A kid took a pine cone from a national park - then returned it with a heartfelt letter of apology

A little apology can go a long way.

Last week, officials from California's Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park posted a Facebook photo of a note they received from a young visitor, who returned a pine cone he or she had picked up near the 267-foot-tall sequoia known as General Grant. The post explained that it's actually a sequoia cone, and that it's important to leave them in the park because they provide food for animals and help create soil when they decompose. 

It's a good reminder of an old rule of thumb for exploring the outdoors: take only pictures, and leave only footprints.

And if you do take more than photos, it's never too late to say sorry. 

Here's the park's original Facebook post: