Creative Commons picture by shioshvili.

These trees are committed to beauty. In the fall they expend great amounts of energy to produce a flash of beauty. With grace their magnificent color expands into the world around them making everything that much prettier. Deciduous trees are the makeover artists of the plant world, capable of turning an abandoned and rusting car into a jaw dropping work of art.

Awesome places to observe deciduous trees this coming fall:

1) The Ancient Aspen Grove at Fish Lake National Forest in Utah

Aspens are particularly amazing tree in the fall because whole groves change color at exactly the same time. Their roots are so interconnected that it is often argued that they are really one organism. The roots of this particular aspen grove is thought to be some 80,000 years old. They were sacrificing beauty for beauty even before the Trojan War.

2) From the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Southeast United States

An excellent way to marvel at a majestic seasonal transformation from the inside of your car. Plus, the people are really nice. I was once mountain biking here, broke my chain, and was quickly and generously offered a ride.

3) Washington DC

Not only is the leafy beauty amazing, but you can watch it secure in the knowledge that this is just one episode in the “which is the most beautiful tree” competition that rages here. When the spring comes the cherry trees will do their best to show up whatever you see here in the fall.

Good responses to this story

“I once dated a girl just like that”
“That’s what she said”
“Almost no other time has the discarding of a body part been so pretty.”

Creative Commons picture by gadl.

If you plan on camping in an area with bears, or other almost-as-tough-as-chuck-norris animals, pepper spray can be a nice “just in case” tool. It can also be used for self defense when you don’t trust all the humans around you. That said, it is illegal in places like Canada, Belgum, Hong Kong, an many others. Even in locales where it is legal, it can be a bad travel companion.

The solution: flashlights. Airport security usually doesn’t care about them and they can be bright enough to temporarily disorient an assailant. If things get really bad and the bear just keeps coming, you could always use a big flashlight like a battery powered club.

As normal light bulbs have become more energy efficient our ability to make really bright bulbs has also increased. Some flashlights are so bright they advise people to keep them out of the reach of children. Running off of just a few batteries these flashlights can do there job so well that they are self-defeating. They can light up the path in front of you to the point of making it difficult to look at. Luckily, most flashlights with this sort of capability have lower settings.

Check out this video demonstration of one such flashlights. Even when the camera adjusts to the brightness it still can’t record the image from the center of the beam.

Here is another video that compares various flashlights.

Check out the reflection in his visor. It is of the astronaut who took this picture.

I can see the desolation, extreme isolation, and unfiltered bombardment of solar radiation…but that reflection. It strikes a cord in me that results in both amazement and a touch of fear.

As cool as that experience can be, bathing at the top of HUGE waterfalls is better.

Usually bathing at the top of a waterfall is a recipe for trouble. It can be hard to resist sliding off the cliff like the water around you. However, some waterfalls aren’t as pushy. They have a small sheltered area, a pool of relative tranquility, that will allow you to safely bathe in water that is about to free fall off a mountain. Just be really sure that such a pool exists before jumping in.

Creative Commons picture by mckaysavage.There is one such pool at the top of one of the biggest waterfalls in the world: Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe. Non-suicidal people actually wade into water that is about to fall around 360ft (pictured above). The small safe patch of water at the top of the falls is called the devil’s swimming pool. I’m not sure, but the devil reference could be implying that it is terrifying to bathe inches from the precipice of Victoria Falls.

Bathing at the bottom of waterfalls one can feel the natural excitement and freshness of the water around them. However, when you bathe at the top of waterfalls you can also feel the earth shaking potential.

Keep it & Build an Awesome Utopia

Some time around 1848 the Free Church of Scotland became overwhelmed by the feeling that Edinburgh, Scotland was WAY too cool of a place not to have a more utopia version in New Zealand. So, they founded Dunedin.

They chose a site of exquisite rugged natural beauty that was close to a good natural harbor and a peninsula inhabited by penguins It seemed almost impossible for such a wonderful place not to be a utopia. Hell, they even showed their great respect for Edinburgh by basing the name of the town on the Gaelic word for Edinburgh, Dùn ÈidÈideann.

Dig up and Sell the Shinny parts (aka “you sat on my utopia!”)

Not everyone agreed that the rugged natural beauty of the area was best utilized as a backdrop for a utopia that really liked Edinburgh. There were those who thought it would be far better if the beauty of the area could make them filthy rich. These people were incredibly excited when a bunch of gold was discovered in the area.

No longer did one have to build a boat big enough to move the majestic mountains. Instead, they could just dig up the shinny parts of the mountains and sell them!

People flooded into the area. The discovery of gold near Dunedin can just as the gold rushes of California and Victoria Australia were petering out. Prospectors were able to trade in their old gold rush for a new one by going to new Zealand.

Use it to Lure People In

Sure, gold runs out. However, being really big doesn’t have to.

After the gold rush Dunedin made a bid to use it’s newly enlarged size to…enlarge it’s size. It was histories classic “we are really big and cool, so you should move here and make us bigger and cooler” argument.

Dunedin even sought to speed up this process by throwing a really big party during New Zealand’s 1925 census. With so many people in town for the party, it would be almost impossible not to think that the city was bigger than it actually was. Which would convince more people to move to the city, and possibly make it as big as it pretended to be.

Creative Commons picture by PhillipC.
The moral of the story is: there are lots of ways to deal with your excess rugged natural beauty.

This town has a rich history of pirate-era weaponry use. Mostly because it was an important Spanish treasure port during the pirate-era. In fact, that is really what put Portobelo on the map.

Every once and a while a bunch of Spanish would get together in the town, load an incredible amount of sliver on a bunch of boats, and decided to make a booze run to Spain.

2) Henry Morgan & A Can of Atrocity

Pissed that the Spanish were not buying his preferred brand of rum, Captain Henry Morgan attacked the town in 1668. He lead a band of 450 “defenders of rum’s honor” against the heavily fortified settlement. The dude actually pulled in off. He then spent 14 days committing atrocities.

Henry Morgan’s raid went down in history as one of the most successful and “I’m soooo glad I wasn’t there” pirate raids. The legend of Henry Morgan’s conquest was later heightened when Morgan scandalized the pirate world by admitting that he had plundered while drunk.


Creative Commons picture by gailf548.

3) The Name

Portobelo was named by Christopher Columbus during his “why are there so many gigantic freaking storms” tour (aka “fourth voyage”). The name is thought to either mean “beautiful port” or “Please God, let this place have good food. Perhaps portobello mushrooms….” It was a rough voyage.

The name still remains. However, in 1596 the Spanish won a fight against the famed Francis Drake and almost renamed the area “Place Francis Drake, the English moron, totally failed to conquer.” The dramatic “meeting for the adjustment of names” was so much fun several members stayed up all night renaming things in ways that made fun of the English. After the excitement of the meeting had passed cooler heads were able to prevail. It was realized that renaming a Spanish-controlled landmark in a slang of English that didn’t yet exist “would totally suck.” In the end the Spanish decided to keep the old name. Despite their unanimous agreement that Francis Drake was a moron.

Present Day

Portobelo is now a sleepy Panamanian town 28 miles east of Colon. The fortifications that weren’t blown up during the pirate-era or any of the subsequent wars can still be seen by tourists today. I also hear that boat tours of the area are quite cool. From a boat one can witness howler monkeys, river otters, and sloths while talking like a pirate.