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Aug 24, 2018A new park with a new mission

St. Louis’ Gateway Arch has been open to visitors since 1967 and became part of a national park on Feb 22, 2018. With that new status come new reflections on what the arch represents. Originally it symbolized a ‘gateway to the West’—marking the starting point of the Lewis and Clark expedition and celebrating the westward expansion of the US. But history has many stories to tell and the Gateway Arch, with its new national park status, includes many more perspectives on our nation’s westward growth. The arch and surrounding grounds are now literally more accessible as well, with redesigned grounds that have better integrated the park into the city’s landscape.Desktop Version

Aug 3, 2021A reflection of Europe s past

Today we"re in the central German state of Thuringia to visit Wachsenburg Castle. It"s the most famous of a trio of medieval hilltop castles collectively referred to as "Drei Gleichen" (Three of a Kind) because of their close resemblance. Wachsenburg was originally built by the Hersfeld Monastery sometime in the early 10th century as a fortified castle, but it underwent significant changes over the centuries.Desktop Version

Jun 16, 2022Seonam Temple, South Korea

The Seonam Temple, or Seonamsa, in Jogyesan Provincial Park, South Korea, is famed for expressing calm serenity. Just downstream, Buddhist monks built this gently arched bridge by hand centuries ago. Stones around the base record the names of visitors for posterity. Called the Seungseon Bridge ("the Ascending Immortals"), it"s fitting to approach the temple itself on foot, at one with nature. The site is hidden away in ancient trees, with tranquil ponds and streams, gentle hiking trails, and gorgeous pagodas. The temple still ekes out its day in the traditional way, with mellow bells and meditation. The monks also cultivate wild tea plants and are happy to share the benefits of the harvest. You are at peace as soon as you arrive at Seonamsa, and there"s little to distract you from the present moment.Desktop Version

May 11, 2023Henningsvær Stadion, Norway

If you want to take in a soccer game and the grandiose beauty of the Norwegian Sea at the same time, this place is pitch perfect. Squeezed into a small Norwegian fishing village, it"s fair to say that Henningsvær Stadion"s grounds will probably never host a UEFA Champions League. But, while it lacks stands for spectators, there"s still plenty of atmosphere to soak up in this striking location. Those who play here do so surrounded by the sound of waves, seabirds, and the smells of salt air and cod, drying on the racks surrounding the pitch.Desktop Version

May 19, 2019High trekking season in Upper Mustang

If you’re lucky enough to be one of the thousand or so tourists allowed into Upper Mustang each year, spring and autumn are the best times for trekking through this incredibly dramatic landscape. Tucked into a remote region of Nepal, it’s geographically part of the Tibetan Plateau. The area is surrounded by the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri Massifs and marked with deep gorges, terraced fields, and colorfully stratified rock formations. But perhaps most fascinating of all are the sky caves, 10,000 or so caves dug into the sheer walls of valleys in several areas of the district. Some of these man-made caves are thought to be ancient burial chambers; others are richly decorated with valuable Buddhist paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from the 8th to the 14th centuries. Perched over 150 feet above the valley floor, no one is entirely sure how the caves were built, what they were used for, or even how people accessed them.Desktop Version

Jul 24, 2019Can you see the family resemblance?

Honestly, we"re not sure who decided that July 24 was Cousins Day, but we"re all for it—and these meerkats look like they are too. A clan (also called a mob, gang, or manor) usually contains about 20 or 30 meerkats, but some extended families have 50 or more. Females can detect the odor of their kin and use it to avoid inbreeding. They’re native to southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, which is where this clan was photographed.Desktop Version

Nov 30, 2022Old Town of Rovinj, Croatia

Beautiful, historic Rovinj dips into the Adriatic like a toe testing the water. The 200-foot-tall bell tower of the Church of St. Euphemia overlooks Rovinj"s historic center. The church, which was built in the early 1700s over the remains of older Christian holy structures, acts as a beacon that welcomes home the town"s fleet of fishing boats each evening.Desktop Version

Nov 23, 2018Let the holiday shopping commence

Were you among the crowds camped outside retail stores early this morning, hoping to cash in on Black Friday deals? Perhaps you can even see yourself reflected in these Christmas ornaments hanging in New York City’s Macy’s department store. The day after Thanksgiving is big business for retailers. Last year, 174 million Americans shopped on Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation, presumably moving retailers’ balance sheets from red (losses) to black (profits). But the term ‘Black Friday’ has a darker history. It was originally used to describe a financial crisis in 1869, and later adopted by Philadelphia police to describe post-Thanksgiving chaos at department stores in their city. Retailers later co-opted the phrase ‘Black Friday,’ giving it more positive connotations–a shift toward profitability at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.Desktop Version

