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Dec 17, 2019When in Rome...celebrate Saturnalia

We"re looking at the Temple of Saturn, one of the oldest structures of the Forum in Rome. It was here that ancient Romans began their celebrations of Saturnalia, which started on December 17. Both the temple and the festival are dedicated to the agricultural god Saturn, whose reign was associated with a golden age of prosperity and peace. Saturnalia festivities kicked off with a sacrifice at the temple, followed by a public banquet and a week of general merrymaking. Activities included gambling, eating, drinking, and playing music. Businesses and schools closed, and even slaves were free from work and allowed to participate in the festivities. Many Saturnalia customs evolved into Christmas traditions, such as gift giving, decorating homes with wreaths, and drinking spiced wine.Desktop Version

Aug 1, 2018Don’t look down

It"s Swiss National Day, and the citizens of Switzerland are taking the day off. They’re celebrating the 1291 confederation of regional cantons that led to the formation of their country. The nation first celebrated this milestone 600 years later, in 1891, but the day wasn’t declared an official holiday until 1994. Perhaps the Swiss are able to summon that level of patience as they cross the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in the Alps near the village of Randa. At 1,621 feet, the bridge is currently ranked the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge. It’s also pretty high–at one point along the span, brave crossers are 279 feet above the ground. Just keep moving forward and maybe yodel a bit to distract yourself…Desktop Version

Feb 11, 2023Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, California

This iconic view of the Milky Way from Zabriskie Point in California will draw crowds of photographers and tourists this weekend, as the Death Valley Dark Sky Festival begins. Death Valley National Park offers some of the best stargazing in the US and has been awarded the highest ‘gold tier’ rating by the International Dark-Sky Association.Desktop Version

May 18, 2020Desert rose of Qatar

International Museum Day brings us to Qatar, a small but wealthy nation on the Arabian Peninsula, surrounded by the waters of the Persian Gulf and bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south. In the capital city of Doha you"ll find its national museum, shown here, which opened in March 2019. This elaborate building was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, who sourced his inspiration from the desert rose crystal. Look closely and amid the futuristic interlocking disks of the new museum you"ll see the early 20th-century Old Amiri Palace, once home of the Emir of Qatar, surrounded by a courtyard of palm trees.Desktop Version

May 18, 2018It’s Endangered Species Day

We chose this photo of a peregrine falcon—a female, walking across the rail of a balcony in Chicago—to inspire hope on Endangered Species Day. Not every animal listed as endangered is doomed to extinction. Peregrine populations were decimated by the use of pesticides, such as DDT, in the mid-20th century. The chemicals accumulated in the birds’ bodies, causing weak eggshells and high mortality rates for chicks. But by the 1980s humans had learned the cause, reduced and eliminated the various chemicals, and helped the birds rebound with gusto.Desktop Version

Jul 9, 2021A center of antiquity on the Mediterranean

This bird"s-eye view lets us take in the charms of Ortygia, a small island just offshore from Syracuse, on Sicily"s east coast. Ortygia is considered Syracuse"s "old town" and the historical heart of the city. Two bridges cross the narrow channel that separates Ortygia from Syracuse. Ancient Greeks first colonized this island in the 8th century BCE, and the town is brimming with 2,700 years of history. Walk Ortygia"s web of narrow streets and you"ll see Greek and Roman ruins, medieval Norman buildings, and examples of Baroque architecture as well.Desktop Version

Aug 21, 2018Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier

The story of the Ferris wheel, first invented for the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, is a prime example of human ingenuity in urban environments, which happened to be the theme of our most recent photo contest. Congrats to contest winner Chris Fabregas, who captured this shot of human ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier in California. Santa Monica debuted its Ferris wheel here in 1996 and then adapted it two years later to make it the world’s first solar-powered Ferris wheel, using clean energy for the ride that propelled about 800 passengers an hour. In 2014 it was replaced with a newer version that sports 174,000 LED lights, providing for glittering nighttime scenes just like this.Desktop Version

May 25, 2019Traveling warblers

The Cape May warbler was named for Cape May, New Jersey, where it was first observed by ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1811. After that, these birds weren"t seen again in the area for more than a century.Desktop Version

