Bend National Park in Texas

Bend National Park is one of the largest and remote, national parks in the continental U.S. state of Texas. With three different ecosystems, continuous views, and great landscapes, Big Bend leaves you feeling like stumble. The landscape is living evidence which is formed over millions of years by volcanism, erosion, and enormous seismic events, it also still holds number of dinosaur fossils and aquatic beings from when the area was surrounded by an prehistoric deep sea.

The name of Big Bend National Park is for huge left U-turn Rio Grande as the river bends its way throughout the Southwest Texas desert making a natural boundary with Mexico and giving the state its distinctive bottom shape. It is covered in 801,163 acres nearly 324,219 hectares. The Rio Grande in Spanish for "Big River", in Mexico it is called Rio Bravo del Norte or just Rio Bravo, meaning "Wild River" flows south and east from its origin in Colorado

The park's geography is categorized into three distinct environments desert, mountain, and river. The greater part of Big Bend National Park includes Chihuahuan Desert, crossed by dry creek beds, washes and the occasional spring. Sprouting from the desert are numerous hills, mountains, and rock formations most of which are limestone others are of volcanic origin.

Big Bend's primary attraction is its hiking and backpacking trails. Particularly notable are the Chimneys Trail, which visits a rock formation in the desert, the Marufo Vega trail, a ring track that passes through scenic canyons on the way to and from the Rio Grande, and the Outer Mountain Loop trail in the Chisos, which begins in the Chisos Basin, climbs into the high mountains, descends into the desert along the Dodson Trail, and then returns to the Chisos Basin, completing a thirty mile loop. Other notable locations are Santa Elena Canyon, Grapevine Hills, and the Mule Ears, two imposing rock towers in the middle of the desert.

Big Bend National Park is sacred with collection of plant and animal life. In the desert grow succulents such as lechuguilla a type of agave, yuccas like the giant dagger species, prickly pear, ocotillo, candellila, and stool. The famous century plant or Havard agave which only blooms once in a lifetime and then dies. The best time of year to see the gorgeous cactus blooms is March and April and the mountains are another great place to see wildflowers.

Big Bend is one of the best bird-watching areas in the country, as many birds pass through here along migratory routes more than 450 species. The Chisos Basin is a great place for bird watching, but the best place is considered next to the river, such as near Rio Grande Village and Cottonwood Campground. Among the countless species, you can see roadrunners, woodpeckers, cardinals, quail, flycatchers, herons, hummingbirds, cliff swallows, owls, hawks, golden eagles, vultures, and peregrine falcons.

A great variety of animals make their home here, such as pig like javelinas which is closely related to hippopotamus, mule deer, jackrabbits, skunks, raccoons, rock squirrels, kangaroo rats, coyote, foxes, and, in the mountains, rare black bears, mountain lions , and white-tailed deer. They are all shy, but you have a good chance of seeing them along roadways or even in the developed areas, especially starting at sunset.

The weather is mostly hot and dry, with low humidity and cooler nights. July through October is the rainy season, where sudden rains and consequently flash floods are possible. The rain usually doesn't last long and the water drains away quickly. Thunderstorms make for an epic spectacle and may lead to rare sights, such as Pine Canyon Falls. The weather here can be significantly different from nearby areas; it might be overcast and rainy in nearby Alpine but clear and sunny in the park, so don't get too discouraged by local condition.

There are five covered roads in Big Bend. Persimmon Gap to Panther Junction is a 28-mile/ 45 km road from the north entrance of the park to park headquarters at Panther Junction. Panther Junction to Rio Grande Village is a 21-mile/4 km road that descends 2,000 feet / 610 m from the park headquarters at Panther Junction to the Rio Grande River. Maverick Entrance Station to Panther Junction is a 23-mile/37 km route from the western entrance of the park to the park headquarters. Chisos Basin Road is 6 miles/10 km long and climbs to 5,679 feet/1,731 m above sea level at Panther Pass before descending into the Chisos Basin. The thirty-mile (48 km) Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive leads to the Castolon Historic District and Santa Elena Canyon.

The busy season is from mid November through the first of week of January and again during Spring Break, when local college students visit which is on mid March to April. Plan on spending at least one full day in the park, there is more than enough here for longer stays.

Cappadocia - Region of Rocks

Cappadocia is a region in Central Anatolia in Turkey, largely in Nevsehir Province. It is best known for its sole moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches and houses carved in rocks. It is an international tourist destination, to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique geological, historical and cultural heritage.

Cappadocia was surrounded in the south by Mount Taurus, to the east by Euphrates, to the north by Pontus, and to the west by Lake Tuz, in Central Anatolia. But Strabo, the only ancient author to provide a major account of the area, may have greatly exaggerated its dimensions. It is now believed that Cappadocia realistically was limited to an area stretching 400 km/250 miles east-west and 200 km/120 miles north-south. The region is located southwest of the major city Kayseri, which has airline and railroad service to Ankara and Istanbul.

The Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and deposits exploded from prehistoric volcanoes approximately 1 to 3 million years ago, during late Miocene to Pliocene epochs. A soft tuff layer was formed, 150 m in thickness, by issuing lavas in the valley surrounded by mountains. The rivers, flood water running down the hillsides of valleys and strong winds eroded the geological formations with tuff layers, thus creating bizarre shapes called fairy Chimneys. These take on the names of mushroom shaped, pinnacled, capped and conic shaped formations.

