Category Archives: trails

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

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

Twelve planning lessons from Durango, Colorado

There are few cities in this country that can grasp your heart and soul as quickly as Durango, Colorado. From the moment of arrival, the city quickly absorbs you into its charming aura. It may be the snow-capped mountains drenched … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, adaptive reuse, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, Animal rights, Animals, archaeology, architecture, art, bicycling, bike sharing, Biking, branding, business, charities, cities, civics, civility, climate, climate change, colleges, commerce, Cuisine, culture, diversity, downtown, economic development, Economy, ecosystems, education, entertainment, entrepreneurship, environment, fitness, fun, geography, Geology, government, health, hiking, historic preservation, history, homelessness, Housing, humanity, inclusiveness, infrastructure, land use, Maps, marketing, Mining, mountains, Native Americans, natural history, nature, Passenger rail, peace, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, politics, pollution, psychology, rail, Railroads, recreation, revitalization, rivers/watersheds, schools, Science, social equity, spatial design, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, toponymy, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, water conservation, water trails, Wildlife, zoning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Scaling the sands: Toughest dune hikes trekked to date

As one who loves to scale to new heights, whether it be mountains, hills, ridges, lighthouses, dunes, or towers, I’ve got to admit some of the toughest treks have been trying to hike/climb sand dunes. While the other climbs involve … Continue reading

Posted in deserts, ecosystems, environment, fun, geography, Geology, health, hiking, history, land use, logistics, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, place names, planning, Skies, Statistics, topography, toponymy, tourism, trails, Travel, walking, water, weather, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Mexico’s protected wildlife areas along the Rio Grande

As one of the corridors making up the Central Flyway, the Rio Grande Valley through New Mexico is host to a vast array of migrant birds flying seasonally through the state to breeding grounds further north or wintering areas both … Continue reading

Posted in Advocacy, Animals, archaeology, civics, climate, culture, deserts, ecosystems, environment, geography, Geology, history, lakes, land use, Maps, mountains, natural history, nature, pictures, place names, placemaking, planning, recreation, rivers/watersheds, Science, Statistics, sustainability, topography, tourism, trails, Travel, urban planning, water, water conservation, water trails, Wilderness, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

America’s longest freeway capping parks

Below are freeway capping projects that incorporate park land or greenspace atop the deck that have taken place or which are proposed in the United States. They are listed by their known or approximate length (~) using maps.google.com. Unfortunately, there … Continue reading

Posted in adaptive reuse, architecture, art, bridges, Cars, cities, civics, culture, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, engineering, entertainment, fun, geography, Highway displacement, highways, historic preservation, history, inclusiveness, infrastructure, injustice, land use, landscape architecture, Maps, nature, pictures, placemaking, planning, pollution, product design, racism, recreation, revitalization, social equity, spatial design, Statistics, third places, topography, tourism, trails, transportation, Travel, tunnels, urban design, urban planning, visual pollution, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India’s tallest bridge towers and pylons

The following list identifies the tallest bridge towers and pylons in India. Such support structures are principally found on cable-stayed and suspension bridges and the height is measured from ground or water level to the top of the tower/pylon. The … Continue reading

Posted in architecture, Asia, Cars, cities, commerce, economic development, engineering, geography, highways, history, India, infrastructure, land use, Maps, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, rail, Railroads, rivers/watersheds, skylines, spatial design, Statistics, technology, tourism, Trade, traffic, trails, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walkable placemaking with outdoor public stairways

Note: – For purposes of this blogpost, stairways, stairs, and stair-steps are used interchangeably. Post updated 2/16/23 _______ The first time it occurred to me that outdoor stairways could be an important walkability tool for cities was while visiting Edinburgh, … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, Advocacy, Alternative transportation, archaeology, architecture, art, book reviews, books, branding, brewpubs, business, cities, civics, coffee shops/cafes, commerce, culture, demographics, diversity, downtown, economic development, economic gardening, Economy, engineering, entertainment, environment, fitness, fun, geography, government, health, Health care, hiking, historic preservation, history, Housing, humanity, infrastructure, land use, landscape architecture, literature, logistics, Maps, Mining, mountains, natural history, nature, new urbanism, pictures, placemaking, planning, product design, recreation, revitalization, shopping, social equity, spatial design, sprawl, Stairway networks, Statistics, sustainability, third places, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban design, urban planning, walking, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

North America’s tallest bridge towers and pylons (Las torres y pilones de puentes más altos de América del Norte)

The following list identifies the tallest bridge towers and pylons in North America. Such support structures are principally found on cable-stayed and suspension bridges and the height is measured from ground or water level to the top of the tower/pylon. … Continue reading

Posted in Active transportation, architecture, bicycling, bridges, Canada, Caribbean, cities, economic development, engineering, geography, highways, historic preservation, history, infrastructure, land use, Latin America, North America, Passenger rail, planning, product design, rail, recreation, rivers/watersheds, skylines, skyscrapers, spatial design, States, Statistics, technology, topography, tourism, traffic, trails, transit, transportation, Travel, urban planning, walking | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment