nature
The Science and Nature of Wanderlust, tourism, landmarks for nature buffs and more.
Yellowstone: Truly Wild
I'm a product design student at the University of Utah, a fairly large public university nestled in the mountains of Salt Lake City. Our studio had the unique opportunity to work in partnership with Yellowstone Forever, the official non-profit arm of Yellowstone National Park, to look at issues surrounding the park, the visitors, the wildlife, and various other controversial topics. Our goal: to help shed some light on overlooked opportunities the NPS (National Park Service) and Yellowstone Forever may not have considered previously, and to help bridge the gap between the non-profit sector and the federal park system itself.
By Christian Pugsley7 years ago in Wander
The Story of Yosemite
Yosemite is a beautiful national park based in Sierra Nevada. This wasn’t always the case for Yosemite. Evolution throughout the years have drastically changed what we know see one a trip to the south east. 91 million years ago we could trace a trend of volcanic activity in Yosemite. Composition indicated magma was present, but changed over time. Mineral compositions changed with certain magma deposits.” Hornblende and biotite crystallize at higher temperatures than quartz and feldspar, and so during cooling of a magma, these dark minerals generally crystallize earlier than the light-colored ones. This relation suggests that cooling of the magma started at the margins and progressed inward over time.” (Dallas L. Peck, 1987)
By Shane Cook7 years ago in Wander
I Hate the Snow
When I was little, there was nothing I wanted to see more than snow. Growing up in the suburbs of Melbourne, while there were certainly cool winters and plenty of rain, there was never any snow, and rarely opportunities to travel to places where there was such. Thus until the age of perhaps eight or nine, I had never seen or experienced real snow.
By Amelia Lockhart7 years ago in Wander
London's Kew Gardens
Nestled in Richmond, Kew Gardens is London's horticultural den of tranquility. It is certainly worth the trek to see this South-West London beauty, any time of year! I visited last month, camera in hand, to explore its 75 acres of lush landscape—where it's seemingly Golden Hour all day long.
By James Williams7 years ago in Wander
The Last and Only Eastern Prairie
It is hard sometimes to remember when you live in suburbia, that there are mysterious and haunting nooks and crannies. Hempstead Plains is one such place. It seems impossible, for those of us who were there before the mega stores and shopping centers, that everyone appears to have forgotten the old Long Island. Lindbergh's flight across the Atlantic is commemorated by a sign, right in front of Macy's in Roosevelt Field Mall. That sums up our history from the developer's side. Today, we must make a stand to preserve what remains of the only true prairie east of the Appalachians.
By Monica Bennett7 years ago in Wander
Joshua Tree National Park
It was a long drive into the desert. Hungover from the night before and forever in a rush, we hit the freeway with only music and conversation to distract us from the unbearably straight roads to the desert. After a few hours containing only the occasional pit stops to stretch our legs we arrived in the National Park and drove straight towards the cliff that held view of the Coachella Valley and San Andreas fault. In one direction we could see the journey we had just made and the mountain range we had driven though; in the other it was a clear view to the US/Mexico border 96 miles away. So, we just stood there; taking it all in. Every direction you looked you saw something new or notable.
By H.W. Wright7 years ago in Wander
The Blue Layer: Free Diving
In the modern everyday world, silence is rare. Cars, people, phones, and everyday background noise rattle our eardrums every hour, of every day of our lives. To those who are lucky enough to be able to hear (and it is without a doubt a privilege), the world is a constant sympathy of sounds. Constantly changing, intensifying, moulding the way we take in information and engage in every day life. But isn't it nice sometimes to be quiet?
By Smoke & Slate7 years ago in Wander
Best Waterfalls in Washington
Panther Creek Falls I love the location of this waterfall. I saw it in the middle of winter. It was snowing and everything was covered in white as this waterfall trickled down a rock wall high up in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This waterfall is located near the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge and the whole area is gorgeous!
By Shawntelle Moncy7 years ago in Wander
