Doorways to the Cosmos by Jan Wright

Applications for Mesa Verde's 2016 Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program are now being accepted through December 31, 2015. Writers, composers, visual and performing artists are offered the opportunity to pursue their particular art form while being surrounded by the inspiring ancient architecture of the Ancestral Pueblo people and the sweeping natural landscape of the park. Works completed under this program contribute to the public understanding and appreciation of our national parks, create a legacy preserved for future generations, and offer park visitors and the public an opportunity to see our heritage through the eyes and ears of the contributing artists.

The park provides a fully furnished historic residence to selected artists for five two-week periods: May 2 through May 15; May 16 through May 29; September 5 through September 18; September 19 through October 2; and October 3 through October 16, 2016. Participating artists are to present a public program during their residency and are to donate to the park a professional digital image of an original piece of work representative of their residency. Participants provide their own food as well as transportation to and in the park. No stipend is provided.

Full application instructions and program details are available at www.nps.gov/meve/getinvolved/artists_in_residence.htm. Submit all application materials and the $30 application fee, postmarked by December 31, 2015, to AIR Coordinator, Mesa Verde Museum Association, P.O. Box 38, Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330. For more information, please contact the MVMA office at 970-529-4445 or info@mesaverde.org.

The AIR program is managed by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association (MVMA), the park's innovative educational partner that inspires life-long stewardship of the Mesa Verde region's cultural and natural heritage. Through MVMA's operation of park bookstores, free or low-cost seminars, workshops, lectures, and special programs, visitors of all ages gain a new, behind-the-scenes understanding of Mesa Verde. Proceeds from all association programs support Mesa Verde National Park. Learn more at www.mesaverde.org.

The National Park Service and Mesa Verde National Park will join the nation in honoring all military veterans by offering free entrance for everyone on Veterans Day, November 11, 2015.

Hallowed places such as Saratoga, Fort McHenry, Vicksburg and the USS Arizona Memorial are among the 94 National Park Service battlefields, military parks, national cemeteries and military-related historic sites that commemorate the service and sacrifice of veterans throughout our country's history. Additional national parks preserve American icons like the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Liberty Bell which have inspired generations of troops.

The National Park Service also provides active duty members of the military and their dependents with an annual national park pass, an $80 value, at no charge. Permanently disabled veterans can receive a free lifetime pass to all parks. The passes provides entrance to all national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and many other Federal lands - more than 2,000 in all. The passes can be acquired at any national park that charges an entrance fee. Information about all national park passes is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.