Flooding, power outages, and downed trees were among the issues national parks were facing in the aftermath of Helene, which evolved from tropical storm to hurricane and back to tropical storm as it rampaged from the Gulf of Mexico north into Appalachia.
As far as National Park Service passport cancellation stamps go, the one I'm given at Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site is historically significant. “Sep 14, 2024,” it reads. “Buffalo, NY.”
Declining water levels at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area have prompted the National Park Service to decide the Dangling Rope Marina can no longer operate.
Tropical Storm Helene has blown away, but units of the National Park System are struggling to recover in her wake. All of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina remained closed Sunday, many roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park were closed, and Congaree National Park in South Carolina was closed due to loss of power and functioning water systems.