<p>Gunston Hall is an 18th-century Georgian mansion near the Potomac River in Mason Neck, Virginia, USA.</p><br>
<p>The house was the home of the United States Founding Father George Mason. It was located at the center of a 5,500 acre (22 km²) plantation.The home is also located not far from George Washington&#39;s home.</p><br>
<p>The construction period of Gunston Hall was between 1755 and 1759.</p><br>
<p>The interior of the house and its design was mostly the work of William Buckland, a carpenter/joiner and indentured servant from England. Buckland later went on to design several notable buildings in Virginia and Maryland. Both he and William Bernard Sears, another indentured servant, are believed to have created the ornate woodwork and interior carving. Gunston&#39;s interior design combines elements of rococo, chinoiserie, and Gothic styles, an unusual contrast to the tendency for simple decoration in Virginia at this time. Although chinoiserie was popular in Britain, Gunston Hall is the only house known to have had this decoration in colonial America.</p><br>
<p>In 1792, Thomas Jefferson attended George Mason at his death bed at Gunston Hall. After Mason&#39;s death later that year, the house continued to be used as a residence for many years. In 1868, it was purchased by noted abolitionist and civil war Colonel Edward Daniels. It is now a museum owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia and open to the public. Also hosted on. The home and grounds were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for their association with Mason.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Construction</h3><br>
<p>William Buckland signed an indenture with Thomson Mason, George Mason&#39;s brother, on 4 August 1755, four months after he finished as an apprentice from April 1748 to April 1755. In exchange for free passage to Virginia, room and board, and a yearly salary of twenty pounds sterling, Buckland agreed to act as a carpenter and joiner for the Masons for four years.</p><br>
<p>In November, when Buckland arrived, the exterior walls of Gunston Hall were probably complete. Buckland probably did design the portico overlooking the garden, in addition to much of the interior. The various carvings in the mansion were probably the combined work of William Buckland and William Bernard Sears. Buckland most likely provided designs for the carvings, but Sears most likely carved the wood. Buckland and Sears probably worked on much of the original furniture together. At the time, it was not uncommon for English architects to design furniture as well as buildings.</p><br>
<h3>Later history</h3><br>
<p>The mansion stayed in the Mason family until 1867. From 1868 to 1891, it was owned by Edward Daniels, a Virginia newspaper publisher and Reconstruction Era politician, who was a former Union cavalry officer and ardent abolitionist. In 1912, it was bought by retired Marshall Field & Company executive, Louis Hertle, whose second wife, Eleanor Daughaday, was a member of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America. They set about restoring the mansion to its original plan and hosted many prominent guests. In 1949, Hertle in his will gave the property to the Commonwealth of Virginia as a museum to be run by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America.</p><br>
<h2>Architecture</h2><br>
<h3>First floor</h3><br>
<p>The front of the house faces northwest. The first floor of the house is divided in two by a central passage, leading from a door in the northwest to a door in the southeast, with a staircase running up on the northeast side. On the northeast side of the central passage is the primary chamber (or bedroom) in the front, and the little parlor in the back. Between the primary chamber and the little parlor is a smaller passage, leading to a service staircase and a small, side stairway. The Gunston Hall Plantation official website says that on the southwest side of the house is a parlor in the front and a dining room in the back. However, the Historic American Buildings Survey says that on the southwest side of the house the dining room is in the front and a palladian room is in the back.</p><br>
<p>The central passage is lined by six symmetrical Doric-style pilasters. A double arch, with a carved pine cone, divides the front of the passage from the back. In the front, there are four doors placed opposite one another, although one is a fake door for symmetry. The front of the hall is covered in wallpaper, while the back has raised painted paneling.</p><br>
<p>The primary chamber was a private room and was less ornate than the public rooms. Toward the end of Masons life, it was painted in emerald green, which was considered a desirable color. The windows had pocket shutters, and are believed to be the only windows in the house to have curtains during Masons lifetime.</p><br>
<p>The little parlor was private and decorated plainly. The walls were painted a neutral grey. Above the fireplace was a split pediment overmantel (a rectangle, and a partial triangle above that). During Mason&#39;s lifetime, the rectangle contained either a painting or a mirror. On either side of the fireplace are deep-shelved beaufats (niches) to store and display the tableware, with doors to secure valuable possessions.</p><br>
<p>The western room (called the parlor or the dining room) was a public, ornately decorated room. The walls are painted a yellow ocher, and the woodwork is Chinese-style. The wall of the fireplace has a mantel decorated with fretwork, pagoda-like scalloped moldings, as well as canopies topped by pine cone finials. Above the doors are similar canopies, which might have displayed Chinese porcelain vases or ceramic figures. The two long windows are topped by scalloped pediments, decorated with fretwork. During Mason&#39;s lifetime, three of the walls were probably wallpapered. During the 18th century, chinoese (Chinese-style) design was popular in Great Britain, however the Gunston Hall museum does not know of any other rooms in colonial America with this type of coordinated chinoiserie woodwork.</p><br>
<p>The southern room (called the dining room or the palladian room), was public, and was the most elaborately decorated in the house. The classical woodwork shows touches of the fashionable rococo design. The fireplace wall has an ornate chimney breast. On either side of the fireplace are beaufats, these ones with shallower shelves than in the little parlour, and no doors. Classical broken pediments top the chimney breast and the beaufats. The floor was made of carefully matched blind-doweled planks, an expensive feature. Egg-and-dart carved patterns surround the black-walnut entry doors. During Masons lifetime, painted or decorated paper covered the thin pine paneling on the walls. The two windows look out onto Masons garden.</p><br>
<h3>Second floor</h3><br>
<p>Unlike other 18th-century houses of Gunston Hall&#39;s stature, the layout of the second floor is entirely dissimilar to the floor below. A narrow passage runs sideways through the upper level, leading to seven bedchambers and a storage room. At the top of the main stairway is a tri-part arch with fluted pillars, separating the passageway from a small gallery overlooking the staircase. The smaller service staircase comes up opposite the storage room.</p><br>
<p>Of the bedchambers, only the four corner rooms have fireplaces. Their fireplaces and surrounds did have some architectural detail. The corner rooms had two or three windows each, while the inner chambers only had one window each. The walls of the corner bedchambers were painted with more expensive shades, such as Prussian blue or verdigris. The attic was accessible through one of the inner bedrooms.</p><br>
<p>The storage closet, or lumber room, had no exterior window, but instead received light from a window to the stairwell, as there was an exterior window above the staircase landing.</p><br>
<h3>Basement</h3><br>
<p>Gunston Hall has a basement, which has a main passage and four rooms like the floor above it. Three staircases lead down to the basement. The basement contains four brick arched chimney supports, and nine small windows.</p><br>
<p>In 1975, a cast iron stove was excavated from the basement. The style of the stove suggests it is from the 18th or early 19th century. Around 1986, a "shallow subsurface perimeter drainage system" was built about four feet (1.2 m) away from the foundation walls, due to an excess ground moisture. This significantly reduced standing water in the basement.</p><br>
<h3>Porches</h3><br>
<p>The front porch of Gunston Hall is William Buckland&#39;s "most individualistic design", according to Great Georgian Houses of America, as copied by the Historic American Buildings Survey. The classical lines of the porch exactly follow those of a Roman medal of the Temple of Tyche in Eumeneia, Asia Minor, only engraved once. It is possible Buckland saw the medal or heard it discussed while apprenticing with his uncle, a bookshop owner.</p><br>
<h2>Garden and outbuildings</h2><br>
<p>The garden was located behind the house, or on the southern side. The garden was grown above a man-made level platform where there used to be a hill, and was exactly one acre (about 4000 sq m) in area. A gravel path runs from the back of the house to the southern edge, and was twelve feet (3.7 m) wide during Masons time period, the same width as the central passage in the house and the portico. Today, the path is narrower, crowded by boxwoods that are now about 250 years old. The path ends in an overlook extending out from the steep edge of the garden. From here, the Potomac river can be seen. The Gunston Hall museum website says that the view was more impressive during Masons time, when the trees were cleared. The garden was most likely broken into four rectangles, with additional gravel paths running through and around it. To give the illusion from the house of all rectangles being the same size, the rectangles closer to the house were probably shorter than the rectangles farther away.</p><br>
<p>The outbuildings at Gunston Hall are reconstructed. They include a kitchen, dairy, smokehouse, and laundry. They are believed to represent typical support buildings of an 18th-century plantation household. George Mason owned about 90 slaves, but the places they lived have not been located.</p><br>
<h2>Visitors' center and museum shop</h2><br>
<p>At the visitors center, there is an 11-minute film entitled "George Mason and the Bill of Rights". The exhibit covers Masons political career, personal life, and 18th century plantation culture. Gunston Hall is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, except for the holidays Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. A 45-minute tour is offered every half hour, with the last tour starting at 4:30 p.m. The museum shop sells souvenirs such as books, gift items, soap, food, and toys. The museum shops stated purpose is to educate today&#39;s citizens about 18th century life in Virginia.</p><br>
<h2>Other Mason plantations</h2><br>
<p>George Masons other plantations included Hollin Hall, Woodbridge, Lexington, and Masons Island. His son, John Mason, lived in Clermont for part of his life. The Gunston Hall plantation was essentially a small village in which more than a hundred people lived.</p><br>
<p>George Mason gave Hollin Hall to his third son, Thomson Mason, through deeds of gift in 1781 and 1786. The land, as given, totaled 676 acres (2.7 km²). Hollin Hall is about three miles (4.8 km) southwest of Alexandria. Late in the 18th century, it was near George Washington&#39;s Mount Vernon. Thomson Mason was the first member of the Mason family to live here. Before, the land was rented out to tenants. Woodbridge Plantation used to be on the Occoquan River across from Colchester. There was a ferry there. George Mason willed the land to Thomas Mason, his youngest son, in 1792.</p><br>
<p>Lexington Plantation was originally part of the Gunston Hall Plantation land. Lexington was given to George Mason&#39;s first son, George Mason V. The mansion of Lexington Plantation was probably not built until after George Mason V returned from a trip to Europe in 1783.</p><br>
<p>George Mason III bought Barbadoes Island from Francis Hammersly in 1717, and the island came to be known as Masons Island. George Mason gave the island to his fourth son John Mason in 1792. Since John Mason always referred to the island as Analostan Island it came to be known by that name. During the 1790s, John ordered a summer home built there. After financial troubles, the bank foreclosed the island and Johns Georgetown property in 1833. John Mason then moved to Clermont, a 320-acre (1.3 km²) property he had recently acquired, where he spent the rest of his life.</p><br>
<h2>Commemorative and namesake</h2><br>
<p>Gunston Hall, home of George Mason, was commemorated on a 3-cent stamp for the 200th anniversary on June 12, 1958. The view shows the riverfront side of the classic mid-Georgian brick home. George Mason was author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as the basis of the first ten amendments to the Federal Constitution.</p><br>
<p>Gunston Hall was the namesake of the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-5) launched in 1943, LSD-5 later served in the Argentine Navy.</p><br>
<p>and the USS Gunston Hall (LSD-44) launched in 1987. Gunston Hall is also the namesake for Gunston Elementary School, in Lorton, Virginia, Gunston Middle School in Arlington, Virginia, as well as the former athletic mascot for George Mason University, Gunston.</p><br>
<p>Mount Buffalo is moderately tall mountain plateau in the Mount Buffalo National Park in Victoria, Australia that is located approximately 350 km northeast of Melbourne in the Australian Alps.</p><br>
<p>The summit on the plateau, known as The Horn, has an elevation of 1,723 m AHD.</p><br>
<p>Mount Buffalo is managed by Parks Victoria.</p><br>
<h2>Recreation</h2><br>
<p>There are extensive walking tracks across the Plateau that is studded with large granite tors. The Mount Buffalo Gorge has sheer granite cliffs that provide good views down to the Ovens Valley. The cliffs are popular for rock climbing. There is a launch ramp for hang gliders at the cliffs.</p><br>
<p>There are waterfalls on the edge of escarpment.</p><br>
<p>The Mount Buffalo Chalet provided accommodation on the mountain but is not currently operating.</p><br>
<p>During winter Mount Buffalo offers snow play and cross-country skiing.</p><br>
<p>Lake Catani on the plateau is used for canoeing, fishing and swimming.</p><br>
<p>Karmsund is a strait located in Rogaland county, Norway. The 30 km long strait divides the island of Karmøy on the west and the mainland of Norway and island of Vestre Bokn in the east. The strait runs through the municipalities of Haugesund, Karmøy, and Bokn. The town of Haugesund lies at the northern end of the strait and the town of Kopervik lies in the central part of the strait, and the village of Skudeneshavn lies near the southern end where the strait flows into the Boknafjorden. The Karmsund Bridge, a part of the European route E134 highway, links Karmøy to the mainland. The bridge was completed in 1955. The small islands of Vibrandsøy, Risøy, and Hasseløy lie in the strait at the northern end, just off shore from the town of Haugesund.</p><br>
<p>Near the Norsk Hydro Factory on Karmøy, there are three powerlines that cross the Karmsund on 143 m tall electricity pylons, which are the tallest in Norway. A local newspaper in this area is named after the strait: Karmsund Avis.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The eddic poem Grímnismál says that Thor, the weather god, wades the straits at Karmsund every morning on his way to Yggdrasil, the tree of life.</p><br>
<p>Standing above Karmsund, near Haugesund, is Haraldshaugen, a monument commemorating the traditional burial site for several early Norwegian rulers including Harald I.</p><br>
<p>The professor in philology Magnus Olsen wrote that the name of the country Norway, which means the northbound route, refers to the inner-archipelago sailing route, which begins at Karmsund, and originally to the southernmost part of this sailing route, the home area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway.</p><br>
