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  • "There's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza" is a traditional childrens song, reminiscent of this image from Bodie -- California's official state gold rush ghost town. The above song is based on a humorous deadlock dialogue between Henry and Liza concerning a leaky bucket. Liza tells Henry to repair the leaky bucket; but to fix the leaky bucket, he needs straw. To cut the straw, he needs a knife. To sharpen the knife, he needs to wet the sharpening stone. To wet the stone, he needs water. However, when Henry asks how to get the water, Liza says "in a bucket." In a stalemate, Henry repeats "there's a hole in my bucket dear Liza, dear Liza". Bodie State Historic Park lies in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, near Bridgeport, California, USA.
    1507CAL-2718_Bodie-CA.jpg
  • Garden gnomes in Val Ferret, near Orsières, Switzerland, Europe. Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trek Day 7: hike from Hotel Edelweiss in La Fouly to Hotel du Glacier in Champex-Lac, Switzerland, Europe (9.3 miles with 1585 feet ascent, 1910 ft descent).
    22ALP-05713.jpg
  • Donkeys lick salt at Refuge de la Croix du Bonhomme, France, Europe. Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trek Day 2: hike from Les Contamines-Montjoie via Col du Bonhomme to Les Chambres du Soleil in Les Chapieux hamlet, in Bourg-Saint-Maurice commune, France (11.4 miles with 4200 feet ascent, 3000 ft descent).
    20220704_151522.jpg
  • It looks like a two-headed turkey! Wild turkeys in Pinnacles Campground in Bear Valley. Pinnacles National Park, California, USA
    2203CA-0128.jpg
  • A cow licks its nose near Les Contamines-Montjoie, in. France, Europe. Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trek Day 2: hike from Les Contamines-Montjoie via Col du Bonhomme to Les Chambres du Soleil in Les Chapieux hamlet, in Bourg-Saint-Maurice commune, France (11.4 miles with 4200 feet ascent, 3000 ft descent).
    22ALP-02843.jpg
  • A gnome enlightens the route. Swiss Via Alpina 1, Day 1: hike from Mels (near Sargans) to Hotel Gemse Wiesstannen. Switzerland, Europe.
    20220720_104039.jpg
  • A half cow sculpture emerges from a wall at Col Chécrouit, Courmayeur, Italy, Europe. Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) trek Day 4: hike from Elisabetta Refuge in Val Veny to Hotel Pavillion in Courmayeur (walking 6.9 miles with 1600 feet ascent and 2320 ft descent along the main TMB ridge route to Rifugio Maison Vieille, then taking the chairlift from Col Chécrouit and gondola lift down to Dolonne).
    22ALP-03622.jpg
  • Suspended boulder. Bear Gulch Cave Trail. Pinnacles National Park, California, USA
    2203CA-0051.jpg
  • Carhenge sunrise. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013.
    1909US1-2062.jpg
  • The Beaver Sculpture by Alex Lojczyc arrived at Beaverlodge in 2004, on Highway 43, County of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. This statue is of a North American beaver (Castor canadensis). [By the way, the now-extinct Giant Beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) was the largest rodent ever in North America. It lived from 130,000-10,000 years ago, in the Pleistocene Epoch. Skeletal remains of this extinct rodent were first discovered in 1837. Castoroides ohioensis measured up to 8 feet long, weighing 480 pounds, and differed in appearance from the modern sculpture pictured here.]
    1906AKH-6179.jpg
  • A curious kea bites a car tire. The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1379.jpg
  • The maxim "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" was popularized from the 1600s carving of the proverbial three wise monkeys on a storehouse in Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan. One interpretation is to be of good mind, speech and action. But in the Western world, the phrase often refers to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye. The monkeys are Japanese macaques, a common species in Japan. The three monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil. Outside of Japan, the last two of the monkeys' names have sometimes been corrupted, resulting in Mizaru, Mikazaru and Mazaru. Hidari Jingoro may have carved these panels to incorporate Confucius's Code of Conduct, using the monkey as a way to depict man's life cycle. Out of eight panels, the iconic three wise monkeys are panel 2. The philosophy likely originated with a Tendai-Buddhist legend, from China in the 700s (Nara Period). The figures may represent the three dogmas of the so-called middle school of the sect. Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3468.jpg
  • Atop the Quiraing plateau, my shoe stuck in sucky mud. The Quiraing (or Cuith-Raing in Gaelic, from Norse words meaning "round fold") is a landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach, the northernmost summit of the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. We hiked a muddy loop on the Quiraing, 4.5 miles with 1200 feet gain. The Trotternish Ridge escarpment was formed by a great series of landslips, of which the Quiraing portion is still moving, causing the road at its base, near Flodigarry, to require repairs each year.
