#also yes I googled if there are mountains in Wisconsin for this

[jupiterlandings]

“We are just misguided ghosts

Travelin' endlessly.

The ones we trusted the most

Pushed us far away.

And there's no one road,

And we should not be the same,

But I'm just a ghost

And still they echo me”

Dannymay Day 3: Invisible

[thelastspeecher]

eregyrn-falls replied to your post: a quick Google search confirms the Grand Canyon...

1. i agree with you about Four Corners; we stopped there because I couldn’t NOT stop there, but we spent like 10 minutes, really. 2. also YES, i have this same impulse when planning road trips. when i did a big SW trip with friends we drove over 2100 miles in 2 weeks (Vegas > Death Valley > Zion > GC North rim > Antelope canyon > massive detour because of landslide > GC South rim > Monument Valley > Four Corners > Mesa Verde > Gallup > Petrified Forest >…

and I want to get out there again to see bits in NM that we didn’t fit in, and frankly, if I haven’t done Yellowstone by that time, I would TOTALLY put Yellowstone on that itinerary, because think of all the great places to stop between the two! (Also I have friends in Denver. It’s quite likely I’ll get out there to see RMNP and just continue on up to Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

And heck… is Glacier REALLY that far from Yellowstone? I mean… when you get right down to it? lol )

oh man that trip sounds AWESOME.  it’s been years since my family has gone on one of those fun trips to see National Parks out west (last time was in high school when we saw the Grand Canyon for the second time, and a couple other things I can’t remember off the top of my head), sadly, but it was SO GREAT and I even had one of those Park Passports where you get stamps from every National Park you go to.

I haven’t been to Death Valley, but I’ve been to most of the things you listed, lol, including Zion and Petrified Forest.  I honestly can’t remember how many National Parks or Monuments I’ve been to, since it’s so many and we started going when I was so young.  supposedly, I’ve been to Craters of the Moon and really liked it, but I can’t remember it.  Glacier National Park, I would love to go to, as well.

my roommate and I want to go out west so I can show them all the National Parks I went to when I was younger, and we can ogle nature and I can explain the science behind the nature (being a geologist means I get extra out of most National Parks, lmao).  

anyways, my two cents: ABSOLUTELY stop by Grand Teton.  it’s GORGEOUS.  I took a million pictures when we went there during Field Camp.

(Field Camp is a required field work class for a geology degree.  I hated most of it bc there were a few people who hated my guts and a few rotten apples spoil the barrel [VERY LONG STORY], but we also stopped by some National Parks to talk about geology of those places and I actually enjoyed that bc NATIONAL PARKS.  most of the places we stopped were repeats for me lol)

Yellowstone is SO UNIQUE and my ALL-TIME FAVE, including the Grand Canyon, bc it’s the epitome of my field of research.  like, the classic site to study geomicrobiology is Yellowstone.  the geysers are cool, but the hot springs, man.  THE HOT SPRINGS.  you NEEEEEED to go there.  I’ve been there twice and I aim to go there a third time sometime soon.

also good to look for is Devil’s Tower.  I think it’s a National Monument, not a National Park, but it’s wicked cool.  Jewel and Wind Cave (National Monuments) are also really cool, but if you get claustrophobic, probably should be avoided.  oooh, and the Badlands!  the Badlands are SO COOL.  that’s one I’ve been to twice, first when I was smol and second for Field Camp.  and even tho I only really remember the Field Camp visit, I am more fond towards the vague memories of the trip when I was smol.  I think we saw wild horses, which....would explain why I loved the Badlands so much when I was smol.

RMNP is a good one!  I have many fond memories of it, since it was the one we went to multiple times when I was younger while we visited my relatives in Denver.  like I said, it’s been a while, but I remember going up this long, winding mountain road, and snow outside even tho it was summer (bc mountains be like that sometimes).  and we stopped at the visitor’s center (?) at the peak, and drank hot cider, and I looked at the polished rocks they had.  and my dad played John Denver nonstop, naturally.

in general, there is SO MUCH great stuff out west and I am SO JEALOUS of the people who just.  live near that stuff.  like, I love being in the Midwest and don’t see myself ever living somewhere else, but damn we basically just have cornfields and pastures.  there are some exceptions, like the Loess Hills in Iowa (which are...some sort of National Something but idk what), or Devil’s Lake in Wisconsin, but nothing’s gonna top the majesty of the Grand Canyon or the landscape of Grand Teton or the awe-inspiring geysers of Yellowstone.  nothing’s gonna top that.

two side notes: have you tried bison?  TRY BISON.  they serve bison at like ALL the parks out west, and I lose my shit every single time, bc bison is SO GOOD.  and the huckleberry stuff, too!  I had a huckleberry flavored pop at Grand Teton that was way better than it had any right being, tbh.  for me, the western National Parks are: come for the nature, stay for the nature, and enjoy the shit outta the food.