<p>Kaunas Reservoir  is the largest Lithuanian artificial lake, created in 1959 by damming the Nemunas River near Kaunas and Rumšiškės. It occupies 63.5 square kilometers, which is about 0.1% of the total territory of Lithuania. The reservoir supports the operations of the Kaunas Hydroelectric Power Plant. Its waters cover the Nemunas valley from the river&#39;s confluence with Strėva River to the dam, a distance of about 25 kilometers. The greatest width of the reservoir is 3.3 kilometers and its greatest depth is 22 meters.</p><br>
<p>The reservoir also supports the operations of 900MW Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant, which is situated near confluence with Strėva River.</p><br>
<p>In anticipation of the reservoir&#39;s creation, 721 farms and villages were moved to various locations. The entire town of Rumšiškės was relocated and is now an open-air ethnographic museum.</p><br>
<p>In 1992, in order to protect the local environment and cultural heritage, Kaunas Reservoir Regional Park was established. A yacht club operates in the park.</p><br>
<p>Coonowrin is one of the Glass House Mountains, located in Queensland, Australia, located 19 km north of Caboolture or about one hour&#39;s drive north of Brisbane. It is easily distinguished because of its rocky formation at the top. It is also known by its unofficial name Crookneck.</p><br>
<h2>Dreamtime mythology</h2><br>
<p>The mountains are the subjects of several Aboriginal tales and Coonowrin is said to be the son of Tibrogargan and Beerwah. During a violent storm, Tibrogargan commanded his son Coonowrin to take his mother Beerwah and his siblings and help them move to safety. Being scared of the storm, Coonowrin instead ran off and when his father found him he hit him on the back of the head, resulting in Coonowrins crooked neck. Tibrogargan was so ashamed of his sons cowardice that to this day he sits with his back to Coonowrin.</p><br>
<h2>Climbing</h2><br>
<p>Coonowrin has been the site of a great amount of climbing historically, but this has been forbidden since 1999 due to uncertainty about slope stability. During the 1999 geological survey of the mountain, questions were raised about the general slope stability on the north and west faces, and about individual block stability on the east and south faces.</p><br>
<p>A local woman climber was injured on the mountain after a fall sustained while descending from the summit on the south face with a male and female companion on the morning of 5 May 2013.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple is a heritage-listed tourist attraction at Nambour Connection Road, Woombye, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Peddle Thorp and Harvey, Paul Luff, and Gary Smallcombe and Associates. It is also known as Sunshine Plantation. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 March 2009.</p><br>
<p>The 2-level Big Pineapple is 16 metres high and was originally opened on 15 August 1971. It is situated on a 165 hectare site.</p><br>
<p>Under new ownership the owners are facilitating new attractions such as the award-winning Big Pineapple Music Festival and the Big Pineapple was also selected to host Midnight Oil within their reunion concert series in 2017. The owners are also embarking on a master planning process through community consultation to further rejuvenate the Big Pineapple experience, with a range of new attractions and services proposed.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The former Sunshine Plantation tourist attraction, now known as The Big Pineapple, is located on the north side of the Nambour Connection Road (former Bruce Highway), just to the west of the current Bruce Highway. It holds a fond place in the memories of many domestic and overseas tourists who drove or were driven north of Brisbane on holiday road trips after 1971. Apart from the iconic value of the Big Pineapple structure itself, as a roadside attraction of the Big Thing variety, the entire 40 hectare complex, with its retail and restaurant spaces, train ride and Nutmobile, crops, rainforest, Macadamia Nut Factory, Big Macadamia, Tomorrow&#39;s Harvest greenhouse, Farm Show, Wildlife Gardens, and Animal Nursery, represents an early attempt at agri-tourism in Queensland.</p><br>
<h3>Background</h3><br>
<p>Big Things are large advertising objects, usually in the form of the item they are advertising, and are loosely defined as being at least twice the size of the object they represent and at least twice human size. Big Things have been called outdoor cultural objects which serve to construct and assert the identity of a town or area, and they have also been described as one of Australia&#39;s most distinctive home-grown forms of folk art. (The term "outdoor cultural object" was coined in the 2004 publication "Monumental Queensland: Signposts on a Cultural Landscape" by Lisanne Gibson and Joanna Besley.) The Big Pineapple appears to be the most widely recognised Big Thing in Queensland.</p><br>
<p>The first pineapple plants in Queensland were landed at the new Redcliffe settlement by the brig Amity in 1824, and in 1829 the Colonial Botanist Charles Fraser listed 34 pineapple plants amongst the crops flourishing in the 15-acre government garden at Brisbane that he had laid out in 1828. In the 1870s and 1880s experiments in pineapple growing occurred in what would become the Maroochy Shire, but the first commercial pineapple crop in the area was at Thomas Davey&#39;s Woombye farm in 1895.</p><br>
<p>The area between the Mooloolah and Maroochy Rivers was closed to settlement prior to 1860 as part of a Reserve proclaimed by Governor George Gipps in 1842. Gipp&#39;s proclamation was rescinded by the Crown Lands Alienation Act 1860, which allowed for post-survey selection, and timber-getting licenses. In the early 1860s Edmund Lander leased the Mooloolah Back Plains run around the future site of Nambour, and timber getters started to exploit the area, working inland along waterways. The Alienation of Crown Lands Act 1868 also stimulated settlement, and by 1871 the census recorded 104 people living and working in the Maroochy region, although only 31 were permanent settlers. At this time there were about 180 acres under pineapples in Queensland, mostly near Brisbane.</p><br>
<p>Maroochy developed as a region of small farms, and by the mid 1880s the region had 116 people employed in mixed farming, 70 in sugar, 52 in timber, and only 15 in grazing. The Maroochy Divisional Board was created in 1890 (becoming the Maroochy Shire in 1902), and the Maroochy Shire would develop into Queensland&#39;s largest fruit growing area between the 1880s and 1915, thanks to its climate and rainfall, with bananas being grown from the 1880s, and pineapples from the 1890s. It was possible for small farmers to make a living out of pineapples as thousands of plants could be cultivated in each acre. Other crops grown in the Maroochy Shire included coffee, ginger, strawberries and citrus. Dairy farming also played an important part in the local economy from the 1890s.</p><br>
<p>The fruit industry in the Maroochy Shire was stimulated when the North Coast Railway was constructed northwards from Brisbane after 1886. The railway reached Woombye in 1890, and met the line from Gympie at Cooroy in July 1891. By 1900 the Blackall Range was a successful fruit growing area, and in 1901 Woombye was promoted as the fruit growing area in Queensland with the greatest potential. Around this time pineapples were overtaking citrus as the crop of choice in the area, especially at Woombye, with its well-drained soil and rolling hills. In 1914 the Brisbane district still produced most of Queensland&#39;s pineapples, while rising pineapple districts included the North Coast Line (North Pine to Gympie), the Tiaro and Mount Bauple district, Maryborough, and the Pialba district.</p><br>
<p>In 1916 unused Crown Land near Beerburrum&#39;s railway siding was surveyed into portions for returned soldiers to grow pineapples. Some land at Woombye and Palmwoods was also resumed under the Soldier Settlement scheme. Beerburrum Soldier Settlement was the largest soldier settlement area in Australia by 1921, but it had failed by 1932, and helped to produce a glut of pineapples in the process. Queensland production of pineapples doubled between 1932 and 1942, and doubled again between 1952 and 1956, to a total of 12,316 acres by the latter date.</p><br>
<p>In 1947 the Northgate Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing Cannery (later Golden Circle), owned and controlled by growers, began operations. Although pineapples boomed in the post war period, marketing issues led to the first Golden Pineapple Week in 1955, along with Miss Golden Pineapple, to promote Maroochy pineapples. In the mid 1950s the vast majority of Queenslands pineapple growers were in South East Queensland, and two thirds of South East Queenslands production came from three main zones: the Palmwoods-Woombye-Nambour area, the Mary Valley, and the Glasshouse Mountains-Beerwah area.</p><br>
<p>In South East Queensland in the financial year from 1955 to 1956 the larger pineapple growers (those producing over 2,500 cases per year) grew a smaller percentage of the regions total crop than in Central Queensland. Large producers also grew less of the crop around Palmwoods than in the Mary Valley and Glasshouse areas, which reflected the trend towards small farms in the Maroochy Shire. The average South East Queensland pineapple grower had 10.6 acres under pineapples, on a 109-acre farm, and of the top six South East Queensland production areas, Woombye and Palmwoods had the smallest average farm sizes, with the greatest percentage of the farm used for pineapples. In the mid 1950s Woombye ranked third of the top six South East Queensland areas by number of growers, and second of the top six South East Queensland areas by production. In the 1970s pineapples were Maroochys third largest agricultural industry after sugar and dairy farming.</p><br>
<p>Meanwhile, changes were taking place in Australian culture that would impact on tourism. After World War II the use of cars increased, and during the 1950s Australia was second only to the United States in car ownership per head of population. More car travel also led to more garages and fuel stops, and motels and caravan parks were built to accommodate those families taking to the roads for their ever-lengthening holidays. Annual leave increased from one week in 1941 to two weeks in 1945, three weeks in 1963 and four weeks in 1974. Roads were improved, and access was opened up to previously isolated natural attractions. The Bruce Highway was finally surfaced with bitumen all the way from Brisbane to Cairns by 1962, and the Pacific Highway was fully surfaced with bitumen by the late 1960s, which helped bring more New South Wales tourists north into Queensland.</p><br>
<p>In the Maroochy Shire, the immediate post war period saw a shift in emphasis from traditional agricultural pursuits to coastal tourism. This shift was marked by David Lows election as Maroochy shire chairman in 1952 on a tourism platform. The late 1950s witnessed the first use of terms "Sunshine Coast" and "Gold Coast" to market Queenslands beach culture, and by 1960 the Queensland Government Tourist Bureau was promoting "The Sunshine State" as a nickname for Queensland.</p><br>
<p>Development on the Sunshine Coast was less intense than on the Gold Coast, and until the 1960s development remained low-key and family oriented, dominated by foreshore and riverside camping grounds, and flats and motels. In many parts of the Sunshine Coast there was a conscious reaction against the style of development that had taken place on the Gold Coast. Like the Gold Coast, on the Sunshine Coast the seaside entertainments of an earlier era have evolved into large scale tourist attractions. However these have developed in a style that is characteristic of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Here, the focus has been on education and the agricultural heritage and ecology of the region. Attractions besides the Big Pineapple have included: the Big Cow; the Buderim Ginger factory at Buderim which was later relocated to Yandina, Australia Zoo, Forest Glen Deer Park, and the Superbee.</p><br>
<p>Related to tourism developments is the advertising phenomenon of the Big Thing. Big Things were used in California from the 1920s to lure customers off the highways to stop at food stalls, and they first appeared in Australia in the 1960s. The earliest Australian Big Things included:</p><br>
<p>the Big Scotsman, advertising a motel in Adelaide (1963)</p><br>
<p>the Big Banana, promoting a roadside banana stall at Coff&#39;s Harbour (1964)</p><br>
<p>the Big Stubby, a bottle museum at Tewantin (1966).</p><br>
<p>Big Things were usually built by entrepreneurs or by the local community, and almost all featured something that the town or district was famous for, usually flora or produce. Steel framing and fibreglass appear to be the most common building materials.</p><br>
<h3>Establishment of the Sunshine Plantation</h3><br>
<p>It was within this context of pineapples, tourism and Big Things that Taylor Family Investments Pty Ltd purchased a 23 hectare pineapple farm southeast of Woombye in January 1971, from Gordon Ollett. Bill Taylor had worked at the United Nations for 20 years and had been head of the Development Finance Section, and Lyn Taylor was an interior designer in New York City. They returned to Australia in 1970. In 1971 Bill and Lyn Taylor embarked on what was then a new concept in agri-tourism, using Maroochy&#39;s agricultural heritage to attract tourists. The pineapple farm became an agri-tourism project showcasing over 40 varieties of fruits, nuts, spices and sugar cane: the Sunshine Plantation. The Maroochy Shire Council and the Queensland Government supported the venture, and on 15 August 1971 the plantation was opened by the State Minister for Labour and Tourism, John Herbert. Mr Herbert claimed that the attraction was unique for the Queensland tourist industry, combining the specific promotion of tourism with the promotion of the area and its tropical production as a whole. A 1980 promotional booklet for the Sunshine Plantation claimed that in 1971 the concept and design was original and unique in the world.</p><br>
<p>At the opening the Maroochy Shire Council chairman, Eddie de Vere, drove a gold spike into the Plantation Train Ride, a one kilometre two-foot gauge track which still has the steepest incline and sharpest bend of any Queensland passenger rail track. A crane placed the leaves on top of the 16 metre steel-framed fibreglass Big Pineapple that became the symbol of the plantation. Lyn Taylor was responsible for much of the design and layout of the project. The Big Pineapple could be entered, and its interior included a curved staircase, along with an audiovisual story about the pineapple industry and other tropical fruits. Local agricultural producers and co-operatives participated in the development of the displays, most notably the Golden Circle Cannery. A shop and restaurant building was located just north of the Big Pineapple structure, and a cottage was located nearby.</p><br>
<p>The capacity of the facilities was tested from the opening, and modest expansions of the restaurant, market and sugar cane train occurred in the early years of operation. One product which proved popular was the range of tropical fruit jams which were made on site. In 1972 demand for these jams outgrew the production kitchen and the Taylors entered into a joint venture with local passionfruit farmers Bill and Noelene Hughes to form Sunshine Tropical Fruit Products.</p><br>
<p>The Sunshine Plantation provided visitors with an opportunity to learn about the growing, production and consumption of various tropical agricultural products, and a 1978 information booklet stated that the crops grown at the plantation were representative of over half the agricultural production in Queensland. A central feature of the attraction continues to be the sugar cane train which takes visitors on a guided educational tour of the plantation. In the Big Pineapple structure visitors see displays and gain an understanding of the production and processing of various tropical fruits, nuts and cane; in the restaurant visitors can sample various fresh tropical fruits, and in the market they can purchase fresh fruit and fruit jams.</p><br>
