Yosemite

Yosemite National Park ( /joʊˈsɛmɨtiː/ yoh-sem-it-ee) is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of 761,268 acres (3,080.74 km2) and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain. Over 3.7 million people visit Yosemite each year: most spend their time in the seven square miles (18 km2) of Yosemite Valley. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemite is internationally recognized for its spectacular granite cliffs, waterfalls, clear streams, Giant Sequoia groves, and biological diversity. Almost 95% of the park is designated wilderness. Although not the first designated national park, Yosemite was central to the development of the national park idea, largely owing to the work of people like Galen Clark and John Muir. Yosemite is one of the largest and least fragmented habitat blocks in the Sierra Nevada, and the park supports a diversity of plants and animals. The park has an elevation range from 2,127 to 13,114 feet (648 to 3,997 m) and contains five major vegetation zones: chaparral/oak woodland, lower montane, upper montane, subalpine, and alpine. Of California's 7,000 plant species, about 50% occur in the Sierra Nevada and more than 20% within Yosemite. There is suitable habitat or documentation for more than 160 rare plants in the park, with rare local geologic formations and unique soils characterizing the restricted ranges many of these plants occupy. The geology of the Yosemite area is characterized by granitic rocks and remnants of older rock. About 10 million years ago, the Sierra Nevada was uplifted and then tilted to form its relatively gentle western slopes and the more dramatic eastern slopes. The uplift increased the steepness of stream and river beds, resulting in formation of deep, narrow canyons. About 1 million years ago, snow and ice accumulated, forming glaciers at the higher alpine meadows that moved down the river valleys. Ice thickness in Yosemite Valley may have reached 4,000 feet (1,200 m) during the early glacial episode. The downslope movement of the ice masses cut and sculpted the U-shaped valley that attracts so many visitors to its scenic vistas today. via Wikipedia

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Shiprock, New Mexico USA

Shiprock sunrise, originally uploaded by Rozanne Hakala.

Shiprock (Navajo: Tsé Bitʼaʼí, "rock with wings" or "winged rock") is a rock formation rising nearly 1,583 feet (482.5 m) above the high-desert plain on the Navajo Nation in San Juan County, New Mexico, USA. It has a peak elevation of 7,177 feet (2,187.5 m) above the sea level. It lies about 12 by 20 miles (19 by 32 km) southwest of the town of Shiprock, which is named for the peak. Governed by the Navajo Nation, the formation is in the Four Corners region and plays a significant role in Navajo religion, mythology and tradition. It is located in the center of the Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Puebloan civilization, a prehistoric Native American culture of the Southwest United States often referred to as the Anasazi. Shiprock is a point of interest for rock climbers and photographers and has been featured in several film productions and novels. It is the most prominent landmark in northwestern New Mexico

Paris vs New York

much more @ :

If It's Hip, It's Here: 35 Graphic Design Posters by Vahram Muratyan Compare Paris With New York.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Mount Rushmore South Dakota USA

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglumand later by his son Lincoln Borglum, Mount Rushmore features 60-foot (18 m) sculptures of the heads of former United States presidents (in order from left to right) George Washington,Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. The entire memorial covers 1,278.45 acres (5.17 km²) and is 5,725 feet (1,745 m) above sea level.

South Dakota historian Doane Robinson is credited with conceiving the idea of carving the likenesses of famous people into the Black Hills region of South Dakota in order to promote tourism in the region. Robinson's initial idea was to sculpt the Needles; however, Gutzon Borglum rejected the Needles site and chose the larger Mount Rushmore. Borglum also decided the sculpture should have a more national focus, and chose the four presidents whose likenesses would be carved into the mountain. After securing federal funding, construction on the memorial began in 1927, and the presidents' faces were completed between 1934 and 1939. Upon Gutzon Borglum's death in March 1941, his son Lincoln Borglum took over construction. Although the initial concept called for each president to be depicted from head to waist, lack of funding forced construction to end in October 1941.

