Here’s a fall color shot that reminds me of a Monet painting. This shot was taken this past Monday by redow in the Missouri Ozarks along the spring branch of Alley Spring. It looks like the part of the country where my mom is from in Southeastern Kentucky.
**If you’d like for your photo to be chosen as a Photo of the Day, post it on Gadling’s Photo Pool on Flickr.**
We’ve written about how you can mail a postcard in a cave, stay the night in a volcano cave–or some other caves, bungy jump in a cave, paddle in a cave, and go to church in a cave. There’s a whole lot more you can do in a cave and I’m sure one of us have mentioned it, but these will do for now. Missouri is the place to go for even more cave fun. It’s not called The Cave State for nothing.
The reason Missouri has such cave wealth has something to do with mining. When you dig sand, limestone and lead from underground, huge caverns are the result. These left behind caverns make for terrific underground recreation facilities since the temperature stays constant year round regardless of what the weather is doing above ground.
Here’s what you can do in Missouri’s caves besides walking through them. You can:
And in the future, hopefully, you will be able to ice-skate and kayak at Crystal City Underground, once a sand mine.
Remember Scotty and Fiddy? They started off about two months ago on a mission to hitchhike their way to the state capitals of all 50 states in 50 consecutive days. (Yes, even Alaska and Hawai’i.) Erik gave them some link love early on in their adventure and now that they’ve completed their fantastic voyage from state-to-state it’s time to recap. On October 10, 2006 the two young men headed off into the cold, dark, unfriendly land we know as the United States… Okay, that’s not true. They did head off on October 10, 2006 and I’m sure part of the whole thing was not only set up to score some free travel, but to show that there is a little kindness in the hearts of Americans everywhere for two men with extended thumbs. Now, whether or not they stuck out their thumbs or just prearranged every single ride, you’ll have to find out on your own by visiting the Hitch50 site.
They did spectacular job blogging the whole shebang which includes photos and video. I kept tabs on the fellas by text messaging, hoping to give them a lift at some point in their journey, but they moved a lot faster than I imagined they would. Their mission was successfully completed the mission on November 28, 2006. Way to go guys!
The moment you have all been waiting for has arrived at last. An unforgettable week… The most amazing things in blogging history, right here, now… It’s Gadling’s Take Five!!! A little too dramatic? I agree. Let’s just get to what you missed.
5. Star Locator:
Here’s a gear piece for all camp-loving individuals who like to stare off into starry nights, but have trouble finding popular constellations like Orion’s Belt. Maybe you just want to take a glimpse at Mars… Now you can do so with this handy dandy gadget, but you’ll have to visit this one yourself. It’s really rather cool!
4. On Stebastopol:
I’ve never heard of Stebastopol and if someone had asked me prior to reading this piece I would have told them it was in Estonia somewhere. Who says travel bloggers know it all? Stebastopol is mentioned here by Erik who passed through not too long ago and also mentioned by Outside Magazine. They say it’s one of the great towns to live in… Hmm…
3. Get Paid to Travel to Iran:
Someone please sign me up for this promotion! How bad I want to travel to the country of Iran I cannot say, but it looks as though they are making more efforts to bring tourists from the West on in to show them they aren’t as dangerous as the media makes them seem. Travel agents – encourage people to travel to Iran and you could be making some extra cash.
2. Bad English:
This is a book all of us might want to pick up, because in my mind bad English is everywhere, including in English speaking countries. Get your quick laughs about goof-ups found across the globe, but I urge you to spell check yourself and make sure your grammar is on point. You’ll probably find that some foreigners are better at grammar usage than you. I have from time to time.
1. Most Dangerous U.S. Cities:
Pack a glock if you find yourself headed to St. Louie, Flint, or Detroit anytime soon. These three just ranked tops in most dangerous U.S. cities. Okay, don’t pack a glock or any kind of weapon, but do look at the list to see why all the violence. You may be surprised where your own city ranks.
Here’s a news story I’d like to first dedicate to my father who seems to lose his wits any time I mention travel overseas. Sure the places I go aren’t always high traffic areas or flooded by tourists, but that doesn’t necessarily classify them as dangerous. What I’m really trying to say is you can be smiley and friendly anywhere you go, but just watch your back as well. And to my father who I’m sure will read this blurb at one point or another – perhaps it’s time to consider relocating. According to this CNN piece St. Louis has been officially named most dangerous U.S. City.
It was only a matter of time before St. Louis, Missouri took the number one spot. The city had been lurking in the top 10 for quite several years and with a surge in violent crimes this year it took the lead over other dangerous locals such as Detroit, MI in second, Flint, MI coming in third place and good old Compton, Cali right up there in fourth. As for St. Louie vthe murder rate jumped 16 percent from 2004 to 2005. That’s quite a hike in the wrong direction. At the moment I happen to be sitting in the confines of my hotel room in the second most dangerous city (Detroit) and yet all feels safe at this late hour, however I’m glad to know my present hometown of Tampa, FL didn’t make the top 10 dangerous city list. On the flipside it also didn’t make the top 10 safest either which include Brick, NJ in first; Amherst, NY in second; and Mission Viejo, CA in third.
So are there any Gadling readers out there residing in the top 10 of either list? Please share your thoughts and let us know if it really is all bang-bang, shoot em’ and kill or butterflies and roses.
To see the full story head to CNN.