<p>Authenticity was demonstrated by the plantation being a working farm, and by its links to and partnerships with local grower co-operatives, industry associations and significant institutions such as the Moreton Central Sugar Mill, the Golden Circle Cannery, the Committee of Direction of Fruit Marketing (COD), the Sugar Board, CSR limited, Buderim Ginger Factory, and the Australian Macadamia Nut Society.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple was soon followed by other Big Things in the area. In October 1971 another 16 metre-high pineapple was opened, this time at a Gympie service station, by the Queensland Director General of Tourist Services, John Wilson (Gympie&#39;s pineapple was demolished in 2008). In 1976 a Big Cow was built north of Nambour for a farm park.</p><br>
<p>As acknowledgement of the Taylors&#39; achievements, on 12 March 1972 the Australian National Travel Association presented the Sunshine Plantation with the first annual award for tourist development in Queensland. In 1982 the Taylors were invited to build a similar project in Hawaii, and in 1984 they developed and operated the "Hawaii Tropical Plantation" in partnership with two Hawaiian companies.</p><br>
<p>The Sunshine Plantation expanded in 1976 when Taylor Family Investments Pty Ltd purchased eight hectares of land from Keith and Ailsa Heinrich, to the west of the original attraction.</p><br>
<p>At 3am on 11 September 1978 an early morning fire completely destroyed the building which housed the tropical market and restaurant next to the Big Pineapple, following an attempted burglary. However, two months later on 19 December the Governor General, Sir Zelman Cowan, opened a new Tropical Village complex, which now had a separate restaurant building to the north of the rebuilt retail building. In February 1979 the 10.2 hectare future site of the Nut Factory and the Big Macadamia was purchased from the Heinrichs by Sunshine Land Nominees Pty Limited. Part of this land was leased to CSR Limited in 1979, and the lease was later transferred to Macadamia Nuts Pty Ltd. By 1980 the Sunshine Plantation included the newly opened Macadamia Nut Factory, operated by CSR Limited, and the Nutmobile tour.</p><br>
<p>By 1980 visitors could shop in the Tropical market, and eat in the two storey Tropical Restaurant. The top floor was known as the Polynesian Restaurant, with bamboo ceiling lining and thatched counter decorations, and the bottom floor was the Hibiscus Room. The Nutmobile tour started just north of the restaurant building and ran westwards to the Macadamia Nut Factory, the largest in Australia, where tourists could view displays, observe the sorting room, or buy macadamia products. At this time there was a large carpark on the site of the present Tomorrow&#39;s Harvest greenhouse. Starting to the east of the market building, the train tour travelled past a variety of tropical crops, including:</p><br>
<p>pineapples, avocados, exotic fruits, nuts, tea, coffee, and ginger</p><br>
<p>sugar cane (by the rainforest on the eastern side of plantation)</p><br>
<p>papaws, bananas, and passionfruit</p><br>
<p>Within the train track was the Children&#39;s Farm (with the current mansard-roofed barn) and Animal Nursery. A tunnel under the train track led to a rainforest walk.</p><br>
<p>In its first 10 years the Sunshine Plantation grew in popularity with attendance of 250,000 visitors in 1972 to over 1,000,000 in 1980. During the 1980s a number of changes occurred. In 1981 the Taylors sold the Sunshine Plantation to Lanray Holdings, although the titles for their 1971 and 1976 land purchases remained under the name of Taylor Family Investment Pty Ltd until August 1993, when Sunshine Securities Pty Ltd became the registered proprietors. A lower retail area for the market building was opened in 1982, and in 1984 the Nutcountry Tour was extended to include a section of rainforest. That same year verandahs were added to compliment the upstairs restaurant (now called Sunshines Restaurant); Troppos Restaurant (later the Plantation Restaurant) was opened downstairs, and Queenslands Hidden Treasures was opened to display Queensland gems and minerals. In 1985, by which time tourism had overtaken sugar as Maroochys biggest industry, Queensland Press Limited became the new owner.</p><br>
<p>In 1986 more properties were purchased, including land south of the current Nambour Connection Road. 1987 saw land purchased on the southern side of the highway, which allowed the construction of new car parking facilities, accommodating a further 20 coaches and 420 cars. A pedestrian bridge was constructed to span the highway. Also in 1987 the Sunshines Restaurant was doubled in size (the restaurant building seems to have been expanded to the west), and a new reception area and Tourist Information Centre was added. The Big Pineapple structure was refurbished and moved about 15 metres east at this time. There are indications that the Big Pineapples skin was also replaced. 1988 witnessed the construction of the Tomorrows Harvest hydroponics farm, a large greenhouse which displayed innovative technology, and RAPS Night Time family restaurant opened in June that year. In 1989 the 16m high Big Macadamia, known as the Magic Macadamia was opened. From 2000, the Big Macadamia housed the Rainforest Creatures of the Night display, but by mid-2007 this attraction was closed, as was the Tomorrow&#39;s Harvest greenhouse. The original Macadamia Nut Factory is no longer open to visitors, although the current Nutmobile Tour passes by a more recent factory building further to the north.</p><br>
<p>In 1990 the Bruce Highway was realigned, bypassing the Big Pineapple along with Woombye and Nambour, but the tourist attraction continued to attract the public, and it was upgraded further during the 1990s. In 1991 a mini tornado damaged the Tomorrows Harvest attraction, closing it for seven weeks while temporary repairs were effected. In December 1991 the Rainforest train stop was opened, adding rainforest walks and the animal nursery to the Train tour. In 1992 an Arts and Crafts Gallery opened in the lower retail area beside the train station and the expansion of the leisurewear department. In 1993 the tornedo-damaged roof of Tomorrows Harvest was replaced, Plantations Restaurant received a colonial-themed makeover, and punkahs (mechanical fans) were added to the upstairs retail area. During 1994 Sunshines Restaurant was refurbished, and the servery counters were rebuilt. However, RAPS restaurant closed in September that year. The Farm Show was added to the Train Tour in September 1995, and guided tours of the Macadamia Nut Factory, when it was not processing, started in December. Roughend Pineapple Party Ltd became the new owner of the complex in July 1996, and a Wildlife Garden featuring koalas and other Australian native animals had opened in April that year.</p><br>
<p>The Bromeliad Feature was added to the Tomorrows Harvest attraction in February 1996. The Wildlife Garden&#39; featuring koalas and other native animals was opened in April. Roughend Pineapple became the new owner of Sunshine Plantation in July.</p><br>
<p>In 2006 the Big Pineapple was one of 12 Queensland icons, including the Cane Toad, Macadamia Nuts, and the Great Barrier Reef, selected from nominations received by the National Trust of Queensland. Another 24 icons had been selected between 2004 and 2005. According to the National Trust of Queensland, the items selected "inherently represent an important part of our history or will have contributed to our cultural identity and will have won a lasting place in our minds and memories." In June 2007 Australia Post issued five stamps celebrating Australia&#39;s Big Things, and the Big Pineapple was one of the five Big Things selected - along with the Big Golden Guitar at Tamworth, the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour, and the Big Merino at Goulburn (all in New South Wales), and the Big Lobster at Kingston SE (South Australia).</p><br>
<h3>Closure and re-opening</h3><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple attraction went into receivership in 2009 and was closed in October 2010. The Nutmobile was sold in July 2011 to the Bromet family, to promote macadamia nuts and tourism at the town of Bauple. In late August 2011 The Big Pineapple complex and its surrounding farmland was sold to a consortium that has maintained it as a tourism attraction and market hub for Queensland produce, following extensive repair of the visitor area.</p><br>
<p>In 2017 the owners demonstrated their intent to facilitate a positive future through announcements about planning to include new attractions, supported by community consultation.</p><br>
<p>Following economic assessments, the owners announced that they saw potential in facilitating a range of new uses that complemented the heritage and qualities of the site. They suggested there was strong potential for the future delivery of a family fun park, a travel centre, food-based tourism, an eco-tourism destination with walking trails, outdoor sport and recreation, educational facilities, health and wellbeing services, along with tourist accommodation such as a holiday RV park and glamping sites.</p><br>
<p>In 2017 the new owners explained that they intended to restore the popularity of the site to increase tourism, but not to directly replicate the previous experience such as in the heyday of the 1980s.</p><br>
<p>Currently the Big Pineapple features the heritage-listed Big Pineapple visitor area, the Wildlife HQ zoo, along with a popular music festival and other events. Visitors are able to climb the Pineapple. While visitation is lower than in the heyday in the 1970s and 1980s when it was among the most popular tourist attractions in Australia and featured a royal visit, interest in the Big Pineapple is still strong. The Big Pineapple was rated as one of Australia&#39;s most popular destinations for selfies, and the on-site cafe does a good trade in retro merchandise.</p><br>
<p>In 2013 the first Big Pineapple Music Festival was held in April with Birds of Tokyo headlining the event. The festival has steadily grown in profile and popularity, and is regularly sold out, and there is a growing list of annual events. The Big Pineapple Music Festival is now an event of national standing, having been awarded one of Australia&#39;s top regional music festivals.</p><br>
<p>As at early 2017, the Big Pineapple was still updating attractions, with the popular music festival continuing well, with the new owners also undertaking whole of site master planning and community consultation.</p><br>
<p>In February 2017, the Big Pineapple was selected to host a Midnight Oil concert, as part of a reunion tour which will take place in October 2017, seen by promoters as linking two Aussie 80s icons.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple complex is located on the rise of a hill on the northern side of the Nambour Connection Road at Woombye. The original Sunshine Plantation area (the Big Macadamia and the Nut Factory are not included within the heritage boundary) comprises approximately 22.86 hectares of pineapple plantations, sub-tropical rainforests and orchards. Major structures on the site include a replica pineapple (the Big Pineapple), an entrance pavilion and two large, two-storey restaurant and retail buildings, with a cottage to the west. Associated structures to the east include tram tracks, two tour stations, and a ticket office for the plantation train; a machinery shed, an animal nursery, a lagoon, and a koala enclosure. There is also a Nutmobile/Rainforest Tour station to the north of the restaurant building.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple structure and retail and restaurant buildings are strikingly visible from the approach road from the east. The entrance to the plantation, the Big Pineapple and the main buildings are located at the top of the hill and overlook the pineapple plantation, animal nursery and wild fowl lagoon. The entrance pavilion is an open gabled pavilion over framed with round timber poles and houses the entrance ticket booth and information centre. It has a corrugated iron roof.</p><br>
<h3>Big Pineapple Structure</h3><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple, adjacent to the entrance pavilion, is a hollow structure, 16 metres in height and cylindrical in shape. The shell of the main body is formed in fibreglass supported internally on a steel frame. The fibreglass has been moulded to replicate the skin texture and colour of a pineapple and has been formed in several pieces which are rivet-fixed together. The stalk of the pineapple and the surrounding viewing platform are formed in steel which has been painted.</p><br>
<p>Internally the shell of the Big Pineapple is unlined and the texture of the moulding is visible on the inside. It is divided into two levels for the purpose of exhibiting displays and for accessing the viewing platform above. Each floor is supported on exposed round steel posts which are painted. A central steel post extends up through the structure to provide additional support to the two floor levels and to support the viewing platform and the stalk of the pineapple above.</p><br>
<p>The first level is accessed via external steps. The ceiling and central core are lined with fibre-cement which has been painted to resemble the flesh of a pineapple. The floor is lined with linoleum tiles. The second floor is accessed via an open-riser, curved staircase with steel stringers, unpainted timber treads and a curved steel balustrade.</p><br>
<p>The second floor is similar to the first with exposed steel posts supporting the viewing platform above and a linoleum-tiled floor. The central steel post is encased behind a display and the ceiling is lined with fibre-cement and flat timber cover strips fan out from the central post. The viewing platform is accessed from this level via an angled two-flight staircase. It has steel stringers, timber treads and a steel balustrade. The viewing platform sits within the uppermost part of the pineapple shell and wraps around the stalk of the pineapple which is visible overhead. It is lined with painted sheet metal and has a spray-aggregate finish to the platform deck.</p><br>
<p>Perspex-encased displays of tropical fruit and the pineapple manufacturing process dating from 1971 are arranged within the Big Pineapple. On each of the two floors there is a hand-painted landscape diorama of pineapple plantations with model factories, trucks and cane trains. Display cases of model pineapples are also located on the perimeter walls on the stairs between level one and two. On level two there is an arrangement of Golden Circle Cannery products including cans of pineapple pieces and bottles of cordial and fruit juice. Early photographs of aspects of the tropical fruit manufacturing process and formal photographs of past employees are also on display. A painted steel ring beam which supports the pineapple shell is visible behind the displays.</p><br>
<h3>Retail and restaurant buildings</h3><br>
<p>Turnstiles lead from the ticket booth to the restaurant and retail buildings, which display Polynesian architectural influences. The retail building to the south is sited at a right angle to the larger restaurant building beyond. Both have concrete-tiled, hipped roofs with gablets infilled with glazing at each end. Both are two-storeyed and have deep overhangs and verandahs on the eastern side with the restaurant building&#39;s verandah returning on the northern side. The upper floors are suspended concrete slabs and steel portal frames support the roof.</p><br>
<p>Walls to the east on the retail building are glazed with fibre-cement infills to the lower half. The verandah has a tiled suspended concrete floor, brick balustrades and timber rafters supported on blockwork piers. On the lower level the piers are round concrete and walls are infilled full-height glazing and painted blockwork.</p><br>
<p>Walls to both the upper and lower levels to the restaurant building are infilled with full-height glazing and blockwork. The verandah to the restaurant building has a timber-framed floor supported by round timber posts and timber lattice balustrades.</p><br>
