Musings
Last Adventurer
#preservethegood

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.” 

#preservethegood
Hiking, State Parks
Last Adventurer
Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

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.

Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

Top seven things to do in Annecy

Top seven things to do in Annecy

Although almost every town of France is charming and picturesque in its own way, one of the best towns, if not the best, is Annecy, which is known as both the “Pearl of the Alps” and the “Venice of the Alps”. Located in the Haute-Savoie region of France, Annecy sits in a unique location with river canals, an alpine lake, and easy access to the foothills of the Alps along with the larger peaks of the range. Annecy is also a historic town, with roots stretching back to the tenth century, the Duchy of Savoy, and a number of items that affected French history, such as the counter-reformation and the French Revolution. With its old town, expansive lakeside park, and associated outdoor activities, Annecy is a town a visitor could spend numerous days in easily; but whether one is spending a day or longer there, these locations in and around Annecy will keep one busy no matter the time of year.

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Potrero Peak

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Potrero Peak

San Diego County has many high points of over a thousand feet; and out of these high points, some are more popular than others. While there are many lists of mountains that can be climbed, the main list for hiking enthusiasts in the confines of the county is the Sierra Club “100 Peaks” list. Over the years, due to a variety of factors, some of the peaks on the list have been exchanged for others. Despite the changes, the mountains that originally started on the list have remained, and in most cases, are still accessible. One of the original peaks of the “100 Peaks” list, Potrero Peak was removed, but is to this day, remains accessible for hikers in the county who want to climb a mountain along the Border Range.

Review: Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure

Review: Snorkeling the Silfra Fissure

Among other things, Iceland is an amazing place to visit because of its impressive geologic features. When traveling around the Ring Road, one can see lava fields, green rolling hills, tall mountains, moon-like black sand, lakes, ocean, rivers, and more all within a four hour span. Although Iceland has been formed by a plethora of events, the main factor in its creation has been its position on the mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean. The mid-Atlantic Ridge is the largest mountain range on the planet, invisibly stretching over 10,000 underwater miles. It is also the boundary of North American and Eurasian plates, which have been moving apart for over one hundred and fifty million years. This movement has caused a continuous flow of magma from the Earth’s core into the ocean, forming the Ridge, and Iceland itself. On a yearly basis, the plates continue to move approximately 2 centimeters further apart. As a result of this movement, in 1789, this pressure was released in the area now known as Þingvellir National Park with the creation of a series of rifts (fissures) in the surrounding region. After it was created by seismic activity, the main rift immediate filled with water from an underground aquifer, and is now known as the Silfra Fissure.

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa

In the middle of a huge lava field, halfway between Keflavik International Airport and Reykjavik lies Iceland’s most popular tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa (or simply “the Blue Lagoon”). While a majority of Iceland is visually stunning, with tall snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, and green expanses, this portion of the country looks more like the moon. The Blue Lagoon as well looks like something from another planet with its iridescent blue shade and steaming hot water. While Iceland is the world’s leader in geothermal energy because of its position on a number of volcanoes, and does have a number of natural geothermal pools, the Blue Lagoon is not one of them.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

In the far southeast corner of San Diego county lies a small town, Campo. Campo is well-known historically for two things - the ancient Gaskill Brother's Stone Store, where a shootout occurred in 1875; and for being the nearest town for the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT"). The PCT starts at the United States-Mexico border, and as Campo is only 1.2 miles from the border, it is the jumping off point yearly for PCT through-hikers seeking to travel South to North on the trail. Campo is also home to a unique and hands-on museum, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. The museum is the main location and headquarters for the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association ("PSRMA"), which was founded in 1961, and has been the preeminent group for railroad enthusiasts in the greater San Diego region for over fifty years. Since 1980, the museum has been open at the location in Campo, and from that point on has been a place where old railcars and engines are stored for public visitation, a place with an excellent interpretive museum about the rail history of Southern California, and on occasion, a place that provides tours along the rail line from the old Campo railroad station (adjacent to the museum) on the trains that the association owns and operates.

The Bixby Disappearances

The Bixby Disappearances

Missouri Howell is a well-known outdoorman, blogger, and social media personality from the great Show-Me-State. Recently, he's backpacked the Ice Age Trail, traveled Arch 2 Arch for the National Parks hundredth birthday, and explored portions of Utah during the 2016 Uintas Hike. In 2014, he was kind enough to share a personal story about his time in the Ozarks for my yearly "Tales of Backcountry Terror" that I feature during Halloween, and this year, he's back with yet another story about the Ozark region. Be sure to check out his website, or his social media channels after reading the story to see more of his great content! 

Bruce Lee's Grave

Bruce Lee's Grave

Seattle is home to many internationally recognized tourist destinations, such as the Space Needle; and it is also home to many tourist destinations - such as the Fremont Troll and the Lenin Statute that are slightly strange. One of Seattle's popular tourist destinations is Bruce Lee's grave, and is something that like the Space Needle, is sought after by thousands of domestic and international visitors on a yearly basis. Among other things, Bruce Lee was the founder of the martial art known as Jeet Kune Do; and was and is one of the most well-known and pre-eminent martial artists in cinema history. After his untimely death in 1973, his wife had him interred at Lakeview Cemetery. Since that point in time, his grave site has become a destination for people wishing to pay their respects to him, the effect he has had on their lives, and a spot for celebrity grave seekers and others to visit. While rumors regarding the popularity of his grave site are difficult to substantiate, as he is interred in a cemetery and not an amusement park, his grave has been named by Time Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Celebrity Gravesites" in the world, and is rumored to be visited by over 10,000 people a year.