I couldn’t find anywhere to put this side note so that it would mesh with my ramblings, but if you’re a National Parks junkie like me, you should go to Voyageurs!  it’s in Minnesota near International Falls and the Boundary Waters.  I’ve only been there once (...I think), but I am very fond of it bc I actually have a great-aunt and great-uncle who live there.  like.  their house is literally inside the park.  I don’t know how they got permission for it, but they’re there.  it’s so gorgeous and peaceful.  the wildlife is really something else, imo.  there’s a specific kind of lady’s slipper that is very rare and found most frequently in Voyageurs.

....anyways, in case you couldn’t tell, I am very fond of the National Parks.  my parents took me and my sisters on long trips to National Parks and State Parks and National Monuments when we were younger to instill in us an appreciation for nature, and to broaden our horizons, and educate us, and give us a taste for the outdoors.  and damn, did it fucking work.

[hail-to-the-republic]

Chip me NOT!

Shoot Before This Happens.

Sadly history is littered with examples where people either issued a strong warning to some entity that was ignored, resulting in war (e.g. 1776) or worse, the people didn't issue such a warning and really, really bad things happened (e.g. Auschwitz.)

This is one of those times at which such a warning must be issued, and the issue is not just what it appears folks.

LOS ANGELES — You will get chipped. It’s just a matter of time.

In the aftermath of a Wisconsin firm embedding microchips in employees last week to ditch company badges and corporate logons, the Internet has entered into full-throated debate.

Religious activists are so appalled, they’ve been penning nasty 1-star reviews of the company, Three Square Market, on Google, Glassdoor and social media.

On the flip side, seemingly everyone else wants to know: Is this what real life is going to be like soon at work? Will I be chipped?

“It will happen to everybody,” says Noelle Chesley, 49, associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “But not this year, and not in 2018. Maybe not my generation, but certainly that of my kids.”

I'm not kidding at all about having to shoot before this catches on in any material way no matter whether it's the government or private industry doing it. If such a warning is not issued with the willingness and intent to carry out the threat if it becomes necessary our entire premise of civilization and personal privacy will be entirely destroyed.

Look folks, most of you don't get it because you don't understand the technology and everyone pushing it lies to you either by omission or directly to your face.

Here's the truth about any such implementation: It makes nearly every single thing you do in public instantly and permanently trackable by any entity that can get to the data stream now and forevermore into the future with an indefinite lookback.

How big is the data stream going to be? Enormous and very-nearly complete in terms of specificity but very small in terms of volume per-person, and thus trivially maintainable and searchable.

Let me explain.

You can find these "chips" in modern car keys in terms of the technology involved. It's a small circuit with a coil that, when a magnetic field is passed over it, generates a tiny amount of power. That power is just enough to power a little bit of circuity inside which in turn can return "an answer"; typically a challenge/response of some sort. The amount of power available, due to the size of the chip and thus the coil, is very, very small and thus the range is typically very short -- an inch or thereabouts. This is also why there is no RF exposure risk in having these things in a pet; the power level they can generate is so low that there are no exposure concerns.

That's why the vet passes the reader over your pet to read it; he can't point it at the cat from 3' away and read the chip, but right up against the skin under which it resides, yes.

The inverse-square law and the natural noise in the environment means that trying to extend that range to tens of feet or more is not going to happen. You not only need to ridiculously increase the power being sent to the chip to excite it you must also radically increase the reception gain and manage to get above the background noise level. The scaremongering about you being scanned from tens or hundreds of feet away is nonsense; it won't work.

But, if you can be funneled through something about the size of a door it's a different matter. Now you both can trivially increase the querying power and the reception gain, along with keeping too many chips from responding at once -- and likely manage to read these things without the knowledge or consent of the person who has one in them.

This means that any time you go into a commercial building of any sort, or through any sort of "access point" in a public venue -- a doorway, a turnstile or similar that effectively makes people proceed "single file" due to its size -- it is a near-certainty that the chip can be interrogated and since these are all cryptographic signature devices of some kind you will be placed there with absolute certainty.

That record will never go away and it is trivially searchable en-masse for any sort of pattern recognition that the person who has access to that data wishes to devise, now or in the future.

Cell phones have some of this risk right now in their "location" capabilities, which I've written about before. But you can turn the phone off and that should disable this. You can also refuse to carry one. Once chipped, however, it's both permanent and pervasive and there is exactly nothing you can do about it.

Anyone who has even a modicum of intelligence knows that nothing you do on the Internet is ever really "gone." Likewise as soon as this happens there will be nowhere in any public space you can go where a commercial or government interest hasn't put in place some sort of point you must pass through where your entrance and departure in each and every instance will be recorded in perpetuity and used.

If that's allowed to happen, ever, freedom is utterly, instantly and permanently over.