<p>The two buildings are linked with a low-pitched gabled roof with translucent sheeting. Amenities and some service areas are located in this area. External concrete stairs lead from the upper floor towards the train station.</p><br>
<p>Internally, the first floor of the retail building is on open space with the steel portal frame exposed to the inside. Ceilings and columns are lined with bamboo and the floor is tiled with linoleum. Various retail counters and souvenir displays are set out within the space. Two painted aluminium air conditioning ducts run along the length of ceiling aside a suspended motorised fan system (a punkah). Pendant lights and fluorescent tubes hang from the ceiling. A central staircase leads to the lower level which was inaccessible at the time of assessment.</p><br>
<p>The interior of the restaurant building is an open space similar to the retail building but larger in scale. The steel portal frame is exposed on the inside and ceilings are lined with bamboo. The northern side of the space has been fitted with servery counters and kitchen rooms. The floor is lined with carpet. The steel columns are lined with plasterboard and painted. Air conditioning vents, ceiling fans and pendant lights are suspended from the ceiling.</p><br>
<h3>Plantation train</h3><br>
<p>To the east of the main buildings is the plantation train ticket office and paved, concrete access platform to the plantation train. A ramp leads from the concrete station platform through painted metal exit gates punched through with the big pineapple logo. The train, painted with the name Sugar Cane Train No.4, has variously been described as a former sugar cane train, or as a former quarry engine. The tracks are two foot gauge tram tracks which run through a train station/machinery shed and form a circuit around the pineapple plantation, the orchard, wild fowl lagoon, and animal nursery. The koala sanctuary and rainforest walk lie to the east of the circuit. Along the eastern side of the train circuit the land becomes steeper and a low, random rubble wall retains the slope beside the track.</p><br>
<h3>Pineapple Plantation</h3><br>
<p>The pineapple plantation lies on a north-east facing slope within the train circuit. The pineapple crop is cultivated in rows of raised beds following the lie of the land.</p><br>
<h3>Machinery shed/train station</h3><br>
<p>The train tracks lead from the platform down a slope to the simulated old-style train station (not one of the official stops) and machinery shed. This is a brick building with a low pitched gable roof sheeted with corrugated iron. It has two curved openings, one for the train to access the train station and the other for road vehicles and machinery.</p><br>
<h3>The Orchard</h3><br>
<p>Beyond the train station/machinery shed is the orchard which lies inside the train circuit on a north-facing slope. Fruit trees grown in the orchard include star apple, custard apple, miracle fruit and varieties of citrus trees.</p><br>
<h3>Nutmobile/Rainforest station</h3><br>
<p>The Nutmobile/rainforest station is located to the north of the restaurant building. It is an open, timber-framed pavilion with round posts and a gabled, corrugated iron-clad roof.</p><br>
<h3>Fencing</h3><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple complex is partly fenced to the south boundary with a timber-framed flat-top paling fence and a low three-rail fence to the east which is painted white. A bitumen car park fronts the entrance pavilion area which is paved in terracotta-coloured pavers.</p><br>
<h2>Heritage listing</h2><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple (former Sunshine Plantation) was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 6 March 2009 having satisfied the following criteria.</p><br>
<p>The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland&apos;s history.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple complex, including the iconic Big Pineapple structure and associated tramway, train, nut mobile, attractions, activities, plantations and buildings, is important in demonstrating the development of agri-tourism and roadside attractions in Queensland.</p><br>
<p>The establishment of the Sunshine Plantation and its continued operation as the Big Pineapple combines the operation of a tourist attraction and the promotion of tourism in the Sunshine Coast with the promotion of the area&#39;s tropical fruit production. The uniqueness of the project was well documented in the contemporary local press and other promotional and tourist material as well as in the newsletters and annual reports of various agricultural industry associations.</p><br>
<p>The working plantation sections of the complex provide visitors with an opportunity to learn about the growing of various tropical agricultural products in Queensland, especially pineapples and sugar cane, which used to be the predominant agricultural crops in the area.</p><br>
<p>In addition, the complex reflects a response to the increased use of motor cars for family holidays in Australia since World War II and the associated development of tourist attractions to cater for this. Important in accommodating one of the earliest "Big Things", the complex also reflects the growth of the phenomenon of the Big Thing as a tourist attraction and destination in Australian tourism.</p><br>
<p>The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple complex is important in demonstrating the characteristics of an agri-tourism attraction combining the entertainment of tourists with the promotion of the features, facilities and industries of the region.</p><br>
<p>Accommodating a nationally recognised iconic "Big Thing" the complex combines leisure and retail activities and attractions with educational displays and experiences. The plantings of many varieties of fruits, nuts, spice and cane provide a place for visitors to see and learn about tropical agricultural production. The panoramic layout of the plantation is designed to show visitors from vantage points around the main building complex the diversity of crops grown in the region.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple structure is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of an outdoor cultural object or "Big Thing" in its fabric and setting. Big Things represent flora or fauna, are larger-than-life size, are constructed from materials like fibreglass and steel, are associated with a tourist attraction and occupy a roadside location to entice tourists to visit the attraction. Big Things often advertise the produce of the area in which they are located, and the Big Pineapple is located on a working pineapple farm, in a region were the pineapple industry once predominated. This authenticity contributes to its enduring appeal.</p><br>
<p>As one of Queensland&#39;s first Big Things, the Big Pineapple structure is generally intact and retains its interior displays, internal staircase and distinctive fibre-glass shell. The associated retail and restaurant buildings and the plantation setting remain.</p><br>
<p>The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.</p><br>
<p>Positioned on the crest of a hill overlooking the motorway, the Big Pineapple structure is important as a landmark, strikingly visible to passing traffic and provides sweeping views of the surrounding landscape. Within the Big Pineapple complex the plantation&#39;s sloping terrain, rainforest and selection of crops provide pleasing vistas for visitors as they tour the place.</p><br>
<p>The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.</p><br>
<p>As a popular and landmark tourist attraction and through representation in tourist guides and brochures, the Big Pineapple complex is a highly identifiable and recognised place, both nationally and internationally. The Big Pineapple tourist attraction has a special association with thousands of tourists who have experienced road trips on the old Bruce Highway and have enjoyed a stop at the iconic tourist attraction.</p><br>
<p>The Sunshine Plantation also attracted support from the local community, and had close associations with key regional and state agricultural industry associations.</p><br>
<p>The Big Pineapple structure has iconic and landmark status as one of Australia&#39;s most well-known Big Things. Its most recent recognition is inclusion in a special stamp issue of Big Things by Australia Post.</p><br>
<h2>Awards</h2><br>
<p>In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Big Pineapple was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "location".</p><br>
<h2>Big Things in Australia</h2><br>
<p>Lists of Big Things around Australia vary regarding the number of objects in each state, and what is included, but a 2004 book on the subject listed 118 Big Things, or groups of Big Things, in Australia, with Queensland having the most at 41, followed by New South Wales with 32. Of Queensland&#39;s Big Things, 23 were purely private commercial efforts - advertising shops, service stations, motels and caravan parks, restaurants, museums and the like - and six others were aimed at drawing people to a private tourist attraction. Eight places were structures that could be entered, including the Big Pineapple and the Big Macadamia at the Big Pineapple complex.</p><br>
<p>The Grange Estate, also known as Maen-Coch and Clifton Hall, is a historic mansion in Havertown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Parts of a c. 1700 residence may be incorporated in the carriage house. The main house, built in c. 1750 and expanded several times through the 1850s, was purchased by Haverford Township in 1974. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 as The Grange.</p><br>
<p>The mansion, an example of the Gothic Revival style, is presented in the state it was in at the turn of the 20th century. The grounds also feature Victorian gardens.</p><br>
<p>The house was owned by patriot and Philadelphia merchant John Ross during the late 18th century, who named his country estate after the home of Lafayette. Ross&#39;s house was frequented by several notable historic figures, including George Washington and Lafayette.</p><br>
<p>In 1815, the house was purchased by Manuel Eyre, Jr., son of Washington aide Manuel Eyre, who served with Washington during the Revolution. The Eyre family held the estate longer than any other, first from 1815 to 1846, and then, through their Ashhurst cousins, from 1848 to 1911.</p><br>
<p>The last family to occupy the mansion did so from 1913 until 1974, when it was sold to the Haverford Historical Society.</p><br>
<p>The mansion is now maintained as a museum and community center. Regular tours are available from April to October and during the December holidays.</p><br>
<p>Actun Tunichil Muknal , also known locally as ATM, is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are several areas with skeletal remains in the main chamber. The best known is "The Crystal Maiden", the skeleton of an adolescent , possibly a sacrifice victim, whose bones have been calcified to a sparkling, crystallized appearance.</p><br>
<p>The ceramics at the site are significant partly because they are marked with "kill holes", which indicate that they were used for ceremonial purposes. Many of the Maya artifacts and remains are completely calcified to the cave floor. One artifact, named the "Monkey Pot", is one of just four of its type found in Central America. The Maya also modified cave formations here, in some instances to create altars for the offerings, in others to create silhouettes of faces and animals or to project a shadow image into the cave. The cave is extensively decorated with cave formations in the upper passages.</p><br>
<p>Animal life in the cave includes a large population of bats, large freshwater crabs, crayfish, catfish and other tropical fish. Large invertebrates like Amblypygi and various predatory spiders also inhabit the cave. Agouti and otters may also use the cave. These and many other species are quite common in river caves of this size in Belize.</p><br>
<p>Other Maya archaeological sites in the vicinity are Cahal Pech, Chaa Creek, El Pilar and Xunantunich.</p><br>
<p>Actun Tunichil Muknal should not be confused with Actun Tun Kul in the Chiquibul Cave System.</p><br>
<h2>Tourism</h2><br>
<p>The Belize Tourism Board, in coordination with the Belize National Institute of Culture and History, Institute of Archaeology, has granted licenses to a small group of agents to conduct tours to this cave, in an attempt to balance its protection against tourist revenue.</p><br>
<p>The cave is located in the Tapir Mountain Nature Reserve. The main cave system is about 3 mi long and consists of a long river passage for approximately 2 mi, which ends at an upstream sump. A series of upper prehistoric passages continues another mile past the sump through massive breakdown boulders and giant rooms. The cave can be exited through a tight squeeze ending in a giant sink hole collapse in the jungle. The cave&#39;s upper passage is located about 1/3 of the way in from the lower entrance. Here 14 skeletal remains have been found, and numerous examples of ancient Maya pottery remain.</p><br>
<p>The cave periodically closes when rainfall causes the river&#39;s water level to rise and potentially flood parts of the cave.</p><br>
<h2>Conservation</h2><br>
<p>In late May 2012, a tourist accidentally dropped a camera and fractured a human skull estimated to be over one thousand years old. As a result, all cameras without a permit are banned from the cave. A different visitor once broke another skull by accidentally stepping on it. All visitors are told to remove their shoes and wear socks when reaching the upper dry chamber to help minimize foot traffic impact.</p><br>
<h2>Media</h2><br>
<p>Ghost Hunters International season 3 episode 9 "The Crystal Maiden: Belize and France" evaluated the ghost stories behind the mysterious maiden. National Geographic listed it as #1 on their list of Top 10 Sacred Caves.</p><br>
<p>Ada Kaleh  was a small island on the Danube in what is modern Romania, populated mostly by Turks of Romania, that was submerged during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant in 1970. The island was about 3 km downstream from Orşova and was less than two kilometers long and approximately half a kilometer wide .</p><br>
<p>The isle of Ada Kaleh is probably the most evocative victim of the Iron Gate dams construction. Once an Ottoman Turkish exclave that changed hands multiple times in the 18th and 19th Centuries, it had a mosque and numerous twisting alleys, and was known as a free port and a smugglers nest. The existence of Ada Kaleh was overlooked at the 1878 Congress of Berlin peace talks surrounding the Russo-Turkish War and the Romanian War of Independence, which allowed it to remain a de jure possession of the Ottoman Sultan until 1923.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The Habsburg Monarchy built a Vauban-type fort there to defend it from the Ottoman Empire, and that fort would remain a bone of contention for the two empires. In 1699 the island came under Ottoman control, however, it was recaptured by the Austrians in the 1716–18 war, and the fortress of New Orșova was built by Austrian colonel Nicolas Doxat. After a four-month siege in 1738 it became Ottoman again, followed by the Austrians re-conquering it in 1789, but they had to return the island with the Treaty of Sistova (1791), which ended the 1787–91 war between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy (and, by extension, the Ottoman–Habsburg wars). Thereafter, the island lost its military importance.</p><br>
<p>In 1804, during the First Serbian Uprising, Serbian rebels, led by Milenko Stojković, caught and executed the Dahije (renegade Janissary junta in the Sanjak of Smederevo) that had fled Belgrade and taken refuge on the island, thereby ending Dahije tyranny.</p><br>
<p>Even though the Ottomans lost the areas surrounding the island after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) (and the Romanian War of Independence which was a part of the same conflict) the island was totally forgotten during the peace talks at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which allowed it to remain a de jure Ottoman territory and the Ottoman sultan&#39;s private possession (although de facto, in 1913, Austria-Hungary unilaterally declared its sovereignty over the island) until the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.</p><br>