    17SC1-3900_Scotland.jpg
  • Funny sheep, curly wool. Hike along the River Swale from Reeth to Marske, in Yorkshire Dales National Park, England, United Kingdom, Europe. England Coast to Coast hike day 9 of 14. Overnight at Kings Head Hotel in Richmond, North Yorkshire county. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-3504_England.jpg
  • Face in giant tropical leaf. The exquisite Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Hilo is my favorite garden in the Hawaiian Islands! Delightful paths and boardwalks take you through a soothing green tropical wonderland endowed with streams (Alakahi Stream, Boulder Creek), waterfalls (Onomea Falls) and oceanfront vistas across Onomea Bay. Purchased in 1977 and transformed over 8 backbreaking years by Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse, the garden opened to the public in 1984 and was donated to a nonprofit trust in 1995. On the Big Island, a few minutes north of Hilo off of Route 19, take the narrow four-mile Pepe'ekeo Scenic Drive which winds along coastal cliffs, across one-lane wooden bridges over picturesque waterfalls, to reach this peaceful oasis. The garden grows over 2000 plant species, representing more than 125 families and 750 genera, with diverse palms (nearly 200 species), heliconias (80+ species) and bromeliads (80+ species). Address: 27-717 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Papaikou, HI 96781, USA. For this photo’s licensing options, please inquire.
    1701HAW-2480.jpg
  • Exploding head graboid puppet from the 1990 film "Tremors" starring Kevin Bacon. Fans of movies and television shouldn't miss the Museum of Western Film History, 701 S. Main Street, Lone Pine, California, 93545, USA. (Formerly called the Beverly and Jim Rogers Museum of Lone Pine Film History.) Web site: www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org
    1507CAL-1402.jpg
  • Sheep with bells and blue ear tags greet you on Skåla mountain trail near Loen, Norway.
    11NOR-4204.jpg
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, this funny sign in the Mammoth Site says "Remember! Keep a tusk-length apart!" The Mammoth Site is a fascinating museum and active paleontological site in the town of Hot Springs, in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. It is the largest collection of in-situ mammoth remains in the world. Sheltered within the building is an ongoing excavation of a prehistoric sinkhole filled with the remains of animals and plants preserved by entrapment and burial around 140,000 years ago, in the Late Pleistocene. Since mammoth bones were found here accidentally in 1974, the remains of 61 mammoths have been recovered (including 58 North American Columbian and 3 woolly mammoths as of 2021). Due to geological conditions after the animals were trapped, the excavated "fossil" bones are not petrified or turned to stone, so are very brittle, requiring professional handling. The Pleistocene, often referred to as the Ice Age, is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. The most recent glaciation period reached peak conditions some 18,000 years ago before yielding to the interglacial Holocene epoch 11,700 years ago.
    2109SD-019.jpg
  • The giant short-faced bear (Arctodus sumus) was the largest land carnivore in North America during the Ice Age. See this full-scale skeleton in the the Mammoth Site, a fascinating museum and active paleontological site in the town of Hot Springs, in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. Sheltered within the building is an ongoing excavation of a prehistoric sinkhole filled with the remains of animals and plants preserved by entrapment and burial around 140,000 years ago, in the Late Pleistocene. The Pleistocene, often referred to as the Ice Age, is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. The most recent glaciation period reached peak conditions some 18,000 years ago before yielding to the interglacial Holocene epoch 11,700 years ago.
    2109SD-078.jpg
  • A sign lists "No water, no shade, and no cell service" as "hazardous conditions beyond this point." Visit the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis on the beautiful Palm Canyon Trail, a great "tour de fronds." We hiked the Palm Canyon Trail to Indian Potrero Trail to Stone Pools, and looping back via Victor Trail, in the Indian Canyons, Palm Springs, California, USA. The Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera in the palm family Arecaceae) are native to the far southwestern United States and Baja California. Today's oasis environment was protected from a drying climate, restricting this cold-tolerant palm to widely separated relict groves.
    2103SW-A0941.jpg
  • Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris). Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport, Oregon, USA.
    2102OR2-753.jpg
  • A large poodle dog with a pack. Hike to Shadow Lake (7.5 miles,  1200 ft gain) in Ansel Adams Wilderness, Inyo National Forest. Mammoth Lakes, California, USA.
    2007CA-1258.jpg
  • A crayfish at Secret Lake. We hiked Leavitt Meadows Loop clockwise (8.9 miles with 1570 ft gain with ridge extension above Lane Lake) in Hoover Wilderness, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, California, USA. Trailhead is at Leavitt Meadows Campground, 38.33401 N, 119.55177 W. Staying below 8000 ft elevation, this makes a good training hike. The best ambiance is at Secret Lake. Roosevelt and Lane Lakes provide pleasant views.
    2007CA-1021.jpg
  • A crayfish pinches a finger at Secret Lake. We hiked Leavitt Meadows Loop clockwise (8.9 miles with 1570 ft gain with ridge extension above Lane Lake) in Hoover Wilderness, Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, California, USA. Trailhead is at Leavitt Meadows Campground, 38.33401 N, 119.55177 W. Staying below 8000 ft elevation, this makes a good training hike. The best ambiance is at Secret Lake. Roosevelt and Lane Lakes provide nice views.
    2007CA-1017.jpg
  • A large metal fish sculpture at the junction of Rutas 40 and 23, the turn to El Chalten mountain resort in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, Patagonia, South America. The village is settled on the riverside of Rio de las Vueltas, within Los Glaciares National Park near the base of Cerro Fitz Roy (3405 m or 11,171 ft elevation), at the edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. The town is 220 km north of El Calafate. Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche word meaning "smoking mountain", due to clouds that usually form over Monte Fitz Roy.
    2002PAT-2371.jpg
  • Black-faced ibis / Theristicus melanopis / bandurria in Spanish. Bariloche, Argentina, South America.
    2002PAT-0195.jpg
  • Black-faced ibis / Theristicus melanopis / bandurria in Spanish. Bariloche, Argentina, South America.
    2002PAT-0193.jpg
  • The 1931 RGS Motor 1 (replica shown here built in 2000) was the precursor of the popular Galloping Goose, a gasoline-engine railbus. The RGS Motor 1 carried US Mail, express freight, and passengers from 1931-1933 for the Rio Grande Southern (RGS) Railroad, a narrow gauge (3 ft wide) which ran from Durango to Ridgway (until 1953). In October 1933, its great success caused the original RGS Motor 1 to be scrapped for parts and converted to enlarged versions, seven of which would become the "Galloping Geese" railcars which officially operated under that name in 1950-1951. We visited the Ridgway Railway Museum while bicycling along the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail (Rails to Trails), in Ridgway, Colorado, USA.
    20191006_141350.jpg
  • Carhenge sunrise. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013.
    1909US1-2225.jpg
  • Carhenge sunrise. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013.  This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-2110-2121-Pano.jpg
  • Carhenge sunrise. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013.  This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-2064-Pano.jpg
  • Carhenge sunrise. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013. Additional sculptures have been erected in the Car Art Reserve, where Reinders' "Ford Seasons" is comprised of four Fords, inspired by Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Also, 29-year-old Canadian Geoff Sandhurst sculpted a spawning salmon.
    1909US1-1845.jpg
  • Carhenge sunset. Carhenge replicates England's Stonehenge using vintage American automobiles, near Alliance, Nebraska, in the High Plains region, USA. After studying Stonehenge in England, years later, Jim Reinders recreated the physical size and placement of Stonehenge's standing stones in summer 1987, helped by 35 family members. Reinders said, "It took a lot of blood, sweat, and beers." Carhenge was built as a memorial to Reinders' father. 39 automobiles were arranged in the same proportions as Stonehenge with the circle measuring a slightly smaller 96 feet (29m) in diameter. Some autos are held upright in pits five feet deep, trunk end down, while other cars are placed to form the arches and welded in place. All are covered with gray spray paint. The heel stone is a 1962 Cadillac. Reinders donated Carhenge to the Friends of Carhenge, who gifted it to the Citizens of Alliance in 2013. Additional sculptures have been erected in the Car Art Reserve, where Reinders' "Ford Seasons" is comprised of four Fords, inspired by Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Also, 29-year-old Canadian Geoff Sandhurst sculpted a spawning salmon. This image was stitched from multiple overlapping photos.
    1909US1-1617-1622-Pano.jpg
  • "CAUTION GOPHER HOLES" sign, seen from Southern Yellowhead Highway BC-5, south of Valemount,  in the Monashee Mountains, part of the Columbia Mountains, British Columbia, Canada.
    1906AKH-6342.jpg
  • Alaskan husband trainer (cast-iron pan) and husband-tamer (wood mallet) hammers, at the Hammer Museum, in Haines, Alaska, USA
    1906AKH-3424.jpg
  • Odd hammers on the ceiling. Hammer Museum, Haines, Alaska, USA
    1906AKH-3418.jpg
  • An electric hammer. Hammer Museum, Haines, Alaska, USA
    1906AKH-3387.jpg
  • Hammer Museum, Haines, Alaska, USA
    1906AKH-3386.jpg
  • Hammer Museum, Haines, Alaska, USA
    1906AKH-3385.jpg
  • Three ravens argue. Fort William H. Seward National Historic Landmark, 1902-1945. Port Chilkoot, Haines, Alaska, USA. Also known as Chilkoot Barracks and Haines Mission, it was the last of 11 military posts in Alaska during the gold rush era, and Alaska's only military facility between 1925 and 1940. It policed miners moving into the gold mining areas in the Alaskan interior, and provided military presence during negotiations over the nearby international border with Canada. William H. Seward was the United States Secretary of State who oversaw the Alaska purchase.
    1906AKH-3357.jpg
  • "Tourists Crossing" sign shows a bear delightfully chasing a person with camera. Cottonwood RV Park, Kluane Lake, Yukon, Canada.
    1906AKH-3115.jpg
  • The "Golden Heart Review" musical comedy is held nightly at the Palace Theatre in Gold Rush Town, Pioneer Park (Alaska’s only Historic Theme Park), Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. Through songs and stories, the polished, professional cast covers the historical highlights of Fairbanks, also known as "The Golden Heart City".  Pioneer Park, run by the Fairbanks North Star Borough Department of Parks and Recreation, commemorates early Alaskan history with museums and historic displays. Pioneer Park was opened in 1967 as Alaska 67 Centennial Exposition to celebrate the centennial of the Alaska Purchase. After being given first to the state and then to the city, Mayor Red Boucher renamed the site Alaskaland, which was changed to its present name in 2001.
    1906AKH-1854.jpg
  • "Great Alaska Outhouse Experience" 2005 artwork by Craig N. Buchanan is comprised of found materials and historical objects. Dramatic architecture and distinctive exhibit galleries make the Museum of the North a must-see destination at the University of Alaska, in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. To license this Copyright photo, please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.
