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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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The Three Caballeros Movie Review: Rejoice Now Donald’s Been Laid (Commission)

It’s time at long last we talked about those three happy chappies in snappy serapes. Who say so? @weirdkev27 say so! He’s planning on funding an ENTIRE retrospective on the boys, so in addition to my Tom Lucitor Retrospective (Expect that to return very soon as one of the episodes in it is time sensitive), Road to Just Us Justice Ducks, and look at “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck”. I’m proud to announce a new recurring feature on this blog “The Ride of the Three Caballeros!”, a look back at these birds of a feather who flock together and their wild and wonderful history cumulating in “The Legend of The Three Caballeros”. Honestly I thank Kev for the idea as it’s a damn good one. Ever since seeing them on House of Mouse, which I both really need to cover and Disney needs to add already as we’re a year into Disney plus already, I’ve loved Jose and Panchito, and reading barks story years ago, and again recently, gave me a lasting love of these goofs. They have great snappy designs are the rare pre-ducktales 2017 non duck bird character, and have wonderful personalities. There’s nothing not to love and thus nothing not to love about covering their adventures. So i’m excited for this and not just for the much needed christmas money. Naturally we’re starting the adventure here with the founding of the trio, though Kev, for now he could change his mind, choose to start with this movie instead of it’s predecessor Saludos Amigos, on this date for two reasons. The first is it’s Friday the 13th, which besides being the basis for an utter classic of a Hey Arnold episode

Which yes for those unfamiliar with Hey Arnold features Arnold dealing with a spell of bad luck, some bullies and his grandmother dressing up wlike a black cat to rescue black cats, which is sweet.. and training them into her horrifying army of the damned, which is somehow still sweet as it is awesome. It’s also the day this guy barges into my house thinking it’s camp crystal lake

I swear to gods Jason GET A FUCKING PHONE WITH GPS. We are not clearly not teenagers. And he’s always so embarrassed and the stab wounds always take so long at the hospital to treat. It’s just a mess. But it’s also, according to this film Donald’s BIrthday! This was during an earlier point in his career, that will be important in a bit, so Disney hadn’t yet settled on their tradition of having their characters birthday’s being the same date as their first appearance. For the record that would make Donald and Della’s current birthday June 7th. I did a special on Donald Duck shorts for it this year. Not sure what i’ll do the next. We will see. And for fun and my own curiosity I looked up the birthdates of some of the other Ducktales castmembers as well as my boys here They are:

Jose: August 24th (World Premier of Saludos Amigos) Panchito: December 21st (The Mexico City Premiere Date for this very movie) Scrooge: November 14th (Thank you INducks seriously it’s a massive help with this. Daisy: June 7th (Debut of Mr. Duck Steps out) Huey, Dewey and Louie: October 17th (First appearance in Donald’s Newspaper Strip) Webby, Beakley and Launchpad: September 18th, thanks to launchpad’s driver’s license as well as all three characters debuting in the opening arc. Though to separate them i’d likely try to find different dates for both. For now i’m going with October 12th for Mrs. Beakly (The airing date for the Ducktales 87 ep maid of myth) and October 29th for Webby (the airing date for another 87 episode, this one about webby and a horse). Gladstone: August 15th, as while it was released in january there is no firm release date for it. Plus a summer birthday fits him better anyways. Thank you Inducks for that. Magica: September 28th, finally a firm publication date. While there’s a creation date unlike Gladstone I see no need to use it. Darkwing Duck/Drake Mallard: September 6th GLOMGOLD: July 26th Was that entirely necessary? No Would I do it again.. absolutely. It also means I really need to do something for Scrooge’s Birthday in two days. But that’s future me’s problem. Current day me has his own problems specifically a movie review to continue. The films genesis was a in a good will tour Disney did in South America, as part of America’s Good Neighbor Policy. FDR started it in order to try and strengthen ties between Latin America and North America, to prevent any sort of war with our close neighbors and to foster good economic ties between both as well as integrate Latin culture into americans lives to make them care about those countries more. And given it was started as HItler’s rise to power grew, and America knew they’d inevitably be dragged into World War II, and thus wanted to put the kibosh on several Latin American’s Nazi Ties. So in exchange for Money, since Disney was struggling due to overextending itself and the big animator’s strike at the time, The US sent Walt and some of his animatiors to South America, where MIckey Donald and Goofy were big and to make a film based there. Hence we got Saludos Amigos which is .. kind of forgettable to be honest, though the Gaucho Goofy segment is fantastic as the “How to” shorts with goofy around the time usually were. But the film gave us Jose, hence why Donald and him are familiar with each other here, and was a moderate success. This lead to the Goverment, who’d already contracted a bunch of propaganda, one of which I covered in my Donald Duck Shorts Birthday Marathon because it contained prototypes for Gladstone and Scrooge, so another feature for South America was a win win: The US got another way to strengthen ties between the Americas, and Disney got a film they could put out during said war to lift spirits, as well as on that would likely be a hit in South America due to them not being under wartime money crunch or the misery of having a war looming overhead. As a side note. I found out after looking at the wikpiedia article on The Good Neighbor Program.. it eventually and sadly collapsed as the US post WWII shifted to the Cold War and thus threw away non interference if it meant beating the Russians. Classy. So yeah.. this film and i’ts predecessor are technically propaganda pictures. There was also another disney full length propoganda picture about fighter jets, I only learned about this thanks to the slashfilm article I found on the movie that told me a lot of this in the first place. It’s not avaliable but it should be.. though at the very least unlike say House of Mouse, Wander Over Yonder, Penn Zero: Part Time Hero, American Dragon Jake Long, The Weekenders, Pepper Anne and MANY more, it’s absence from Disney + makes sense. And I will continue to bitch about this till Disney actually starts adding more legacy animated shows, or at least makes a few of it’s own, though I will concede reviving the Mickey Mouse shorts that Disney Channel started up is a VERY good first step and i’m sure What If and Proud Family: Louder and Prouder will be fine. I just want more animation content on the streaming platform of one of the biggest animation studios in the world with one of the most storied histories. I’m REALLY not asking a lot.

That bit of bitching aside I will give Disney+ credit where it’s due. The service offers MOST of the Disney vault for a very reasonable price a month, in crisp HD, and thus allows someone like me, who hasn’t really dived into the disney vault and slept on watching three cabs despite borrowing it from some friends, to dive into beautiful animation like this any time. It also allows me to explore disney’s older films, the ones I want to anyway, at my leisure and it’s a REALLY nice feeling. It’s also nice to have all the various animated shows in nice clean copies. So while there are sizeable gaps in the library, many of which as highlighted above have no reason for not being there and some like Song of the South have DAMN GOOD reason for never being there, I still apricate the service for being a vast, glorious digital library of Disney content as well as stuff they’ve acquired like the marvel show library, and this review would not have been as easy to do without it. So with my opinions on D+ and the exposition for WHY this exists out of the way, as I couldn’t find much else on this flim’s background, join me after the read more for a full review of the film! Who says so? I says so!

We open with.. the Disney+ content warning again. In my review of the last part of “Catch as Cash Can” I went on about how much I apricated it and it stands: while i’m not blind that it’s a blanket statement to cover disney’s rears, it’s still apricated for them to care enough to force the content warning on the viewer. Given how bad they usually are at falling on the right side of history, this is very admirable. Though thankfully this film isn’t as offensive as the last content warning I got for the last part of “Catch as Cash can” aka “Watch registered White Guy Hamilton Camp play a bad indian sterotype for 22 minutes while my soul slowly dies”. Here there are bits, which i’ll get to now to save me the trouble later: The Littlest Gaucho’s side characters are all drawn pretty carcturish and a bit cringe inducing. The other is of course Panchito our Mexican representative.. who wears a sombrero and shoots two pistols around. And there’s just a tinge of white man going ot another country to get laid with the way Donald behaves throughout the picture. Basically little touches here and there but nothing that spoils the picture overall or makes whole scenes unwatchable. Still worth having the warning up, but not worth getting too worked up over. So onto the film itself and as mentioned i’ts Donald’s birthday! And I will say the film has lots of great little gags here and there.. I won’t be pointing all of them out because this film was 70 minutes long but their very charming. HIs first gift is a projector and screen.. which he naturally has to fight to get working and which first projects on his ass, already a good start. And a general thought I like is how receptive Donald is to soaking in another culture. He just seems joyusly enthralled by the various films, gifts and places his friends bring him..

But again we’ll get to that. Point is it’s very nice to see Disney portay learning about another culture so positively and with such a hot head as donald. Even if i’ts in part to appease the US Goverment, ther’es a genuine feeling that they truly fell in love with these countries and aren’t JUST shilling them because it’s in their contract, but because they genuinelly liked it there. So with that we get to our first segment. See the film is one of Disney’s Package films, anthology films taking a bunch of short segments and pasting them together, but here it’s framed through the narrative of DOnald’s birthday, so there is KIND of a plot.. but it’s mostly an excuse for musical numbers, short films, and more musical numbers.

Dammit Elmo, we will get to it! So naturally i’l lbe dividing up this review into various pieces. First up...

1. The Cold Blooded Penguin: Life of Pablo, The Good Version This is a brief but endearing short about a Penguin named Pablo who dosen’t like cold weather, can relate, and wants to move to some tropical paradise, again can relate. It’s BARELY related to the theme of hte movie, celebrating Central and South America, but it’s so damn charming I can’t help but love it. And Pablo is so damn adorable, as are his friends. I mean look at him.

He’s just so precious and you just want him to finally get to his paradise with the help of his friend, his boiler there smokey joe, and root for him as his farewell party dwindles from a bunch of penguins to just bob and gary here.

I may love Gary, the tall one, more than I love Pablo honestly> His sad eyes or the way he’s the ONLY one who sticks it out to the end, seeing Pablo off at last. Pablo’s first attempts, going without his boiler, which just ends iwth him freezing and attempting to carry smokey joe on his back both fail, he eventually decides to go with a boat and cleverly simply saws the ice berg he’s on so it’ll drift with his house and possessions, and has Gary hit it with a bottle both to christen it and to send it flying. Plus having bags on the bags on my eyes myself, I can relate to their tired expressions. As can we all after this year. Just a month and a half and it’s finally blessedly over.

Pablo makes his way through, finally finding his island only to nearly have his iceberg melt before he gets there. But he persevers and gets his paradise, even adorably eating a banana> Though it ends on a mealoncholy yet still funny note of Pablo missing home even though he has a pet turtle/butler now. Man I want one of those. One final note is that the short is narrated greatly by Sterling Holloway.. aka the future WInnie The Pooh using that exact voice which while a little weird in hindsight, just makes the short that more adorable if you imagine Pooh is reading a story to you. Just a really damn cute short with some good and intentive gags, and penguins. I mean i’ll be honest I have a soft spot in my hart for those tudeoxed boys thanks to the comic strip BLoom County and it’s lead character Opus taking up a LOT of real estate in my heart and brain. Here’s a few samples of him just so you get why.

Just a sweetheart. Though his honker would grow exponenitally with time. And once get grabbed by a card carrying MAGA asshole. But I can talk about my boy here and this strip again another day. Point is I may love pengies but even that aside this is a good short and a good way to start things off. Sadlly the pacing then lops out a bit as the next two bits aren’t QUITE as entertaining.

2. Birds Birds Birds: Of Arcuan BIrds and Toucan Sex Donald then watches a film on birds, and i’ts basically just a bunch of short funny gags with various tropical birds. There are a FEW notable bit sin the short, and I will get to them now, but otherwise it’s just okay.. not great but not exactly memorable. I honestly forgot there was anything BUT the Arcuan bird in this bit. Speaking of which A) The Arcuan Bird, a hyperactive pink little guy who makes a little “yatatata” noise, and boops donald a bit and later shows up in the film to steal Jose’s Cigar. Easily the most entertaining part of this section and there’s a reason why he became a massive fan faviorite, as well as got a more expanded roll in Legend of the Three Cablleros. He’d also apparently later return for another Package Film. What a bird. B) There’s a bit with Toucans, which I remember because I freaking love Toucans, the big colorful beaks look neat contrasted with their black and white bodies and they seem friendly and the one fictional one besides Toucan Sam I can rmemeber is Tuca of Tuca and Bertie. Nuff said. And because they mention the Tucan’s making love. First off this is how a Tucan makes love.

And secondly, clealry the term has evolved considerably, but it’s still chuckle inducing to have that term in a disney movie, especially since it makes me think of a number of things most notably this.

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Which, fun fact, is the song that will likely be sung when Donald and Daisy finally have sex in the Ducktales Reboot. Della didn’t buy those choir robes for nothing. Though the joke here is simply that they can’t kiss because they have big noses. GET IT. Though I have seen incompatable noses end marriages.

See I told you his honker got bigger. Okay onto the 3rd thing from this bit.

C) The Flamingos, who retract into themselves while Donald adorably copies. What a boy. With that I can move on from this segement thankfully and onto... an even worse one!.. wait...

3. The Littlest Gaucho: The Boring One This one’s a leftover from Saludos Amigos, likely because that one already had a Gaucho Bit with goofy and because it’s not very good. But Disney was strapped for cash so use everything you got. And yes I advocated for using everything in my review of life and times part 1.. but that’s more for a shared universe and left “Oh hey I found this short in our garbage let’s put it in another movie to save money” way. I appreciate being cheap, I myself am unemployed and right now these reviews are my source of income, but you could’ve just you know.. let the film be shorter? You didn’t have to waste animation leading inito this bit. This one is the story of a young boy, as narrated by his older self who can somehow see through the veil of time and yell at his younger self. How?

But it dosen’t really help the story as i’ve seen far better interactive narrators and ones clearly editing history. Especially since, despite ending on a VERY sour note, How I Met Your Mother was a pro at this. It’s not the film’s fault, but even back int he 40′s I swear they could do this better.

It’s the simple story of the little Gaucho finding a flying Donkey, befriending him, and then entering him in a jockey race which they win. There’s one or two good gags here, but it dosen’t have the cutness of the previous segments and only one or two good gags. It just feels like filler and if I watch the film again, which I probably will, I will fast forward past this. Thankfully after this we finally get a break.

4. A Song For Bahia: They call him JOSEEEEEEEEE.. and he’s Donald

Jose enters! Donald’s next gift is a book from Brazil that’s smoking..mostly because so’s Jose. The two friends reunite, with Jose in a story book asking Donald about , what I assume is Jose’s home state of Bahia, one of Brazil’s 20 states and spelled Baia in this movie for some reason. We then get an absolutely beautiful sequence of Jose’s voice actor singing about Bahia and showing off how beautiful the country is through gorgeous animation. It’s a really marvelous segment and really pretty to look at. And once that segment’s done the film starts to pick up in energy, though unlike the Gaucho segment, the Bahia song is actually good.

5. Os Quindins de Yayá: The Sleeper Has Awakened.. and by the sleeper I mean Donald’s Penis. There’s a few bits here. We start with the wonderful song, “Have You Ever Been to Bahia?”.. which is almost entirely Jose asking that to donald who says no, with some fun mindscrewy animation.. the film has not BEGUN to mindscrew, but we’ll get to that.

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Also for this segment Jose apparently has Jamie Madrox powers.. or he’s from Cragg.. either way, Donald hasn’t been to Baia so let’s go. The boys take a train, the Arucan messes things up again, etc etc and soon their in Baia where two major aspects of the film show up: Blending Live action with animation, and Donald being really horny. It’s not to a creepy degree outside of one segment, we’ll get there, but Donald being really into live action women is a major part of three segments of this film. If your wondering while Daisy had debuted, she wasn’t the ETCHED IN STONE, presence she’d become for Donald. Which I don’t have a problem with, I love them in Ducktales 2017, their one of the few tolerable aspects of the quack pack’s i’ve watched, and they were great in House of Mouse. I”m just saying some works don’t really have her around in them (Donald’s spy and papernik adventures), while other more charming and eligible women are, while others have her as outright abusive (Legend of the Three Caballeros). I’m not against Donsy when done properly, again huge fan of the Ducktales 2017 version of the couple, I just dont’ think it has to be mandatory. The fact the Italian comics made Donald a fairly likeable alien queen as a love interest proves it.

But yeah here Donald’s thirsty as fuck, can relate, and thus we get our next musical number.. and that blend of live action and animation. I will admit, especially on second viewing.. it’s pretty obvious their mostly using a green screened animated backdrop with the charcters on it. The other segments are much more integrated. That being said.. i’m perfectly fine with it, as Disney was on a really low budget, only able to get financing for package films like this since their main financer wouldn’t given them money for anything but shorts, so it was a workaround, not to mention having a mass talent exodus over the strike and World Fucking War II to contend with. So cheeping out on ONE segment in a large film, and STILL having it come out good is fine just fine. And it truly does, the segment centers around Yaya, a cookie seller and the object of Donald’s affections, though he gets mad when a guitar man slips in and woos her instead for a bit before eventually leaving her alone, with Donald getting a kiss. But while parts of that clearly haven’t aged well, it’s an utterly joyous and fun musical number in an already fun musical, and Aurora Miranda who plays Yaya, and is sister of Carmen Miranda something Disney actually put in promotional materials.... come to think of it I didn’t watch the trailer.. I’ll get to it in a moment. Point is, Miranda is very talented and it’s VERY fun number. Have a listen since the sequence itself is WAY to long to put video of up on youtube.

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And having watched the trailer during that music break, it’s not bad, I expected more cringe. The most I got was them calling the women “latin american lovlies” which.. seems.. wrong. But with the romance of Bahia setting and Donald dragged out by Jose, we can get into our next segement as, over halfway in, we finally get our third Cabllero

6. The Three Cablleros: Who Say So? We Say So!

HERE COMES THE PANCHITO Ladies and Gentleman and Others! HERE COMES THE PANCHITO! the moment you’ve been waiting for! HERE COMES THE PANCHITO! the pride of Mexico! HERE COMES PANCHITO! Panchito Pistoles!

When then meet Panchito who joyfully shoots guns around, because stereotype but thankfully he’s also joyful, jubilant and likeable much like his pal Jose. Panchito’s just a thoughtly likeable character and next to his smooth talking pal, it’s easy to see why the two became huge fan favorites. And thus we get our title track.

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IT’s a beautiful, fun segment, that while some portions, such as Panchito’s yelling or “some Latin baby’ haven’t aged particularly well, is still a fun colorful number with amazing music and great gags, that utterly sells our boys camaraderie. I have no notes, ten out of ten flawless classic number. Who Say So? I SAY SO! Also given both boys kiss Donald at some point.. yeah these boys are bi as fuck and damn i’ts awesome.

7. Mexico: Bored Again, Naturally. Donald then gets a pinata and we get a short story about a bunch of kids going around to places only to be told “no shelter no posada”. Like the Gauchito bit.. it’s pretty boring and nonconesquential and only gets a leg up due to being far shorter and a little adorable versus not really as adorable as the segement thinks it is. The kids end up at a party with a pinata. We do get a fun sequence after this nothing of a story of Donald batting a pinata around while the boys mess with him a bit. It’s fun stuff. Out of the PInata we get another storybook, and another slow segement of Panchito singing about mexico which is a less fluidly animated, and thus far less entertaining, version of the Bahia song.. diffrent song, same premise of a bird melodically and beautifully singing about his home land, but less engaging because it’s just still images. I get they were low on budget but while I can forigve that for the Yaya sequence.. this one.. I just can’t as they not only already did this, but did it less good the second time around. The song is lovely though, and I do miss a time in our culture when we looked at Mexico with fondness and didn’t have a FAR too large portion of our population think anyone from there should go back where they came when they come to our brave country to find shelter, aslym and opportunity just because they didn’t go through “proper channels’ even though that’s difficult. WHat i’m saying is fuck our immigration policy for the last 4 years, and bless the president-elect for planning to fix that ASAP. I felt it was worth mentioning in a review ABOUT a Mexican character who, in the reboot, is an immigrant to America.

8. Everybody Dance: Another fun number.

We’re onto Mexico and it’s time for another musical number

So our heroes dance, Donald hits on some more women.. stuff we’ve seen before but it’s still a fun beautiful song and unlike the last bit while the animation has clearly aged enough to be more obvious, it still looks great next to the various live action dancers and blends real well. A fun time that gives us more great music and another reminder from donald that...

I mean I get being thirsty as shit, again can relate.. but the next segment takes it from Donald and the Boys being kinda horny to.

9. The Beach: Donald Gets Creeptacular

Yeah this bit is .. less endearing. The boys fly the serape over to a beach, and divebomb the girls, which isn’t a sex act.. that i’m aware of. But yeah chasing around several women, and donald leaving the Serape to chase them around old beach movie/benie hill/trying my patience style. It’s cringe is what i’m saying as a man literally chasing a woman around is considered flirtitng here and that’s all kinds of EUGGGGHHHH. The previous segments had Donald be kind of respectful in his woman chasing: while he was pretty horny, he also tipped his hat, flirted a bit, asked to dance you know, normal shit.. not decided “let’s chase them with a serape that will turn them on!’ jesus.. yeah not much to say here either just.. really creepy. But we have not reached peak horny donald yet.. oh no.

10. Donald’s Surreal Revere: WHAT EXACTLY THE FUCK.

Dora Luz appears in the sky of Mexico after the boys exit the book and flip to Mexico’s night life... just go with hit and Donald swoons over her before joining her int he book and after getting a kiss from her and swooning over her.. has an acid trip. I .. I don’t know how else to describe Donald’s surreal reverie. It’s clear Walt just told the animators do whatever. I will TRY to describe this sequence as best I can, but I make no promises except what I describe is exactly what happened, see for yourself.

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Okay so after Dora’s magical floating kisses, just go with it, kiss donald he explodes, in a rocket blast clearly symbolizing his errection, then becomes a neon sign and a hummingbird, just go with it, tries to kiss Dora’s image appearing on a flower, then Jose and Panchito BURST out of the flower with tiny chipmunk voices and gun violence, a SCREAMING TECHNICOLOR TRANSTION, dora singing the song in the middle of a flower again , donald making out with the flower but it turning out ot be panchito with a giraffe neck saying “Some fun eh kid?”, donald falling through a sea of ladies, donald chasing the ladies on a serape. Donald’s disembodied head looking at the ladies before bursting out of the picture to chase them GOOD GOD DID WE NEED MORE OF THAT?! The boys ending up on female bodies and them some sort of horse abomination. Then we get into what must of inspiried a young david Lynch as donald kisses the flower agian, then ends up in one as they replay a creepy whispery recording of either Jose or Panchito saying pretty girls while we see still images of the girls from the beach. Hummingbird Flower Donald then has a romantic duet with a lady because WHY NOT at this point, then multiple donalds before he spins away. We get one last number with donald dancing with living cacti that turn into mini donald’s that’s slightly more sane and finally this bit is done. IN conclusion.

I just.. I have no words. The giant mess of text up there should explain it and I purposfully didn’t divy it up as i’ve been trying to do more often, as it deserves to be one long string of nonsense. I just.. it’s beautiful to look at but what the hell was that. Is this going to happen every time Donald and Daisy have sex? Is this what Donald’s brain is like all the time? Did Panchito inject him with pure liquid acid?

So yeah we thankfully conclude the film after that with

14. The Wrap UP The boys horse around with a bull and then heartwarmingly watch fireworks together.. there isn’t much to add it’s jsut fun to watch and a nice pallete cleanser after loosing my sanity. Isn’t that right keith david?

You always say that! So...

Final Thoughts: I’ve made my thoughts on the various segments clear, but what of the film as a whole? As a whole.. it’s pretty fun. Is it the best film Disney’s Produced? probably not. But it’s a fun, brisk 70 minutes, hampered by a few slow spots and some weird horny bits, and various segments feel like an acid trip despite having never taken acid. But our boys easlly anchor the surreality and thirst and all three have great chemistry both comedically, friendship wise and romantically. It’s also very easy to see why this film and it’s cablleros got big in Mexico and Brazil as the film seems like a love letter to both, and is fairly respectful. WHich for the time, sex tourism aside, is pretty damn inspried. So yeah in conclusion, this is a really fun memorable film, it was even better on a second watch and it’s an enjoyable colorful reminder of Disney’s package film era, which I might dig into a bit.. I just may have to borrow a copy of make mine music.. guess what just got added to my list of “why the fuck isn’t this on disney plussss?”

Regardless this was a fun review and auspcious start to the ride of the Cablleros. if you’d like to comission your own movie or tv review, hit up my ask box or submit box or shoot me an ask to get my discord. You can also join my patreon, patreon.com/popculturebuffet, Until then you can check this space for the various ongoing series mentioned and regular Ducktales coverage every monday. Until then, Adios, with a christmas message from my personal fourth Cabllero

#the three caballeros #donald duck #panchito pistoles #jose carioca #bahia #mexico #donsy #opus the penguin #bloom county #ducktales #aurora miranda #disney #disney plus #disney +#disney+#comissions #ride of the three cablleros

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qtakesams · 4 years ago

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When Life Goes On, Go with It

Two years ago this month, I moved to Edgewater, Maryland, to complete a summer internship with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. SERC, as we call it, is a branch of the Smithsonian Institution that specializes in climate, coastal, terrestrial, and various other types of sciences. Their campus is an hour east of Washington, D.C. They own hundreds of acres of land, on which they house their laboratories and fields.