<p>Between 1878 and 1918 the areas surrounding the island were controlled by Austria-Hungary to the north and Serbia to the south, but the island was under Ottoman sovereignty. The Ottoman Government continued to appoint and send a nahiye müdürü (administrative head of a unit smaller than a district and bigger than a village) and a kadı (judge) regularly. The island&#39;s inhabitants (officially citizens of the Ottoman Empire) enjoyed exemption from taxes and customs and were not subject to conscription. The islanders also had the right to vote during the Ottoman general elections of 1908.</p><br>
<p>On May 12, 1913, taking advantage of the Balkan Wars, the island was occupied by the forces of Austria-Hungary. It thus became known as Újorsova in the Krassó-Szörény County. This was one of the last unilateral territorial expansions of Austria-Hungary before the outbreak of the First World War; the seizure was never officially recognized by the Ottoman government.</p><br>
<p>Following the end of World War I, Romania unilaterally declared its sovereignty in 1919 and strengthened its claim with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. On July 24, 1923, the new Republic of Turkey officially ceded Ada Kaleh to Romania with Articles 25 and 26 of the Treaty of Lausanne; by formally recognizing the related provisions in the Treaty of Trianon.</p><br>
<p>The population lived primarily on the cultivation of tobacco and fishery, and later on tourism. In its last years of existence, the island&#39;s population ranged between 600 and 1,000 inhabitants. Before the island was covered by the waters of the Iron Gates dam, part of the population moved to Constanța in Romania and the rest to Turkey, invited by Prime Minister Demirel during his visit to the island.</p><br>
<p>The Ada Kaleh Mosque, dating from 1903, was built on the site of an earlier Franciscan monastery. The carpet of the mosque, a gift from the Turkish Sultan Abdülhamid II, was relocated to the Constanţa Mosque in 1965.</p><br>
<p>The island was visited by King Carol II of Romania in 1931, and by Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel of Turkey on September 13, 1967.</p><br>
<h2>Aftermath</h2><br>
<p>During the construction of the dam, some of the structures that were built on the island were relocated to the nearby Şimian Island, including part of the masonry of the fortress catacombs, the mosque, the bazaar, Mahmut Pashas house, the graveyard and various other objects. However, the Ada Kaleh community decided to emigrate to Turkey after the evacuation of the island, instead of re-settling on Șimian Island. Also, a smaller part went to Dobruja, another Romanian territory with a Turkish minority, so the reconstruction of the "New Ada Kaleh" was never completed.</p><br>
<h2>Literature</h2><br>
<p>Ada Kaleh plays an important part in the novel of one of the most famous Hungarian authors, Mór Jókai. In the novel The Golden Man (Az Arany Ember), published in 1872, Ada Kaleh is called the "No One&#39;s Isle" and it becomes an almost mythical symbol of peace, seclusion and beauty, juxtaposed with the material outside world.</p><br>
<p>In Between the Woods and the Water, the second volume of Patrick Leigh Fermor&#39;s narrative of his journey across Europe, the author describes a delightful visit in 1934 with a group of elderly inhabitants and discusses the history of the island.</p><br>
<p>The Elaphiti Islands or the Elaphites  is a small archipelago consisting of several islands stretching northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Adriatic sea. The Elaphites have a total land area of around 30 km&sup2; and a population of 850 inhabitants. The islands are covered with characteristic Mediterranean evergreen vegetation and attract large numbers of tourists during the summer tourist season due to their beaches and pristine scenery.</p><br>
<p>The name comes from the Ancient Greek word for deer (Doric: ἔλαφος; elaphos), which used to inhabit the islands in large numbers. Roman author Pliny the Elder was the first to mention the islands by the name Elaphiti Islands (Jelenski otoci or Deer Archipelago) in his work Naturalis Historia, published in the 1st century.</p><br>
<h2>Islands</h2><br>
<h3>Main islands</h3><br>
<p>Only the three main islands are permanently inhabited, each of which supports a modest tourist industry. They are connected with the mainland via daily ferry lines operated out of Dubrovnik.</p><br>
<p>Šipan – The farthest and largest island in terms of area (15.8 km) and population of 436 inhabitants. It also has two settlements, Šipanska Luka and Suđurađ, both served by Jadrolinija ferry lines.</p><br>
<p>Lopud – Second in size and best known for its sandy beaches, it is located between Šipan and Koločep islands. It&#39;s well developed in terms of tourism infrastructure, including the Lafodia hotel in the town of Lopud.</p><br>
<p>Koločep – It is the closest island to Dubrovnik, located 5 km from the Dubrovnik harbour at Gruž. It used to be an important shipbuilding site in the Republic of Ragusa period. It is one of the most indented and the southernmost permanently inhabited Croatian island with a population of 294 inhabitants. It has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of the Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century.</p><br>
<h3>Other notable islands</h3><br>
<p>Crkvina - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<p>Daksa – Uninhabited islet. It used to be home to a 13th-century Franciscan monastey of Saint Sabina, which was abandoned at the time of Napoleon&#39;s conquest in the early 19th century. Later, it became infamous as the site of the Daksa massacre, in which the partisans had executed 48 prominent citizens of Dubrovnik in October 1944.</p><br>
<p>Goleč - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<p>Jakljan – It has children’s rest and a recreation center.</p><br>
<p>Kosmeč - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<p>Mišnjak - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<p>Olipa – The westernmost of the Elaphiti islands. It has a lighthouse located on its southern part.</p><br>
<p>Ruda - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<p>Sveti Andrija – Uninhabited rocky island with a rich fauna, has the status of a bird reserve. The island has a lighthouse, which the Austro-Hungarian government had built in 1873.</p><br>
<p>Tajan - Uninhabited islet.</p><br>
<h3>Greater Dubrovnik island</h3><br>
<p>Lokrum – Some consider it part of the Elafits.</p><br>
<p>The island of Koločep  is one of the three inhabited Elaphiti Islands situated near the city of Dubrovnik with an area of 2.44 km&sup2;.</p><br>
<p>Koločep is the southernmost inhabited island in Croatia and is locally known as Kalamota. In the 2011 census, the population of the island was 163.</p><br>
<h2>Location and access</h2><br>
<p>The island of Koločep lies at a distance of 1 km from the closest point on the mainland and about the same distance from the peninsula of Lapad, further east towards the city of Dubrovnik itself. The port of Dubrovnik (Gruž) is situated at the base of a bay on the other side of Lapad, requiring a 5 km journey by boat to the island. The island can be reached by regular ferry service Jadrolinija – the "Postira" and "Premuda" services connect the Elaphiti Islands several times throughout the day. It is a 20-minute boat ride from one port to the other (Dubrovnik–Koločep) by ferry, or 10 minutes by water taxi.</p><br>
<p>The island lent its name to Koločepski Channel&mdash;a part of the Adriatic Sea between the Olipa and Koločep islands and the mainland opposite of them.</p><br>
<h2>Population and transportation</h2><br>
<p>There are two settlements on the island called Gornje Čelo and Donje Čelo. Both are situated in their respective coves with a winding 3 km walkway in between. Koločep is car free but many paths and walkways criss-cross the island.</p><br>
<h2>Climate and vegetation</h2><br>
<p>Koločep has more than 250 sunny days a year. Its climate is of a moderate Mediterranean type, and due to the isle&#39;s indented coastline and small area, the predominant climatic features throughout the island are influenced by the Adriatic. The sea moderates the air temperature considerably keeping the average monthly daytime highs above 10 &deg;C in the winter time and below 27 &deg;C in the summer.</p><br>
<p>Clear waters surrounding the island range from deep blue to turquoise aqua. The coastline has with a number of hidden coves: the Blue Cave can be accessed swimming from one such cove on the south side of the island. An area off shore where lobsters abound is another one of Koločep&#39;s features.</p><br>
<p>The islands flora includes stands of tall pine and olive groves.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In the times of the Republic of Ragusa, Koločep was an important shipbuilding site. Two members of Christopher Columbus’ crew on the Santa Maria were sailors from the island. Archaeological remnants of ancient European conquerors have been found on the island: from the ancient times of Greece and Rome to the Napoleonic times. The island has seven pre-Romanesque churches dating back to the times of Croatian kings, from the 9th to the 11th century.</p><br>
<h2>Dubrovnik Čilipi approach</h2><br>
<p>A non-directional beacon used for landing at Dubrovnik Čilipi airport in located on Koločep Island.</p><br>
<p>Hole in the Mountain Peak is the highest mountain in the East Humboldt Range of mountains in Elko County, Nevada, United States. It is the thirty-fifth highest mountain in the state, and also ranks as the eleventh-most topographically prominent peak in the state. It is located within the East Humboldt Wilderness of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and is 11,311 ft high. The peak is 35 mi east of Elko and 14 mi southwest of Wells, making it a rather prominent feature of the drive along Interstate 80 in Elko County. The USA Board on Geographic Names lists two variant names, Mount Bonpland and Mount Bonplant.</p><br>
<p>The arch named Hole in the Mountain or Lizzie’s Window, is in the ridge about one third of a mile (0.3 mi) south of the summit at about 11,127 ft. The window can be seen from I-80 and US 93.</p><br>
<p>Hiking or climbing to the window or to the peak can be attempted from either Starr Valley on the west side or from Clover Valley on the east side. Climbing to the window from Starr Valley is the easier of the two if approached from the basin right below the window. However the route to the basin is long, generally unmarked, and is best accomplished on horseback with an outfitter in the area. After reaching the basin the round trip to the window can usually be accomplished within two hours.</p><br>
<p>Climbing to the window from Clover Valley is considerably more difficult but the window is constantly in view and much closer which may give the difficulty factor a deceptive appearance. But, with an appropriate high clearance 4-WD vehicle, the hiking distance before starting the climb is much less than the hiking distance when starting from Starr Valley.</p><br>
<p>Clover Valley is reached by driving south from Wells on US Highway 93 and 5 mi later turning onto State Route 232 to Clover Valley. Six miles (9.7 km) later look for the Weeks Creek Canyon turnoff sign on the right. This is a public access road that will lead to Lizzies Basin and farther into the mountain towards Hole in the Mountain basin. Continue as far up the two wheel track road as your vehicle will take you. There are no trails so you must determine your own best route up the mountain. It will be immediately apparent that any direct route to the window is a very difficult task, even dangerous.</p><br>
<p>Instead, make your way up to Hole in the Mountain Peak, located a short distance to the north and an easier climb, and then make the approach to the window from the west side of the mountain.</p><br>
<h2>Summit panorama</h2><br>
<p>Šipan also Sipano  is the largest of the Elaphiti Islands, 17 km northwest of Dubrovnik, Croatia; separated from the mainland coast by the Koločepski Channel; area 16.22 km²</p><br>
<p>The population is 500, the island is 9.1 km in length, and up to 2.6 km in width. It is the largest island in this group and its highest point is 243 m above sea level. Two limestone crests, the higher (Velji Vrh, 243 m) in the northeast and the lower in the southeast surround a dolomite depression, on which olives, figs, vine, carob-trees, almond-trees, oranges and citrus fruit are cultivated. There are two ports on the island, Suđurađ (San Giorgio) in the east, and Šipanska Luka (Porto Gippana) in the west. The island is also famed for its numerous palm tree species that grow on the island.</p><br>
<p>It was first mentioned by this name in documents of 1371.</p><br>
<p>In 1426 it became part of the Republic of Ragusa.</p><br>
<p>During the French Revolutionary Wars, the British Royal Navy referred to it as Zupano. On 17 June 1813 a landing party of marines and seamen from captured the French garrison.</p><br>
<p>The Cass River is a 61.5 mi river in the Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It drains large portions of Sanilac and Tuscola counties and smaller portions of Genesee, Huron, Lapeer, and Saginaw counties.</p><br>
<p>It flows into the Shiawassee River in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge at less than a mile from where the Shiawassee merges with the Tittabawassee River to form the Saginaw River southwest of the city of Saginaw. The Saginaw River is a tributary of Lake Huron.</p><br>
<p>The Cass River flows through or very near Bridgeport, Frankenmuth, Tuscola, Vassar, Caro, and Cass City.</p><br>
<p>The main branch of the Cass River is formed by the confluence of the North and South branches at , just south of Cass City. The Middle Branch joins the South Branch at in Evergreen Township in Sanilac County. The Middle Branch rises in Elmer Township in Sanilac County. The South Branch rises in Flynn Township, Sanilac County near the boundary with Lapeer County.</p><br>
<p>The North Branch rises in the confluence of several drains northeast of Ubly in Huron County. The headwaters of the South Fork of the North Branch are drains in the south of Paris Township in southeast Huron County. The South Fork of the North Branch is formed by the confluence of drains in Minden Township in north central Sanilac County. The South Fork flows into the North Branch at in Greenleaf Township, Michigan in Sanilac County.</p><br>
<p>Greenbo Lake is a 181 acre reservoir nestled in the Appalachian foothills of Greenup County, Kentucky. The lake was jointly created in 1955 by the Greenbo Lake Association  and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Its distinctive name derives from the combination of the names of the county it is located in and nearby Boyd County. The association held a competition for the naming of this lake and the winner picked the name.</p><br>
<h2>Attractions</h2><br>
<p>The lake, known as a wonderful spot for largemouth bass, is located within Greenbo Lake State Resort Park. The park, covering more than 3,000 acres (12 km²), features camping, fishing, boating, dining and golf, as well as scenic trails for biking and hiking.</p><br>
<p>Gile Mountain is located in Windsor County, Vermont, along the border between the towns of Norwich and Sharon, with the summit located in Norwich. The mountain reaches a height of 1,873 ft above sea level. Relatively unimposing considering its height, the true summit cannot easily be seen from the surrounding territory, despite the prominent fire tower atop its summit. The tower is easily reached by taking Turnpike Road from Norwich to the parking area near its terminus. From here, the Gile Mountain trail leads west 0.7 mi to the summit, passing under power lines. The summit area contains an old ranger cabin, since converted to a shelter-type structure , and the tower itself. From the top views are expansive, and on a clear day one can see Mount Ascutney to the south, the Green Mountains from Killington Peak to Mount Mansfield to the west, Mount Cardigan, Smarts Mountain, and Croydon Peak to the east, and Mount Cube and Mount Moosilauke to the northeast with many of the White Mountains beyond. Dartmouth College is also visible some seven miles distant.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Gile Mountain is the type locality for the Devonian Gile Mountain Formation—interbedded quartzite & schist—which can be seen throughout northeastern Vermont.</p><br>
