This post is a companion to the article 7 Things That Are Awesome About America When you spend a significant time away from your home country, you get a new appreciation for the good and the bad. Now that I’m back in the US and have traveled around the country for three months, I have …
In the Mat-Su valley of Alaska near Palmer and Wasilla is a beautiful mountain pass named after miner Robert Hatcher. Hatcher’s Pass is a great skiing destination for locals during the winter, but in the summer people come for the hiking and the history. For like I said, Hatcher’s Pass was named after a miner …
My travels to Las Vegas over the years have usually been for a conference—something the city is well equipped to handle given its infrastructure. Most recently, at Blog World Expo I spoke on the subject of “Travel Porn,” and it got me thinking that it was high time we cover some “fact porn” about one …
Glacier Bay National Park is a beautiful U.S. National Park located near Juneau, Alaska. With about 547,000 visitors per year (as of 2017), it’s the second most visited national park in Alaska, slightly behind Denali. The vast majority of visitors to the park arrive on cruise ships, which sail up the Inside Passage of the …
From the World Heritage inscription for Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park: In 1932 Waterton Lakes National Park (Alberta, Canada) was combined with the Glacier National Park (Montana, United States) to form the world’s first International Peace Park. Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant …
From the World Heritage inscription for Taos Pueblo: Situated in the valley of a small tributary of the Rio Grande, this Pueblo Indian settlement, consisting of adobe dwellings and ceremonial buildings, exemplifies the enduring culture of a group of the present-day Pueblo Indians. It is one of a group of settlements established in the late …
The Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site World Heritage inscription : Cahokia Mounds is the largest and earliest pre-Columbian settlement north of Mexico. It was occupied primarily during the Mississippian period (800–1350) when it covered over 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) and included some 120 mounds. It is the pre-eminent example of a cultural, religious, and economic …
From the World Heritage inscription for Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville: Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), author of the American Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, was also a talented architect of neoclassical buildings. He designed Monticello (1769–1809), his plantation home, and his ideal ‘academical village’ (1817–26), which is still …
From the World Heritage inscription for Olympic National Park: Located in the northwest of Washington State, Olympic National Park is renowned for the diversity of its ecosystems. Glacier-clad peaks interspersed with extensive alpine meadows are surrounded by an extensive old growth forest, among which is the best example of intact and protected temperate rainforest in …