As you’ve seen above, #preservethegood could mean anything – it could mean helping someone in a time of need; it could be picking up trash on a trail, or a wilderness area; it could be educating people on leave no trace principles; it could be making a difference in any way you want; and it could be just about anything you want as long as you are focused in keeping the magic and the unique positive things in this world and this life. In terms of tangible things, I encourage you, my readers and followers to use the hashtag when you post a photo of something amazing; or when you’re talking about something exceptional you – or someone else has done to improve the world. I look forward to seeing how all of you end up preserving the good in 2015, and you can rest assured that as always, I will keep preserving the good where I find it as well, because as Plato says, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
As I mentioned previously, Waimea Canyon is a site that is most definitely one of the “must-view” locations on Kauai, and in the world; and as I also mentioned, the best way to experience it is to hike it. While there are many great hikes through the canyon, the best hike in my book is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. It is the best hike to me because at four miles roundtrip, it is accessible, it has stunning views of the canyon from inside the canyon, and it ends at the top Waipoo Falls. It also allows the hiker the chance to swim in a waterfall, which is a once in a lifetime experience.
While San Diego is a young city in terms of history, it has a number of hidden historic gems. Many of these locations are clustered near the current city center (such as the Whaley House), but one of the spots, the Old Mission Dam, is located in the middle of San Diego's largest municipal park, Mission Trails. The Old Mission Dam is a historic structure for a number of reasons, but first and foremost, it is the oldest colonial engineering project on the Pacific Coast.
Iceland is known as the land of fire and ice; and is also known for its stunning scenery. One of the lesser known facts about Iceland is that is also a land of magic and mystery, as over eighty percent (80%) of the country believes in elves. With abandoned farmhouses, and re-routed roads, among other things, Iceland also has a number of unique manmade spots to visit. None, is more iconic, however, than the wreck of a United States Navy Douglas Super DC-3 plane on Sólheimasandur Beach
With the Griffith Park Observatory, the Greek Theater, and the miles of hiking trails, Griffith Park in Los Angeles has a little bit of everything for locals and tourists alike. The most unique attraction in the park, however, is not one of the locations listed above; it is the remains of the Old Los Angeles Zoo. The Old Los Angeles Zoo, which used to be known as the Griffith Park Zoo, was built in 1912 on an old ostrich farm. Over the years, it gradually expanded with the help of the movie industry, and in the 1930’s, the cages that remain today were built by the Works Progress Administration. In 1966, the Griffith Park Zoo was closed, and its animals were moved to larger and more modern enclosures in the current Los Angeles Zoo.
While there are many interesting things to see between San Diego and El Centro, the most visible is the Desert View Tower. Constructed in 1922 by Bert Vaughn as a roadside attraction, the Tower is also located near the old Mountain Springs Station, which was used from 1862-1870 as a stopping point for wagons hauling items from Yuma to San Diego.
One of the many strange things to be found out in the Anza-Borrego Desert are the ruins of the Dos Cabezas Railroad Station. The station was part of the El Centro to San Diego railroad line, which was completed in 1919. Construction on this section of line was first deemed "impossible", but the line was completed and used through most of the twentieth century. The Dos Cabezas station provided a watering stop for the steam engines; and a place for explorers and miners to access the rail line.
For thousands of years, mankind has been navigating in a number of ways. From moss on trees, to the stars at night, we started with simple tools and ended up with complicated and complex devices. Today, in 2015, one of these complex and complicated devices is something that fits in our pocket. Specifically, the device itself is something that has almost transcended devices, in that it is not a device, but something that works on a device – in this case, an application. The complex and complicated device I am talking about here is Spyglass, an application that was designed for iPhones and other iOS devices. Spyglass is smaller than a smartphone, but make no mistake about it; you need a smartphone – in this case, an iPhone to use it. Even though Spyglass is small, the amount of information and data packed into its digital frame would make any of our ancestors who had to navigate from location to location jealous.