Jul 13, 2021Through an artist s eyes

If this beautiful view of Grand Teton National Park seems as pretty as a painting, there may be a reason for it. The majestic peaks towering over the landscape include Mount Moran, named for Thomas Moran, an American artist of New York"s Hudson River School who earned fame by painting scenes of the Western frontier. In 1871, Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson were invited on an expedition to the Yellowstone region to accompany a team from the US Geological Society while they conducted the first comprehensive survey of the area. Moran"s paintings and Jackson"s photographs from the trip immediately captured the public"s attention and inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first national park in 1872.Desktop Version

Dec 9, 2018There’s treasure in them thar hills

This wintry view comes from Oregon’s Painted Hills, part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and home to one of the most complete fossil records on the planet. Paleontologists have uncovered fossils here that date as far back as 44 million years ago, when this region had a hot, wet, subtropical climate, home to crocodiles and rhino-like plant eaters. And what’s above ground here is equally impressive. This is only a glimpse of the portion of the monument called the Painted Hills, named for its vivid colors that are a result of layers of sediment from various geologic periods.Desktop Version

Aug 25, 2018Happy trails for the 21st century

We celebrate National Park Service Founders Day today with this photo from the John Muir Trail near Mammoth Lakes in California. The 210-mile trail is so long, to hike it all would take you through three national parks: Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. At 102 years old, the National Park Service continues to do the day-to-day work of preserving our parks ‘for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.’Desktop Version

Jan 10, 2021China s colorful terraced pools

While the sight of these gorgeous pools may make you want to don a swimsuit and plunge in for a refreshing soak, we don"t recommend it. The water may be fed by underground geothermal springs, but these are no hot springs—the water"s only about 41 F. We"ll take it all in from dry land. The terraced, travertine pools cascade downward for nearly 2 miles. Formed over thousands of years, calcite deposits give the water its unique, and welcoming, turquoise coloration.Desktop Version

Mar 29, 2023Manatee Appreciation Day

Today is Manatee Appreciation Day and, given their sweet and friendly nature, it"s hard not to love them. These gentle giants slowly graze through rivers and coastal waters for up to seven hours a day, eating seagrasses and other aquatic plants. They do have teeth, but fear not, they are flat molars used for grinding up vegetation.Desktop Version

Feb 16, 2023Horsetail Fall, Yosemite National Park, California

Illuminated by the setting sun on Yosemite"s famous El Capitan is a rare natural phenomenon known as the "Firefall," which appears for just a few weeks a year. From mid to late February, the sun is at just the right angle to set Horsetail Fall aglow, but only if sufficient water is flowing and the sky is clear. Even then, the Firefall only lasts for about 10 minutes in the evening, so vantage points can be very crowded.Desktop Version

Jun 17, 2019World-class art comes to Arkansas

Bentonville, Arkansas, is probably not the first place that comes to mind when you think about visiting a world-class art museum. But Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is a new must-see in the art world. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, photography, drawing, and installation art from colonial times to today and features American artists such as Maya Lin, Andrew Wyeth, Jacob Lawrence, Jackson Pollock, and Georgia O’Keeffe. But perhaps the biggest piece of art is the museum itself. Designed by Moshe Safdie, the building blends seamlessly and beautifully into the surrounding Ozark landscape. In addition to the art and architecture collections, there are eight nature trails on the grounds. And admission to the museum is always free.Desktop Version

Jan 25, 2022Saint Dwynwen s Day

Love is in the air on Llanddwyn Island at the southern tip of Anglesey, a much bigger island just off the northwest coast of Wales. Each year on January 25, Cupid aims his arrow toward the people of Wales who celebrate St. Dwynwen"s Day—the Welsh version of St. Valentine"s Day. St. Dwynwen is Wales" patron saint of lovers, although she was rather unlucky in that department after falling head over heels for a man she wasn"t allowed to marry. The 5th-century princess"s heartache led her to dedicate her life to God and pray for true lovers to have better fortune than her own. In return, Dwynwen became a nun and set up a convent here on Llanddwyn.Desktop Version

May 14, 2020Green fields of grain

We"re looking down on the lush fields of the Sidemen Valley, sitting in the shadow of Bali"s tallest mountain, Mount Agung. In May, this Indonesian province marks the end of the harvest season of a key staple—rice. Towns and villages are decorated with colorful flags, and farmers erect shrines to Dewi Sri, the rice goddess. Small handmade straw dolls depicting the goddess are left here and there in further tribute. Before "social distancing" entered the global vocabulary, people came together to share traditional food and indulge in fun and games, like water buffalo races through the streets. This year, to be sure, the celebrations will be more subdued, more private, though the gratitude for a bountiful harvest, we suspect, will be just as deeply felt.Desktop Version