The U.S. National Park Service took control of the memorial in 1933, while it was still under construction, and manages the memorial to the present day. It attracts approximately two million people annually.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

The Unseen Sea, SF, California USA

The Unseen Sea from Simon Christen on Vimeo.

A collection of time lapses I took around the San Francisco Bay Area roughly shot over the period of one year.

Please watch in HD 

Find more of my work on my website www.simonchristen.com

or on my flickr account 

Music by Nick Cave - Mary's Song from the Soundtrack of "Assassination of Jesse James"

New Orleans' French Quarter: A novel place, still

New Orleans' French Quarter: A novel place, still

William Faulkner's home during the 1920s is now a bookshop. (Jay Jones)

Reporting from New Orleans —

Despite its name, Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" isn't a play so much about a geographic destination — Desire Street — as a place in the heart. In the Crescent City, both perspiration and sensuality still ooze from the pores, despite the scars from 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

The curious mix is as palpable for today's visitors as it was for the various famous writers who once lived and worked in the Vieux Carré. The character — and characters — who inspired literary greats such as Williams and William Faulkner remain, as do the houses in which the men toiled amid the city's sounds, smells and — of course — oppressive heat.

The charming, now-famous neighborhood would be unrecognizable to its earlier residents. Before a pricey transformation into a tourist district after World War II, the French Quarter was an urban slum not much different from other poor areas of New Orleans.

"This was a dump. The whole French Quarter was a dump," notes Joanne Sealy, the literary expert who runs the appropriately named Faulkner House Books, a tiny shop on the ground floor of the narrow house in which the author lived during the 1920s.

Places to visit

Faulkner House Books: 624 Pirates Alley, between Royal and Chartres streets in the French Quarter; (504) 524-2940, http://www.wordsandmusic.org

Williams' apartment: 632 St. Peter St. A plaque marks the home in which Tennessee Williams wrote "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1946.

The French Quarter: best savored on foot. Besides walking tours, horse-drawn carriage rides also provide informative journeys through the narrow streets.

The St. Charles streetcar: a good way for visitors to rest their weary feet while enjoying a trip from Canal Street to Uptown, past stately homes and Loyola and Tulane universities.

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau: (800) 672-6124, neworleanscvb.com

"It was a small boarding house, four stories, a rabbit's warren," Sealy adds.

In a letter to his mother, Faulkner wrote, "I have a whole floor. Two rooms, a court [yard], and a kitchen." The shared bathroom was — and still is — up a steep flight of stairs.

"This really was the place to be in the '20s if you couldn't go to Paris," Sealy says of the French Quarter. "Prohibition didn't mean boo."

From the front of his flat in Orleans Alley — city fathers renamed it Pirates Alley in the '40s to add what Sealy calls "pizazz" — Faulkner could look out onto what remains the city's most famous landmark: the towering St. Louis Cathedral. Jackson Square was only steps away. The park remains the bohemian gathering spot it was in Faulkner's day, although the surrounding streets now are home to trendy boutiques and restaurants instead of bleak warehouses.

Sure, visitors can buy the latest bestseller at the bookshop. But it's better known as a repository for exhaustive collections of the works of Faulkner and Williams, who during the 1940s lived just one block away on St. Peter Street. Some of their first editions are under lock and key in an adjoining hallway.

"The only [Faulkner] first edition I don't currently have is 'Absalom, Absalom!'" Sealy tells a potential customer over the phone. "That runs about $3,500."

The well-read bookseller says Faulkner's works often convey an indomitable human spirit — not unlike that of the people who have rebuilt in the wake of the hurricane and the events that followed.

"He points out the mistakes we've made," she observes. "His characters face unimaginable trials and tribulations but keep getting up again."

If Faulkner's novels are analogous to man's basic goodness, Williams' plays reflect a grittier reality. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning "Streetcar," a modern tragedy unfolds through the often-bleak existences of Stanley, his wife, Stella, and her older sister, the libidinous and, alas, mentally ill Blanche.