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User Info Shoot Before This Happens, Or Never in forum [Market-Ticker]

Flappingeagle

Posts: 2998

Incept: 2011-04-14

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When I was a younger man I saw technology giving us a better future. Today all I see is darkness. The ultimate Mark of the Beast. You need a necessity, any necessity: no chip, no necessity.

Flap

2019-03-14 07:39:06

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Click

Posts: 471

Incept: 2017-06-26

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Facial recognition is already being implemented in airports and other facilities. Most of us have already read about the "social credit score" in Communist China. Facebook, Apple, Twitter, YouTube and other companies are deplatforming individuals, because said individuals have bad social credit... Some banking institutions won't do business with gun manufacturers, because of bad social credit.

Social credit is a term we all better get used to. Actually it's Socialist credit. Everybody better be a good little Socialist. Pay your carbon tax. Accept the Muslim invasion in Euroland and the Latin Socialist invasion of the U.S.. Don't call a spade a spade or a queer a queer or a offend any of the "woke" people.

Crazy, queer, obese, stupid, Islamic radical, Marxist, et. al. are all hate speech terms. And anybody who doesn't (group)think that the white man is evil and white culture is bad, those people are going to get a special "chip"...

2019-03-14 07:53:03

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Jcneall

Posts: 13

Incept: 2010-07-23

Houston

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And lets not forget the ability of someone in government that doesnt like you (say, for your political views) to alter those records and place you somewhere that you never really were.

2019-03-14 08:00:15

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Asimov

Posts: 110752

Incept: 2007-08-26

East Tennessee Eastern Time

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But think!

You won't need your drivers license anymore, you won't need to carry around credit cards... No requirement for proof of ID... Just wave your hand at their scanner!!

Any computerized device (cell phone, tablet, laptop, desktop computer, AR goggles, etc) can just be picked up and automatically be logged into YOUR desktop...

Think of the time saving!!

Also think of how easy new cars can be stolen. You know, the ones without a requirement for a physical key - just a radio signal.

Don't worry though! Your personal implant is safe!! We safeguard your data!!

2019-03-14 08:44:03

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Gable

Posts: 912

Incept: 2009-07-04

Retired in NC Mountains

Online

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Quote:

It will happen to everybody, says Noelle Chesley, 49, associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

If things continued as they are now I would say his statement is true. Pretty much everyone under 45 see no dangers in this since they know so little about history and the cycle of empires/tyranny, but his statement assumes things will continue linearly as they are now.

I think everyone who reads TF and similar sites know things are about to get interesting in a bad way and depending on the outcome the whole chip thing may be seen equal to the Auschwitz tattoos.

2019-03-14 09:39:52

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Nadavegan

Posts: 156

Incept: 2017-05-03

The South

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I think this will happen in a manner less obvious but more insidious. As KD has said, the data already exists from numerous disparate sources. Once it is linked and sifted in an efficient manner, there will be no need to cut people.

2019-03-14 10:17:35

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Mike77079

Posts: 39

Incept: 2010-06-21

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My God this is terrifying.

Single file into the showers, that way we'll know who we got and who we didn't.

Evasion (by means such as a Faraday glove) will be illegal. You "implied" your consent when you left your house.

2019-03-14 10:57:13

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Ocdawg

Posts: 1

Incept: 2019-03-14

Oak Creek

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KD, as always, kudos

Several years ago (1996) we were in the audience at "Talk Back Live" in ATL. Guy (doctor/medical? can't remember) from Finland was on talking about a chip in his hand for "medical purposes" rather than alert badge. Info beamed to device so doctors/nurses would have immediate access to all medical records. I stood and said,"That information cannot be beamed more than a couple inches or it will be compromised. The pulse doesn't stop at a couple feet." Guy blabbed on for a while and moderator (Arthel Neville?) was believing the hype.

Another guy stood, said, "I'm in physics and engineering at Georgia Tech and that gentleman (points at me) is correct. You cannot beam any information without it being compromised." Gives 5 more points why. Arthel started hardline questioning the guy, he became incoherent to the questioning, gone in 5 minutes from the show.

Point is, this keeps coming back and will be force fed our way until it's part of our daily lives. Just like Socialism, kids being indoctrinated... they keep pushing the sheeple with no resistance

2019-03-14 11:21:19

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Ptjim

Posts: 406

Incept: 2013-06-26

Pacific Northwest

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I should probably start filing those dusty patent applications in my drawer for a line of tinfoil clothing. Hats, wristbands, vests, T-shirts, underwear - I'm gonna be rich!

2019-03-14 11:24:27

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Captainkidd

Posts: 1284

Incept: 2010-05-25

Houston, Texas

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There's definitely one of those Red Lines we were discussing the other day.

2019-03-14 11:30:16

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Shannonlk1

Posts: 197

Incept: 2008-12-02

Raleigh

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I said years ago how this was going to go. Back around the year 2000, I saw in the new that the Mexican Government was going to chip their employees. It was a legit AP article. I even printed the article because i knew people would not believe me. Since then I've seen nothing about it related to the Mexican Govvernment. But as I have said many time this is how it will play out.