It was just after my sophomore year of college ended. As with many underclassmen years, mine was turbulent. I endured a drastic shift in my social circle which had, even if temporarily, left me feeling stranded on a campus I was still learning about. I’d had a rough spring semester, finding a lack of motivation to complete any assignment.

Most undergrads face that year: the one where nothing feels right, and each path feels like a dead-end. I had applied for a SERC internship on a bit of a whim. Entering college, I’d seen myself as a fiction writer and editor, planning to end up in a corporate publishing house. Sophomore had shown me I desired other things, and I applied for SERC’s science writing internship completely unsure if I’d actually like the work. What if I didn’t? What if it felt worse than the previous semester? What would I do if I couldn’t bounce back?

All of this, I decided, would be worth the risk. When I got an email from the internship’s advisor in March, offering me the position, I accepted it. The rest, as some might say, is history.

SERC is a hard place to find until you’ve visited a few times. The brown sign is easily skipped by the eyes. Coming from the west, you approach SERC on the left side of the road. Immediately, you forget that you’re technically in the suburbs, less than thirty miles from the epicenter of political heat in America. After a few turns, you arrive at the gate. When SERC is publicly open, you drive on through. When you’re an intern coming back from the bar at night, you have to swipe your ID card. You drive a few more turns, watching closely for deer, before that final right turn that drops you into the parking lot of the intern dorms and the labs.

I fell in love with SERC within days of my arrival. There were the intimidating factors of the place: fellow interns at Ivy Leagues and respected colleges, scientific labs into which the government itself funded millions, no meal plan, and the stick shift vehicle I would drive all summer. I was terrified when my mom drove away. I explored the floor of my building, admiring the kitchen, perusing the book selection. By eleven, I was in bed. I was tried from traveling, but more so, I didn’t know what to do. I’d briefly interacted with the other intern already on my floor, but I didn’t know him well enough to go say hi. There were four interns moved in below my floor, but I hadn’t seen any of them yet. I suddenly seemed wildly out of my element, though I had felt comfortable at SERC the moment I drove through the gate.

Of course, I grew happier at SERC. The happiest I’d been in years. Within weeks, I made strong friends, adjusted to my job, and began to close my GPS when driving to the store.

My work felt good. The articles I wrote and the media I created reached thousands of people, many of which gave positive comments. My words were reaching people, and the people were responding.

I was raised by a scientist, but more importantly, by well-educated, empathetic people. Loving my planet was part of the gig when I was growing up. In high school, I began to see where my privilege in this education existed. My friends at school didn’t seem to care about the things I’d be taught to care about. Water consumption, electricity, knowing the landscape on which your house is built. I knew important moments in history, and how they affected me. I had early knowledge of politics, to the point where I knew who George Bush was before his presidency ended (when I was 10). Ignorance and empathy tend to go hand-in-hand, mostly because ignorance leads to apathy. We’ve seen this cause-and-effect equation hold catastrophic, deadly consequences in 2020.

When I arrived at SERC, it didn’t slip by me that I suddenly had access to information that most people only dream about. Many of us are ignorant (I remain ignorant to 99.9% of what happens on this Earth) by circumstance, not by choice. Accessibility is one of our biggest problems of a global society attempting to function in a digital, climate change-riddled world. Sixty percent of the globe now has Internet access, but that leaves 3.08 billion people without the knowledge they need to protect themselves from the setbacks of climate change. Most of those people, as it would turn out, are terribly affected most by war, poverty, hunger, climate, social injustice, etc. These things intertwine and cause one another. Not always, but often.

My position at SERC gifted me access to science occurring in real-time. When the Pandemic would hit a year later, it would be surprising but not shocking. On a planet where politics and science are brothers, and the population is soaring too high to properly maintain, containing a spreadable virus is like trying to hold a cup of water in your bare hands. Sooner or later, it’s going to slip between the cracks and go everywhere. If it slips far enough, you’ll never find a towel strong enough to collect it all.

In March of 2020, when I moved home to isolate, I knew the rest of college was trashed. Not my degree, necessarily, but the experience of college. I would lose that experience in its normalcy, and therefore the skills which develop from that normalcy.

I did soon realize, however, that we are not always fortunate enough to do something about mass-casualties or problems. There’s not always an answer, straightforward or not. When there is one, you should grab it with both hands.

That summer of 2020, I decided I wanted to pursue a master’s degree after college. Higher education is not unknown in my family; we boast high degrees from prestigious universities. I am the opposite of a First-Generation student (one of my great-grandparents also had a master’s degree). Graduate school had already been on my mind when I started college, but I didn’t know what for. An MFA in fiction had felt the most logical to my teenage self in 2017, but by 2018, that felt out the window. What I had realized by the summer of 2020 was that, in the midst of the chaos and absurdity, was that I could in fact do something about what was going on. I can’t solve climate change, or house the homeless, or save every polar bear, or even eradicate a virus, but I can help in my own way. On some level, I can do something about the many crises. This, in itself, is “doing something”.

Science writing is a polarizing subject, of this I have been aware my entire life. Unfortunately, we’ve made science political, though politics are generally opinion (with strong empathy) and science is fact. It’s a tough, competitive field, but so is everything else. If you want to “make it” in this world, you have to willingly shed blood, tears, and probably sweat profusely. As I watched the COVID cases skyrocket simultaneously to the people I knew who cared not to stay home, I could tell something was off. People weren’t listening. If they were, it was usually to the ignorant voices on television.

I could feel my cheeks burning as I watched the Johns Hopkins map. It seemed cruel that we, as a society, could do that to ourselves. That we could allow this virus to spread and kill, but also that we had put ourselves in this position. I had already been envisioning myself as a science writer every day since my time at SERC had begun. Finally reckoning with the knowledge that not everybody is a scientist, nor cares to be one, was the icing on the cake. I couldn’t fix it all, but I could offer my help. So, I would.

When I began this blog two years ago, it was solely for abroad purposes. It was a fabulous way to let anybody who cared know what I was experiencing and how I was handling those experiences. Studying abroad, no matter how or where or how long, is difficult. Studying in general, for any length of time on any subject, is mindboggling tedious. I give kudos to my friends and family who have any advanced, foreign, or nontraditional education.

What I discovered after I began writing blog posts and sharing my thoughts is that there’s always more to the story than the words on the page. That’s why I’ve added to this blog in the year and a half since my abroad semester ended; there is always more to tell.

In a few weeks, I begin my master’s degree at Northwestern University in Chicago. My degree is in journalism, with a specialization in Science and Health reporting. I’m nervous to my core, as I am with any new adventure. I just graduated college last weekend, so my emotions are running wild. Yet, I have a feeling I’m about to finally be where I’ve wanted to be for years. I love words. I love messing with them, shaping them, using them to fit whatever project I want. I also love science. I love knowing what is happening around me, and why and how it is. Combining them already feels like a dream come true, so I’m sure the next year will feel magical.

The classes of 2020 and 2021 are probably the most resilient in history. A Pandemic, racial and social injustice, wildfires, remote learning, wifi issues. We’ve seen it all, and it’s made us stronger every day.

I think I’ve worn this blog out for this phase of life. My thoughts on what I’ve talked about here are valid and important, but they don’t exist alone. For somebody who’s pretty much been writing since she could hold a pencil, I hate journaling. I’ve tried so many times, and never succeeded, with the exception of this blog. That said, it gave me an incredibly strong, consistent manner of getting my thoughts on the page, for which I am endlessly grateful. If you’ve kept reading my thoughts and words, you should know I’m endlessly grateful for you, too.

All of this is saying that, whether you’re ready or not, life keeps going. Life can be cruel, it can be challenging, it can be beautiful. No matter what, it keeps going. As my friend Ferris once said, if you don’t stop and look around from time to time, you could miss it. So much changed so drastically in the last year. I’m still processing it. I might always be processing it. Most importantly, I think, is that I’ve learned to flow with it wherever it goes. It’s harder sometimes than other, but the result is usually worth the grind.

You might read my stuff in the Times once day, or (my personal favorite dream) National Geographic. I don’t know honestly know where I’m going, but I’m okay with that because I do know that I’m on my way. I’m still going. When life continues, you should go, too. You never quite know where the climb will lead, but you do know that the view will be great.

#study abroad #science writing #thoughts #media #graduate school #graduate student #class of 2021

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hikeofthemonth · 4 years ago

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March 2021 Mangum Dental Hike-of-the-Month Munds Wagon, Cow Pies, Hangover Loop Trail, Sedona Arizona

Distance: 8.2 miles

Difficulty: Moderate

Elevation Gain: 1,171 feet (4462′ - low to 5238′ high)

Parking: A parking lot is available at the Schnebly Hill Trailhead, it can get full during peak times. You can use an America the Beautiful Parks Pass, Red Rocks Pass, or pay $5 at the kiosk.

Directions: From the “Y” Junction, the intersection of Hwy 89A and AZ 179, drive 0.3 miles south and take the second exit from the roundabout onto Schnebly Hill Road. Drive 0.9 miles and park at the Schnebly Hill Trailhead on the left.

Summary:

This trail certainly ranks highly on the most incredible Sedona hikes. It is the combination of Munds Wagon, Cow Pies, and Hangover Trails and is in the Munds Mountain Wilderness Area. Begin at the Schnebly Hill Trailhead and hike east. There are a number of hikes that originate at this parking area so watch the signs. For the first 1.7 miles, the Munds Wagon Trail parallels road FR 153 and a creek. The trail will cross both the road and the creek a couple of times. At 1.7 miles there is a junction with the Overhang Trail. Take a left to hike clockwise and right to stay on the Munds Wheel Trail going counterclockwise. Both are acceptable routes and I chose to stay right on the Munds Wheel Trail. In 1.0 mile turn left onto the Cow Pies Trial and quickly cross the road and continues north onto some slick rock. The trail is marked well with white paint. In 0.5 miles the Cow Pie Trail intersects with the Hangover Trail. There is a sign warning of steep terrain. This trail has some amazing views as it traverses the north side of The Teapot and Pointed Dome rock formations. Those afraid of heights need not look down. About a mile separates the east saddle from the west saddle. The trail continues downhill and heads back south-east until it meets again with the Munds Wagon Trail. A right turn will lead the 1.7 miles back to the parking area. Highlights of this hike include the views, rock scrambling, narrow trails, and beautiful red rocks.

This was my experience hiking the trail, albeit a little foolish in light of the weather conditions.

On January 29th, I attended a dental meeting in Sedona. Following the meeting my wife and I enjoyed some shopping in Sedona and after we went for a drive. Finding ourselves at the Schnebly Hill Trailhead, I began looking at the hikes that originate there. The Munds Wagon, Cow Pies, and Hangover Loop Trail caught my attention. Because we had a few hours before we were to meet friends for dinner, I thought it would be a good chance to get a hike in. Rain was in the forecast so my wife decided she would pick me up when I had finished hiking. I estimated that if I hiked quickly I might be about to make the 8.2 miles in 2 1/2 hours. I wasn’t totally prepared to hike but had a good jacket, trail-running shoes, wool socks, and a bottle of water, so I set out. It was a little muddy and as I hiked I enjoyed listening to my current audiobook, Washington: a Life, by Ron Chernow. The hike was beautiful, the creeks were all running and it was overcast. After about 30 minutes light rain started to fall. I realized that my phone would soon run out of battery, so I sent a quick text to tell my wife. The elevation steadily increased and the trail became slushy in parts and the rain turned to snow before the junction of the Munds Wagon and Cow Pies trail. My phone went dead, which was also my GPS, map, and clock. The hike up the slick rock was wet, but I had excellent traction. As I got to the Hangover Trail the wind picked up and so did the snow. Passing through the saddle west of Teapot Butte, the rock started to become slick. I carefully traversed this area and continued on the Hangover Trail. I recognized this trail from Youtube videos of extreme mountain bike riders. The rolling fog veiled the views and I realized that I didn’t give myself enough time and if I didn’t hurry my wife would become worried at the trailhead. I started jogging, hoping that the storm wouldn’t get worse. I wasn’t prepared for what was to come. As I reached the east end of Pointed Dome Rock I could barely make out the white dots marking the trail as it transitioned back to slick rock and started to descend. The snow was falling faster and heavier. Because the rocks were too slippery to walk down, I had to slide down the slick rock. I hoped I could stop my slide. I could no longer see the white dots on the trail and I fell a few times. I found myself stuck on a steep, slippery, slick rock covered with slush and without any idea of the direction of the trail. To make matters worse, the visibility was poor and I couldn’t see the surrounding rock formations. I started to panic inside. Turning back would be just as dangerous, a greater distance back to the car, and I was running out of daylight. I had never felt so scared, not even in Iraq during mortar attacks. I knelt in prayer asking for heaven’s help; I would need it to get out of this predicament. I walked along a ridge studying the surroundings. Miraculously, I discovered the trail. I felt some relief, but I still needed to traverse a dangerous slick rock covered in snow. I tried to not look at the drop off to the right and knew one misstep would send me hundreds of yards sliding into the canyon below. Slowly I crept, staying low and hanging onto any rocks, branches, or bushes that were near. Finally, I found a spot where I could slide down the rock a couple of times until I got off the slick rock as the trail transitioned back to dirt. I felt so relieved and knelt once more, this time in gratitude for being back on a more sure footing. Now I was back to jogging, trying to get back before my wife became too worried, and racing against the sunset. I was soaked and bruised, but the gratitude now pushed out the fear. I was grateful to make it back to the car safely and in time for our dinner engagement.