    1906AKH-1625.jpg
  • Metal chicken sculpture & distance signpost for Chicken, Alaska, USA. Chicken is one of the few surviving gold rush towns in Alaska. Mining and tourism keep it alive in the summer, and about 17 people stay through the winter. Gold miners settling here in the late 1800s wanted to name it after the local ptarmigan birds, but couldn't agree on the spelling, so instead called it Chicken to avoid embarrassment. A portion of Chicken including early 1900s buildings and the F.E. Company Dredge No. 4 (Pedro Dredge) is listed as the Chicken Historic District on the National Register of Historical Places. Chicken can be reached via Chicken Airport or Alaska Route 5, the Taylor Highway, which is not maintained from mid-October through mid-March.
    1906AKH-1499.jpg
  • F.E. Company Dredge No. 4 (Pedro Dredge) ran 1938-1967 near Fairbanks & here in Chicken, Alaska, USA. Chicken is one of the few surviving gold rush towns in Alaska. Mining and tourism keep it alive in the summer, and about 17 people stay through the winter. Gold miners settling here in the late 1800s wanted to name it after the local ptarmigan birds, but couldn't agree on the spelling, so instead called it Chicken to avoid embarrassment. A portion of Chicken including early 1900s buildings and the F.E. Company Dredge No. 4 (Pedro Dredge) is listed as the Chicken Historic District on the National Register of Historical Places. Chicken can be reached via Chicken Airport or Alaska Route 5, the Taylor Highway, which is not maintained from mid-October through mid-March. To license this Copyright photo, please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.
    1906AKH-1493.jpg
  • Red fox (Vulpes vulpes), West Dawson, Yukon, Canada. The red fox is one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, found across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia. It comes in many colorings and sub-species. This versatile animal has colonized many suburban and urban areas.
    1906AKH-1401.jpg
  • Western Toad / Anaxyrus boreas. Riverside Park, Smithers, British Columbia, Canada.
    1906AK2-016.jpg
  • "The mother looks to the future while the new child looks at her with trust." Hidari Jingoro may have carved these panels to incorporate Confucius's Code of Conduct, using the monkey as a way to depict man's life cycle. Art work on storehouse in Toshogu shrine in Nikko, Japan. The monkeys are Japanese macaques, a common species in Japan. Toshogu Shrine is the final resting place of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that ruled Japan for over 250 years until 1868. Ieyasu is enshrined at Toshogu as the deity Tosho Daigongen, "Great Deity of the East Shining Light". Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Toshogu was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600s. The lavishly decorated shrine complex consists of more than a dozen buildings set in a beautiful forest. Toshogu contains both Shinto and Buddhist elements, as was common until the Meiji Period when Shinto was deliberately separated from Buddhism. Toshogu is part of Shrines and Temples of Nikko UNESCO World Heritage site.
    1810JPN-3467.jpg
  • New Zealand fur seal pups (Arctocephalus forsteri) thrive in the colony at Long Reef Point on the Tasman Sea near Martins Bay Hut, on the Hollyford Track, in Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. After the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand, hunting reduced the seal population near to extinction. This mammal is known as kekeno in Maori language. Some call it Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-2280.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1375.jpg
  • The kea (Nestor notabilis) is the world's only alpine parrot. In 1986, it received full protection under the Wildlife Act. The kea is one of ten endemic parrot species in New Zealand. Kea are known for their intelligence and curiosity, both vital to their survival in a harsh mountain environment. Kea can solve logical puzzles, such as pushing and pulling things in a certain order to get to food, and will work together to achieve a certain objective. They have been filmed preparing and using tools. Photographed at Homer Tunnel, Fiordland National Park, Southland region, South Island of New Zealand. In 1990, UNESCO honored Te Wahipounamu - South West New Zealand as a World Heritage Area.
    1901NZ1-1362.jpg
  • Young kids in school uniforms parade through Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Tokyo, Japan. Shinjuku Gyoen originated during the Edo Period (1603-1867) as a feudal lord's Tokyo residence. Later it was converted into a botanical garden before being transferred to the Imperial Family in 1903 who used used it for recreation and the entertainment of guests. The park was almost completely destroyed during World War II, but was eventually rebuilt and reopened in 1949 as a public park. Access Shinjuku Gyoen park via three gates: Shinjuku Gate is a ten minute walk east from the "New South Exit" of JR Shinjuku Station or a five minute walk from Shinjukugyoenmae Station on the Marunouchi Subway Line. Okido Gate is a five minute walk from Shinjukugyoenmae Station on the Marunouchi Subway Line. Sendagaya Gate is a five minute walk from JR Sendagaya Station on the local Chuo/Sobu Line.
    1810JPN-8852.jpg
  • Wash hands atop toilets after flushing. Lodging in Kyoto, Japan.
    1810JPN-7439.jpg
  • Kyoto Shibori Museum opened in 2001 to protect and pass down the knowledge of the shibori traditional fabric dyeing technique, in Kyoto, Japan. Their displayed artwork "Sport in the forest", or "Shibori Manga Choju-jinbutsu-giga", shows Monkeys, frogs and rabbits enjoy sports on a piece of 40 meter silk scroll completed using shibori dyeing and tujiga-hana techniques. Originally drawn in the Heian period around the 1100s-1200s, these caricatures are derived from the scroll of Choju-jinbutsu-giga ("Animal-person Caricatures" or 'Choju-giga' for short), well-known as one of the oldest manga (cartoon) in Japan. Toba Sojo and others created the historic Choju-giga or "Scrolls of Frolicking Animals and Humans".  The coming 2020 Tokyo Olympics helped inspired the modern 40 meter silk artwork shown in Kyoto Shibori Museum.
