An atheist is a man who watches a Peru - Australia footfall game and doesn't care who wins.
↩︎ Nature in images at Booooooom↩︎ Koko the gorila dies - NPR“Hiking is one of just a few sports that doesn’t require a gym membership or a pile of expensive gear. That being said, one necessity for an exceptional hike is beautiful scenery. Traversing green forests and taking in breathtaking views along the way makes for an unparalleled experience, and each state has at least one town that’s home to a handful of picturesque trails. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed trail database and online guide Hiking Project, which lists close to 150,000 miles of trails across the country. 24/7 Wall St. ranked the town or town equivalent with the most trails running through it as the best place to hike in each state. Not surprisingly, a majority of the towns on this list are located near state parks, nature preserves, or central to iconic hikes that pass through a number of states, such as the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. For example, the longest trail passing through Stehekin, Washington is section L of the Pacific Crest Trail, specifically the part that runs from Rainy Pass mountain in Washington to Manning Park, British Columbia. This 71-mile hike is the final stretch of the 2,650-mile long trail. Not all states are designed for hiking. Therefore, the best place to hike in one state may not even make the top 50 places in another state. The best place to hike in Nebraska, a state primarily made up of miles of grasslands, is Omaha, where the longest known trail is not even a full mile long. Omaha only has a total of 12 trails running through it, the most of any other place in Nebraska according to the Hiking Project database. At the other end of the spectrum is California, where hiking trails are abundant, and the number of towns is much greater. The census designated place of Yosemite Valley, California, though, ranks highest with an impressive 3,372 trails coursing through it…” Do not forget to seek out trails close to home – there are no doubt terrific sites nearby that are not “famous” but will help you enjoy outdoor walking and hiking without traveling.
Bike Friendly Cities Index 2018: “The Copenhagenize Index gives cities marks for their efforts towards reestablishing the bicycle as a feasible, accepted and practical form of transport. The interest in taking the bicycle seriously as transport once again continues unabated around the world. Every city used to be bicycle friendly before planners and engineers started to change the paradigm and plan for cars and relegate bicycle users, pedestrians and public transport users to third class citizens. Now those cities around the world who are taking up the challenge and modernising themselves by implementing bicycle infrastructure, policy, bike share systems, etc. – as well as restricting car use – are the cities we all look to for New Century inspiration. The ranking system was developed in 2011 together with James Schwartz from The Urban Country. Inspiration was gleaned from rankings like Monocle’s Liveable Cities Index and rankings produced by The Economist. In short, cities are given between 0 and 4 points in 14 different categories. In addition, there is a potential for a maximum of 12 bonus points awarded for particularly impressive efforts or results. In the case of a tie, the city with the highest baseline score is ranked higher. The 14 parameters are effective at determining the bicycle friendliness of any given city, showing what’s in place at the time of ranking. The bonus points allow us highlight extra efforts that are difficult to see in the parameters. For example, a city may score down the middle on politics because the mayor and other politicians are promising infrastructure. Bonus points can assist in determining the level of the political will and the scope of the proposed work. Once the infrastructure starts being built, the city will score higher in Infrastructure next time around…” [the team’s graphics rock – terrific report – highlights important innovations in transportation in cities that will surprise you!]