<p>Ilhéu Caroço is an islet  in the Gulf of Guinea and is one of the smaller islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The islet is located southeast of the island of Príncipe. The total area is 0,4 km².</p><br>
<p>Wholly the islet is mountainous and elevates to 305 meters and the entire terrain is completely forested, it is considered being the highest islet in São Tomé and Príncipe. During the Ice Age, its elevation was over 400 meters. The island it not inhabited by humans. Fauna dominate the island, the dominant are just birds and of the sea including fishes and crustaceans.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The islet is of volcanic origin and mainly originated from a nearby volcanic vent from nearby Príncipe.</p><br>
<p>The islet was discovered by the Portuguese in January 1471 when the nearby island of Príncipe was also discovered.</p><br>
<p>On 1 November 1929, the path that showed an annular eclipse was on the southwest edge of the island. The sky was partly dark and the weather conditions were unknown.</p><br>
<p>The Kawich Range is a mountain range in Nye County in southern Nevada in the United States, just south of the Hot Creek Range. The southern part of the range lies on the Nellis Air Force Range. The mountains cover an area of about 250 square miles and contain Kawich Peak, at 9,399 ft above sea level. USA Route 6 crosses the pass between The Kawich and the Hot Creek ranges and meets State Route 375 at Warm Springs just north of the range. To the east lies the Reveille and Kawich valleys with the Reveille Range to the east of the northern portion and the Belted Range east of Quartzite Mountain at the southern end. The broad Pahute Mesa and Gold Flat lie to the south with Cactus Flat and the Cactus Range to the southwest. To the northwest across Stone Cabin Valley lies the Monitor Range.</p><br>
<p>The Bureau of Land Management manages 50.3% of the mountains, and 39.7% is part of the Air Force Range. A USFWS National Wildlife Refuge makes up 8.9% of the range.</p><br>
<p>Vegetation is primarily sagebrush scrub and piñon-juniper. The Kawich Range beardtongue (Penstemon pudicus) is a rare plant that is endemic to the range. The mountains are home to porcupines and several species of mice, and chipmunks, voles, squirrels, and gophers can also be found. American kestrels, MacGillivrays warbler, Bullocks oriole, and hairy woodpeckers also inhabit the Kawich Range.</p><br>
<p>Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park, Oregon. The top of the island reaches 6,933 ft above sea level, about 755 ft above the average surface of the lake. The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about 500 ft wide and 100 ft deep. The crater was named the "Witches Cauldron" by William Gladstone Steel in 1885, who also gave Wizard Island its name at the same time.</p><br>
<p>The land area of the island is 315.85 acre.</p><br>
<h2>Formation</h2><br>
<p>Wizard Island was created after Mount Mazama, a large stratovolcano, erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago, forming its caldera which now contains Crater Lake. Following the cataclysmic caldera-forming eruption, which left a hole about 4,000 ft deep where the mountain had once stood, a series of smaller eruptions over the next several hundred years formed several cinder cones on the caldera floor. The highest of these cones, the only one to rise above the current lake level, is Wizard Island, which rises over 2,700 ft above the lowest point on the caldera floor and the deepest point in the lake.</p><br>
<p>Another large cinder cone, Merriam Cone, is located in the northeast part of the lake. Although Merriam Cone rises about 1,400 ft above the caldera floor, its summit is still 505 ft below the average lake level. Its surface features and lack of a crater indicate that Merriam Cone formed under water.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>Current public access to Wizard Island is available only during the summer months when boat tours on Crater Lake are in operation. The tours depart from Cleetwood Cove at the north end of the lake, and circle the lake in the counterclockwise direction, stopping at a dock at Governors Bay on the south side of Wizard Island. Passengers on boat trips early in the day may choose to disembark on the island, but must be prepared to spend the entire day on the island if subsequent boats are too full to take on additional passengers. Those on late afternoon boat trips are not permitted to disembark. A final boat is dispatched at the end of each day to pick up any stragglers since overnight camping is not permitted on the island. Two hiking trails are available on Wizard Island, one of which switchbacks up the flanks of the cone and circles the crater on top while the other trail meanders from the dock towards the western end of the island.</p><br>
<p>The Hippodrome Theatre  is a regional professional theatre in downtown Gainesville, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1973 by local actors. The address is 25 Southeast 2nd Place.</p><br>
<p>The interior is in good condition, maintaining much of the original walls, doors and beams from its post office and courthouse era. It is a relatively small location, with a 268-seat thrust stage main stage theater on the second floor and 80-seat cinema space on the first floor. The Hippodrome building also has one of the oldest working elevators in Florida which requires the operator to manually close the screen, the door, and then pull a crank to operate.</p><br>
<p>The Hippodrome uses professional actors and has its own set designers, costume designers, sound engineers and lighting engineers for each of its main stage productions. It also provides youth theater education classes. The Hippodrome features Broadway and off Broadway productions and art house films.</p><br>
<p>The Hippodrome provides arts education for all ages, including classes & camps, in-school programs, workshops and behind-the-scenes opportunities for adults.</p><br>
<h2>USA Post Office and courthouse</h2><br>
<p>The building itself was completed in 1911, and served as a USA Post Office (on the first floor) and a Courthouse of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida (on the second floor). It was added to the USA National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1979.</p><br>
<p>Shivanasamudra is a small city in the Mandya District of the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on the banks of the river Kaveri, which forms here the boundary to the Chamarajanagar District, and is the location of one of the first Hydro-electric Power stations in Asia, which was set up in the year 1902.</p><br>
<h2>Waterfalls</h2><br>
<p>The Sivanasamudra Falls is on the Kaveri River after the river has found its way through the rocks and ravines of the Deccan Plateau and drops off to form waterfalls. The island town of Shivanasamudra divides the river into twin waterfalls. This creates the fourth largest island in the rivers course. A group of ancient temples are located here and there likely was a village.</p><br>
<p>This is a segmented waterfall. Segmented waterfalls occur where the water flow is broken into two or more channels before dropping over a cliff, resulting in multiple side by side waterfalls. It has an average width of 305 meters, a height of 98 m, and an average volume of 934 cubic meters / sec. The maximum recorded volume is 18,887 cubic meters / sec.</p><br>
<p>It is a perennial waterfall. The time of best flow are the monsoon season of July to October.</p><br>
<p>A common misconception about these waterfalls are that the left segment is called Gaganachukki and the right segment is called Bharachukki. In reality the Bharachukki falls are a few kilometers to the south-west of the Gaganachukki falls. This is due to the Kaveri river itself splitting a few kilometers to the south into western and eastern branches. The western branch results in the twin waterfalls of Gaganachukki, whereas the eastern branch results in the Bharachukki falls. The Gaganachukki waterfalls are best viewed from the Shivanasamudra watch tower. Most of the pictures showing the twin waterfalls are taken from that location. There is another approach to the Gaganachukki falls from the Darga Hazrath Mardane Gaib (Imam Ali). Despite warnings being posted, people climb down the rocks and attempt to view the waterfalls from behind/top, resulting in many fatal accidents. It is 139 km from the city of Bangalore.</p><br>
<h2>Temples</h2><br>
<p>Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple located here is built in the Dravidan style of architecture. Sri Ranganathaswamy here is also referred to as "Madhya Ranga", who is highly revered by Sri Vyshanava devotees among others. Among all the three Rangas, the deity here is believed to represent the youth form of the God and hence is also fondly referred to as Mohana Ranga and Jaganmohana Ranga. Madhya Ranga is an ancient temple housing a beautiful idol, yet being located remotely sees few visitors. The temple often remains closed to visitors as the priest is not punctual, and sadly Karnataka government temple authority has done little to maintain and promote this place. There are three more temples on three other sides of the island.</p><br>
<p>The ancient Sri Someshwara Temple is another famous temple here at Shivanasamudra. Adi guru Sri Shankaracharya is said to have visited this place and established a "Sri Chakra". Surprisingly, it is believed that the Someshwara Linga here has existed much before the Ranganantha idol and that the Saptarshis were performing pooja and worshipping this Linga.</p><br>
<p>The Shakthi Devathe temple of Vanadurga Devi is 1 Km away from the Someshwara temple.</p><br>
<h2>Power generation</h2><br>
<p>Asia&#39;s First hydro-electric power station is located at the waterfall and is still functional. This station was commissioned by the Diwan of Mysore, Sir K. Seshadri Iyer. The power generated here was initially used in Kolar Gold Fields.</p><br>
<p>Utö is a small island in the Archipelago Sea in the Baltic sea and belongs to Pargas municipality. It is the southernmost year-round inhabited island in Finland. Utö has an area of 0.81 km&sup2; and the population was ca 40 .</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The name of the island, Utö, means "outer island" in Swedish.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The island has a lighthouse, pilot station, a small guest harbour, a shop and a post office. The island is also known from the marine weather observations that began in 1881. Due to the remoteness of the island, the island has its own local school. In former times, the Finnish Defence Forces kept a small station on the island, but left the island in 2005. The island is also known as the first rescue station of the Estonia disaster in September 1994.</p><br>
<h2>Climate</h2><br>
<p>The annual average temperature at Utö is 6.5 &deg;C and annual precipitation 549 mm (1981-2010). Average snow-covered period last from 23 January to 15 March. The open sea areas around Utö are covered by ice only approximately every five years.</p><br>
<p>Beckholmen  is a small island in central Stockholm, Sweden.</p><br>
<p>Having served the city&#39;s shipping industry for centuries, Beckholmen is now regarded as a historical monument of national interest, and, by its location just south of Djurgården in the vicinity of other similar localities (including Skeppsholmen, Kastellholmen, Djurgårdsvarvet, and Blasieholmen) it also forms part of Royal National City Park, and Stockholms Sjögård (literally, "Sea homestead of Stockholm"), an area of the harbour of Stockholm containing maritime environments of historical interest.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The original name of the island, Biskopsholmen ("Bishops Islet") and other similar local names such as Biskopsudden ("Bishops Point"), is associated with the priory in Klara (formerly located on the eastern part of Kungsholmen) to which the surrounding area was donated by King Magnus Ladulås (1240-1290), who in turn took it over from the archbishop and chapter in Uppsala in 1286.</p><br>
<p>Set up in 1633, a private pitch boilery started to produce pitch (by boiling tar) on the island, pitch at the time being both frequently used at the city&#39;s abundant shipyards and an important national trade item. (Including a map)</p><br>
<p>The operations must have had quite an impact, since Queen Christina (1626-1689) when handing the area over to the city in 1647, explains she wished to see storehouses built on Bäck- eller Tiärholmen (The "Pitch" or "Tar Islet") for "the advantage and benefit of the city and the residents". Thus having both its name and reputation set, the islet was bestowed a tar distilling workshop, originally intended for the north-eastern shores of Södermalm, replacing the boilery during the 1680s. Private entrepreneurs took charge of the island in 1717 and, in spite of a devastating fire in 1723, developed it into an important part of their trading house.</p><br>
<p>As Sweden lost its last war in 1809 it also lost Finland, the major source of raw material for the capitals tar industry, and during the first half of the 19th century the workshops on the island were passed back and forth between different owners. In 1848 however, the growing number of steamships produced a need for new shipyards, and for the purpose Beckholmen was bought by the citys wholesalers and shipping industry. The first two dry docks, 75 and 45 metres long respectively and provided with a steam-driven pumping-station, were thus burst out of the islands bedrock the following year, while the first bridge connecting the island to Djurgården, Beckholmsbron, was built. The docks were extended in two stages during the 1870s and 1890s to their present length, 102 and 99 metres.</p><br>
<p>The island was bought by the city in 1918 and subsequently handed over to the Swedish Navy administration who had the third dock built 1923-1925. It was inaugurated by King Gustav V, and thus named "The GV-dock", and extended to 197 metres twenty years later. Two local landmarks, well-known to most Stockholmers, cranes decorated as giraffes, were relocated to Beckholmen in 1988 from their original location at Södra Hammarbyhamnen.</p><br>
<h2>Present status</h2><br>
<p>Though most of the shipping trade since long have abandoned the harbour of Stockholm, and icebreakers, until recently stationed in the city harbour, are driven out because they are said to intimidate tourists, Beckholmen remains a living maritime environment, carefully preserving its heritage and throughout the year minding ships of all sizes, ages, and materials.</p><br>
<p>The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago comprising approximately 365 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lie off the north coast of the Isthmus of Panama, east of the Panama Canal. A part of the comarca  Guna Yala along the Caribbean coast of Panama is home to the Guna people. San Blas and its surrounding area is a haven for ecotourists because of its pristine environs. The area is also popular for sailing, as it is known for its beauty and lack of hurricanes. Notable locations in the Archipelago are the main capital El Porvenir, the densely crowded island village of Carti Sugtupu, and the two keyes, Cayos Limones, and Cayos Holandeses, both renowned for their clear waters.</p><br>
<p>The islands could be rendered uninhabitable by sea level rise in the late 21st century.</p><br>
<h2>Tradition and legacy</h2><br>
<p>Before the arrival of Europeans, the Guna wore few clothes and decorated their bodies with colorful designs. When encouraged to wear clothes by the missionaries, they copied these designs in their molas, which they wore as clothing.</p><br>
<p>The Guna worship a god named Erragon, whom they believe came and died just for the Guna people. Driven off Panama during the Spanish invasion, the Guna fled to the surrounding 378 islands. Today their chief lives on an island called Acuadup, which means "rock island". Many Guna are hunters and fishermen. On some of the islands, children can attend school. Most of the men now speak Spanish, although the women carry on older traditions.</p><br>