    1810JPN-7038.jpg
  • Young girl in yellow and red kimono. Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, a scholar and politician who was unfairly exiled by his political rivals. A number of disasters were attributed to Michizane's vengeful spirit after his death in exile, and these shrines were built to appease him. Kyoto, Japan.
    1810JPN-6390.jpg
  • Fried sweet crickets served in Japanese dinner at a minshuku (family pension). Tsumago preserves an Edo Period post town on the feudal Nakasendo route between Kyoto and Edo (present-day Tokyo). To enforce historic ambiance, phone lines and power cables are concealed, and cars are prohibited during daytime. Visitors are encouraged to stay in minshuku and ryokan lodging, and to hike a portion of the trail preserved between Tsumago and Magome villages, via pleasant rural and forest scenery. The Nakasendo, or "Central Mountain Route", was one of Five Routes (Gokaido, begun in 1601) which helped the Tokugawa shogunate to stabilize and rule Japan (1600-1868). Tsumago is in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
    1810JP2-195.jpg
  • Frog statue on Nawate Dori shopping street, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto has an annual two-day Frog Festival.
    1810JPN-4914.jpg
  • Honored in a stylized statue, this tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus) is a subspecies of Asian raccoon dog, in the canid family. In Japanese folklore, the legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. The tanuki is a common theme in Japanese art and statuary. "Tanuki" is often mistakenly translated into English as "badger" or "raccoon" (as used in the US version of the movie Pom Poko and outlined in Tom Robbins' book Villa Incognito), two unrelated types of animals with superficially similar appearances.  The city of Takayama ("tall mountain") lies in the heart of the Japan Alps, in the Hida region of Gifu Prefecture. Commonly differentiated as Hida-Takayama, city has the largest geographic area of any municipality in Japan.
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  • Odd seafood in Tsukiji Outer Market In Central Tokyo southeast of Ginza, Honshu, Japan.
    1810JPN-0026.jpg
  • Bison family on the road near Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA.
    1709US1-4494_Yellowstone-NP-WY.jpg
  • Prairie dog (genus Cynomys) in Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA. Prairie dogs, a type of ground squirrel, are herbivorous burrowing rodents native to the grasslands of North America.
    1709US1-3424.jpg
  • Painted life-sized fiberglass Edinburgh Rugby Kyloe Cow, at Kyloe Gourmet Steak Restaurant, 1-3 Rutland Street, in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. First mentioned in the 500s AD, Highland cattle (Scots: Heilan coo, slang: curly coo) have long horns and long wavy coats and are primarily for meat. They originated in the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland.
    17SC1-4230_Scotland.jpg
  • A bleating sheep with horns. The Fairy Glen (or Faerie Glen) is an unusual landscape of grassy, cone-shaped hills (with Castle Ewen most prominent) near Uig village, on the Trotternish peninsula, in Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. Walk an easy loop of 1.2 miles round trip (see www.walkhighlands.co.uk).
    17SC1-3289_Scotland.jpg
  • Lifebuoy box: "More than a good soap - a good habit!" The Skye Museum of Island Life preserves a township of thatched cottages as they would have been in the late 1800s on the Isle of Skye, in Kilmuir village, the Trotternish peninsula, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. Skye is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides.
    17SC1-3257_Scotland.jpg
  • Tin of "INGLIS FOOD: Nourishing, Bland and easily digested." The Skye Museum of Island Life preserves a township of thatched cottages as they would have been in the late 1800s on the Isle of Skye, in Kilmuir village, the Trotternish peninsula, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. Skye is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides.
    17SC1-3260_Scotland.jpg
  • Curly Coo Bar sign in Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe.
    17SC1-2244_Scotland.jpg
  • Bronze "hoblin" statue (see http://bronzehoblins.co.uk, Staffordshire) at Comlongon Castle, a restored Medieval Scottish tower house dating from the late 1400s. Guests can stay in the attached Edwardian hotel, a baronial style mansion built 1900-02, set in 120 acres of manicured gardens, sweeping lawns, carp pond, lakes and woodlands, near Clarencefield and Dumfries, in southwest Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe. Originally built by the Murrays of Cockpool, Comlongon Castle remained in the Murray family until 1984.
    17SC1-1055_Scotland.jpg
  • Gargoyle. Hike along the River Swale from Reeth to Marske, in Yorkshire Dales National Park, England, United Kingdom, Europe. England Coast to Coast hike day 9 of 14. Overnight at Kings Head Hotel in Richmond, North Yorkshire county. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-3474_England.jpg
  • Sheep seen at Wasdale Head in Lake District NP, United Kingdom, Europe. England Coast to Coast hike with Wilderness Travel, day 3 of 14: from Wasdale Head to Seathwaite. From Wasdale Head, we climbed to 1637-foot Styhead Pass, then descended via Styhead Tarn to the valley of Borrowdale. Overnight at Keswick Country House, in Cumbria county. [This image, commissioned by Wilderness Travel, is not available to any other agency providing group travel in the UK, but may otherwise be licensable from Tom Dempsey – please inquire at PhotoSeek.com.]