Feb 28, 2020Looking down on the Otter

Otter Creek is the longest river entirely contained within the borders of Vermont and has been an important waterway since people settled in the area around 10,000 years ago. Originally an important trade route for the indigenous Abenaki, Algonquin, and Iroquois nations, it remained a vital part of the economy of the early European settlers and up through the 19th century. It winds through some of the Green Mountain State"s most scenic towns, from Brandon to Middlebury to Vergennes, and empties into Lake Champlain. It is also the water source for more than one of Vermont"s many microbreweries, including Otter Creek Brewery. With at least 60 breweries serving just over 600,000 people in the state, Vermonters lead the nation in beer brands per capita. Cheers!Desktop Version

Jan 26, 2022India Republic Day

You might never guess that this ornate, skylit building, with an exterior covered in intricate carvings and artwork, was once a military base. Perched high on a hill above the city of Jodhpur, the colossal Mehrangarh Fort—aka the Citadel of the Sun—was built nearly five centuries before its home country became a democratic republic.Desktop Version

Mar 4, 2023Mount Pico, Portugal

At almost 8,000 feet above sea level, Mount Pico is the highest point in the Azores, a collection of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean that are an autonomous region of Portugal. Back in 1562, an eruption here on Pico Island lasted for more than two years, but this stratovolcano has been lying dormant since 1720.Desktop Version

Jan 4, 2024Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

An iconic feat of engineering, the Golden Gate Bridge stands like a sentinel at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Pictured here blanketed by fog above the waters of the Golden Gate Strait, its towers, adorned with Art Deco elements, reach a height of 746 feet. The bridge opened in 1937, thanks to the efforts of engineer Joseph Strauss, architect Irving Morrow, and others who wanted to connect San Francisco to Marin County. It wasn"t an easy vision to accomplish during the Great Depression, but the investment paid off as its construction created thousands of jobs and boosted growth. It was Morrow who picked the striking color, International Orange, an unusual choice at the time when many bridges were gray or black. He felt it would contrast well with the surrounding hills, sky, ocean, and fog. The Golden Gate Bridge, a testament to human innovation, is a timeless masterpiece blending functionality with beauty.Desktop Version

Sep 3, 2021Welcome to the Alien Egg Hatchery

The otherworldly rock formations in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness inspired some creative names—such as the "Alien Egg Hatchery" seen in this photo. More than 70 million years ago, this desert was a tidal swamp along the shore of the long-evaporated Western Interior Seaway that once bisected North America. A diverse array of sediment and rock was deposited by the waters, and after the seaway retreated, the rocks remained.Desktop Version

Nov 15, 2021Manatee Awareness Month

Today we wish this gentle giant of Florida"s warm waters a safe and happy Manatee Awareness Month. Closer cousins to elephants than to fellow sea mammals such as whales and dolphins, manatees follow a fully herbivorous diet of sea grasses and other marine plants—so these fish hanging out with our buddy here needn"t fear becoming a manatee"s lunch.Desktop Version

Jul 24, 2018Flock together for Cousins Day

Are these chicks cousins? Perhaps. Caribbean (aka American) flamingos, like all flamingo species, lay just one egg per year, so chicks of the same size are more likely cousins than siblings. These chicks and their hovering parents are in the Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve in the Yucatan Peninsula, a critical nesting colony for Caribbean flamingos. They’re highly social birds that live in colonies of thousands, so they have plenty of opportunities to celebrate Cousins Day today. Here’s to you, cuz!Desktop Version

Jun 21, 2021The tallest animal in the world on the longest day of the year

Happy summer! Today marks the first full day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Today also happens to be World Giraffe Day, so we"ve picked this Rothschild"s giraffe dining on tree leaves in Kenya"s Lake Nakuru National Park to honor both occasions.Desktop Version

Nov 14, 2020Decorating for Diwali

During Diwali, the five-day festival of lights, vibrant patterns of all shapes and sizes are created on the floor out of materials such as colored rice, sand, and flower petals. The charming Indian folk art, called rangoli, is usually made near the entrance of a home to welcome guests and deities, and is said to bring good luck on special occasions. Celebrations might be a bit different this year, but buildings will still be brightened by these decorative drawings, twinkling lights, and small oil lamps, known as diyas.Desktop Version