<p>From 1679 to 1681, William Dampier started and ended his first journey with privateers and pirates in these islands which he called "The Samballoes," a rendezvous-place for pirates, convenient for hiding and privacy.</p><br>
<p>The Smoke Creek Desert is an arid region of northwestern Nevada, USA that lies about 60 mi to the north of Pyramid Lake, west of the Fox Range and east of the Smoke Creek Mountains. The southern end of the desert lies on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation, and a rail line lies at the eastern edge. The Smoke Creek Desert is southwest of the Black Rock Desert&#39;s South Playa and is between the Granite Range and the Fox Range.</p><br>
<h2>Naming history</h2><br>
<p>The original Smoke Creek Desert is shown on Col. Fremonts map of the area during his 1843-44 expedition as Mud Flats&#39; (and is confusing as the Black Rock Desert was originally shown as the same lake, and the Black Rock Desert has been subsequently, on various maps, shown as "Mud Lake", "Valley of Mud" or "Valley of the Mud Lakes" on maps of the 1850s and 1860s.) The Smoke Creek Desert appeared on maps as "Mud Lake" up through maps as late as the 1920s though by that time its name had been standardized as "The Smoke Creek Desert". The other major name for the desert which has been shown on many maps starting in the early 1850s is "Alaki Lake". This is also the first found map reference on which the name "Smoke Creek Desert" appears, though Helen S. Carlson states that it has been found on a map from 1853.</p><br>
<p>There is controversy as to the origin of the name "Smoke Creek". Some believe it to be named after the Smoke Creek, a creek which lies along the Western edge of the basin and flows Eastward from near the California-Nevada border into the Smoke Creek basin. It was along this route that the Lassen and Nobels Trails were explored from the Honey Lake Valley (Susanville, California area) Eastward, eventually following along the Smoke Creek to the basin now called "Smoke Creek Desert". Other history says that it was named variously for the appearance of the basin to fill in the colder months with steam from the hot springs, or show columns of smoke (water vapor) from the individual hot springs as they rose into the cold clear air of the valley. Alternately it is said that the name comes from the dust and dust devils which the wind would pick up during the hot summer months and make the basin appear as though it was filled with smoke.</p><br>
<h2>Railroad</h2><br>
<p>The Railroad line on the eastern edge was originally shown on a map of 1876 as being on the right of way of the Southern Pacific Railroad, though on an 1877 map is shown as being constructed by the Western Pacific Railroad Company.</p><br>
<p>Medicine Lake is located within Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately 20 km southeast of the townsite of Jasper, Alberta. Medicine Lake is approximately 7 km long and is a relatively shallow lake. The lake is part of the Maligne Valley watershed which is mainly glacial fed.</p><br>
<h2>Geology</h2><br>
<p>Medicine Lake is a geologic anomaly in the sense that it is not actually a lake but rather an area in which the Maligne River (flowing from Maligne Lake into the Athabasca River) backs up and suddenly disappears underground. During the summer months during intensified meltwater runoff the lake (which during the winter months is a meandering frozen river) fills to levels which fluctuate over time and with the runoff events. Much like a bathtub that is filled too fast for it to drain, it becomes laden with water (lake) until it can slowly drain as the tap flow (runoff) is reduced (river). The underground system is extensive and during the 1970s researchers used a biodegradable dye to determine the underground river&#39;s extent. The dye showed up in many of the lakes and rivers in the area to the point where it became clear that the underground system was one of the most extensive in the world.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>Medicine Lake also boasts a healthy population of rainbow trout and brook trout and is a fly fisherman&#39;s paradise.</p><br>
<p>Wildlife is surprisingly abundant along this high altitude lake. Grizzly bear, black bear, mule deer, caribou, wolves, moose and mountain sheep are some of the larger mammals that frequent the lake area during the summer season. Bald eagles, and osprey also frequent the area and live off the fish populations.</p><br>
<p>Medicine Lake 01.jpgMedicine Lake in November</p><br>
<p>Medicine Lake 02.jpgMedicine Lake in November</p><br>
<p>Medicine Lake 03.jpgMedicine Lake in November</p><br>
<p>Medicine Lake 04.jpgMedicine Lake in November</p><br>
<p>The Redridge Steel Dam is a steel dam across the Salmon Trout River in Redridge, Houghton County, Michigan. Completed in 1901, it is a flat slab buttress dam constructed of steel, a relatively rare material for construction of dams, which are typically earthenworks or masonry. Most sources indicate it was one of only three such dams constructed in the United States, the other two being the Ashfork-Bainbridge Steel Dam  and the Hauser Lake Dam , the last of which failed within a year of construction.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1894, prior to the construction of the steel dam, the Atlantic Mining Company built a timber crib dam across the Salmon Trout River. The dam created a reservoir which supplied water to the Atlantic stamp mill which extracted copper from ore-bearing rock. With the growth of the Atlantic stamp mill and the construction of the Baltic Mining Company mill nearby, this reservoir proved to be insufficient, and in 1901 the steel dam was built. It was designed by J. F. Jackson and built by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company. The old timber crib dam remained in place, submerged, upstream of the steel dam. A system of spillways, sluices (or launders as they are referred to in contemporary texts), and pipes brought water downhill to the stamp mills. The dam itself measures 74 ft (23 m) high at its center and extends for a length of 1,006 ft (307 m) across the river. Access to the reservoir was shared by the Atlantic and Baltic mines, which had a common board of directors.</p><br>
<p>The dam operated for several decades, until the mines closed. After that time, the dam was no longer maintained. On Easter morning of 1941, the spillway behind the dam broke, causing a flood. There was little damage to the steel part of the dam, but with the mining operations stopped, the dam owners had the spillway valves opened. However, there were still incidents of overtopping, and the Copper Range Company (successor to Atlantic Mine Company and owner of the dam) had large holes cut in it in 1979 so that it would not retain water. This lowered the level of the reservoir, revealing the earlier timber dam.</p><br>
<p>Ownership of the dam was transferred to Stanton Township in 1992. Fears that the timber dam might fail and Michigan&#39;s Department of Environmental Quality considering the dam a "significant hazard" forced the township to consider renovating the dam in 2001. Five options were proposed for a long-term fix for the dam. These options ranged from repairing the steel and wooden dams for $311,000 to restoring/ reconstructing the entire structure for over a million dollars. Stanton Township could not afford to do any of the proposed options, so another option was sought out. A short term fix was found to make the dam safer. The upper 13 feet of the wooden structure was removed in 2004 to bring the water level down and relieve some of the pressure. A more permanent repair is still needed. A recent study by a team of students from Michigan Technological University determined that both dams are likely to remain safe for the foreseeable future.</p><br>
<h2>Construction information</h2><br>
<p>Steel dams use relatively thin steel plates in contact with the water body, with a framework of steel behind them transmitting the load to the ground. The plates are slanted upwards in the direction of water flow, so that the weight of the water puts compressive forces on the girders holding the plates up. This transmits force to the ground without the bending moment that a vertical wall of plates would engender. It was believed at the time that these dams could be constructed faster and more cheaply than masonry dams.</p><br>
<h2>Geography and site information</h2><br>
<p>Redridge is in Houghton County, one of the more rugged counties in Michigan, and access to the dam site is relatively challenging, although there is a history of Michigan Technological University students making pilgrimages to the site, especially those interested in industrial archaeology.</p><br>
<h2>Historic designations</h2><br>
<p>National Register of Historic Places, listed April 2, 1992</p><br>
<p>Michigan Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, designated in 1985</p><br>
<p>Myndus or Myndos  was an ancient Dorian colony of Troezen, on the coast of Caria in Asia Minor, , sited on the Bodrum Peninsula, a few miles northwest of Halicarnassus. The site is now occupied by the modern village of Gümüslük.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Myndos was protected by strong walls, and had a good harbor. (Paus. ii. 30. § 8; Strabo xiv. p. 658; Arrian, Anab. i. 20, ii. 5.) Otherwise, the place is not of much importance in ancient history. Both Pliny (v. 29) and Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.) mention Palaemyndus as an ancient Carian settlement near to Myndus, which seems to have become deserted after Dorian Mynduse was founded. (Comp. Strab. xiii. p. 611). Mela (i. 16) and Pliny (l. c.) also speak of a place called Neapolis in the same peninsula and as no other authors mention such a place in that part of the country, it has been supposed that Myndus (the Dorian colony) and Neapolis were the same place. Pliny, however, mentions both Myndus and Neapolis as two different towns.</p><br>
<p>The cynic philosopher Diogenes of Sinope visited Myndos and noticed how large the city gates were, relative to the town; he cynically remarked; "Oh men of Myndos, I urge you to shut the city gates, as your town might exit from these!". Sections of the town walls and gate have been restored with financial assistance from private companies.</p><br>
<p>Myndian ships are mentioned in the expedition of Anaxagoras against Naxos. (Herod. v. 33.) Herodotus relates the story of how a captain from Myndus, Scylax, was found to have left no guards on his ship while a Persian force was preparing to attack the island of Naxos. The Persian commander, Megabates, flew into a rage and had him put in stocks, at which point Aristagoras, a tyrant from Miletus helping several Naxian oligarchs to retake Naxos, discovered what had happened to his guest-friend Scylax. Pleading with Megabates to no avail for Scylax, he released him anyway, incurring the Persian commander&#39;s wrath. The consequence of this falling out was that, according to Herodotus, Megabates warned the Naxians of what was afoot, ruining the expedition and in turn Aristagoras who, with nowhere to go, stirred up the Ionian Revolt. This is a classic example of Ionian αταξιη (lack of discipline, disorder, licentiousness), a charge commonly levelled at them, especially in the 5th century by Athens.</p><br>
<p>At a later time, when Alexander the Great besieged Halicarnassus, he was anxious first to make himself master of Myndus; but when he attempted to take it by surprise, the Myndians, with the aid of reinforcements from Halicarnassus repulsed him with some loss. (Arrian, l. c. comp. Hecat. Fragm. 229; Polyb. xvi. 15, 21; Scylax, p. 38; Ptol. v. 2. § 9; Liv. xxxvii. 15; Hierocl. p. 687.) Athenaeus (i. 32) states that the wine grown in the district of Myndus was good for digestion.</p><br>
<p>Remains of the city are visible in and around Gümüslük and in the adjacent waters; it is supposed that some unrecorded earthquake caused seafront sections of the ancient town to be submerged. As a result, much of the land and offshore areas are protected from interference and development.</p><br>
<h2>Ecclesiastical history</h2><br>
<p>Myndus was an episcopal see of Caria, a suffragan of Stauropolis (Aphrodisias). The Notitiæ episcopatuum allude to it as late as the 12th or 13th century. However, only four of its bishops are known: Archelaus, who attended the First Council of Ephesus (431); Alphius, who assisted at the Council of Chalcedon (451); John who was present at the Third Council of Constantinople (680); and another John who went to the Second Council of Nicaea (787).</p><br>
<p>The bishopric is included in the Catholic Church&#39;s list of titular sees.</p><br>
<p>Aigosthena  was an ancient Greek fortified port city of Megaris, 19 km northwest of the ancient city of Megara to which it belonged. It is also the name of the coastal settlement at the foot of the ancient city walls, also known as Porto Germeno. The ancient citadel retains several of the tallest surviving towers of ancient Greece.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>Aigosthena is situated on the Alkyonides Gulf, a bay of the Gulf of Corinth. It is surrounded by forested mountains: the Cithaeron to the north and the Pateras to the south. Aigosthena was historically the northernmost city of the Megaris (Megarida). It is 10 km west of Vilia, 20 km southwest of Thebes 48 km northwest of Athens.</p><br>
<h2>Ancient Aigosthena</h2><br>
<p>The ancient site of Aigosthena consisted of a fortified citadel connected to the sea by two fortification walls. Measuring roughly 90 by 187 m (~575 Doric feet), the citadel was roughly trapezoidal in plan, with the narrower side (113m) facing west toward the sea. The citadel was constructed along the contours of a 55 m hill, and was defended by eight artillery towers incorporated into its perimeter wall. There was a primary gate on the west side into the area between the north and south walls to the sea. A small postern (auxiliary) gate was located immediately north of the second tower on the eastern side. The northern of the two walls to the sea is well preserved, stretching 370 m to a final tower of which the foundations and fallen blocks are now underwater. The northern wall consisted of six towers and a fortified gate running in a nearly straight line from the northwest corner of the citadel to the sea. The bed of a river runs along the probably line of the south wall, which is not evident.</p><br>
<p>The walls were built in a variety of masonry styles, which may be evidence of different phases of construction. Masonry styles in use include isodomic (ashlars with hammered faces and drafted corners), pseudo-isodomic, and - in sections – a style approaching polygonal. In general terms, these walls are among the best preserved of any of the Hellenistic period and show a high level of skill and finish. There is clear evidence of quarrying immediately south of the southeast tower of the citadel.</p><br>
<p>Based on the design of the defense towers, Ober proposes that the site was fortified after 370 BCE. Lawrence opts for a date in the late 4th century BCE, on the assumption that Demetrios Poliorcetes built the fortress rather than simply occupying it. The site was under the control of the Achaean League in 243-224 BCE, and in 224 - 146 BCE it joined the Boeotian League. Shrines of Melampos and Heracles are known to have existed by inscriptions recovered on the site. The town and its warehouses operated down into Roman times. An inscription of c. 420 CE listed Aigosthena as a free city. A five-aisled Christian basilica was erected in the lower fortified area in the medieval period, and there was a monastery complex within the citadel.</p><br>
<h2>Modern Aigosthena</h2><br>
<p>The modern village Aigosthena, also known as Porto Germeno, is part of the municipal unit of Vilia. Its permanent population was 80 at the 2011 census. It is a popular beach resort with a small port.</p><br>
<h2>Ancient sources</h2><br>
<p>I.G. 7.1; 7.213; 7.43</p><br>
<p>Xenophon, Hellenica - 5.4.18; 6.4.26</p><br>
<p>Pliny the elder, Natural History – 4.23</p><br>
