Chased the Park Ranger Part III Conclusion

See the posts below for parts I and II

I did not see where I could move right or left on the slope to get away and the steep rocky grade did not provide a good location to deploy my aluminum foil like fire shelter.  I quickly decided on my only choice and started to stumble as fast as I could upslope directly in the path of the fire.  I remember thinking to myself, “How stupid of me to get myself caught in such a situation.”  As the flames literally licked at my heels I started to doubt that I would make it off this mountain alive.  My life did not flash before me; there was no time for that.  I was pumping as hard as my legs and lungs would let me toward the crest of the ridge, hardly the best tactical place to be with a fire rushing up slope behind me.

I was one hundred feet or so from the crest of Tory Ridge when abruptly the wind changed and hit me in the face pushing the fire behind me back down slope and back toward the black initially burned area.  I fell to the ground my lungs aching and my heart still pounding trying to recover my composure and giving thanks for that wind change.  I had scrambled over one hundred yards up hill.  The atmosphere was still not settled on what it wanted to do and again the wind direction switched coming from my left and pushing the fire toward the original direction I had seen it moving.  I guess it was finished playing with me for now.

I half walked half crawled the rest of the way to the top of the mountain and came out on the Tory Ridge Trail.  On the opposite side of the trail was an even steeper mountain side dropping into an area known as Big Levels.  My knowledge of the area kicked in and I recalled that Big Levels was a tinder box of wildfire fuels after several years of gypsy moth defoliation and pockets of standing dead white pines killed by beetles.  If the fire made into this drainage there may be no stopping it before it left the National Forest Lands and threatened homes and farms at the foot of the mountain.

I started down the trail working my way back around the base of the fire when I came upon a single firefighter coming toward me.  It was one of the Division Supervisors from Incident Command Team and he was alone and like myself without any tools having given his away that evening for sharpening and repair.  We agreed that we needed to keep the fire from making its way over the ridge top and crossing the trail.  He and I then spent more than two hours scraping the existing trail bed clear using tree limbs for rakes.  In places where the fire crept up to the trail edge we used our heavy leather boots to kick the embers back.  Luckily for us the winds kept constant and did not make another run toward us.  It took several hours for a fire crew to finally make its way to our location and relieve us.

Our efforts were successful in keeping the fire from jumping the trail and igniting Big Levels.  I was so exhausted by the time I made it back off the mountain that I sat in the driver’s seat of my Blazer and slept fitfully until the sun came up.  When I awoke in the early down light I found the limb I had used to clear leaves off the trail sitting in the passenger seat next to me.  I kept that piece of forest for years and used it several times as a walking stick and a reminder of that night I almost did not make it home.

Who Wants To Be A Park Ranger?

In a recent interview, Actor Zac Efron, start of the recent hit movie "Charlie St. Cloud"  was asked what he would have rather done for a career.  His answer was interesting.

Asked what he would do if he wasn’t an actor, he said: “I imagine I’d probably go and do something in the outdoors, the wilderness. I had a friend who was a park ranger in Yosemite and that seemed like an awesome job, so something in the outdoors.”