This one-mile-long canopy of eucalyptus trees lines Maluhia Road north of Koloa and Poipu, a beautiful grand entrance to Kauai's South Shore.
The Tree Tunnel of Koloa (Kauai, HI)
Mosquito ‘Fever’ in Hawaii
I'm not surprised, but it was inevitable that public fear of the Zika virus has caused heightened fear of dengue fever in Hawaii. I saw a poster (below) at Lihue airport in Kauai yesterday that gave pointers on how to eliminate mosquitoes to protect against dengue, transmitted in Hawaii by the two mosquito species that transmit Zika. Like Zika, dengue has been around for a very... Continue Reading →
Weedy Scorpionfish, Georgia Aquarium
Is this a face that only a mother could love? Don't tell that directly to the weedy scorpionfish who has a bit of a venomous bite. Kidding aside, Rhinopias frondosa is spellbinding, even beautiful to look at. It doesn't swim so much as crawl on its lacy fins. I saw this specimen at the Georgia Aquarium.
Ribbiting Sight
It's rare to see frogs anymore, so I was surprised to stumble upon this Southern cricket frog on the grounds of the Chattanooga Choo Choo last October.
Behemoths of the Georgia Aquarium
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them. Giants. The world's most colossal fish is a shark. The only whale sharks in U. S. captivity live in the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. Despite their membership in the shark family, they are filter feeders that eat plankton. They're rather harmless to humans, which still doesn't lessen their... Continue Reading →
Orchids of the Atlanta Botanical Garden
I thought I'd seen almost all the interesting orchids there were to see. I'd been to several world-class botanical gardens, each with very fine orchid specimens. When I walked into the Fuqua Orchid Center of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, I knew from the outset that the collection was exceptional. What I saw was only a portion of... Continue Reading →
Hiking the Easy Trails of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, TN
Hurricane Joaquin was whipping up chaos along the lower Atlantic coast. As of last week, forecasts predicted heavy rainstorms, including inundation of the Great Smokies where we were headed. Plans we had for hiking around the Gatlinburg area of Tennessee hung in the balance as we contemplated our next move from the relative calm of Nashville. Suddenly, the... Continue Reading →
Athens in Nashville: The Parthenon
A young girl no older than twelve was looking up and said to her friend, "I see Poseidon, but where's Hermes?" The precocious youngster was admiring a pediment of The Parthenon here in Nashville. Unknown to many, it is an exact replica of the famous ancient Greek structure of Athens as it would have originally appeared, before the ravages... Continue Reading →
Karstic Treasure: Mammoth Cave National Park (Mammoth Cave, KY)
Although our travel plans were going to be largely confined to Tennessee, how could my wife and I not pass up Mammoth Cave National Park in South Central Kentucky? The first I ever heard of it was during a nature program on PBS, described as the largest cave system in the world. Its size is... Continue Reading →
Hood River Fruit Loop (Oregon)
I enjoy the drive through the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side, not only for the waterfalls but because it's a beautiful drive along one of America's mighty rivers. Another revelation, as I discovered on this trip, is noticing the transition between the climate zones on either side of the Cascade mountain range without having to drive over a mountain pass.... Continue Reading →
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