Allow me to predict the future on how this is going to go. We are already seeing volunteers, so we are already in the first stage. There is at least one company in Europe that has been doing chipping for a while now and occasionally you will see articles on how great it is, but I think there are a few. So the first stage, like all tech, is getting the volunteers.

As part of that, there will be two subsets that we have not seen yet. One will be convicted prisoners that will take the chip for at home release. This will be praised for reducing prison populations and helping to contribute to better prison conditions. They will increase this to the point of releasing convicted killers and rapists. Occasionally one of these will cut the chip out and go on another spree, but this will be explained away as an exception and Hey still look at all the benefits, we will just improve the process by placing the chip next to the heart or brain or other such non-sense. All the while never changing the outcomes.

The second subset which is just as important is at some point, some parents are going to chip their kids, not teenagers but 3yr olds(maybe infants) to pre-teens. Then some child will get kidnapped by a pedophile. The pedophile will get caught right before causing serious harm to the child. This will make national news for weeks, even months. Because subsequently, there will be other stories of kidnapped kids that are murdered that which could have been avoided if they had just been chipped. This will cause a huge mad rush for parents getting their kids chipped and you will be considered a near criminal if you dont chip your children, see it will socially be treated as neglect. Then later it will be made law as felony neglect.

Once this is law, then getting the remaining adults is easy. Companies will require it, so you wont be able to get a job without one. Then for those that run their own businesses, they will get locked out of the system for not being chipped as well.

This will not happen overnight. This will happen over the next 15 to 20 years. Maybe less. Parents volunteering to get their kids chipped is the key. Once that starts the timeframe will accelerate pretty quickly.

People particularly the younger generation have literally no issue with giving their information away. They see no harm is Googles and Amazons speaker talking systems. They even flaunt their info on whatever the latest social app is. We are headed for a very dark time in history.

2019-03-14 11:32:44

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Mikebrandt

Posts: 6

Incept: 2018-03-23

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Won't facial recognition make this obsolete? Just point a camera at the entry point of every building and on the corner of every public sidewalk.

The facial software analyzes the recording constantly, sends reports back to the googleamazonfacebookNSAFBICIA mothership for cross table referencing, and your "meatspace" activities are linked to your online profile.

We're pretty much already there, aren't we?

2019-03-14 11:37:59

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Eleua

Posts: 15622

Incept: 2007-07-05

A True American Patriot!

N 47.72/ W 122.55

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...and with a few keystrokes by a beurocrat, you are instantly bankrupted, nationless, and a registered sex offender.

2019-03-14 11:40:38

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Mikeyparks

Posts: 1

Incept: 2017-07-20

[wonderliv]

The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go

John Muir ” The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go “, born in 1838, was just one of America’s most popular and also prominent “Outdoor Lover,” which in his era, were called Naturalists. He remains one of California’s most important historical characters and is usually still known today as one of the Dad’s of our National Parks. He defined himself as, a “poetico-trampo-geologist-botanist and also ornithologist-naturalist and so on and so on !!!!”.

Famous documentary manufacturer Ken Burns recently stated, “As we got to know him … he [John Muir] rose to the pantheon of the greatest individuals in our country; I’m talking about the level of Abraham Lincoln, and also Martin Luther King, as well as Thomas Jefferson, and also Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Jackie Robinson– people that have had a transformational result on that we are.”.

Perhaps the best means to evaluate the continued gravity of both him and his inspiring quote is by its’ occurrence on the Internet’s universal peg-board, Pinterest.com. There you will locate a substantial directory of attractive, typographically stylized pictures with the quote decorated throughout each of them.

So where did this quote actually originated from? It, like several others, came from among his letters written to his sister, Sarah Muir Galloway. In it he creates:.

Yosemite Valley– September 3rd, 1873. Dear Sibling Sarah:. I have actually simply returned from the lengthiest and also hardest trip I have ever before made in the hills, having actually been looked at five weeks. I am tired, however resting quick; drowsy, however sleeping deep and also fast; hungry, however eating a lot. For two weeks I checked out the glaciers of the tops eastern of below, sleeping among the snowy hills without coverings and with but little to eat on account of its being so inaccessible. After my icy experiences it seems weird to be down here in so warm as well as flowery an environment.

I will quickly be off once again, established to use all the season in prosecuting my researches– will go next to Kings River a hundred miles southern, then to Lake Tahoe and surrounding hills, and also in winter months operate in Oakland with my pen.

The Scotch are slow, but someday I will have the outcomes of my mount mountain researches in a type in which you all will certainly be able to check out and also judge of them. In the mean time I create sometimes for the Overland Month-to-month, yet neither these publication posts neither my first publication will create any finished part of the clinical payment that I wish to make … The hills are calling as well as I should go, and also I will certainly work on while I can, studying ceaselessly.