    17UK-0886_England.jpg
  • Introduced to Hawaii, the gold dust day gecko (Phelsuma laticauda) is native to northern Madagascar and the Comoros. It is commonly known as the mascot of GEICO. This lizard photo is from Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii, USA..
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  • Snorkelers: man & woman selfie in rippled water. We kayaked on a Kona Boys tour to the Captain Cook Monument in Kealakekua Bay State Historical Park starting from Napoopoo Pier, on the Kona Coast of the Big Island, Hawaii, USA. With one of the most pristine coral reefs for snorkeling in the state, Kealakekua Bay is protected as a State Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD). British Captain James Cook was the first European to reach the Hawaiian islands (in January 1778 at Waimea harbour on Kauai), and he named the archipelago the "Sandwich Islands." During his second voyage to the Hawaiian Islands, Captain Cook arrived at Kealakekua Bay in 1779. Thought by the natives to be a god, due to his arrival during a celebration and time of peace for Lono, Cook was treated royally. But the following month he was killed in a skirmish on the shores of Ka'awaloa Cove following a series of incidents between his crew and the Hawaiians. In 1874, the 27-foot monument was erected nearby in Cook's honor by his countrymen. On the lava flats behind Cook Monument are the ruins of the ancient village of Ka'awaloa. For this photo’s licensing options, please inquire.
    1701HAW-3391.jpg
  • Feral rooster in Waimea Canyon State Park, island of Kauai, Hawaii, USA. This wild rooster on Kauai resembles its ancestor, the wild red junglefowl from Southeast Asia, which was brought by Polynesians to Hawaii, in several waves around 300-1000 AD. Cross-breeding with European domestic chickens followed Captain Cook's landing on the archipelago in 1778. But the past few decades have seen a sudden population explosion of thousands of feral chickens on Kauai, hurting the local ecology. While some look like farm chickens, many others, with burnt orange and black plumage for the males, look like a reversion to red junglefowl from the forests of India or Vietnam. The feral hens on Kauai revert to their ancestral shape of smaller body and smaller combs. Polynesians likely never made it to South America, because chickens on that continent don't have the Polynesian bird's genetic signposts.
    1701HAW-1687.jpg
  • Ornamental Koi (nishikigoi, "brocaded carp") were selectively bred from domesticated common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Japan starting in the 1820s. If allowed to breed freely, the koi subspecies will revert to original carp coloration within a few generations. Native to Central Europe and Asia, carp were first bred for color mutations in China more than a thousand years ago, where selective breeding of the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) eventually developed goldfish (Carassius auratus), which is a species distinct from common carp and koi. The koi were photographed at peaceful Byodo-In Temple in Valley of the Temples Memorial Park, at 47-200 Kahekili Highway, Kaneohe, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA.
    1701HAW-0300.jpg
  • Beside the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor, "Embracing Peace" (by sculptor Seward Johnson) recalls the iconic Alfred Eisenstaedt photograph, "V-J Day in Times Square," of a US Navy sailor kissing a stranger in New York City's Times Square on Victory over Japan Day (August 14, 1945). The photo was published in Life magazine with the caption, "In New York's Times Square a white-clad girl clutches her purse and skirt as an uninhibited sailor plants his lips squarely on hers." Ordered in 1940 and active in June 1944, the USS Missouri ("Mighty Mo") was the last battleship commissioned by the United States. She is best remembered as the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan which ended World War II on September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Bay. In the Pacific Theater of World War II, she fought in the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands. She fought in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Decommissioned in 1955 into the United States Navy reserve fleets (the "Mothball Fleet"), she was reactivated and modernized in 1984 and provided fire support during Operation Desert Storm in January-February 1991. The ship was decommissioned in March 1992. In 1998, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum at Pearl Harbor, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, USA. For this photo’s licensing options, please inquire.
    1701HAW-0021.jpg
  • Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus). Castilleja (Indian paintbrush or Prairie-fire, in the family Orobanchaceae). Burroughs Mountain Trail, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. For vigorous training, hike a scenic 10 mile loop with 3200 feet ascent, from White River Campground up Glacier Basin Trail, to Second and First Burroughs, then back via Shadow Lake. Through mid July, be cautious of steep snow below Second Burroughs.
    1607RAI-091.jpg
  • The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata) is the largest North American ground squirrel. Burroughs Mountain Trail, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, USA. For vigorous training, hike a scenic 10 mile loop with 3200 feet ascent, from White River Campground up Glacier Basin Trail, to Second and First Burroughs, then back via Shadow Lake. Through mid July, be cautious of steep snow below Second Burroughs.
    1607RAI-063.jpg
  • Startiling crocodile sculpture on Shoreview Drive, Freeland, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA: "CROCODILES - NO SWIMMING" sign.
    1604WHI-311.jpg
  • Alpine ibex males carry big horns above Lake Louvie, near Verbier, in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat native to the European Alps. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups (shown here), female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate.