Mangum Dental is a general dental practice in Prescott, Arizona. Doctors Mangum, Ransdell, and Snow have the competence and integrity to foster the essential provider/patient trust that is vital to quality dental care. Find out more about our dental office at www.MangumDental.com.

https://www.azhikers.org/reports/2017/Hangover17.html

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wonwoosthetic · 6 years ago

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Summer Road Trip || Sebastian Stan

MASTERLIST in linked in my bio! :)

Thank you for the request, I hope you all like it!

Writing this request has given me the biggest summer feelings EVER! I just searched for tons of summer pictures on Pinterest - I want it to be summer finally!!! I’m so excited and can’t wait for warm and long nights, probably writing, haha

Request: hey can u do a fic with Seb where he and the reader are on a road trip for the summer and then their car window breaks for some reason? The rest of up to you! xx

Characters: Sebastian Stan x Reader

Warnings: none, just pure fluff!!!

Summer Road Trip

The radio was blasting "No Woman, No Cry" through your rented mint-coloured VW Bus, the wind blowing, messing up your hair, as Sebastian was sitting in the driver's seat, you right next to him with the windows down.

After the Avengers: Endgame premieres in more countries than you had prepared for and all of the press tours, your boyfriend and you had finally taken some time off together. Your idea was to travel more as a couple since you hadn't been able to do that ever since you started dating three years ago, in 2017, on the set of Infinity War and Endgame. Sebastian had a different idea - he wanted to go somewhere quite far away, off the road, somewhere where no one was able to take pictures of you outside of your house, no disturbing city noises, nothing that could distract him from you.

With that in mind, you decided to combine those two ideas and tell your boyfriend about it. He immediately agreed to it: renting a beach house on the other side of the US in Charleston, far away from any source of civilization, but instead of flying there, you had agreed on renting a car and driving the perfect route through North America, travelling as much as you want along the way.

The two of you had been on the road for four days, that day slowly coming to an end as the sun had already set. You and the brown-haired next to you had been taking turns at driving, eight hours a day, making stops along the way to explore the place wherever you decided to rest for the night or just walk around. "My phone says we'll reach the next stop in about an hour. Should we stay there for the night?", Sebastian, next to you, spoke up, ripping you out of your daydream. "How far to the one after that?", you wanted to know. He looked at the GPS quickly with furrowed eyebrows, making sure to keep his eyes on the road, "Hm... another hour and a half." "Alright, then... yeah. We can stay overnight at the nearest one." With that, you closed your eyes and drifted off to a short nap.

The back of a hand caressing your cheek woke you up again, with silent whispers in your ears, "(Y/N), little one, wake up. We're here." You started to slowly open your eyes, not wanting to be blinded by any possible light source. With quick blinks, you came to sight with Sebastian, who kept his eyes close on you. "Where are we?", you asked, slightly off, not completely back into being able to think straight. The man hovering over you chuckled, "At the motel, come on. I already checked us in." You though were too tired to actually stand up and move your body from the car to your room, therefore you stretched out your arms, "Carry me. Please", and pleaded with a puppy face. You knew Seb was not able to say no to that and you were right. He freed you from the safety belt, put one arm under your knees and the other one on your lower back to carry you properly.

Carefully and gracefully, he got you to the room and put you on the bed, only to disappear again to get you something more comfortable to sleep in. Back by the bed, Sebastian took off your maxi skirt and shirt and put you in one of his old shirts he packed for the trip but since it was hotter than he expected, he decided to sleep topless. With the last sense of consciousness in your almost asleep state, you felt the mattress dip and your boyfriend lying down next to you, putting one arm around your body, and pulling you close.

--- The Following Day ---

You had been up for about thirty minutes and were waiting for the actor still laying in the cheap bed to wake up. After getting ready to go out again in the bathroom, you put the shirt from last night back in your small suitcase and wanted to take it back to the car. So, you closed it, opened the door, and walked outside into the morning light. In your shorts and t-shirt, you were able to feel the warm sun on your entire body. But, you weren't able to enjoy this moment for long as you took a look at the rented car and saw almost all of its windows crashed. Quickly, you threw the suitcase into the car, took a look at the broken windows, but sprinted back into your motel room - only to jump on the bed, waking Sebastian up. "Seb, seb, seb", you were shaking him, "wake up, please. Sebastian!" With your loud shout, he jolted awake, immediately going into defence mode with his hands in position, "What?! What is it?!", he looked over to you, "Everything alright?" "No! Come, you have to take a look at the car", you made it clear in a worrying voice.

Without hesitation, he jumped up, he was much more awake in the morning then you will ever be able to understand, and followed you outside after putting on his pair of shoes that were placed next to the bed.

"Oh no", were the first two words that escaped his mouth after stepping a foot outside and seeing the damage on the rented bus. As Sebastian got closer to the vehicle, he started examining it precisely. "How did that happen?", he wondered. You shrugged, "I don't know, I came out here to put the suitcase back into the car and I saw that", you pointed at the broken windows.

"Oh, you too", the two of you turned around at the sound of an elderly woman's voice. "Excuse me?", Sebastian asked politely. "Last night", the woman started explaining, "some rowdy kids ran around and threw stones." "Stones? Why?", you asked confused. "Don't ask me, sweetheart. But those kids have been infamous in this town for quite some time. They've destroyed multiple windows. Last night the window of my office as well." You contemplated what to do next since you were not able to carry on with your holiday trip with three broken windows. The elderly woman, who you got to know was the owner of the motel who's name was Ana, had an idea, "You know what, there's a service station about an hour from here, I'm gonna make a call and tell them you're coming and you go." "That would so nice, thank you Ana", you thanked the woman and went back to the room. Seb said his 'Thank you' and got back to you. Inside, he finally put on a shirt and some short sweatpants, put the rest of his stuff back in his suitcase and brought it outside into the car.

You sat down on a bench outside of your shared room, looking into the distance, slightly disappointed of the sudden turn of events. The actor saw your posture and walked up to you, "What's with that face?" You looked up, "Hm?" "Don't 'hm' me", he mocked you, "you know exactly what's up." Internally, you smiled at the concern of your boyfriend and how well he was able to read you, on the outside though, you kept your face straight. He situated himself next to you, with his left arm around you to pull you close. "Spill." With a huff, you started, "I'm just... not... I don't know. I planned this trip how I wanted it to go. I didn't plan for this to happen. It-it throws me completely out of my plan and it'll slow us down and we won't get to Charleston in the time that we wanted and I just feel like it's gonna go downhill from now on." Sebastian was confused, "What's with all of that melancholy?" His comment made you smile - he had learned what the word 'melancholy' meant last weak and had been trying to get it into every conversation if possible. There was his chance and he took it. "Yes, this was not planned... but how would you want to plan for some kids coming 'round and smashing windows. And who is saying that everything will go downhill from here?" "I don't know, I just feel like it's not gonna get better", you answered, not looking at him but still straight ahead. "Not with that attitude, it won't." You smiled again.

He placed a kiss on the side of your head, "Just because this little thing happened doesn't mean it's all for shit now. Come on. Yes, we're gonna be in Charleston a bit later but that means more time for exploring more collecting experience." Now, you turned your head to look at him, placing your left hand on top of this that he had placed on your shoulder, "But you didn't want to explore so much. You wanted to have peace, to be in peace." "Yeah... but you wanted to, and I'm happy nevertheless", he was running his fingers through your hair, putting one piece behind your ear. After his fingers let go of your hair, they moved down to your chin, his thumb on top of it, his pointing finger underneath it to make you look up. With his arm, which was still placed around you, he pulled you into a kiss - a soft, loving, and meaningful kiss, just like every other one. Not once in your three-year-long relationship has a kiss ever felt meaningless. Every single one was a new excitement, letting butterflies erupt in your stomach.

After a long share of that show of love, you separated and Seb continued speaking, "Now, let's get to that service station and then we continue our drive. We only need about five more hours." He stood up, extending his hand for you to take, which you did. The actor then pulled you up and together you walked over to the car to get in and continue your journey together.

--- Eight Hours Later ---

It was late in the afternoon, almost the evening and the two of you had a long day behind you. After getting to the service station, the guy there had to tell you that it would take about two to three hours to repair the damage on your little rented bus. The good news was, that they actually were also renting cars. You came to the agreement that for the time that your car was in their service, you would take a car from their station, a yellow 1965 VW Beetle, and on the way back to Los Angeles, you would drive by their place and "switch" cars back - good news: you would only have to pay for the reparation of the windows and not for "renting" the yellow Beetle.

Because that car had been one of your dream cars ever since you were a teenager, you drove the two of you for the following five hours or so to Charleston, to the little beach house that you were renting for as long as you desired. You reached your destination just as the sun was setting. On one hand, you were happy to have finally made it, especially when you were just about able to see the sunset on the beautiful beach from the porch of the house, on the other hand though, you were kind of sad about the fact that you had just spent almost an entire day in a car without exploring any places besides the few streets in the area of the service station and the gas station two hours into the drive.

But at that moment you had everything you needed: you were standing on the porch, leaning on the railing, looking at the differently coloured sky, waiting for Sebastian who was doing god knows what in the kitchen. You could not wait to properly start your vacation in that part of town with no internet, no phone service, only the few necessities like electricity for the oven, lightning, and the TV, as well as running water - nothing more, because you didn't need anything more.

Deep in your thoughts, you didn't notice Sebastian, who had come up behind your leaning frame to grab you into a loving hug. "Let's take a walk on the beach, shall we?", he asked. Your arms were on top of his which were placed around your hips, holding you close. You turned your head to look at him and nodded with a big smile on your face.

While walking along the beach, hand in hand with the only person you had wanted to be with at this very moment, you noticed something; "This beach is so much cleaner than in L.A." To which he agreed. "It's so quiet and peaceful... I love it", you continued.

All of a sudden you came to a stop and your head shot from looking at the horizon to looking at Seb. You looked at with big eyes, "Hm?", wanting to know, why he suddenly stopped walking, making him fall in love with you even more. Just the look on your face - he could admire it every single day, and he wanted you to know that, then and forever.

He took a deep breath, "So.. we've had quite an adventure coming here. Five long days of driving, three broken windows and even a new car", he cleared his throat, "but we're here now and as cheesy as it sounds, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else at this very moment. I want to thank you for the most amazing three years that I've gotten to spend with you ever since we met on set. I was actually once told to settle down before the whole career thing blows up... but, oh boy, thank god I didn't do that", his story made you both laugh, even you even though tears had started forming in your eyes from all the sweet words. Sebastian was holding one of your hands, the other one in the left-side pocket of his shorts, playing with a square box, "And I could tell you a thousand different ways of why and how I'm in love with you, I want you to know that, okay?", you saw his eyes becoming glassy and nodded with a smile, "Well then..." Now or never.

He grabbed the box out of his pocket and got down on one knee...

------------------------------------------------------------

I didn’t want to write the ending because I want you to be able to imagine what he would say yourself and obviously what and how you would answer, I would love to hear your versions of the ending!!

Critic (positive and negative) is always welcome on my blog :)

Thank you for the request once more, I hope this somewhat turned out the way you had hoped for it! A huge Thanks to everyone who read this!!

I hope you have a great night/day! :) <3

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sjsuraj · 2 years ago

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Asphalt Mixing Plants Market In-Depth Analysis with Booming Trends Supporting Growth and Forecast 2022-2032

The global asphalt mixing plants market is anticipated to garner US$ 8.5 Billion while expanding at a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period. The market is estimated at US$ 6.5 Billion in 2021 and US$ 6.66 Billion in 2022. The increasing road construction activities coupled with growing infrastructural development in countries are likely to propel industry growth.

Increasing asphalt production across the globe is a prime factor that will drive market demand. Countries, including India, Vietnam, and the Philippines, will be investing heavily in road construction & improvements in the coming decades to enhance their ranking.