My love to you all, David and the youngsters, as well as Mrs. Galloway who though came from sunshine yet, dwells in Light. I will certainly create again when I return from Kings River Canyon. The fallen leave sent me from China is for Cecelia.

Goodbye, with love eternal.

[John Muir]

Absorbed its original context as well as recognizing a little a lot more about him, It’s very easy to see an ambitious, regimented, and also extremely objective oriented boy; dedicated not just to the outdoors (as we generally see him) but additionally to his work. Yes, passionately, the Hills were contacting us to him as they do us, but the full quote genuinely speaks to his operate in those high places. Turns out, Muir had not been just speaking about treking for pure laid-back satisfaction, nor regarding those careless summer season outdoor camping vacations that so quickly enter your mind when one reads that quote. What Muir was actually talking about was the job he felt compelled to do in these incomparably stunning areas– he was determined to make a substantial “clinical payment” as a biologist. John Muir was operating in Yosemite, and functioning really hard no question. So while the preferred connotation attributed to his quote might not be totally exact, there is deep motivation to find in it still.

It appears that his love for nature was only equaled by his commitment to understanding and protecting it.

This essay initially ran in 2016 and is one in a collection of our most preferred articles that we put on top of our tale stream for new readers. With more than 3,000 evergreen stories, we want to see to it you don’t miss out on the goods!

The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go

Run a Google search on biologist and preservationist John Muir and also you will swiftly show up one of his best-known, yet abbreviated, sayings: “The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go.” It’s an engaging quote that says everything for many outdoor enthusiasts, which might discuss why it’s printed extensively on mugs, tee shirts, posters and fashion jewelry and also reworded by today’s travelers.

Nevertheless, the reduced quote doesn’t totally record John Muir or his desire to comprehend and also protect The golden state’s Yosemite– a grand glacially reduced valley with sheer 2,500-foot wall surfaces, now government shielded as one of the earliest of the Sierra Nevada’s 4 national forests.

As we mark the anniversary of Muir’s birth on April 21, 1838, we need to think about the full quote, which appears in an 1873 letter from Muir to his sister: “The hills are calling & I need to go & I will certainly work on while I can, examining persistently.” These words reveal a male who saw responsibility and also objective along with pleasure in the mountains. Muir was a master onlooker who enjoyed the consistent work of recognizing nature.

As the manager of John Muir’s documents at the University of the Pacific, I help researchers to “examine nonstop” these basic materials as well as obtain the full unabbreviated story. The documents reveal Muir’s decision to translate as well as protect nature, and also his critical function in the development of the National Park Solution which is commemorating its 100th wedding anniversary this year.

DID YOU KNOW JOURNEY JOURNAL DOESDECLINE PAID OR SPONSORED WEB CONTENT? RIGHT HERE’S WHY– AND HERE’S HOW YOU CAN BE A PART OF READER-RESPECTED POSTING.

You as well can take part in not only understanding Muir yet making him much more accessible by transcribing his handwritten journals. We are employing person managers to collect Muir’s words as well as make his journals keyword-searchable. Obviously, the payoff for the scribes is locating their own significant Muir quote.

Revelry as well as science. Via Muir’s archives we can map how his thinking about Yosemite advanced over almost 50 years. He first pointed out the valley in an 1867 letter after an industrial mishap left him briefly blind: “I check out a summary of the Yo Semite valley in 2014 and also have thought about it most daily given that.”.

Muir, that was birthed in Scotland and matured in Wisconsin, went to college briefly and “botanized” every opportunity he might obtain. He made his living as a creator and efficiency expert, however the mishap realigned his thinking. As he would certainly later remember in his autobiography, he “made haste with all my heart, bade adieu to all ideas of designing equipment as well as figured out to commit the rest of my life to researching the creations of God.”.

Before acting upon those “each day” ideas and also mosting likely to Yosemite, Muir wanted to adhere to the footsteps of renowned naturalist Alexander von Humboldt to South America, so he got some books as well as a plant press, and also began his “thousand mile walk to the Gulf” of Mexico from Indianapolis. Nonetheless, a spell with malaria in Florida diverted his attention from checking out South America. He decided to make his way to California by means of steamship as swiftly as feasible.

Muir got to the granite high cliffs of Yosemite in the spring of 1868. He was short on money but high up on the majestic elegance of the granite encounters, the magnificent Giant Sequoia trees, and also the roaring falls. In a letter to mentor and also buddy Jeanne Carr, he created, “It is without a doubt the grandest of all of His special temples of Nature I was ever allowed to go into. It needs to be the sanctum sanctorum of the Sierras [sic]”.

The Sierra had called, as well as he went. Muir studied the “Range of Light” incessantly for the following five years while staying in Yosemite Valley. He recognized that his research studies could be dangerous– for example, he virtually dangled himself over the top of the 2,500-foot Yosemite Falls in order to observe the activity of the water– however expressed no fear, exclaiming “Where could a mountaineer locate an even more glorious fatality!”.