"What you are talking about is brutal desire — just — Desire! — the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter," Blanche DuBois intones in "Streetcar."

Three lines still clatter through New Orleans, but the streetcars no longer run to Desire Street, with its gaily painted small homes. Desire Street is in the 9th Ward, but it escaped the worst of Katrina's fury. Nonetheless, at the height of a muggy and oh-so-real modern tragedy, muddy floodwaters rose over the sidewalks at some intersections, obscuring the aging ceramic tiles that spell D-E-S-I-R-E. And like a character in a Faulkner novel, this city keeps getting back up again.

travel@latimes.com

 

via latimes.com

 

Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburg PA USA

Phipps Conservatory "Collage", originally uploaded by visitPA.

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a great steel and glass Victorian greenhouse, has been inviting visitors to explore the beauty and mysteries of plants since 1893. Set amidst one of Pittsburgh's largest greenspaces, Schenley Park, Phipps Conservatory stands as a cultural and architectural centerpiece of the city's Oakland neighborhood.
In recent decades, Phipps has evolved into one of the region's most vibrant, thriving cultural attractions, bringing fresh perspectives and artists into our historic glasshouse environment. Phipps has also become a strong advocate for advanced green-building practices, sustainable gardening and a new environmental awareness.
more @: http://phipps.conservatory.org/

*Placid, Oregon, USA

Placid, originally uploaded by Tomaocron.

*placid [ˈplæsɪd]
adj
having a calm appearance or nature
[from Latin placidus peaceful; related to placēre to please]
=========================
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern boundaries respectively.
The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers who formed an autonomous government in Oregon Country in 1843; the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. Salem is the state's capital and third-most-populous city; Portland is the most populous. Portland is the 30th-largest U.S. city, with a population of 582,130 (2009 estimate) and a metro population of 2,241,841 (2009 estimate), the 23rd-largest U.S. metro area.
The valley of the Willamette River in western Oregon is the most densely populated and agriculturally productive region of the state, and is home to eight of the ten most populous cities. Oregon's 2000 population was about 3.5 million, a 20.3% increase over 1990; it is estimated to have reached 3.8 million by 2008. Oregon's largest for-profit private employer is Intel, located in the Silicon Forest area on Portland's west side.
The state has 199 public school districts, with Portland Public Schools as the largest. There are 17 community colleges, and seven publicly financed colleges in the Oregon University System. Oregon State University in Corvallis and the University of Oregon in Eugene are the two flagship universities of the state, while Portland State University has the largest enrollment.
Major highways include Interstate 5 which runs the entire north-south length of the state, Interstate 84 that runs east-west, U.S. Route 97 that crosses the middle of the state, U.S. Route 101 that travels the entire coastline, and U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 26 that run east-west, among many other highways. Portland International Airport is the busiest commercial airport in the state and is operated as part of the Port of Portland, the state's busiest port. Rail service includes Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway freight service, Amtrak passenger service, as well as light rail and street car routes in the Portland metro area.
Oregon enjoys a diverse landscape including a scenic and windswept Pacific coastline, the volcanoes of a rugged and glaciated Cascade Mountain Range, dense evergreen forests, and high desert across much of the eastern portion of the state. The towering Douglas firs and redwoods along the rainy Western Oregon coast provide a dramatic contrast with the lower density and fire prone pine tree and juniper forests covering portions of the Eastern half of the state. The eastern portion of the state also includes semi-arid scrublands, prairies, deserts, and meadows. These drier areas stretch east from Central Oregon. Mount Hood is the highest point in the state at 11,249 feet (3,429 m). Crater Lake National Park is the only national park in Oregon. Oregon is the United States' leader in forest fires[citation needed]; in 2007 the state had more than 1,000 of them.

more @: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Suns up, all about NYC, USA

Suns up, originally uploaded by pmarella.

all about New York

http://www.december.com/places/nyc/blue.html

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Colorado Balloon Classic , USA

Colorado Balloon Classic - Day 2, originally uploaded by iceman9294.

