Fantasy Fest promises revelry with a touch of the magical
The ping of timbales, the scent of arepas and the sight of banana bread baked by the ladies of a local Methodist church marked the start of Key West's 10-day homage to excess.
( BY JENNIFER BABSON, jbabson@herald.com, 10/21/2002 08:04 AM PST)

A Va. lodge where Jefferson strode
There was a time, recalls Bill Sheehan, when the University of Virginia played "sandlot football." With slim hope of victory, uninterested students preferred to spread blankets and socialize on the hillside beyond the western end zone.
( By John O. Lumpkin, Associated Press, 10/21/2002 07:34 AM PST)

Sharks, gators at aquariums
There's little relief for beach-goers who hope to escape the scorching sun and sand for a few hours by going inside the conservatory at the North Carolina Aquarium.
( By Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press, 10/14/2002 07:04 AM PST)

Dinosours hang out in Florida forest
PLANT CITY, Fla. — It's sure to turn your head. Driving along Interstate 4 near this Central Florida city, you may suddenly spot a dinosaur poking out from the foliage beside the highway.
( BY JAY CLARKE, Miami Herald, 10/14/2002 09:02 AM PST)

Scenic cycling for the family
A hundred years ago, locomotives lumbered up Whitetop Mountain with loads of iron ore and timber. The plodding route gave the train its name: the Virginia Creeper.
( JIM MORRILL, Staff Writer, 10/07/2002 07:10 AM PST)

This whodunit's a moving experience (but no butler?)
Somehow, I had missed the clues to solve the mystery. There had been a murder, but no body or murder weapon had been found. And the famed Red Diamond Necklace was gone. Was Snidely Cox, the security chief, the thief? Or was he the murderer?
( BY MARTA BARBER, mbarber@herald.com, 09/30/2002 08:53 AM PST)

The perfect vantage point proves elusive at national park
They say autumn is a great time to trek to southern Appalachia for a view of its fabled blue ridges.
( By KAREN UHLENHUTH, The Kansas City Star, 09/30/2002 09:06 AM PST)

Insects, foreign plant species taking a bite out of the Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is, sadly, a park under siege. Its woodlands and rivers have been increasingly overrun in recent years by exotic species that have been introduced either accidentally or on purpose, and now thrive at the expense of native plants and animals.
( By KAREN UHLENHUTH, The Kansas City Star, 09/30/2002 09:08 AM PST)

National refuges provide sanctuary, habitat for number of creatures
The eggs of the loggerhead sea turtle -- more than 100 leathery globes -- already sit beneath a nurturing layer of sand.
( By SCOTT CANON, The Kansas City Star, 09/16/2002 11:38 AM PST)