Author: Ms. R.

Off the beaten track, encircled by forest, and festooned on one side by bird feeders is a grand roost for Roger Tory Peterson enthusiasts. Known primarily as a pioneering ornithologist, Peterson was equal parts painter, writer, teacher, and explorer. His major works and relics from his travels are collected at this institute, where they are accessible to the generations of aficionados of his nature guides. Born in Jamestown, New York, in 1908, Peterson was swift to embrace the world……

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To get into the Bettmann Archive, about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh, you need more than a library card. You need the proper credentials to get past the armed guards at the door. You need to be gloved and swaddled in several layers to deal with the cold. And you need to be OK with claustrophobic conditions, since the trip requires being shuttled hundreds of feet underground. If you meet all those conditions, you might get a glimpse of……

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For eight hours a day Mitch Duyck sits in a simple lifeguard-like tower in Nenana, Alaska and alternates between watching the clock and river outside his window. He’s neither slacking off nor hoping for a Disney-esque rescue. He’s waiting. Duyck needs to be there to write down the exact time the alarm goes off. A potential six-figure pay-out to some lucky Alaskan depends on it. Alaska is one of five American states without a lottery (the others being Hawaii,……

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Something didn’t look right. It’s not illegal to fish at night off the coast of Oahu, of course, but there was something about the boat that seemed suspicious to the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer who was on patrol. Then, as he approached the vessel, he saw big splashes—the men on the fishing boat had thrown something into the water. But by the time he had actually climbed on board to look around, there was nothing there……

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The area near Anundshög is a goldmine of artifacts and relics rooted in the Viking Age. The region boasts some of the country’s largest burial mounds, along with several runestones and hundreds of Viking graves. The location has become one of the more popular tourist locations when it comes to this era of the oceanic Norse raiders. Fitting perfectly with this theme of ancient artifacts and lore, the province’s only trojaborg can be found not far from Anundshög.  These ancient, poorly……

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Pozzo del Diavolo, or Devil’s Well, is the only volcanic cave in Italy‘s Lazio region. It is located above Vico Lake in the beautiful beech forest of Monte Venere. (The forest is part of the UNESCO’s Primeval Beech Forests of Europe transnational network of protected sites.) At 507 meters (1,663 feet) above sea level, Lake Vico is the highest volcanic lake in Italy and the beech forest of Monte Venere is among the lowest in the country (most beech……

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Swedish food columnist Daniella Illerbrand remembers her first Taco Friday well. She was 14, and it was the first time her parents, who cooked everything from scratch, decided it was okay to buy ready-made ingredients like tortillas and spices. “That was a big deal for us,” says Illerbrand, who works for Sweden Foodtech, an organization that works with food startups and businesses. “My parents liked traveling, so they were into trying something new.” It was her first real Fredagsmys,……

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While The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was purchasing the empty 16th-street lot on which they planned to build a chapel, several Protestant ministers tried to dissuade the landowner from selling the plot.  His petition was denied and the land was sold to the church in 1924. Construction on the building began in 1932 under the direction of architect Don Carlos Young Jr., grandson of Brigham Young. Construction was completed and a dedication was given in November……

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