Over the past few years, tremendous growth in urban centers was witnessed as people moved from the countryside to cities to live and work. Increased disposable incomes will drive up private vehicle ownership, placing greater demands on roads and eventually augmenting road construction projects, particularly in China and India. Portable product type to gain the majority share owing to the increasing necessity for cost-effective and easily transportable construction equipment.

To Know More@

Key Takeaways:

By Product type, the portable product segment of the Asphalt Mixing Plants segment expanded at a ~2% CAGR

Based on Application, the road construction segment of Asphalt Mixing Plants is estimated to record an ~2% CAGR

APAC region is likely to account for the majority share of nearly 3% during the forecast period

Europe region is estimated to gain significant traction in the market for Asphalt Mixing Plants, Germany is likely to hold the majority share.

“Constructers have been investing a lot of time and money in fostering new asphalt plant solutions to cater to important industry requirements, thus in turn, to fuel the market growth of asphalt mixing plants”.

Competitive Landscape

Key players in the global Asphalt Mixing Plants market include Speco Limited, Nikko Co. Ltd., Ammann Group Holding AG, GP Gunter Papenburg AG, Lintec & Linnhoff Germany GmbH.,among others. Recent key developments among players are:

In Aug 2022, Construction Partners, Inc. ROAD (the Company), a vertically integrated civil infrastructure company specializing in the construction and maintenance of roadways across five southeastern states, announced the acquisition of Southern Asphalt, Inc., headquartered in Conway, South Carolina. As a result of the acquisition, the Company added two hot-mix asphalt plants and more than 200 employees in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina metro area.

In Aug 2021, Berkshire Engineering Supplies (BES) and R&G Cooper (RGC) joined forces to create Bulldog Plant & Equipment Ltd, which is said to be the only business of its kind in Britain and is set to become the number one provider of large-scale production plants in the construction materials, engineering, and energy sectors.

In March 2022, Astec Industriesagreed to acquire MINDS Automation Group (MINDS). The firm is a leader in plant automation control systems and cloud-based data management in the asphalt industry.

More Valuable Insights

Future Market Insights, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the Global Asphalt Mixing Plants market presenting a historical analysis from 2017 to 2021 and forecast statistics for the period of 2022-2032.

The study reveals essential insights based on Asphalt Mixing Plants Market by Process (Batch, Continuous) by Product (Portable, Stationary) by Application (Road Construction, Others) by Capacity (Below 50T/H, 50-150T/H, 151-300T/H, Above 300T/H) & Region (North America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Oceania and Middle East & Africa, and Latin America)

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la-appel-du-vide · 3 years ago

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02•27•22 & 02•28•22 - Costa Rica Day ONE

Another trip in the books! My first time to Latin America, and what a blast we had. PURA VIDA.

Let's get into it.

Our flight out left Sunday night. We flew first to LAX, and landed at just after 11 PM. I finished a book, and had a decent flight, even though Beach and I didn't get to sit together on either of the flights today. The next one left just after midnight, and had us arrive in San Jose at 6:30 AM. I tried to sleep, and I'm sure I got a little, but flight sleep is always so frustrating, and we were definitely tired when we landed, but ready to make the most of the day.

Customs was pretty easy to navigate here, and then we grabbed our stuff and headed to the rental car office. (Our only regret was that we didn't visit a currency exchange office at the airport. Usually we like to look for ATMs, but we never saw one, and having no cash for the first few days of the trip made things difficult!)

Beach was hyped because she had picked out a stick shift car in advance, because she wanted to try it out again after so many years driving automatic. We asked for a GPS, since we never have great (if any) service while we are out of the country, and we need a GPS to get around. Instead, they had a cell phone with a hot spot that they said we could either use Waze on directly, or connect to and navigate from our own personal phones. Side note: Costa Rica doesn't use addresses! They go off of Point of References! Isn't that interesting and also confusing? I can't imagine trying to get packages! Or deliver them!

Anyway, we thought that was a great idea at first. Turns out, the phone RARELY had service, and when it did, it would die SO QUICKLY anyway. Useless! But hindsight is 20/20, so we paid for it and went on our way. Of course, the phone was dead, so we plugged it into the car charger they included and waited about 20 minutes before we realized the car charger was super broken. So I went in and switched it out, and then after 20 more minutes or so, the phone was on and we were on our way!

We made a stop at McDonald's so we could change clothes (planes are gross, and we were going on a hike) and grab a quick breakfast. Nothing like opening your entire suitcase in a parking lot! Then we made the drive to Poas Volcano. We couldn't find any water to bring with us, but we were out of time and had to get there during our reservation window. Luckily, the hike up to the viewing area wasn't long or strenuous.

This is an active volcano that last erupted in 2017, causing visitors and residents to be evacuated.

We had to wear hard hats as protective gear while we were up there haha, but it was a beautiful view! The volcano has a gorgeous blue crater lake, which is one of the most acidic in the world and would kill you - looks can be deceiving haha.

Brady's always wanted to hike an active volcano, and we kind of did it!

Then we tried some Costa Rican coffee (they're very famous for growing coffee beans, but I still don't like coffee oops), and pastries at the gift shop and bought some volcanic rock bracelets, before going back to the car.

We had to sit awhile waiting for the dumb phone to charge enough that we could navigate to the Airbnb, and then we headed out. Driving through San Jose was terrifying, and the more time went on, the more we understood that driving is sort of lawless in Costa Rica. People seem to just do whatever they want, and get mad at you when you're being cautious at an intersection. They'll stop wherever, park wherever, and have no care for pedestrians. We didn't like it. But it gets better once you get out of the city a bit and more toward the rainforest. Beach did great in the stick, and only killed it like twice the whole trip. So impressive after so long!

We had a super fun little two-hour drive out to La Fortuna, stopping as often as we pleased. We saw some little creatures on the side of the road, so we pulled over. They were adorable and we had no idea what they were until later when we could look it up - white-nosed Coati! They're super friendly, and we had fun hanging out with them for a bit.

Then we kept driving until we saw a beautiful waterfall, and a roadside fruit stand where we got some strawberries (SO GOOD AND FRESH) and took some pictures. We also stopped at a colorful little cafe for a photo op as well.

We did eventually make it to the Airbnb where we were super pleasantly surprised to find a tropical oasis! It was at the end of an alleyway, and then you go through a gate to a hidden paradise. The place was HUGE and so nice! Our little cabana was lovely, with a rainforest balcony, a rain shower, and a HUGE bed. They had game rooms, a pool, a hot tub, a water slide, a zoo with peacocks and other birds, a pond... so much. And there was a sloth in one of the trees on our property tours. I was obsessed.

We dropped everything off, and then walked down the street to a restaurant for our first Costa Rican dinner! The chips and guac were EVERYTHING. In Costa Rica, guac comes standard and you have to pay extra for pico or salsa haha, just the opposite of here. I had pasta which wasn't the vibe, but Beach tried a seafood soup and beef fajitas with a plantain cake thing that's super common - but we didn't love it. Dinner was great, and then we were so tired from a long, happy day that we went back to the hotel for an incredible shower before bed.

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meacenas · 6 years ago

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West Virginia Mountains,..... a memorable trip in 2017

We take roadtrips, long long trips that last weeks or even months sometimes. This was one of those very long trips that took us from one side of America to the other and back. It took us four months to drive some of Americas best backroads in our quest ‘to see America’. This trip was over 8000 miles. Most people drive about that in a year, we did a bit over that in four months.

This is THE American coal country, the deep mountains of West Virginia and some of the poorest areas in America. On the left you see a river, on the right is a mountain and our GPS brought up here to Fayette County on our way from Nashville to Washington DC. What you do not see is the small coal town on the bank of the river across from us, nor the train that is passing about 50 feet down the steep mountain slope on our left side. This road is indicative of the whole area and the obvious poverty that was a fixture for mile after mile as we drove through. Closed factories and mine complexes, empty falling down storefronts, logcabins, and rusty mobile homes. It took us about four hours of this back country driving to come to a main road that led to ‘somewhere’.

We get into these situations that make us question our actual location and destination. “ Are you sure this road is going to come out anywhere”? In this ‘situation’, we did have to backtrack a couple times when we found ourselves on what appeared to be Conestoga wagon tracks. When we bought the van, the Toyota was chosen for its reliability and surefootedness. Nice!

But when we stopped at a local diner in a small town for lunch in Summersville, ( I think it was), the food was excellent and the people were as friendly as you could wish for. The accents took me a minute to figure out, I am sure they had to laugh at the chuckle head from New York that could not pronounce the name of the tiny suburban village.

#travel #America #van #roadtrip #rock and roll #meacenasartisan.etsy.com #original trips with Meacenas

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industry365 · 3 years ago

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Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) Market Is Expected To Reach New Growth Revenues During 2021-2028

The global Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) market was valued at $19.8 billion in 2017 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 21.4% during the forecast period. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems offer improved passenger experience, comfort, and safety to vehicles and drivers. Integration of advanced driver assistance systems into vehicles enable enhanced situational awareness and control for easier and safer driving experience. Some components enabling efficient functioning of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems include LiDAR, sensors, radar systems, artificial intelligence software, and GPS among others.

The demand for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS has increased over the years owing to rising concerns regarding road safety, and growing incidents of road accidents. Growing penetration of connected cars, and rising adoption of IOT further boosts the market growth. The increasing advancements in technologies, growing adoption of electric vehicles, and rising investments in R&D and technological innovation further supplement the growth of this market. Increasing demand for luxury vehicles, and rising development of autonomous vehicles are factors expected to offer numerous growth opportunities during the forecast period.

The report provides an extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market trends and growth prospects of the Global Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Market, 2017-2026. This report comprises a detailed geographic distribution of the market across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and MEA. North America is further segmented into U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Europe is divided into Germany, UK, Italy, France, and Rest of Europe. Asia-Pacific is bifurcated into China, India, Japan, and Rest of Asia-Pacific.

North America generated the highest revenue in 2017 owing to increasing incidents of road accidents and growing safety concerns. High disposable income, and improved living standards in the region support market growth. Technological advancements in the region, along with presence of leading market players is expected to boost the adoption of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in North America.

Download sample: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/advanced-driver-assistance-systems-adas-market/request-for-sample

Competitive Landscape and Key Vendors

The global Advanced Driver Assistance Systems market is characterized by the presence of well-diversified international and small and medium-sized vendors. These companies are consistently launching new products to enhance their offerings in the market. With the advancement of technologies, companies are innovating and introducing new customized products to cater the growing needs of the customers. Leading companies are also acquiring other companies, and enhancing their product offerings to improve their market reach. Acquisitions enable key players to increase their market potential in terms of geographic expansion and expansion of customer base.

The leading companies profiled in the report include Denso Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, Infineon Technologies AG, Continental AG, Intel Corporation, Texas Instruments, Valeo S.A., Magna International, Inc., Autoliv Inc., and Garmin Ltd.

Key Segments Outlook

System

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)

Lane Departure Warning (LDW)

Blind Spot Detection (BSD)

Night Vision System (NVS)

Intelligent Park Assist (IPA)

Driver Monitoring System (DMS)

Adaptive Front Light (AFL)

Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)

Autonomous Emergency Braking System (AEB)

Forward Collision Warning (FCW)

Others

Component

LiDAR Sensor

Camera Unit

Ultrasonic Sensor

Radar Sensor

Electronic Control Units (ECU)

Microcontroller Units (MCU)

Vehicle Type

Passenger Vehicles

Commercial Vehicles

Electric Vehicle Type

Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV)

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)

Region

U.S.

Canada

Mexico

Germany

France

Italy

Rest of Europe

China

India

Japan

Rest of Asia-Pacific

Brazil

Rest of Latin America

Buy Now: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/checkouts/3271

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techfuturemrfr · 3 years ago

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Blockchain Technology Market, Factors, Comprehensive Research, Sales, Revenue, Analysis by Leading Companies with Future Plans

The global blockchain technology market is growing continually. The market growth attributes to the growing emphasis on the decentralization of data ledgers. Besides, some advantages facilitated by technology, such as the immutability of database activities making interactions transparent led to blockchain technology proliferation. Moreover, the prominence of blockchain-based applications in several domains, including BFSI, healthcare, and retails, escalates the growth of the market ahead.

According to Market Research Future (MRFR), the global blockchain technology market is projected to grow at 66.41% CAGR throughout the review period (2017-2023). There are tremendous market opportunities for blockchain technology. Blockchain is to gain prominence in the forthcoming years owing to its innate nature. Facilitating large-scale Blockchainization in a fast and cost-effective way enables enterprises to introduce and complete blockchain proofs-of-concept efficiently.

