Category Archives: tourism

The High Desert bursts forth in a symphony of colors

It has been fascinating to watch the vast variety of plants burst forth with they spring time blossoms here in New Mexico’s High Desert environment for the first time. Below are a series of photographs from the past week showing … Continue reading

Posted in art, climate, deserts, diversity, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, hiking, landscape architecture, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, Science, tourism, Travel, weather, Wildlife, xeriscaping | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Scaling peaks of stone despite achy bones: A memoir and and an aspiration

I wish I had discovered my passion for peak hiking earlier in life. Not realizing it until my early 60s has left me with less time to explore summits than I would have preferred. Despite the delay, the rewards often … Continue reading

Posted in art, book reviews, books, culture, deserts, ecosystems, entertainment, environment, family, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Love, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, peace, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, psychology, reading, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, Statistics, sustainability, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, visual pollution, walking, water, Wilderness, Wildlife, Women, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ten favorite and least favorite state capital cities

Provided below are lists of favorite and least favorite state capital cities across the country. These are based on impressions obtained from visiting and in some cases, living in those cities (Indianapolis, Columbus, and Lansing). The list is not based … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, art, branding, business, cities, civics, civility, colleges, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, education, entertainment, geography, government, health, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, industry, infrastructure, land use, marketing, mountains, natural history, new urbanism, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, racism, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, skylines, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, States, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten dreamy planning lessons from cruising Michigan’s Woodward Corridor

The following are ten planning lessons from the quartet of amazing Detroit area suburban cities situated along the famous Woodward Corridor, home of the annual Dream Cruise each August. Those four Southeast Michigan cities are Birmingham, Ferndale, Pontiac, and Royal … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, advertising, Alternative transportation, architecture, art, bicycling, Biking, branding, Bus transportation, business, Cars, cities, civics, commerce, Cuisine, culture, density, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, government, health, highways, historic preservation, history, Housing, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, marketing, new urbanism, parking, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, rail, recreation, revitalization, skylines, social equity, Statistics, theaters, third places, tourism, traffic, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cities and towns on the go –> Go –> GO!

For a little fun on a Friday, the following list identifies those cities and towns around the globe whose name (or a portion thereof) ends with the pronunciation of “go.” Geographically, there are 23 nations represented on the list, as … Continue reading

Posted in Cities, Communications, Europe, fun, geography, Language, Latin America, North America, Oceania, place names, South America, toponymy, tourism, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Twelve planning lessons from the Interstate Highway System

The following are 12 planning lessons learned from America’s Interstate Highway System. Just as the network continues to expand with the addition of new routes such as I-11 in Nevada and Arizona, I-14 in Texas, I-42 and I-87 in North … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, Biking, business, Cars, Cities, civics, Civil Rights, commerce, culture, downtown, economic development, ecosystems, engineering, Environment, geography, government, health, Highway displacement, highways, history, infrastructure, land use, logistics, Maps, Nature, new urbanism, Passenger rail, pictures, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, product design, racism, Railroads, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Statistics, technology, topography, tourism, Trade, traffic, Transportation, Travel, trucking, Uncategorized, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tallest & most prominent volcanic plugs/necks in the USA

Chat.openai.com defines and describes a volcanic plug as follows: “A volcanic plug, also known as a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a type of volcanic landform that forms when magma hardens inside a volcanic vent or conduit. When a … Continue reading

Posted in ecosystems, environment, geography, Geology, hiking, history, land use, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, placemaking, recreation, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, Travel, volcanoes, walking, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Being seen: Furthering pedestrian safety at crossings

When crossing a street or roadway on foot, pedestrians must make sure that drivers are aware of them. Eye contact is especially important. Otherwise, pedestrians risk being added to the sobering pedestrian traffic death statistics in the United States. Even … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, Cars, cities, civics, civility, Communications, culture, education, fitness, geography, government, health, Health care, highways, hiking, humanity, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 50 largest canyons in the USA by land area

Below are the 50 largest canyons in the United States, ranked by land area. Using chat.openai.com, the list was generated and known errors were removed/corrected. *In addition, several parks containing multiple canyons, like Canyonlands, Cedar Mesa, Zion, Bryce, and Grand … Continue reading

Posted in ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, Geology, hiking, historic preservation, history, land use, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, place names, recreation, rivers/watersheds, spatial design, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, Travel, walking, water, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Backyard birds: Comparing central New Mexico with northwest Lower Michigan

Moving across the country offers a unique opportunity to witness a diverse range of songbirds in one’s backyard. The amount of variation between the two ecosystems is substantial. While central New Mexico near Albuquerque is located at the northern edge … Continue reading

Posted in Animal rights, Animals, art, climate, deserts, diversity, ecosystems, education, entertainment, environment, fun, geography, Great Lakes, lakes, land use, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, rivers/watersheds, Science, songs, States, topography, tourism, Travel, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment