Author: Ms. R.

Extending along 17 miles of volcanic basalt escarpment in central New Mexico are some 24,000 petroglyphs. Most date back to 1300–1600, a time when the Ancestral Puebloans, the ancestors of today’s Pueblo peoples, were building adobe villages along the Rio Grande River. The petroglyphs depict stylized human figures, animals, stars, spirals, geometric shapes, and a bewildering number of abstract figures. Although not always decipherable, undoubtedly reflect the aspects of Ancestral Puebloan social, religious, and cultural life and heritage. The images……

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Canadian artist and educator Cameron Cross was working in Altona, Canada in the late 1990s when he had a vision: to replicate Vincent Van Gogh’s seven Sunflowers paintings on a massive scale in different parts of the world. Cross selected seven sites for his Big Easel Project, based on either their sunflower agriculture or connection to the Dutch artist. So far, three of the paintings in the series have been realized. Cross began right there in Altona, Sunflower Capital of……

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Tucked into the Antrim coast hills at Garron Point near the historic village of Carnlough is a hidden gem where visitors can explore stone-walled buildings, walk along the perimeter walls, study old thatched cottages, and even take in majestic views above the village along the Garron Plateau. The village of Galboly, meaning “the English dairy place” was once a thriving rural village where people lived off the land and sea. Many of the residents worked on the nearby Garron……

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Just off Desert View Drive in Grand Canyon National Park are the remains of an 800-year-old former Native American settlement. Originating from the Pueblo II culture, this settlement is believed to have been established sometime around 1185. Tree ring studies indicated that the site was occupied for only about 25 years. The u-shaped settlement consisted of a living area, storage rooms, and two ceremonial rooms known as Kivas. The site was thought to have been occupied by 15 to……

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The Loch Long Torpedo Range sits derelict on the banks of Loch Long after having been in operation from 1912 to 1986. The remnants of the range have a ghostly presence and also contain some interesting modern graffiti. The old buildings and pier sit on the western shore of the loch, opposite the small village of Arrochar. Activity at the range was most prevalent during World War II when more than 12,000 torpedoes were launched from the site in……

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Constructed in 1951, this 127-mile long road connects Anchorage with the port city of Seward on the Kenai peninsula. Coming out of Anchorage as Alaska Route 1, it meets Alaska Route 9 at the Sterling Highway. From there, the Seward Highway follows Alaska 9 into Seward. Driving nonstop this trip takes nearly three hours to complete. The Seward Highway is popular with tourists because of its beautiful mountain and sea vistas. The highway passes through the Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National……

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Standing nearly 22 feet in height, the Bronze Age monoliths known as the Devil’s Arrows are the tallest standing stones in the United Kingdom apart from the Rudston Monolith. The stones are devilishly black with deep grooves running from top to bottom, the result of countless years of corrosive rain on their millstone grit. The grooves are a testament to their age and mystery, many believe the stones were created with grooves to add phallic symbolism or that they……

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In mid-June, storms pelted Gippsland, a region in Victoria that cups part of mainland Australia’s southeastern edge. Wind downed trees, and water breached swollen riverbanks and pooled in streets. The weather snuffed out power at tens of thousands of homes. But after the rain, a bewitching sight appeared along the area’s soggy shores: It looked as if someone had draped the landscape with gauzy sheets. They were white, thin, and fragile-looking, and appeared to have been placed gingerly, like……

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Schoolchildren throughout the United States are familiar with George Washington, the first President under the Constitution, ratified in 1788. But they might not know that there were other men who held the title of President, those who presided over the Continental Congress and the Congress of the Confederation. The Hall of Presidents Before Washington, located in the lobby of the Westin hotel in Annapolis, Maryland, helps to tell their stories. The First Continental Congress met in Carpenters’ Hall, Philadelphia……

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In a hillside meadow decorated with prayer flags, this stupa stands 30 meters high. Also called the Peace Stupa of Zalaszántó, it was built in the early 1990s by Bop Jon, a Buddhist monk from South Korea. It was inaugurated by the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyaco in 1993, and is the biggest structure of its kind in Europe….

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