Additionally, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for enterprises to build more resilient and transparent supply chains to cope with the challenges from an ever-evolving marketplace. It is now more crucial than ever to have the proper framework for effective collaboration among all stakeholders in the supply chain. On the other hand, the blockchain technology road remains precarious, with scalability and security being two of the primary concerns.

Get a Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1708

Global Blockchain Technology Market – Regional Analysis

North America leads the global blockchain technology market. The largest market share attributes to continuous initiatives taken for the development of ledger technology. The region is a hub for many communication technology providers having robust navigation services; this, in turn, positively impacts the growth in the regional market. Besides, the faster adoption of innovative technology in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, and Mexico fuel the growth of the regional market.

Moreover, the increasing demand for home-based solutions and technological advantages are some of the key growth drivers. Also, the early adoption of cloud-based deployment services propels the growth of the market. The North American blockchain technology market is projected to retain its dominance throughout the estimated period.

The blockchain technology market in the Asia Pacific region is emerging as a promising market globally. Factors such as transparency, immutability, and scalability service provided by Blockchain technology and a massive investment of digital currency across industry verticals in APAC countries, especially India, Australia, and China, drive the regional market growth. Additionally, the increasing adoption of GPS services and cloud-based services alongside smartphones’ proliferation provides enormous opportunities across businesses.

China, Japan, and India are rapidly growing markets anticipated to increase through the forecast period rapidly. Increasing uses of advanced navigation services and location-based advertising provide a better scope for the APAC countries to advance location-based services. The APAC blockchain technology market is expected to reach to create a substantial revenue pocket over the forecast period.

Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/block-chain-technology-market-1708

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nitu5965 · 3 years ago

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Proximity Marketing Market Analysis 2020-2027: Key Findings, Regional Analysis, Key Players Profiles and Future Prospects

Proximity Marketing Market Highlights:

Market Research Future (MRFR) affirms that the proximity marketing market 2020 can be worth approximately USD 52 Billion by the year 2023. MRFR also expects the market growth rate to be 28% between 2017 and 2023 (review period).

With the rising ubiquity of mobile devices across the world and the increasing dependency on them for accessing digital content, the proximity marketing market can gain considerable impetus in the very near future. Proximity Marketing Market extensive use of cellular technology to connect with mobile-device users that are in the proximity to the business. These offer marketers massive amounts of data and are quite simple to set-up, which increases their uptake in the market.

Marketers mostly capitalize on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology to send various marketing messages to those who are close by and are interested in making a purchase. These strategies are generally adopted by services like maintenance, application support, consulting, integration and deployment. Such strategies can be leveraged by organizations in a variety of sectors including media and entertainment, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, transportation and logistics, to list a few.

The intensifying competition between vendors in different industries combined with the increasing focus on business intelligence (BI) induces major growth of the proximity marketing industry. The increasing availability of analytical and spatial data tools also favors the market. The market also benefits from the rising sales of smartphones and the fast track advancements and innovations in proximity technologies. The rising penetration of the GPS Geofencing market, owing to the technology’s ability to help users send push notifications to customers that are close to their stores can also result in strong market growth in the ensuing period.

The COVID-19 pandemic disruption is estimated to transform the Proximity Marketing Market in the years to come drastically, and its after-effects will be persistently seen in the years ahead. The MRFR report on the Proximity Marketing Market meticulously tracks the COVID-19 pandemic effect for the years ahead. Moreover, the precise analysis of drivers and restraints in a post-COVID-19 market offers a coherent understanding of future growth cues.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3909

Top Contenders:

The top contenders in the proximity marketing industry are Apple Inc. (U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (U.S.), Bluvision Inc. (U.S.), Zebra Technologies Corporation (U.S), inMarket Media LLC (Italy), Estimote Inc. (U.S.), Qualcomm Inc. (U.S.), ROXIMITY (U.S.), Google Inc. (U.S.), Proxama PLC (U.K.), and more.

Market Segmentation:

· The proximity marketing industry has been broadly studied; with the primary segments highlighted in the report include component, technology and application.

· The main components covered in the report include hardware, service and software.

· The types of proximity marketing technology are Near Field Communication (NFC), GPS Geofencing, BLE Beacon, Wi-Fi, and others. The BLE beacons-based proximity marketing can register signficant growth in the upcoming period, because of their rising use in multi-channel marketing as well sa product distribution within the retail industry.

· Application areas of proximity marketing technology are BFSI, healthcare, hospitality, retail & e-commerce, transportation & logistics, media & entertainment, infrastructural, among others.

Regional Outlook:

The regional study of the proximity marketing market covers Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World (RoW).

North America has taken the lead in the global market, thanks to the presence of a large number of proximity marketing vendors and the high penetration of smartphones. The increasing use of mobile web, mobile internet and the emergence of high-speed networks like 4G also boosts the regional market growth. The extensive deployment of cutting-edge technologies in the advertisement and retail sectors also induced industry expansion in the region.

APAC is the fastest progressing market for proximity marketing, on account of the growing investments by emerging countries in the technology. The rising use of smartphones as well as mobile internet also drives the deployment of proximity marketing among firms to reach a higher number of customers. Surge in technological development within location-based services, increasing use of beacons, and the surging requirement for better customer services also add to the market strength.

Table of Contents

1 Market Introduction

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Scope of Study

1.2.1 Research Objective

1.2.2 Assumptions

1.2.3 Limitations

1.3 Market Structure

Continued….

Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/proximity-marketing-market-3909

List of Tables

Table 1 Proximity Marketing Market, By Component

Table 2 Proximity Marketing Market, By Technology

Continued….

List of Figures

Figure 1 Research Type

Figure 2 Proximity Marketing Market: By Component (%)

Continued….

About Market Research Future:

Market Research Future (MRFR) is an esteemed company with a reputation of serving clients across domains of information technology (IT), healthcare, and chemicals. Our analysts undertake painstaking primary and secondary research to provide a seamless report with a 360 degree perspective. Data is compared against reputed organizations, trustworthy databases, and international surveys for producing impeccable reports backed with graphical and statistical information.

We at MRFR provide syndicated and customized reports to clients as per their liking. Our consulting services are aimed at eliminating business risks and driving the bottomline margins of our clients. The hands-on experience of analysts and capability of performing astute research through interviews, surveys, and polls are a statement of our prowess. We constantly monitor the market for any fluctuations and update our reports on a regular basis.

Contact:

Market Research Future

Office No. 524/528, Amanora Chambers

Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar

Pune - 411028

Maharashtra, India

+1 646 845 9312

Email: [email protected]

#Proximity Marketing Market Proximity Marketing Market Proximity Marketing Market Forecast Proximity Marketing Market Trends Proximity Market

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primortravel · 3 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://primortravel.com/mars-and-moon-landscapes-on-earth-the-travel-tester/

Mars and Moon Landscapes on Earth || The Travel Tester

Most of us will probably never set foot on the actual moon landscape, but did you know that you can visit mars and moon landscapes on earth?

Let’s be real: while most of us will probably never set foot on the actual moon landscape, there is a solution that will have you second-guess if you’re still on our home planet.

And that is to visit these Moon- or Mars landscapes right here on Earth!

Through NASA’s Curiosity Rover, we got a close look at the surface of our neighbouring planet Mars and after doing a bit of research, I found plenty of bizarre terrains on Earth that actually are quite similar to what you might find on the surface of our neighbouring moons and planets.

In the “Catalogue of Planetary Analogues” by ESA, the European Space Agency, you can find all locations that show resemblance to some of the planets and moons in our solar system.

From impact craters to tundra, deserts and volcanic areas, these destinations have similar microbial habitats along with the land formations that make them a good comparison to what’s out there.

You can read more about the Catalogue of Planetary Analogues (and download it whole for free) on the website of ESA >

But if you’re not so much a reader, or want to skip the difficult science parts of the document, here is a visual guide to the best moon-like landscapes you can find (and often easily visit) right here on our own planet Earth.

There are many surreal places not yet on the list below, but I’m keep adding to it, so make sure to come back soon for more!

MARS & MOON LANDSCAPES ON EARTH

MOON LANDSCAPES IN NORTH AMERICA

Kīlauea & Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA

Kīlauea is a volcano part of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. It is the youngest and most active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii.

This type of volcano is great to learn more about both Mars as the Moon, since it’s possible to study basaltic lavas, caves, lava tubes, collapse pits, skylights, life in the subsurface and in basalt and extremophiles (an organism with optimal growth in environmental conditions considered extreme).

Kīlauea also features volcanic deserts, gullies, alluvial plains and Mars-like outwash channels.

By studying Kīlauea, NASA scientists are also getting a better sense of the causes of volcanism on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons. They are finding that a tidal process, similar to what we see here on Earth, could be at play.

There is a visitors centre at the main vent of Kīlauea, but there are no huts or stations on the lava fields itself.

Kīlauea, Hawaii, USA

Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano and also often used by NASA for observation and training of their astronauts. No wonder it has gotten the nickname “Apollo Valley”!

You might be surprised to learn that a large part of astronaut training actually consists of geology lessons, teaching them all about volcanic and fiberglass-like formations, rock distribution, lava flows, lava tubes and soil composition. No better place to test drive your lunar rover, too!

At the peak of the Mauna Kea, there is a cluster of world-class observatories providing important astronomical observations. More information here >

If you are an experienced hiker, you can climb to the summit during the day on an eight-hour round-trip trek. Or go at night with your four-wheel drive, from the visitors center to the volcano’s summit to watch the sunset and gaze at the stars… while dreaming of stepping foot on the moon.

Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA

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Utah Desert, USA

Hanksville in the US State of Utah is home to the Mars Desert Research Station. This two-story station was launched by the Mars Society and is a stand-in for the potential research station they are looking to build on Mars.

Although much warmer than Mars, the desert location was selected because of its Mars-like terrain and appearance. The programme allows extensive long-duration geology and biology field exploration operations to be conducted in the same style and under many of the same constraints as they would be on Mars.

Over 1000 people have been here since 2001, to participate in missions of about two to three weeks.

Want to volunteer? Head over to The Mars Society, which advocates for sending humans to Mars as soon as possible and is actively recruiting.

According to Elon Musk we could be living on Mars as soon as 2060 (Dutch organization Mars One seems to believe 2027 is doable…) and even Barack Obama is excited about this!

The Utah Desert is large, so there are plenty of locations to visit to get a bit of an off-planet feel. How about:

Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge is one of the world’s largest known natural bridges and located in the red desert landscape of southern Utah, you can really get a good feel of the colours, geology and even the isolation you might feel when visiting another planet, such as Mars.

Walk through red canyons made of red-brown Kayenta sandstone and admire the pinnacles… almost like you’re standing in Mars’ own version of the Grand Canyon: Valles Marineris.

Rainbow Bridge, Utah, USA

Goblin Valley State Park

I had never even heard of the term “hoodoo” before, but apparently, that’s what the shape of Goblin Valley’s rock formations are known as. They are the result of the varying hardness of the park’s sandstone.

The park, together with Bryce Canyon National Park, also in Utah, contain some of the largest occurrences of hoodoos in the world.

You can probably see why businessman Arthur Chaffin called the area “Mushroom Valley”, when he stumbled across them in the 1920s.

Do you remember the sci-fi comedy movie “Galaxy Quest”? It was filmed here!

Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, USA

Bryce Canyon National Park

Situated along a high plateau at the top of the Grand Staircase, Bryce Canyon’s high elevations include numerous life communities, fantastic dark skies, and geological wonders that defy description.

Bryce is not a single canyon, but a series of natural amphitheaters or bowls, carved into the edge of a high plateau. The most famous of these is the Bryce Amphitheater (that you can see on the photo below), which is filled with irregularly eroded hoodoos.

They have a special astronomy program where you can learn about and enjoy the splendor of the night sky, or you can go on a unique full moon hike!

There are two campground sites (one in winter) and lodging is available at the Bryce Canyon Lodge during the summer season. Hotel rooms are available in the park at Best Western PLUS Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel (see best prices here >).

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, USA

Fly Geyser, Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA

Did you know that Fly Geyser was created by accident in 1964 when scalding water began erupting through a man-made well? The dissolved minerals developed the mount and terraces that now surround the geyser.

It continues to grow and release water up to five feet (1.5 meters) into the air. The algae provide the outer-worldly colours on the geyser.

The appearance of the geyser keeps changing and the site has only recently been opened to the public, since it is located on a plot of private land.

In June 2016, the non-profit Burning Man Project purchased the 3800 acres (1500 ha) Fly Ranch, including the geyser, for a mere $6,5 million US dollars.

The geyser can be seen from State Route 34 north of the town Gerlach and on location, you can participate in weekend Nature Walks, where you get to see a portion of the area. You cannot take photos during the walk itself, so you can connect with the land and each other, but you can do this afterwards.