Muir’s extreme monitorings deepened his understanding of the natural world as well as called him better right into nature. Going into a grove of Giant Sequoias, the largest trees on the planet, he wrote what chronicler Bonnie Gisel considers Muir’s pledge of obligation to the wild:. The King Tree and also me have actually sworn everlasting love, … and also I have actually taken sacrament with Douglas Squirrel [and also consumed alcohol] sequoia blood … I desire I could be a lot more tree-wise as well as sequoiacal, so I could preach the green brownish woods to all the dry masses. Muir used his observations to translate the scientific research of Yosemite as well as the Sierra. Before Muir showed up, The golden state’s first rock hounds had supposed that Yosemite was created by tragic going down of the valley floor through violent quakes. Yet based on his researches as well as expedition, Muir concluded that glaciers had actually scratched Half Dome and carved the granite cliffs. Today geologists commonly concur that glaciers were key forces in the origins of the valley.

Maintaining the Sierra. In the very early 1870s, Muir drew his Yosemite observations together and also published articles concerning the grand landscapes. He preached his concepts and called those “juiceless masses” to join him in the hills. Years later he wrote,” [T] ry the mountain passes. They will certainly kill treatment, save you from harmful passiveness, established you cost-free, as well as call forth every professors into energetic, enthusiastic action.”.

Muir also started to call for shielding Yosemite as well as the Sierra. He saw major dangers from loggers’ axes and the animals market’s “hoofed locusts”– his description of sheep that were overgrazing as well as ruining mountain meadows. 2 years after Yosemite National Park was produced in 1890, he cofounded the Sierra Club to maintain California’s greatest chain of mountains as well as make it a lot more available.

Muir’s books and posts helped to promote gratitude of wilderness, and brought in political interest. In 1903, Head of state Theodore Roosevelt visited Yosemite with Muir, wishing to “go down national politics definitely for 4 days and also just be visible with you.”.

In 1908 Muir joined an additional head of state, William Howard Taft, in Yosemite, looking for to quit a project by the city of San Francisco to construct a tank in the Hetch Hetchy Valley, which lay inside the national park. Muir stated in outrage,” Dam Hetch Hetchy! Too dam for water-tanks individuals’s basilicas as well as churches, for no holier holy place has actually ever before been consecrated by the heart of man.”.

The fight to preserve the glorious valley was shed in 1913 when Congress passed an expense accrediting the dam. The loss virtually killed Muir too, as well as he died of pneumonia in a Los Angeles hospital a year later.

Summing up Muir’s heritage with the declaration that “the hills are calling and also I have to go” can suggest that he viewed nature as a play area. When he included, “& I will work with while I can, studying ceaselessly,” we see an even more full image of Muir’s relationship with Yosemite. He checked out the Sierra with a mix of reverence as well as scientific fascination, yet comprehended that its future relied on his efforts. Reviewing Muir’s writing meticulously, we can identify our proceeding duty to observe, analyze, as well as commemorate the worth of his “sanctum sanctorum.”

The Mountains Are Calling And I Must Go

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Do you ever know that there’s a place you want to visit but you’re not sure where to begin or what’s attainable in one trip?  Well, that’s a problem we face a lot. We expect that we can experience the majority of a place but then don’t understand the actual layout of the area and all of the distractions we’ll face.  Enter Puerto Rico. A fantastic way to visit Puerto Rico is to pick just one portion of the island and roll from there.

Northeastern Puerto Rico is an ideal area to experience everything from tropical waters to towering rainforests, totally chill resorts to expansive stars at night.  Since this trip was a first for me and I wasn’t sure just how accessible or safe some of the big ticket experiences would be, the fam stayed home while I scouted it out… and now I know just what we’ll all love together next time we visit Puerto Rico.

Need-to-knows to visit Puerto Rico

When it comes to Caribbean travel, Puerto Rico has a hand up on other islands.  Being a territory of the United States (OMG, it should be a state. Whatever…) US Citizens can visit without a passport, or international visitors can get to Puerto Rico with the same visa requirements as taking a trip across the continental USA.

And since it’s part of the USA, Puerto Rico runs off the US Dollar.  There is no pondering exchange rates.  There’s no weird pricing structure and there’s also no wheeling and dealing on goods.  A lot of people love the bargaining process, but just like you wouldn’t necessarily do that in a shop in Southern California, you wouldn’t do that in Puerto Rico.

Note:  a funny question that came up prior to this trip was if any shots or health precautions are needed. The answer is basically no, but just like with any Caribbean destination, including Florida, you’ll want to be wary of mosquitoes due to the potential of Zika Virus.