    16SWI-7265.jpg
  • Alpine ibex males carry big horns above Lake Louvie, near Verbier, in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat native to the European Alps. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups (shown here), female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate.
    16SWI-7264.jpg
  • Alpine ibex males carry big horns above Lake Louvie, near Verbier, in the Pennine/Valais Alps, Switzerland, Europe. The Alpine ibex or steinbock (Capra ibex, in the Bovidae family) is a wild goat native to the European Alps. After being eliminated from most of the European Alps by the 1800s, the ibex was successfully reintroduced. Four distinct social groups tend to form: adult male groups (shown here), female-offspring groups, groups of young individuals, and mixed sex groups; but Adult males and females segregate for most of the year, coming together only to mate.
    16SWI-7262.jpg
  • Grindelwald, Switzerland, the Alps, Europe. For licensing options, please inquire.
    16SWI-6304.jpg
  • Cattle graze at Bollenwees alp, at scenic Fälensee lake in the Alpstein range, Appenzell Alps, Switzerland, Europe. Berggasthaus Bollenwees, founded in 1903, is a wonderful place to stay overnight in private double ensuite or dormitory rooms. A spectacular multi-day ridge walk covered in wildflower gardens starts at Hoher Kasten, reached via cable car from Brülisau, just 10 minutes bus ride from Appenzell village. Hike a scenic ridge via Staubern to beautiful Bollenwees and onwards to more wonders. Appenzell Innerrhoden is Switzerland's most traditional and smallest-population canton (second smallest by area).
    16SWI-1385.jpg
  • A mother and son play a game of checkers on the porch of an old cabin at Humpback Rocks Mountain Farm, a restored 1890s farmstead open to the public at Milepost 5.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (a subset of the Appalachian Mountains), USA. In summer, costumed interpreters demonstrate 1890s southern Appalachian mountain life. European settlers of the Appalachian Mountains forged a living from abundant native materials: hickory, chestnut, and oak trees provided nuts for food, logs for building, and tannin for curing hides; and the rocks were used as foundations, chimneys and stone fences. This farm was originally a Land Grant tract dispensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia to induce pioneers to settle; and later it became known as the William J. Carter Farm. For licensing options, please inquire.
    1510SE-1807_Humpback-Rocks-Mt-Farm.jpg
  • Friendly boys in Amasya, Central Turkey.
    99TUR-36-11_boys-pals-Amasya.jpg
  • 1927 Dodge Graham blue truck at antique gas station in Bodie, California's official state gold rush ghost town. Bodie State Historic Park lies in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, near Bridgeport, California, USA. After W. S. Bodey's original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed "Bodie" from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.
    1507CAL-2624_Bodie-CA.jpg
  • During the decline of the gold mining town Bodie, a newspaper article illustrates "Home Lessons in the Latest Dances" with a couple doing an extreme waltz bend, tango whirl & twirl, split, and wriggle bend (from the San Francisco Chronicle, February 1, 1914). At the Bodie Museum and Visitor Center, view this and many other curious artifacts of bygone eras. Bodie is California's official state gold rush ghost town. Bodie State Historic Park lies in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, near Bridgeport, California, USA. After W. S. Bodey's original gold discovery in 1859, profitable gold ore discoveries in 1876 and 1878 transformed "Bodie" from an isolated mining camp to a Wild West boomtown. By 1879, Bodie had a population of 5000-7000 people with 2000 buildings. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Bodie declined rapidly 1912-1917 and the last mine closed in 1942. Bodie became a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and Bodie State Historic Park in 1962.
    1507CAL-2595_Bodie-CA.jpg
  • This image of Jack Tar first appeared after 1841, when the US Navy regulated its uniforms for the first time, with shore leave uniform of open jacket, red neckerchief, black shoes, and black brimmed hat. This "Jack Tar, Mid-19th century" carved and painted wood trade sign originally stood outside a San Francisco ships' chandler shop, which sold navigational instruments and naval supplies. It was later used as a cigar store figure in San Jose, California. Hats water-proofed with tar or dark paint gave the ordinary sailor the nickname "Jack Tar." Shelburne Museum is one of the finest, most diverse, unconventional museums of American folk art. Visit this extensive museum in the town of Shelburne, near Lake Champlain, in Vermont, USA. Over 150,000 works are exhibited in 38 buildings, 25 of which are historic (relocated from New England and New York). See impressionist paintings, American paintings, artifacts of the 1600s-1900s, folk art, quilts and textiles, carriages, furniture, a lighthouse, covered bridge, and 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga. Electra Havemeyer Webb, an avid collector of American folk art, founded the Museum in 1947.
    1410VT-136_Shelburne-Museum.jpg
  • Superman, Elvis, a giant hot dog, and pumpkins gather at Big Moose Deli & Country Store, Hoosick Falls, New York, USA.
    1410NY-400_superhero-pumpkins.jpg
  • Rubber-banded lobster claws, Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, Trenton, Maine, USA. Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound serves delicious lobsters boiled in fresh, clean seawater over a wood fire, plus other seafood. Address: 1237 Bar Harbor Rd, Trenton, ME 04605. Phone (207) 667-2977.
