National Park Jack-o-lanterns

Are you ready for a classic Halloween tradition with a Wild Spaces twist? Try carving Delicate Arch, Half Dome or Great Fountain Geyser into your jacko-lantern this season.

What you'll need:
-Fresh Pumkin
-Pattern (download below)
-Sharp Knife
-Exacto Knife
-Pins
-Metal Spoon (for scraping)
​-Adult Supervision
-Patience

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It's essential to find a moist, fresh pumpkin. The dryer and more brittle your pumpkin the harder it will be to carve these patterns. Begin by cutting a lid in the top of your pumpkin about 4-5 inches in diameter. Then scrape the innards out of your pumpkin until the inside walls are clean.

Cut along the dotted lines on the pattern, overlap and pin sections to the pumpkin until flush against the surface of the pumpkin. Then use a poker/nail/thick needle and poke holes along every line on your pattern. The more holes you poke, the easier it will be to see the pattern on the pumpkin's surface when you remove the pattern.

Once you've finished poking along the lines, use the Exacto knife to shave the skin from the areas marked as light gray on the pattern. Once you've finished shaving all light grey areas revealing the flesh of the pumpkin, use your spoon to scrape the pumpkin's inner wall until the section with your carving is about half an inch thick.

Then using your Exacto knife cut out all areas marked as white on the pattern beginning with the smallest and ending with the largest. Once finished, light one or more candles and place them inside the pumpkin and you're finished.

If you'd like to see more National Park Jack-o-lantern patterns, then share this post. If we see strong demand for more we'll publish a book in time for Halloween 2017.

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