The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic dumps are soft rocks so that the people of villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches and monasteries. Goreme became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD.




The ancient settlements of the region are Koskhoyuk or Kosk Mound in Nigde, Aksaray Asikli Mound, Nevsehir Civelek cave and in the southeast Kultepe, Kanis and Alisar in the surroundings of Kayseri. The region was regarded as sacred and called, in the Scythian/khatti language "Khepatukha" meaning "the Country of the People of the Chief God Hepat". The tablets called Cappadocia Tablets and the Hittite works of painting in Alisar are vital remains dating from 2000 B.C.

The first period of settlement in Goreme goes back to the Roman period. The Yusuf Koc, Ortahane, Durmus Kadir and Bezirhane churches in Goreme, houses and churches carved into rocks in the Uzundere, Bagildere and Zemi Valleys are all carriers of history that we can see today. The Goreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. The complex contains more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels, some of them have superb frescoes inside, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries.

Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Tours are one of the popular in Goreme. Starting at sunrise, these rides last around 45 minutes and go anywhere the wind may blow in the Valley. The balloon carry nearly ten people with the pilot riding air currents like a boat, floating down the valleys, below the ridge line and quite close to the chimney rocks. It's a nice ride and if you ever had the urge to balloon ride, this is the place to do it. Balloon Tours are available to Cappadocia Hot Air, Goreme, Kapadokya and Anatolian.

Kayseri, one of the cities in Turkey, is an hour drive from Goreme. Kayseri Airport welcomes flights from Izmir and Istanbul every day of the week.Kayseri is on a busy railway route. It is possible to find suitable trains to Kayseri from almost all the train stations of Turkey. From Kayseri, you can take bus to go to Goreme. The bus services are available to Nevsehir and Goreme. By bus Istanbul-12 hours, Ankara-5 hours, Bursa-11 hours, Izmir-12 hours, Konya -4 hours.

Courchevel - Ski Resort

Courchevel is a famous ski area situated in the Savoie region of French Alps, part of Les Trois Vallees. It is one of the largest linked ski area in the world. Courchevel has an airport and a highway connecting it with the rest of the world. The resort was planned in 1942 by Vichy regime and a doctorate by the city planner Laurent Chappis. Chappis was a natural option to express the development of resort in the immediate post war years.



The towns in Courchevel are Courchevel 1300, Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650, and Courchevel 1850, which are named for their altitudes in metres. Courchevel 1300 is the name of the village Le Praz. Courchevel 1650 is the name of the place Moriond.The highest point in Courchevel 1850 is actually1747 meters, the name were selected for advertising motive to compete with arch competitors Val d'Isere. Courchevel 1850 was significant as it was the first resort in France to be constructed from scratch rather than based around an existing village. It therefore served as an open air laboratory of ideas.

The Courchevel valley includes the town of La Tania, built as competitors accommodation for 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. Le Praz started Olympic ski jump in that year. There was a ski Jump in Courchevel 1850 on the snow front however it was removed recently due to safety precautions.


Courchevel airport has assured level of reputation in the aviation industry as it is one of the smallest runways in the world, with a distance of 525 metres and a slope of 18.5% to aid slow landing aircraft. The airport has a risky approach through deep valleys which is achieved only by especially licensed pilots. In airport there is no go-around procedure, as most of the worlds airports have on landing. It is a very sharp hill which has seen few accidents from the time when the airport first opened. Larger propeller aircraft such as the Twin Otter and Dash 7 have been usual customers of the airport which should carry upto 50 people, but have since been phased out of use and smaller Cessnas and helicopters are often seen sitting on the landing strip.

Courchevel's couloirs are renowned as some of the most difficult black runs in the world.Courchevel has one of the largest bases for ski instructors and other seasonals due to the size of the three valleys area.

Black Mountain Tower

Black Mountain Tower is a telecommunication tower that is situated in Canberra an Australian capital city of. It is also known as Telstra Tower and Telecom Tower. The Tower was opened on 15 May 1980 by the Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. The height of the tower is 195.2 meters. It is not only a landmark in Canberra but also offers panoramic views of the city.


Black Mountain Tower provides vital communication facilities for Canberra along with both indoor and outdoor observation decks, a cafe and a gift shop as well as the revolving Alto Tower Restaurant. There are three floors of business, sales and radio communication facilities located between the 30.5 meter and 42.7 meter levels providing space for communication dishes, platforms and equipment for mobile services within the tower.


Black Mountain Tower is situated at the summit of Black Mountain in Canberra and it has become one of the most symbolic landmarks in Canberra and a major tourist attraction with a total of over six million visitors.

Visitors can reach the tower by car from the Black Mountain Drive turnoff on Clunies Ross Street, near the Australian National Botanic Gardens entrance. Day Tours coach companies in Canberra also include visits to the tower in their itineraries. ACTION buses also provide a service to and from the City during weekends, public holidays and school holidays. The tower viewing platforms are open from 9 am to 10 pm seven days a week. The entry fee is adults - $7.50, children (4 - 16 years) - $3.00 and infants under 4 years free. A family pass is also available for 2 adults and 2children - $17.