    1410ME-617_Maine-lobster.jpg
  • The Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) is a parrot native to central and eastern South America. Its length of up to 100 cm (3.3 ft) makes it longer than any other species of parrot. Photographed in the Vancouver Aquarium, 845 Avison Way, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6G 3E2 CANADA. It is the largest macaw and the largest flying parrot species, though the flightless kakapo of New Zealand can outweigh it at up to 3.5 kg. Habitat loss and trapping wild birds for the pet trade has ravaged their population in the wild, classifying them as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List, and it is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
    1402VAN-414.jpg
  • Black squirrel in Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The black squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is a melanistic (dark-colored) subgroup of the eastern gray squirrel. Vancouver has a growing population of black squirrels after they were introduced to the Stanley Park Peninsula before 1914. The squirrels have thrived and spread throughout the Vancouver area. Black squirrels are common in the Midwestern United States, Ontario, Quebec, parts of the Northeastern United States and the United Kingdom.
    1402VAN-210.jpg
  • A mototaxi (three-wheeled auto rickshaw) provides cheap public transportation in Huaraz, in the Santa Valley (Callejon de Huaylas), Ancash Region, Peru, South America.
    14PER2-289_mototaxi_Huaraz-Peru.jpg
  • Alpacas at Huillca in the Cordillera Blanca, Andes Mountains, Peru, South America. The alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. Day 5 of 10 days trekking around Alpamayo in Huascaran National Park.
    14PER-1219_alpacas.jpg
  • A broken, antique rusting car with flat tires rusts at James Cant Ranch Historic District, Sheep Rock Unit, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, USA. The Cant Ranch interpretive site shows visitors an early 1900s livestock ranch. James Cant owned the ranch from 1910 to 1975, after which he sold to the National Park Service.
    1403OR-226_James-Cant-Ranch.jpg
  • Flaming rocket wood carving, Langley, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA.
    1302WHIS-02.jpg
  • Marmots are large ground squirrels in the genus Marmota. This animal lives atop Alpe di Seceda, in the Geisler/Odle Group, above Ortisei, in South Tyrol, the Dolomites, Italy, Europe. The beautiful ski resort of Selva di Val Gardena (German: Wolkenstein in Gröden; Ladin: Sëlva Gherdëine) makes a great hiking base in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (South Tyrol) region of Italy. For our favorite hike in the Dolomiti, start from Selva with the first morning bus to Ortisei, take the Seceda lift, admire great views up at the cross on the edge of Val di Funes (Villnöss), then walk 12 miles (2000 feet up, 5000 feet down) via the steep pass Furcela Forces De Sieles (Forcella Forces de Sielles) to beautiful Vallunga (trail #2 to 16), finishing where you started in Selva. The hike traverses the Geisler/Odle and Puez Groups from verdant pastures to alpine wonders, all preserved in a vast Nature Park: Parco Naturale Puez-Odle (German: Naturpark Puez-Geisler; Ladin: Parch Natural Pöz-Odles), including the deeply glaciated U-shaped valley of Vallunga (Langental). UNESCO honored the Dolomites as a natural World Heritage Site in 2009.
    13ITA-20934_marmot_Dolomites.jpg
  • Hikers walk a dog along a rock face near Northgate Peaks trail, Zion National Park, Springdale, Utah, USA. The North Fork of the Virgin River carved spectacular Zion Canyon through reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone up to half a mile (800 m) deep and 15 miles (24 km) long. Uplift associated with the creation of the Colorado Plateaus lifted the region 10,000 feet (3000 m) starting 13 million years ago. Zion and Kolob canyon geology includes 9 formations covering 150 million years of mostly Mesozoic-aged sedimentation, from warm, shallow seas, streams, lakes, vast deserts, and dry near-shore environments. Mormons discovered the canyon in 1858 and settled in the early 1860s. U.S. President Taft declared it Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. In 1918, the name changed to Zion (an ancient Hebrew name for Jerusalem), which became a National Park in 1919. The Kolob section (a 1937 National Monument) was added to Zion National Park in 1956. Unusually diverse plants and animals congregate here where the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert meet.
    1303UT-1053.jpg
  • A "DANGER GASSY AREA" sign marked propane storage at the former John Fluke vacation property on Vendovi Island, Skagit County, Washington, USA. Vendovi Island was named after a Fijian High Chief Ro Veidovi who was brought to North America by the 1841 Wilkes Expedition. The San Juan Preservation Trust, a land trust for conservation in the San Juan Islands, purchased the island in December 2010 from the family of John Fluke Sr. Vendovi Island lies across Samish Bay from mainland Skagit County, between Guemes Island and Lummi Island, in the Salish Sea.
    1205VEN-033_Vendovi-Island.jpg
  • Colored tassels on a friendly llama mark ownership as it grazes on communally managed land at Lake Surasaca, in the Cordillera Raura, Peru, at the end of our Huayhuash trek, in the Andes Mountains, South America. Published in 2009 on Swedish trekking company site www.adventurelovers.se and in 2009 on a Peruvian tour company web site.
    03PER-41-16_Llama_tassles-mod.jpg
  • Hike with children in Sawtooth Wilderness Area, Idaho, USA. Sawtooth Wilderness, managed by the US Forest Service within Sawtooth National Recreation Area, has some of the best air quality in the lower 48 states (says the US EPA).
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