The event is held in Memorial Park off Pikes Peak Avenue between Hancock Ave. and Union Blvd near the shores of Prospect Lake. Mass ascensions with over 100 balloons are scheduled for Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings with a Balloon Glo® scheduled for Saturday and Sunday evenings. Each year a variety of concessions are available and entertainment is provided during each event.

The Colorado Balloon Classic (a division of Colorado Springs Balloon Classic, Inc.) was organized in 1977 and has grown to be the largest and the longest continuously running hot air balloon festival in the Rocky Mountain Region as well as the State of Colorado. The Colorado Balloon Classic is an annual family event - admission is free - held each Labor Day weekend.

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming (Photo by Razi Gaskari), originally uploaded by awaydotcom.

Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. The park is named after the Grand Teton, which, at 13,770 feet (4,197 m), is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range.
The name "Tetons" originally was intended to describe several hills near the town of Arco, Idaho. They were named by a French trapper who thought that they resembled the female body. Many years later the name was mistakenly applied to the mountains of present day Grand Teton National Park due to the poor map-making and map-reading standards of the time.
Grand Teton National Park was established on February 26, 1929. The park covers 484 square miles (1,250 km2) of land and water.
There are nearly 200 miles (320 km) of trails for hikers to enjoy in Grand Teton National Park.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Teton_National_Park

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming, USA

Devil's Tower National Monument, Wyoming (Photo by Tony Wear), originally uploaded by awaydotcom.

The First 50 Years In 1956, Devils Tower National Monument celebrated its 50th birthday. A Park Service historian used that occasion to record a history of Devils Tower. A big event occured in 1941 when a parachutist landed safely on top of the Tower. Getting off the Tower was the problem. (The document is rather long - CLICK for an unedited text only -- printer friendly -- version.)

Climbing Lore - Learn about the first technical climb of Devils Tower. Also, read an account of the first all-woman technical ascent of the Tower. And, how do they get up there anyhow?

Devils Tower - Sacred to Plains Tribes
A review of the ethnographic literature demonstrates that Devils Tower was a sacred area for several Plains Tribes, and that it is considered an important landmark in tribal narratives.
First Stories – In Their Own Words In the 1930’s, the importance of Devils Tower to many Plains Indians was recorded in first person narratives.

source & more info @ : http://www.nps.gov/deto/historyculture/index.htm

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico , USA

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico (Photo by Walter Duke), originally uploaded by awaydotcom.

Like No Place Else on Earth

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field.

White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment.

source and more info: http://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Pennsylvania Monument - Gettysburg, USA

Pennsylvania Monument - Gettysburg, originally uploaded by visitPA.

Grand and imposing, the Pennsylvania State Monument at Gettysburg has both the names of its generals carved into the top and their likenesses sculpted at the corners. The base is surrounded by tablets bearing names of less-decorated but equally brave soldiers who fought in the battle.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Rockefeller Center, NYC, USA

Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs.

Soar 70 floors high and experience the exhilarating joy of unobstructed 360º city views from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck. From the sweeping green of Central Park to the thrilling city skyline, nowhere else can you see New York so spectacularly.

A timed-ticketing system brings you to the Top, exactly when you want. While on deck, get your picture taken by Kodak's professional team and bring home the experience

source:http://www.rockefellercenter.com/

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Chrysler Building, NYC, USA

Chrysler Building, originally uploaded by Son of Groucho.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Chrysler Building was the world's tallest building from 27 May 1930 to 1931.
Record height
Preceded by 40 Wall Street
Surpassed by Empire State Building

Location 405 Lexington Avenue, Manhattan, NY, United States
Constructed 1928-1930

Height
Antenna or spire 318.9 m (1,046 ft)
Roof 282.0 m (925 ft)
Top floor 274.0 m (899 ft)