Oct 8, 2018Float on

We’d like to trade our usual Monday morning experience in for this one, please. Welcome to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico. The festival continues through October 14, with plenty of on-the-ground entertainment beyond those balloon rides that might take you east of the city, to the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, seen in this photo. Many hot air balloon rides offer a champagne toast as part of the experience. The champagne tradition may have sprung from early balloon pilots having to land in farm fields on private property. Aeronauts began carrying champagne or other drinks with them to offer to the confused and sometimes angry landowners. You’re welcome to land in our backyard anytime, balloonists!Desktop Version

Dec 13, 2021Old Town Quito

If Ecuador"s capital city, Quito, isn"t high enough for you at 9,350 feet above sea level, you can elevate your experience even further with a journey up El Panecillo. Translated from Spanish, "El Panecillo" means "The Dinner Roll." Rising 650 feet above the old city center, seen in the foreground, this rotund volcanic hill offers perhaps the best possible panorama of Quito. Though our viewpoint here, looking south through Quito"s vast valley, makes for a nice twilight shot, too.Desktop Version

Feb 4, 2021Where is this wintry road?

This wintry, wooded scene comes from Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park in northeastern France, one of the country"s most beautiful and pristine examples of natural beauty. The park, established in 1976, is over 322,000 acres in size, 65% of which is covered in forest. The larch trees seen here are native to many of the mountains of central Europe, such as the Alps, Carpathians, and the Pyrenees.Desktop Version

Oct 30, 2018A species worth defending

Some folks are quick to dismiss bats as simply ‘scary’ (and the association with Halloween doesn’t help things). But during Bat Appreciation Month, consider their valuable contributions to the ecosystem. Bats around the world help to control bug populations (including agricultural pests), pollinate important plants, and disperse seeds–helping to regenerate lands that have been overharvested or otherwise damaged. In fact, what’s truly scary is how much we’d miss bats if they were gone. In North America, a disease called white-nose syndrome has killed millions of bats since it was identified in 2006–and scientists are working hard to find a way to help bats recover. One easy way to help bats is to build or buy a bat box for your property, and provide them with a safe space to roost.Desktop Version

Aug 20, 2019Lakeside serenity in Finland

Hikers and campers in Finland, where today"s photo was taken, are allowed on nearly 90 percent of the nation"s wilderness, regardless of the property"s ownership. This practice is called Everyman"s Right, or "freedom to roam." It"s not really written down in Finland"s laws, but is used as a sort of social pact: Those who want to enjoy the outdoors can roam just about anywhere, as long as they obey a few basic good-behavior rules. It"s a practice that"s observed to varying degrees across many parts of central Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltic region, and Scotland.Desktop Version

Jun 8, 2021A day for our oceans

To celebrate World Oceans Day, we"re swimming through a shoal of jack fish just off the coast of Baja, California, in Cabo Pulmo National Park. This Mexican marine park in the Sea of Cortez is home to the northernmost and oldest coral reef on the west coast of North America, estimated to be about 20,000 years old. Jacks are clearly plentiful here, but divers and snorkelers in Cabo Pulmo can also come across many other species of fish and marine mammals, including several varieties of sharks, whales, dolphins, tortoises, and manta rays.Desktop Version

Jun 17, 2020Don t go chasing waterfalls

The stunning limestone travertine steps of Beaver Falls are the last in a series of five waterfalls along Havasu Creek, near the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The water gets its turquoise color from calcium carbonate, which reflects the beautiful hue and creates an ever-changing tableau; the minerals are deposited, moved, and redeposited to create new formations.Desktop Version

Dec 10, 2018Feeling crabby?

Bright red crabs like this one number in the tens of millions here on Christmas Island, a territory of Australia located in the Indian Ocean. It’s warm on the island this time of year, and these crabs are migrating to the sea, where they will mate and spawn. The event is quite a spectacle—onlookers will see rivers of crabs, thousands of them at a time climbing over fences and crossing roads on their journey, which attracts tourists to the remote destination. This isle itself was named by an English sea captain who discovered the destination on Christmas Day of 1643.Desktop Version

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