Oct 12, 2018Venture into a prehistoric gallery of art

In the fall of 1940, a group of boys exploring the outdoors in the Dordogne area of southwest France came upon the entrance to a cave–and unwittingly discovered a treasure trove of prehistoric art. The walls of the cave now known as ‘Lascaux’ are covered with hundreds of images–giant drawings of bulls, horses, and humans–created some 17,000 years ago, in the Upper Paleolithic Period. The cave was opened to the public in 1948, but after several years, scientists observed that the artwork was being damaged by carbon dioxide, heat, humidity, and other contaminants produced by an average of 1,200 visitors who explored the caves each day. To protect the prehistoric masterpieces, the cave has been closed to the public since 1963. Today, the closest you can get is viewing full-scale replicas at the International Centre for Cave Art in nearby Montignac, where our homepage image was photographed.Desktop Version

Sep 24, 2021The crossroads of empires

Today, we"re 11,000 feet above sea level in the city of Cusco, in the Peruvian Andes. Cusco is considered the historical capital of Peru, a designation that"s even enshrined in the country"s constitution. The city served as a capital for the Incan Empire in the three centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.Desktop Version

May 10, 2020Happy Mother s Day

Zebras can walk within 20 minutes of being born, but they still need help from mom. On Mother"s Day, we"re looking at a Burchell"s zebra mother and foal. For the first two days after the foal is born, the mother will keep it close by and limit contact with other zebras, so the foal gets to know her by sight, smell, and sound. Over the next year, the foal will follow its mother, learning what to eat, where to migrate in the dry and rainy seasons, and how to avoid predators. Those might not be the exact skills your mom taught you, but she surely played a part in your survival and growth—so be sure to wish her a happy Mother"s Day today.Desktop Version

Jun 7, 2019Holey moley–it’s National Doughnut Day!

Observed annually on the first Friday in June, National Doughnut Day isn’t a marketing ploy by the American Bakers Association. It actually commemorates the women of the Salvation Army who cared for soldiers serving on the front lines of World War I in Montiers-sur-Saulx, France. After several weeks of inclement weather, the demoralized soldiers’ spirits were lifted by a taste from home. The Doughnut Lassies, as the Salvation Army women became known, are often credited with popularizing the doughnut after soldiers returned home after the war. Later, during the depths of the Great Depression in 1938, Chicago’s Salvation Army began National Doughnut Day as a fundraiser to help those in need. The Salvation Army celebrates National Doughnut Day these days by delivering thousands of doughnuts around the country.Desktop Version

May 19, 2021A path lain with petals

Pisgah National Forest, in western North Carolina, is primarily a hardwood forest boasting 500,000 acres of mountainous peaks and cascading waterfalls that attract hikers, anglers, mountain bikers, and more. But from mid-May to mid-June, the crowds flock here to hike trails that lead to incredible views: acres of native Catawba rhododendrons in full blossom.Desktop Version

Apr 28, 2021Coming home to roost

From North America to Western Europe, northern gannets live all along the North Atlantic coasts. These large birds spend most of their lives at sea, following schools of sardines, herring, and other small fish that they feed on. During breeding and hatching season, northern gannets often return to the same colony locations year after year, where thousands of birds may gather to nest and rear their young. This group is busily collecting nesting material on Great Saltee Island, the larger of the two Saltee Islands, about 3 miles off the coast of southern Ireland. Both Great and Little Saltee are largely unoccupied, well, unless you count all the birds.Desktop Version

Aug 21, 2022International Lighthouse Weekend

This solemn beacon set atop a rocky outcropping is in a country usually associated with sand and sun, making this a side of Spain many do not often see. We"re looking out at the sea on the Costa da Morte, or Coast of Death, a nasty name for an equally nasty (but beautiful!) stretch of Galician coastline in the extreme northwest of Spain. We"re featuring Costa da Morte during International Lighthouse Weekend because mariners are never happier to see a lighthouse than when they"re sailing this coast, known as the Bermuda Triangle of the Eastern Atlantic.Desktop Version

Nov 30, 2019A big place to shop small

Small Business Saturday started in 2010 to get shoppers out of the big box stores the day after Black Friday to support local retailers instead. The US is home to more than 30 million small businesses (500 employees or fewer), representing 47 percent of private sector employees. Of course, the concept of patronizing local merchants is nothing new. Here in Marrakesh, Morocco, souks (markets) like this one in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square have long been a big part of daily life, as well as major tourist attractions. During the day, musicians, dancers, and even snake charmers entertain shoppers as they search for crafts, clothing, and other goods. At night, the focus shifts to dining, with dozens of stalls offering different specialties and takes on traditional Moroccan food.Desktop Version

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