Technical details
Floor count 77 [1]
Floor area 1,195,000 sq ft (111,000 m2)
Elevators 32

Architect(s) William Van Alen
Owner Abu Dhabi Investment Council (90%)
Tishman Speyer (10%)

Fully habitable, self-supported, from main entrance to highest structural or architectural top;
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40°45′6.12″N 73°58′31.08

The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at 319 metres (1,047 ft), it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State Building in 1931. After the destruction of the World Trade Center, it was again the second-tallest building in New York City until December 2007, when the spire was raised on the 365.8-metre (1,200 ft) Bank of America Tower, pushing the Chrysler Building into third position. In addition, The New York Times Building which opened in 2007, is exactly level with the Chrysler Building in height.
The Chrysler Building is a classic example of Art Deco architecture and considered by many contemporary architects to be one of the finest buildings in New York City. In 2007, it was ranked ninth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Times Square, New York - USA

Times Square's Relax, originally uploaded by ! . © Angela Lobefaro . !.

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after the New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly built Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Years Eve. Times Square, nicknamed "The Crossroads of the World" and "The Great White Way", has achieved the status of an iconic world landmark and is a symbol of New York City and the United States.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Casa Monica Hotel St Augustine, Florida, USA

Casa Monica Hotel St Augustine, Florida, originally uploaded by JamesWatkins.

Casa Monica Hotel St Augustine, Florida

.Casa Monica has been totally rebuilt and is a wonderful place to stay..if you can swing it...some of the best food in town also..There are wonderfuls shops to the street side on the left..with an art gallery in the building along with a nice coffee shop...It is right on the town square (to the left out of sight), right in front of the Flagler Museum (to the right.) Shops are within walking distance along with the nearby historical district...Built in the Spanish Renaissance style...Saint Augustine is the oldest city in the United States.

When Florida was being populated, this used to be the last stop of the railroads and this hotel along with another (across the street, which was bought and is now Flagler College) were very exotic places for the rich and famous of the day for wintering. Flagler eventually extended the railroad down through Florida to the Miami area.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Washington Arch, NYC, USA

The Giant, originally uploaded by EJP Photo.

Washington Arch
For the Centennial of Washington's inauguration as President of the United States a wooden Memorial Arch was constructed on the Washington Square. The arch, designed by Stanford White was so successful at the celebrations, that a marble version was commissioned. In may 1895 the final version of the 77 ft (23,4m) Washington Arch was inaugurated. The pier sculptures of Washington as general and president were added in 1916 and 1918 respectively.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Chicago, originally uploaded by P•A•U•L | Photography.

Chicago is the largest city in Illinois, and the third most populous city in the United States, with over 2.8 million people living within city limits. Its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland", is the 26th largest metropolitan area in the world, home to an estimated 9.7 million people spread across the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. The city of Chicago and most of its surrounding suburbs are located in Cook County, with the exception of the southwestern sector of O'Hare International Airport, which is located in DuPage County.

Chicago was founded in 1833, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land following the Treaty of Chicago. The city became a major transportation and telecommunications hub in North America. Today, the city retains its status as a major hub, both for industry and infrastructure, with Chicago-O'Hare International Airport as the second busiest airport in the world. In 2007, the city attracted 32.8 million domestic visitors and about 1.15 million foreign visitors.

In modern times, the city has taken on an additional dimension as a center for business and finance and is listed as one of the world's top ten Global Financial Centers. Chicago is a stronghold of the Democratic Party and has been home to influential politicians, including the current President of the United States, Barack Obama. The World Cities Study Group at Loughborough University rated Chicago as an "alpha world city" due to Chicago's important role in the global economic system.

Globally recognized,Chicago has numerous nicknames, which reflect the impressions and opinions about historical and contemporary Chicago. The best known include: "Chi-town", "Windy City", "Second City", and the "City of Big Shoulders". Chicago has also been called "the most American of big cities".

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu Copyright © Demetrios the Traveler