Fly Geyser, Black Rock Desert, Nevada, USA

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Death Valley, California, USA

Researchers have been coming to Death Valley for decades to study the desert’s many ancient yet accessible rock layers in this below-sea-level basin that is one of the hottest places on earth.

Despite its name, a great diversity of life survives in Death Valley!

Death Valley was used by NASA as a test location for Curiosity Rover, that landed on Mars in 2012.

The craters and below-sea-level basin of this national park in Southern California were used to test the 10 scientific instruments the rover would use on Mars.

For the results of the actual mission, please check the website of NASA.

For directions to Death Valley, please refer to the park’s own website. Note that there is NO cellphone reception in the park and GPS Navigation has proven to be unreliable. Always carry up-to-date road maps to check the accuracy of GPS directions!

Death Valley, California, USA

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Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA

If we ever make it to Mars, we already know that due to its hostile environment, we will have to dive straight under the surface of the planet.

That is exactly the reason why a team of NASA researchers gathered in 2017 at Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho: to create the first complete 3D scan of Indian Tunnel, one of the largest and most accessible lava tubes at the monument.

Through their hard work, we will understand more about our own planet’s geologic past and it will also allow scientists to learn more about potential subterranean living on other planets, such as Mars.

Craters of the Moon’s visitor center is located 18 miles southwest of Arco, Idaho on U.S. Highway 20/26/93.

There are five caves you can explore within the Monument. Before entering any cave in the park, you must be “screened” for white-nose syndrome, a deadly fungal bat disease.

Plan your visit through the website of the park >

Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho, USA Credit: Photo by Matthew Dillon, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

The North American Plate has moved over the last 17 million years by plate tectonics across a stationary mantle hotspot. The landscape of present-day Yellowstone National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the most recent manifestation of this hotspot below the crust of the Earth.

The features of this area, such as hot springs and mineral deposits such as silica sinters are related to giant calderas and super volcanoes that have have existed on Mars.

Also the extremophilic microorganisms that thrive in the hot springs and geothermal areas of Yellowstone are astrobiological analogues to those that might have existed with martian geothermal features in the past.

Make sure to check out the “Chocolate Pots”, these are 42+ vents on and under the Gibbon river, 8 of which have formed small cones. The major cones spout up to 2 feet due to hydrostatic pressure.

Also the Grand Prismatic Springs are a sight of their own. This is the largest hot spring in the United States (diameter of 100m, and depth of 50m) with rings of colourful heat tolerant (thermophile) bacteria that ring the lake and produce the characteristic ‘prism’ effect.

Immediately adjacent is the Excelsior Geyser Crater, a hot spring and dormant geyser, with a large outflow channel leading directly into Firehole river.

Grand Prismatic Springs, Yellowstone National Park, USA

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Arizona, USA

There are several surreal locations in the state of Arizona that are very similar to the conditions you would find on for example the moon. No wonder it’s a prima spot for astronauts to do their training!

Have a look at some of the wonderful places you can find here:

Black Point Lava Flow

The alien-like black basaltic lava flow is part of Arizona’s San Francisco Volcanic Field. This is a group of geologically young (about 6 million to less than 1000 years old) volcanoes, lava flows and cinder cones located just north of Flagstaff in the state of Arizona.

This site is perfect for training and systems testing for future exploration missions to the moon, according to NASA.

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Cinder Lake

This is the site where in 1967, the United States Geological Survey turned an old volcano (that exploded around 1064) into a lunar training ground for astronauts. They did this by using 1153 pounds of dynamite and 28.650 pounds of nitro-carbo-nitrate to blast themselves over a hundred ‘lunar craters’.

The area was already covered in basaltic cinders from the volcanic eruption, which is much of the same material as the Mare Tranquillitatis, which was chosen as the landing site for the Apollo 11 mission on the moon. With the newly shaped landscape, they could test their equipment, knowledge and skills while still on Earth!

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Meteor Crater

In the northern Arizona desert you can find an imposing-looking crater. It wasn’t until the 1960s that they understood this was no volcanic crater, but an ancient meteor crash site.

Although this is a very important geological site, the crater is not protected as a national monument, because it is privately owned.

The crater is about 1200 meters / 3900 feet in diameter and about 170 meters / 560 feet deep. The rim rises 45 meters / 148 feet above the surrounding plains.

At the site, you there is an interactive educational experience for the entire family at the Meteor Crater Visitor Center. From here, you can visit the Widescreen theater, the indoor crater viewing area, you get Crater Trail access and can also visit the Interactive Discovery Center, the 4D Experience Room, or see Artifacts and Exhibits and browse the Gift & Mineral Shop.

For more information, visit the Meteor Crater website >>

Meteor Crater Arizona, USA

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Sunset Crater

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when the earth cracks open and hot cinders and poisonous gases get spewed high into the air, you need to head over to Sunset Crater Volcano!

Just 1000 years old, Sunset Crater is the youngest in a string of the San Francisco volcanic field volcanoes.

There is a Visitor Center, which is open from 9AM to 5PM and there is a 34 mile scenic loop you can drive, winding from Highway 89 and the high Ponderosa Pine forests at Sunset Crater Volcano down nearly 2000 feet in elevation to the red rocks of Wupatki National Monuments.

Plan your visit to Sunset Crater >>

Sunset Crater Arizona, USA

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Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Venus is an inhabitable planet with a volcanic surface and clouds that rain sulfuric acid that bake the crust to about 471 degrees Celsius / 880 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems like we’re never able to land here!

For the hypothetical High Altitude Venus Operational Concept (HAVOC) mission, NASA envisions solar-powered cloud cities that float above the surface, where the temperature and other conditions are a bit less hostile.

Want to experience what that would be like? Going up in a hot-air balloon seems to currently be the only way to do it!

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque in New Mexico is the epi-center of balloons filled with hot-air, so head over in October for this 9-day festival to witness over 500 balloons launch in a spectacle you won’t soon forget!

I did a hot-air balloon ride in India, check the blog to read more about this bucket list experience >>

Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, USA

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The Spotted Lake (Kliluk), Osoyoos, Canada

This almost alien-like lake in British Colombia’s desert contains large amounts of minerals, including calcium and sodium sulfates, that have seeped in from the surrounding rock.

In Summer, the water evaporates and the minerals are revealed in more than 300 separate pools, varying in colour from yellow to green and blue. They look like “spots”, hence the name of the lake.

Spotted Lake has been considered a sacred place for centuries by the indigenous people of the Okanagan Nation. They call it “Kliluk” and believe the lake has healing properties.

If you want to see the lake, you can’t get too close due to a fence that has been erected to protect the culturally and ecologically sensitive area. But from the highway there are plenty of good vantage spots.

Read more on the website of the British Columbia tourist board >>

The Spotted Lake, Osoyoos, Canada

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Greenland

On the 31st January of 2011, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft passed by several of Saturn’s moons, and shot images of Enceladus showing jets of water vapor and ice erupting from the south polar terrain of the moon.

That suggested that there was a reservoir of water below the frozen surface of the moon, but researches discovered something even more interesting: calculations showed there is a global ocean under the icy crust!

Curious to experience what it would be like to take a swim here? Head over to Greenland, where you can dive below icebergs, but be aware: dives with melting icebergs all around you can be very dangerous!

If you’re looking for something a little bit less risky, maybe the SCUBA training site at Morrison’s Quarry in Canada is an option for you.

Kulusuk, Greenland

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN SOUTH AMERICA

The Atacama Desert, Chile

Years of erosion have turned the Atcama desert in Northern Chile and Southern Peru into one of the driest places on Earth.

Annual rainfall averaging less than one inch (25.4 mm) and the dramatic landscape consists of dry riverbeds, wind-sculpted rocks, salt-dusted mountains and jagged peaks. You can understand why they call one of the valleys in the desert “El Valle de la Luna” (Moon Valley)!

In a region about 100 km south of the port city of Antofagasta, which averages 3000 meters height, the soil has been compared to that of Mars.

You can expect almost void-of-life desert pavement (a surface covered with closely packed rock fragments), volcanic, impact and hydrothermal deposits, playas (dry lakes), channels, alluvial fans (triangular-shaped deposits of water-transported material), among other Mars-like features.

It might come as no surprise that scientists have tested several rover prototypes here (but also not that the movie “A Space Odyssey” was filmed here)

While you don’t need a permit to get into the desert, you absolutely need a 4-wheel drive, a GPS and make sure to plan your routes ahead of time using satellite imagery.

There is no infrastructure here, so camping is essential and you need to carry everything with you into the desert – and of course out of it again. Be aware though that the desert is not empty – there are many active mining operations and there are people traveling throughout,so do not leave anything unattended. Best time to visit is the Autumn or spring in the U.S.

Atacama Desert, South America

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN OCEANIA

Central Australia

If you have ever visited Central “Outback” Australia, you have probably already felt like you walked on Mars.

With the deep red and rocky landscape, the ancient terrains and arid regions of this part of the world, there are large parts where scientists can perform research.

Here, you can find mound springs (natural outlets where pressure forces underground water to the surface), barchan dunes (crescent-shaped dunes), impact craters, a variety of volcanic fields, so-called “Martian soils” and more features all analogous to those on the Moon and Mars.

Hydrothermal deposits (accumulations of valuable minerals) and hot springs are also observed with extremophiles (like we saw already in Hawaii), micro-fossils and stromatolites (read more about them further along in the section about Pilbara in Australia!).

Southern hemisphere Winter is the best time to visit, and to get anywhere in the desert areas a 4WD is a necessity. The nearest airport is in Alice Springs.

Kings Canyon, Australia

Uluru (Ayers Rock), Australia

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Hamelin Pool, Pilbara, Australia

One of the most unique places I ever visited on my travels has to be Hamelin Pool in the state of Western Australia. Here, you can get up close with some of the Earth’s oldest micro-fossils, and something called “Stromatolites”.

Stromatolites are layered mounds, columns, and sheet-like sedimentary rocks that were originally formed by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a single-celled photosynthesizing microbe. They are considered ‘living fossils’ and play an important part in the Earth’s evolutionary history.

Hamelin Pool is one of only four places on earth where living marine stromatolites exist and the location contains by far the biggest colony on earth. They are believed to grow at a maximum of 0.3 mm per year!

This location can provide insights into the origins of life on both Earth as Mars and the preservation potential for life in general.

To visit, Hamelin Pool is about 1,5 hours drive from Denham and one hour 45 mins drive from Monkey Mia. Best time to visit is in the southern winter as summers can get very hot.

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, Pilbara, Australia

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The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia

The yellow Pinnacle Desert in the Nambung National Park in Western Australia can really make you feel like you’re walking on the moon and makes for a great day trip.

The geological formations were formed about 25.000 years ago, after the sea receded this area and left deposits of sea shells. Coastal winds removed all of the surrounding sand over the years and left nothing but the exposed limestone pillars.

Make sure to also visit The Pinnacles Desert Discovery Centre, open daily, just like the rest of the park. The Pinnacle Lookout is located just behind the visitor center.

From the center’s car park, you can also step onto the “Desert View Trail”, which is an easy, 1.5 kilometer, 45 minutes return walk through the desert. Or just drive around the Pinnacles in your own car! You don’t need a 4-wheel drive here as the roads are sealed.

The best time of the year to visit is July, August, September and October.

Read our full article about The Pinnacles in Australia on the blog >

The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia

Glow Worm Caves, Waitomo, New Zealand

While it might not quite resemble the surface of the Moon or Mars, these unique caves in New Zealand are definitely otherworldly. It’s not every day that you can see such a unique phosphorescent glow in nature!

Glow worms aren’t actually worms, but fly larvae that emit the glow, through their waste and snot… Yum! But that aside, it’s actually really clever: the larvae make their prey believe they’re outside (the glow looking like a starry night sky) and trick them into their sticky threads inside the caves as they fly upward.

The caves were discovered by a local Maori chief in the late 19th century and since then, over half a million people visit the caves yearly. There are various options when it comes to tours, for example with Black Water Rafting, Spellbound or Caveworld.

Glow Worm Caves, Waitomo, New Zealand

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN EUROPE

Iceland

I am pretty sure that you didn’t know Iceland was the training ground of the Apollo astronauts back in the 1960s! And no, they didn’t train their moonwalks there, but in fact they did a lot of geological research.

In recent investigations, NASA has determined the Icelandic landscape is pretty similar to Mars due to the extreme size of the island’s volcanic eruptions (there are 30 active volcanic systems with associated geothermal activity), turning Iceland into a natural laboratory for analogue studies of Mars and the Moon.

The terrain has also proven helpful in deciding the best landing sites for spacecrafts for when humans finally make it to Mars.

