Conservation
Being able to get away to a park—whether national, state or local—played an important role in mental and physical health for a lot of us during the first months of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. And as we still struggle with the disease and all its new variants, parks still do.
Canada & the North
Small but strong, with a thick tail and a gorgeous, flowing mane, an Icelandic horse always inspires dreams of gracefully galloping over an ice- and snow-encrusted landscape on the back of a beautiful and spirited steed. One of my most cherished dreams has always been to ride an Icelandic horse—in Iceland.
U.S. National Parks
Waves that thunder against granite cliffs and break apart on kelp-slick rocks. Bullfrogs that croak among the grasslike rushes that rim ponds and line lakeshores. Woodpeckers that rat-a-tat-tat on tree bark. Great black-backed gulls filling the breeze-clearing air with their deep, hoarse calls. These are the sounds of Maine’s Acadia National Park.
African Safaris
I have never been fortunate enough to go on an Africa safari, but I never tire of reading about the experiences of others who have visited the continent, such as the thrill of seeing a herd of wildebeest spread across a vast, open plain or spotting a leopard lazing in a tree as the…
Latin America
The longest recorded migration by a mammal was made by a gray whale. In 2015, a female made a journey of nearly 14,000 miles from Russia to Mexico and back. (Zebras hold the longest linear—endpoint to endpoint—land mammal migration at 300 miles round trip.)
Conservation
How Slovenia, a tiny unspoiled mountainous country nestled between Croatia, Austria and Italy, has managed to stay relatively under the radar for nature tourism is a mystery. Three-fifths of this environmentally-friendly country is covered in forest, making it the third most forested country in all of Europe.
Travel Tips
Empathy seems to be in short supply, lately. And it’s no surprise after all we’ve dealt with in the past two years: the coronavirus pandemic, economic insecurity, misinformation and racial injustice, to name just a few of the recent challenges we’ve all faced. Those stressors have led to soaring anxiety, depression and other psychological problems.
Conservation
Unlike Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22 every year, Arbor Day is a bit of a moving target. While National Arbor Day is always the last Friday in April, many states observe their Arbor Days on different dates based on the best tree-planting times in their areas.
Nature & Wildlife
Even if you don’t know much about the science regarding COVID-19, you probably can’t escape the fact that the disease has caused major changes in your everyday life and livelihood.
Travel Tips
Almost a year ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic raced around the world, I thought of writing to you about the countries that seem to perpetually be on annual lists of the “most beautiful in the world”—nations such as Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and Kenya.
Asia & The Pacific
Insights from India Expedition Leader Surya Ramachandran Ladakh, the Indian trans-Himalaya, is one of the last bastions of Tibetan Buddhism in the 21st century.
U.S. National Parks
Let’s just go to Grand Teton National Park. I mean it. After so many weeks of economic hardships, pandemic worries and political chaos, I need to shut down for a while and get away. I bet you do, too.