Language in Puerto Rico

Remember, Puerto Rico is an extension of the USA which makes it more simple and less stressful for some than visiting Mexico or the Domenican Republic.  While Spanish is the primary language we had zero experiences, either on the east coast or in the San Juan area, where we needed to use it as nearly everybody we encountered everywhere spoke fluent English.  Yes, we went off the beaten path; yes, we went into the mountains; yes, we traveled beyond our hotels, but no: no moment of panicked tourist unable to communicate.

Tip:  still be prepared to communicate in Spanish both in the event you must and as a courtesy to the residents you will no doubt interact with.

Note:  the Puerto Rican Spanish accent is quite different from Mexican Spanish.  There are also words and phrases I’d never heard… and my Spanish accent was odd to some people I talked with.  Just saying.

How to plan a visit to Puerto Rico

Travel planning is so important, especially when you consider the cost of travel experiences these days. Sure you can deplane in a new land and let the wind take you, but that just isn’t the smartest plan.  When you visit Puerto Rico you’ll want to determine your goals:  adventure or relaxation… or both.  If you’re traveling with kids, you’ll want to consider their level of engagement and physical skill.

So here’s what you do (or just go with our itinerary):  

Google “activities in Puerto Rico” and review the top suggestions

Consider who’s traveling and what they CAN do

Pick one solid activity per day that everyone CAN do

Pick one optional activity per day that some may WANT to do

Plot the locations on a map

Pair up nearby activities, leaving room in the plans to be able to do the second activity if time allows

Tip:  if you visit Puerto Rico with a larger group or have travelers with a broad age/physical skill set, be okay with splitting up for the day. Having a spa day may be perfect for some while jumping into waterfalls may be a dream for others.

Top Activities in Eastern Puerto Rico

Like we always remind with our articles WE DIDN’T DO EVERYTHING that you can experience in the area, but did do our research in advance and had an unforgettable time both being adventurous and relaxing, and that’s why we say that the following are the top activities when you visit Puerto Rico’s east coast.

Exploring El Yunque National Forest

Ever since seeing tropical rainforests in movies and cartoons as a kid, it’s been a bucket list item to go hiking through the jungle surrounded by dripping vines while clouds moved through the trees.  El Yunque National Forest is just that.  It’s full of waterfalls, the most epic vines and rooty trees, and more creature sounds than you can imagine.  There is a great Visitors Center at El Portal that is the perfect stop to get your bearings and learn a bit about the vegetation and animals you’re about to see.

Tip:  take time to talk with a ranger about any road condition issues or warning before you head off into the mountains.  Flash floods DO HAPPEN in the rainforest and El Yunque National Forest’s roads are windy and suceptable to damage.

Easy sights within El Yunque Naitonal Forest

El Portal Visitors Center and canopy walk

Yokahu Tower – view point and photo opp

La Coca Falls – viewing and short trails

La Mina Falls – hiking through the rainforest, waterfalls and swimming in tropical splash pools

Doable with kids:  yes! There are lots of sights that are easily accessible from the roads and there are kid-friendly hikes as well.

Kayaking in Bio-luminescent waters

We love kayaking and do it all the time.  From the marsh lakes of Wisconsin to ecotours in Florida, it’s our favorite way to gently get into nature.  Kayaking with the chance to experience the bioluminescent waters of Puerto Rico is a must-do.  If you’re unfamiliar, bioluminescense is a visible light reaction that you can see when certain organisms, such as plankton, are disturbed. In the Fajardo area on Puerto Rico’s east there is a brackish lagoon called Bio Bay. It’s part of the Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve and it’s a pristine slice of nature.

Going with a licensed guide, you can kayak through the most epic mangrove tunnel outside of the Everglades until you reach Bio Bay.  There are no lights anywhere and you’re paddling in near pitch black conditions. As you get closer to the lagoon, the water starts to light up with every stroke. Wiggling your fingers or feet in the warm water below creates even more bioluminescent activity and then with the stars above you… It’s unforgettable.

Tip: if you’re going to be on the island of Vieques when you visit Puerto Rico, Mosquito Bay is also reserve where you can experience bio-luminescence via kayaking.

Note:  this is an experience you can only remember.  Photographing the bioluminescense is impossible without a highly specialized camera, so adjust your expectations now.

Other bio-luminescent kayaking spots in Puerto Rico

Bio Bay – Fajardo, east coast

Mosquito Bay – Vieques, east coast detached island

La Parguera – Boqueron / Ponce, south western coast

Doable with kids:  no, if the kids are scared easily or struggle to control themselves. This is a very calm and special experience for all that participate, so be wise about bringing small kids. Yes, if you’re visiting Puerto Rico with older kids (6+). Kayaking in the dark is really cool but also really creepy.  To keep everyone’s eyes adjusted for viewing the bioluminescense there are no flashlights or spotlights except used by guides in emergency situations.

from KayakingPuertoRico.com

Snorkeling Puerto Rico’s tropical waters

Oh snorkeling! What travel experience to a tropical destination is complete without snorkeling? We do a lot of snorkeling in Mexico, from Playa del Carmen to Cabo San Lucas, and the underwater life in eastern Puerto Rico is just as rich and totally different.  