Rugged Iceland provides a fantastic playground for planetary surface activities: there are basaltic lavas, lava tubes, caves, ridges, cones, hydrothermal deposits, Mars-like soils and pyroclastics, pillow lavas, hot springs and geysers and volcanic Aeolian (surfaces shaped by the wind) features such as dunes.

Satisfy your Interplanetary Wanderlust by visiting for example:

Iceland is easily reached via air and the main international airport is Keflavík located in the southwest of the country about 40 km from Reykjavík. Many sites can be driven to (in winter you need a 4WD – read all about driving in Iceland on the website of the tourist board >) with a short hike at the end. Any sites in the higher volcanic areas will require extensive hiking.

On the volcanoes there are many marked hiking trails and huts leading to the summits. The weather can change here without warning, so be prepared and if possible have a GPS and/or sat phone.

Mid-June to August is high season, but accessibility can be limited until as late as July because of snow. Many facilities outside Reykjavík are closed from September to May.

Námafjall Hverir Geothermal Area

Hverfjall Crater

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Piramidi di Segonzano, Trento, Italy

In the region of Trentino in Northern Italy, you can visit the “Piramidi di Segonzano”, one of the most studied geological phenomena in the world. But chances are that you’ve never heard of them, am I right?

I know I hadn’t before I visited this otherworldly place recently.

At an altitude of 875 meters (2870 ft) in the Cembra Valley, the “pyramids of Segonzano” reach up to 40 meters (131 ft). They were formed about 50.000 years ago, when the movement of the Avisio glaciers and the consequent disintegration of the mountain sides produced enormous moraine deposits.

These deposits, consisting of earth and small pebbles, were covered by a landslide of large porphyry boulders. Under the weight of the boulder, that almost look like hats these days, the soil becomes more compact (almost like cement) and actually protects the pillars from rain erosion. Just like a giant stone umbrella!

It’s an amazing place to visit and makes for a great day out with the whole family. The site is open to visitors all year round and you can reach different viewing platforms by a specially equipped, clearly marked path.

Read our full article about Piramidi di Segonzano on the blog and make sure to check out our video below >

Piramidi di Segonzano, Trento, Italy

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The Ries Impact Crater, Nördlinger, Germany

Several asteroid and comet collisions have shaped the surface of our planet Earth throughout history. One of them occurred about 14.5 million years ago.

A projectile of 1.5 km in diameter slammed into the Earth in the area we now know as Bavaria in Germany, leaving a 24 km in diameter, round shaped crater.

Of course you can imagine that this is a unique place to study the products of impact cratering, and some of the Apollo astronauts trained here prior to their missions to the Moon.

The medieval town of Nördlingen, that also hosts the Rieskrater Museum (Ries Crater Museum), is not just a great visit because it’s actually build inside the crater, but also because the buildings here are embedded with millions of microscopic diamonds, all a result of the asteroid impact.

The area is a registered Geopark, run and maintained by the Rieskrater Museum.

The impact structure is easily accessible along the “Romantische Strasse”, the Romantic Road that winds through Bavaria from Frankfurt to Munich. Stuttgart International Airport is about 150 km to the East, this is an easy drive and is the recommended route.

Ries Impact Crater (Google Maps) with the town of Nördlinger enlarged at the top right

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Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Volcanism helped shape Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands. The summit of the Teide stratovolcano reaches 3718 meters (12.198 feet) above sea level. But much of the volcano’s impressive height is unseen. If you include what’s below the water line, the volcano rises 7500 meters (24.606 feet) from the ocean floor! This makes it the third tallest volcanic structure on Earth.

About 190 square kilometers (73 square miles) of land around the summit are protected as part of Teide National Park. In 2007, the park was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Las Cañadas caldera on top of Teide is used by space agencies to test planetary rovers, since the environmental conditions and geological formations are also similar to those on Mars.

Since 1964, you can observe the stars from the Teide Observatory (Observatorio del Teide). It became one of the first major international observatories with telescopes from different countries.

The Teide national park is open for public and accessible by road. Find out everything about guided (stargazing) tours on the visitor information website >>

Teide National Park at Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

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Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy

The stratovolcano Mount Etna in Sicily has never really stopped erupting, and with altering volcanic topographies, it’s a great place to do scientific and robotic studies for both Moon and Mars missions.

In 2017 tests with robots have been conducted by the German Aerospace Centre on the “Piano del Lago” area of the volcano, a desolate stretch of terrain buffeted by strong winds. Aim of the research was to improve robotic equipment that will be used in space.

Etna is one of the rare volcanoes in the world where it is possible to observe the birth of new eruptive mouths. There are no less than 300 lateral craters and 250 lava tubes.

When you visit, there are several options to do (hiking) tours for all levels of fitness. More information can be found on the website of the tourist board >

Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy

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Svalbard, Norway

Scientists have been using the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard since 2003 as a testing ground for technology destined for Mars.

Because of its location near the Arctic circle, you will not only find harsh cold temperatures, but rocky outcrops, permafrost and volcanic geology in the area, mirroring several Martian environments, including the poles and equatorial craters of the Red Planet.

This place on Earth is a great place for testing Mars rover vehicles and sensors that have been tested here as prototypes are now being used aboard Curiosity on Mars and future instruments for the ExoMars mission.

You can read more about this research on the website of the European Space Agency (ESA) >>

Svalbard, Norway

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Aurora Borealis, Norway / Iceland / Sweden / Finland

During solar storms, the sun ejects particles that only planets with magnetic fields and an atmosphere turn into amazing light shows.

Our lucky planet for example, is able to show dancing ribbons of green, blue, red and purple shades in the night sky (near our North and South Poles), because the particles interact with our atmosphere’s gases.

A similar phenomenon has been witnessed around the poles of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. We call them “Aurora Borealis” in the North (Northern Lights) and “Aurora Australis” in the South.

You need a bit of good luck to witness this phenomenon however, but there are many tours offering you a chance to see it with your own eyes.

The best time for these tours is between September and April (in Northern Scandinavia), because the skies are the most dark and the nights the longest at this moment.

In the United States, visit the website of the Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks, Alaska, as they keep an eye on the current state of the aurora and offer an aurora forecast.

Aurora Borealis, Norway / Iceland / Sweden / Finland

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN AFRICA

The Namib Desert, South Africa / Angola / Namibia

The Namib Desert extends about 2000 km from the Olifants River in South Africa to the Carunjamba River in Angola and is the oldest desert in the world.

The desert provides analogues for both the Moon and Martian features such as deserts, sand and gravel, sand seas and dunes.

The sand dunes, some of which are 300 meters high and span 32 kilometers long, are the second largest in the world and are closest in size to those on Mars.

As for testing ground, this is the perfect place to study life in conditions of low water availability and high temperatures. A lot of studies are done at the Gobabeb Namib Research Institute.

Chemically, the Namib Desert is almost completely lacking water bodies on the surface as most rivers flow underground and/or are dry for most of the year, mimicking conditions proposed for Mars today and in the past.

Windhoek is the nearest airport. There is limited fuel away from the main cities and roads, so bring your own supplies and drinking water. The nearest town, Walvis Bay, is 120 kilometres away.

The best time to travel is in the southern hemisphere winter. However, it’s also high tourist season so accommodation and vehicles may have limited availability. Book well ahead of time.

The Namib Desert

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Bahariya and Farafra Depressions, Egypt

The “White Desert” in Egypt is known for its wind-shaped chalk rock formations made of white limestone, some of the rarest landscapes and geological formations in Egypt, covering less than 1% of the Egyptian Sahara.

Here, you can find dinosaurs fossils and remnants of other species that have been left here after an ice age that occurred 30 million years ago.

About 126 km northeast of the White Desert, you’ll find the “Black Desert”, where hundreds of black powder-covered hills form the Alien landscape. The black powder is due to volcanic activity during the Jurassic Period.

In 2002, the desert was recognised as a Natural Protectorate by the Egyptian government and since then, all human development in or near the desert has been banned to preserve the area.

This also means that there are no tourism facilities in the area, but with a local Bedouin guide you can go on a camping trip where you stay warm by the camp fire and dream of distant planets in the night sky above you.

Farafra, Egypt

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Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

If you’re looking for an inhospitable landscape, here you go. The sunken volcanic landscape of the northern part of the Afar Triangle in Ethiopia is full of acidic hot springs, bubbling lavas, salty sands and toxic vapors.

The Danakil Depression is the hottest place on Earth and also one of the lowest places on the planet (100 m below sea level). There is no rain for most of the year. The wet environments of the hot springs are being investigated to help understand how life might arise on other planets and moons.

Even though it seems nothing could survive here, microorganisms thrive among the region’s sulfuric pools and mineral chimneys!

You might also know this location where in 1974, archaeologists found the famous Australopithecus fossil Lucy, which has been dated 3.2 million years old. Or maybe you don’t. My dad is an archaeologist, so that’s why this facts was exciting to me, haha!

Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Wadi Rum, Jordan

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Wadi Rum in Southern Jordan has an incredible landscape of cliffs, gorges, caverns, natural arches, and Mars-like red sand.

This valley (“wadi” in Arabic) is cut into the sandstone and granite rock. Wadi Rum has been inhabited by many human cultures since prehistoric times. The combination of 25,000 rock carvings with 20,000 inscriptions trace the evolution of human thought and the early development of the alphabet.

Also known also as “Wādī al-Qamar”, or the “Valley of the Moon”, this is the place were space movies such as “Star Wars episode 9 – Rise of Skywalker” and “The Martian” starring Matt Damon were shot.

Spend the night at Sun City Camp in a real Martian Dome! Check best prizes on booking.com >

Wadi Rum, Jordan

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MOON LANDSCAPES IN ASIA

Dongchuan Red Land of Kunming, Yunnan, China

The Dongchuan District is one of seven districts of the city of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in China.

The area has become famous through photographers who discovered the unique local landscape and its Red Earth scenery. The soil is rich in iron and aluminum, with little organic matter, strong acidity and heavy clay.

You can capture the red fields just after ploughing and before the crops grow in Summer, or in Autumn.

Dongchuan Red Soil, China

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The Stone Forest of Kunming, Yunnan, China

Another sight you don’t want to miss in the Yunnan region is the Stone Forest of Kunming, a notable set of limestone formations of about 500 square kilometers.

Since 2007, two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Stone Forest area was a shallow sea some 270 million years ago, but extensive deposits of sandstone overlain by limestone accumulated over time in the basin. Exposure to wind and running water shaped these limestone pillars into their current form.

The Stone Forest Scenic Region is open all year round. Try and avoid days with heavy rain (mostly between May and October).

The Stone Forest of Kunming, China

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Yehliu Geopark, Taipei, Taiwan

Yehliu Geopark, part of the Daliao Miaocene Formation in Northern Taiwan, is home to a number of unique geological formations.

The cape stretches around for 1700 meters and was formed as thousands of years of geological movement forced the Datun Mountains to change their shape, jutting out into the ocean.

A distinctive feature of the cape is the hoodoo stones that dot its surface. Many of them have been given distinct names, such as “Queen’s Head”, “Sea Candles”, “Fairy Shoe”, “Ginger Rocks”, “Elephant Rock”, “Ice Cream Rock”, “Kissing Rock” and “The Beehive”.

Have a close-up look at the hoodoos on the website of the geo park >>

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MOON LANDSCAPES ON ANTARCTICA

The Antarctic Dry Valleys

The Antarctic Peninsula was formed by uplift and metamorphism of sea-bed sediments during the late Palaeozoic and the early Mesozoic eras. This was accompanied by igneous intrusions and volcanism during the Jurassic Period.

East Antarctica is geologically very old, dating from the Precambrian era, with some rocks formed more than 3 billion years ago!

The McMurdo Dry Valleys are a row of valleys west of McMurdo Sound and got their name because of their extremely low humidity and lack of snow and ice cover. They are considered to be the most ‘Mars-like’ environment on Earth and contain a range of features found on Mars in the past and today.

These include: a cold dry desert, sublimation polygons, gullies, cold-based glaciers like those observed on Arsia Mons on Mars, crypto-endoliths (an organism that lives inside rock) and extremophiles (like we saw in Hawai and Australia already), high concentration of salts in soils and waters.

Antarctica is also useful for human mission testing and mission scenarios as carried out at the Concordia Research Station. Here studies are also conducted into glaciology, astronomy, human biology and medicine, habitat and Large Space Simulation (LSS) in extreme conditions, surface Extravehicular activity (EVA) in terrestrial gravity and confinement tests.

This site has been used by the NASA from January 2008 to February 2009 to test an inflatable habitat in an extreme environment.

Gaining access to Antarctica is, as you might expect, very difficult and achievable mainly by military aircraft or research vessels.

Antarctic Dry Valleys – Credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS/ASTER

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