The brain and fan corals of Eastern Puerto Rico make for some fascinating reefs to explore.  There are all kinds of reefs and trenches along the coast, so whether you’re a surface snorkeler or somebody who pretends to be a diver without tanks (like me) you’ll see some incredible wildlife.

Species to look for while snorkeling

Parrot fish

Angel fish

Grunt fish

Green sea turtle (rare)

Black tip reef shark (saw one!!)

Sting rays (shuffle when you walk into the water)

Sea urchins, stars, and more.

Snorkeling beaches in Eastern Puerto Rico

Islas Palimino (private) and Paliminito (tour)

Playa Escondido – Farjado area

Culebra – detatched eastern island

Sombe, Vieques – large island, southeastern

Doable with kids:  yes, but not every beach is recommended with new swimmers.  Eastern Puerto Rico is where the open Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean meet, so the winds and currents are VERY strong and could prove dangerous for the novice snorkeler or weak swimmer.

Relaxation on rainy days

Just know that when you visit Puerto Rico you’ll most likely get a day or two of rain. The rain may be breif or completely epic. There are some great options for making the most of rainy days in Puerto Rico, including spa visits, dining, hiking in the rainforest (hello, it’s called the rainforest for a reason), seeking out art, shopping, and enjoying everything rum-based.

While staying at the El Conquistador Resort in Farjado a rainy day getting a massage and just relaxing in the niwa totally ate up spare time while the lightning was going crazy outside.  True, you may not be staying at the Waldorf Astoria when you visit Puerto Rico, but all of these suggestions are great fillers wherever you may be.

Note: it’s also tons of fun to go swimming in the rain, but when there’s lightning, you need to be wary and stay out of the water.  Nobody wants to fry their brains on vacation.

Ideas with kids:  we always travel with a few coloring books for the rare moment we need them. Also, with our oldest starting home-schooling, we will be bringing his laptop and lessons when traveling, so homework is perfect for waiting out the random Puerto Rican storm.

Where to stay when you visit Puerto Rico: El Conquistador Resort

With so many options for travelers, from AirBNB to resorts, there’s a lot to consider when choosing accommodations.  Things we look for as a family are proximity to sites we want to visit as well as immediate access to the outdoors, both in terms of pools and nature.

El Conquistador Resort was homebase for this Puerto Rico visit and it was perfect for our itinerary and needs.  There was a variety of indoor activities including a family arcade, shopping, and countless restaurants; we actually could’ve stayed there the whole time and been content (but we love to explore!). And the food was delish, particularly Chops Steakhouse.

Tip:  if you’re planning on the fly and aren’t sure what your full itinerary will be when you visit Puerto Rico, El Conquistador Resort has an Enterprise Rental Car location on property.  We used it to get to El Yunque National Forest.

The rooms are very nice with plenty of bright space and outdoor access (large balconies).  There are several pools around the property, including a lap pool and a swim-up bar.  Also a part of the resort is Coqui Waterpark. It is an additional fee to enter and enjoy the waterslides, lazy river and pools, but if you are up for it and want to enjoy both the park and amazing Caribbean view, spend an afternoon.

A huge bonus to staying with El Conquistador Resort was access to their private island, Isla Palomino. Perfect beaches, a coral reef, lounge chairs and palapas, watersports rentals (kayaks/SUP/skis), dining: it’s basically everything you think of when you’re looking for a luxury resort or family vacay.  Oh, and to access the ferry to Isla Palomino or to get to Coqui Waterpark there is a funicular (cable car) that carts guests up and down the steep hill from resort to marina level.

Tip:  when choosing your accommodations, take into account the additional value a property provides beyond the room you’ll sleep in.  Sometimes paying more for a hotel room saves you money in the long run when you consider the dining and tours you might be planning separately that are worked into the full resort experience.

Good option with kids:  yes!  The El Conquistador has everything from a game room to scavenger hunts around the property. There is family friendly dining as well as upscale dinner options. And don’t forget that there is a funicular and waterpark.

So yes, I’m completely ready to visit Puerto Rico again ASAP, particularly with the kids.  The options for being out in nature abound and the fun that can be had on Puerto Rico’s east coast is endless.  Overall, eastern Puerto Rico was on par or less expensive than vaction options on either the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts of Florida with the same amazing weather.  The food was great and we felt safe everywhere we went.

There is much more to Puerto Rico so watch for more detailed artcles to come, including some amazing ideas for exploring San Juan as well.

Want to pin this for when you start to make your plan to visit Puerto Rico?  Go for it!

Visit Puerto Rico: exploring the east coast of the Island of Enchantment Do you ever know that there’s a place you want to visit but you’re not sure where to begin or what’s attainable in one trip?