<p>Fruitlands was a Utopian agrarian commune established in Harvard, Massachusetts, by Amos Bronson Alcott and Charles Lane in the 1840s, based on Transcendentalist principles. An account of its less-than-successful activities can be found in Transcendental Wild Oats by Alcott&#39;s daughter Louisa May Alcott.</p><br>
<p>Lane purchased what was known as the Wyman farm and its 90 acre, which also included a dilapidated house and barn. Residents of Fruitlands ate no animal substances, drank only water, bathed in unheated water and "no artificial light would prolong dark hours or cost them the brightness of morning." Additionally, property was held communally, and no animal labor was used.</p><br>
<p>The community was short-lived and lasted only seven months. It was dependent on farming, which turned out to be too difficult. The original farmhouse, along with other historic buildings from the area, is now a part of Fruitlands Museum.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Amos Bronson Alcott, a teacher and member of the New England Non-Resistance Society, came up with the idea of Fruitlands in 1841. He traveled to England the following year, where he hoped to find support and people to participate with him in the experiment. England was home to his strongest group of supporters, a group of educators who had founded the Alcott House, a school based on his philosophy of teaching. One of his supporters was Charles Lane, who journeyed with him to the United States on 21 October 1842.</p><br>
<p>In May 1843, Lane purchased the 90 acre Wyman Farm in Harvard, Massachusetts for $1800. Though Alcott had come up with the idea of Fruitlands himself, he was not involved in purchasing the land, largely because he was penniless after the failure of his Temple School and his subsequent years in Concord, Massachusetts as a farmer. In July, Alcott announced their plans in The Dial: "We have made an arrangement with the proprieter of an estate of about a hundred acres, which liberates this tract from human ownership". They had officially moved to the farm on June 1 and optimistically named it "Fruitlands" despite only ten old apple trees on the property.</p><br>
<p>In principle, the Fruitlands reformers did not believe in purchasing property; Lane said the following on the subject: "We do not recognize the purchase of land; but its redemption from the debasing state of proprium, or property, to divine uses, we clearly understand; where those whom the world esteems owners are found yielding their individual rights to the Supreme Owner" The commune attracted 14 residents, including the Alcott and Lane families. By July, the community had succeeded in planting 8 acre of grains, one of vegetables, and one of melons.</p><br>
<p>Fruitlands ultimately failed the winter after it opened, largely due to food shortages and accompanying unrest in the inhabitants. The rigors of a New England winter proved too severe for the members of the Fruitlands.</p><br>
<h2>Philosophy</h2><br>
<p>Many of Alcotts and Lanes ideas were derived from Transcendentalism. They were influenced by the Transcendental ideas of God not as the traditional view from the Bible but as a world spirit. Alcott&#39;s view of Transcendentalism was a sort of religious anarchism, a renunciation of the world to focus on the spirit. The members of Fruitlands believed that spiritual regeneration was linked to physical health, that "outward abstinence is a sign of inward fullness". Though it was based on working together as a community, Fruitlands also hoped for individualistic improvement. Alcott also believed in the perfect intuition of children and, therefore, put a strong emphasis on education and hoped that their innocence would have a rejuvenating effect on elders.</p><br>
<h3>Economy</h3><br>
<p>Fruitlands residents, who called themselves "the consociate family", Alcott in particular believed the present economy was evil. To this end, they strove towards self-sufficiency by planning on growing all the food they would need themselves and making only the goods they needed. By accomplishing these two goals, they would eliminate the need to participate in trade or to purchase their food from the outside world. Initially, Bronson Alcott and Lane modeled their ideas about personal property off the Shakers, who held property communally. However, the Shakers were not completely self-sufficient; they traded their hand-made goods for coffee, tea, meat and milk. Bronson Alcott and Lane eliminated the need to trade for these supplies because they eliminated animal products and stimulants from their diets entirely.</p><br>
<p>In the end, the Fruitlands community had no effect on the economy of the outside world; Fruitlands allowed its residents to practice their ideals without forcing them to effect any real change.</p><br>
<h3>Lifestyle and diet</h3><br>
<p>Fruitlands residents began their days with a purging cold-water shower and subsisted on a simple diet containing no stimulants or animal products. They were vegans, excluding even milk and honey from their diets. “Neither coffee, tea, molasses, nor rice tempts us beyond the bounds of indigenous production,” Lane wrote. “No animal substances neither flesh, butter, cheese, eggs, nor milk pollute our tables, nor corrupt our bodies.” Diet was usually fruit and water; many vegetables—including carrots, beets, and potatoes—were forbidden because they showed a lower nature by growing downward. </p><br>
<p>Fruitlands members wore only linen clothes and canvas shoes; cotton fabric was forbidden because it exploited slave labor and wool was banned because it came from sheep. Bronson Alcott and Lane believed that animals should not be exploited for their meat or their labor, so they used no animals for farming. This arose out of two beliefs: that animals were less intelligent than humans and that, therefore, it was the duty of humans to protect them; and that using animals "tainted" their work and food, since animals were not enlightened and therefore unclean. Eventually, as the winter was coming, Alcott and Lane compromised and allowed an ox and a cow.</p><br>
<h2>Residents</h2><br>
<p>There were no formal admission requirements or procedures to join the community at Fruitlands, and there was no official record-keeping of members. Many residents stayed only for a short period of time and most lists are based on the journals of Alcott&#39;s wife Abby May. Residents of the Fruitlands came to be called "consecrated cranks" and followed strict principles and virtues. They strongly believed in the ideas of simplicity, sincerity, and brotherly love.</p><br>
<p>Amos Bronson Alcott - Born in 1799, Bronson Alcott was a prominent educator and Transcendentalist who believed in eliminating corporal punishment, and incorporating field trips, physical education, art and music into the curriculum.</p><br>
<p>Abigail Alcott - Abigail was Bronson Alcott&#39;s wife and also a reformer. She was one of only two women who lived at Fruitlands, and was primarily responsible for taking care of the house and farm, as well as raising her four children.</p><br>
<p>Louisa May Alcott - The Alcotts&#39; second daughter, her short piece Transcendental Wild Oats was written about her experiences at Fruitlands.</p><br>
<p>Charles Lane - Lane met Bronson Alcott in England in 1841, at which time Lane was living at the Alcott House school in Surrey. His strict views on living a "pure" life were ultimately part of what destroyed the Fruitlands community. His son was also a resident of Fruitlands.</p><br>
<p>Joseph Palmer - Palmer joined Fruitlands in August 1843, and stayed through the demise of the commune, later purchasing the farm and founding another utopian society there. He was famous for wearing a full beard, despite social stigma against it; he had even served time in prison for defending his right to wear a beard.</p><br>
<p>Isaac Hecker - Hecker began life as a baker in New York City, but then went through a progression of religious and spiritual explorations. He resided at Brook Farm, another Transcendentalist community, for six months before joining the Fruitlands community. He was initially attracted by the "deeper" spiritual life at Fruitlands compared to Brook Farm, though he only stayed for two months. He later became a Roman Catholic priest.</p><br>
<p>Samuel Larned - Like Hecker, Larned lived briefly at Brook Farm before coming to Fruitlands. He was known for using foul language because he believed that swears said with a pure heart uplifted listeners.</p><br>
<p>Abraham Everett - Also known as Abraham Woods, he changed his name upon his arrival at Fruitlands, to Wood Abram. He had once been committed to an insane asylum before joining Fruitlands.</p><br>
<p>Samuel Bower - Bower lived at Fruitlands for only a few months, after which he left to experiment with nudism, believing that clothes "stifled the spirit".</p><br>
<p>Ann Page - Besides Bronson Alcott&#39;s wife, Page was the only adult female member of Fruitlands. Page and Mrs. Alcott were responsible for most of the household chores and often had to take care of the farm as well. Page was eventually kicked out of Fruitlands, supposedly for eating a piece of fish, which was forbidden in the community.</p><br>
<h2>Dissolution and legacy</h2><br>
<p>The biggest challenge at Fruitlands was farming. The community had arrived at the farm a month behind the planting schedule and only about 11 acre of land were arable. The decision not to use animal labor on the farm proved to be the undoing of the commune, combined with the fact that many of the men of the commune spent their days teaching or philosophizing instead of working in the field. Using only their own hands, the Fruitlands residents were incapable of growing a sufficient amount of food to get them through the winter.</p><br>
<p>Fruitlands was also hampered by its structure. Alcott and Lane wielded nearly limitless authority and dictated very strict and repressive models for living. "I am prone to indulge in an occasional hilarity", wrote Alcott&#39;s wife Abby May, "but seem frowned down into still quiet and peace-less order... am almost suffocated in this atmosphere of restriction and form".</p><br>
<p>The Fruitlands experiment ended only seven months after it began. According to Bronson Alcott, the inhabitants left Fruitlands in January 1844; his daughter, Louisa May, wrote that they left in December 1843, which is considered to be the more accurate date. Alcott was deeply dismayed by the failure of Fruitlands and, moving with his family to live with a nearby farmer, refused to eat for several days. Later, Ralph Waldo Emerson helped purchase a home for the family in Concord.</p><br>
<p>Fruitlands had only a brief opportunity to impact America and the Transcendentalist movement. After it had ended, the land was bought by one of its former participants, Joseph Palmer, who for 20 years used the site as a refuge for former reformers. The property was purchased in 1910 by Clara Endicott Sears, who opened the farmhouse to the public in 1914 as a museum. Today, the Fruitlands Museum also includes a museum on Shaker life, an art gallery of nineteenth-century paintings, and a museum of Native American art and crafts.</p><br>
<p>The Monitor Range is located in south-central Nevada in the United States. The range lies west and northwest of the Hot Creek Range and north of U.S. Route 6 in Nye County. It extends into the southwest corner of Eureka County at its northern end ending just south of U.S. Route 50. Tonopah is about 15 miles west of the south end of the range and Eureka lies about 20 miles east of the north end of the range. Its highest point is Table Mountain at 10,649 ft.</p><br>
<p>The Table Mountain Wilderness Area lies in the central part of the Monitor Range. The mountains cover an area of 3,046 km², and lies between the Antelope Valley and the Monitor Valley at the northern end. At the southern end, the mountains lie between the Toquima Range and Stone Cabin Valley.</p><br>
<p>As the map/graphic shows, its extreme linearity is because the range is an extensive linear horst between graben (down-dropped) valleys to the east and west. The range lies amongst a series of range-valley-ranges, in south-central Nevada (mostly south of the Humboldt River). The pattern is the result of crustal extension as part of the basin and range topography of western North America.</p><br>
<p>The Forest Service is in charge of 83.6% of the mountains and the Bureau of Land Management manages 16% of the range. Pinon-juniper makes up 39.3% of the area, with Sagebrush scrub making up 24.8% of the mountains. Montane shrub accounts for 19.9%.</p><br>
<p>The Schell Creek Range is a linear mountain range in central White Pine County, in east-central Nevada. Its length is approximately 132 mi in a north-south direction. Most of the range is contained within the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, with some of the range also included in the High Schells Wilderness.</p><br>
<p>The range comprises two major groups of peaks. The southern section rises from a point near Burnt Peak in Lincoln County, reaching the summit of Mt. Grafton, 10,990 ft, just north of the border with White Pine County. To the west are remote Cave Valley and the Egan Range, while to the east are USA Route 93 and the Fairview Range (Lincoln County). North of Mt. Grafton, the range drops quickly to a line of lower summits, eventually reaching 7,723 ft Connors Pass. That is where USA Route 50, the "Loneliest Highway in America", crosses the range, connecting the nearby community of Ely with the Great Basin National Park and west-central Utah.</p><br>
<p>North of Connors Pass the range continues into its higher northern section. To the west is Ely, Nevada, while to the east are Spring Valley and the high Snake Range, (including Great Basin National Park, Wheeler Peak, and Mt. Moriah). Within this section of the Schell Creek Range are Cave Lake State Park and the scenic road over Success Summit into Duck Creek Basin. The crest continues to rise, reaching South Schell Peak at 11,785 ft, Taft Peak at 11,734 ft, and North Schell Peak which, at 11,883 ft, is the high point of the range. Nearby are the Timber Creek and Berry Creek campgrounds (and trailheads).</p><br>
<p>The range then makes a slow descent to lower elevations, dropping to Schellbourne Pass at 7,984 ft, where the Overland Stage Line, the Pony Express, and the Transcontinental Telegraph made their way through the Great Basin. Just west of the range was the Egan Canyon Pony Express Station. From there, the range ascends to Becky Peak at 10,008 ft before quickly descending to the floor of Steptoe Valley near Lages Station.</p><br>
<p>Rest Dodd is a fell in the English Lake District. It is situated in the quieter far eastern region of the national park and reaches a height of 696 metres . Rest Dodd is a fell that is often by-passed by walkers as they travel the busy footpath between Ullswater and Haweswater either to climb the more significant fell of High Street or strive to complete Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk. Indeed Wainwright describes Rest Dodd as “A fell of little interest although the east flank falls spectacularly in fans of colourful scree”. The fell is usually climbed in conjunction with other nearby "Wainwright" fells such as The Nab, Brock Crags and Angletarn Pikes.</p><br>
<h2>Topography</h2><br>
<p>Rest Dodd stands on the long ridge forming the boundary of the Martindale catchment, an extensive valley system emptying north into Ullswater. South east of Rest Dodd is The Knott and in the opposite direction is Brock Crags. A subsidiary ridge juts out north from Rest Dodd, ending at The Nab. This fell separates the heads of the Martindale valleys of Bannerdale and Rampsgill. A much shorter rocky spur also runs north west from Rest Dodd, divided from the Nab by Yewgrove Gill. The southern flank of the fell is formed by Hayeswater Gill.</p><br>
<p>Rest Dodd appears as a high, rounded dome from most directions, the upper slopes being clad in rough grass. Below about 1,500 ft all of the faces are steep and rough, with some outcropping on the Martindale flanks. The ridge connecting to The Knott is broad topped and marshy, whilst that connecting to Brock Crags crosses a series of rocky outcrops as it narrows above Satura Crag. The way to the Nab, once the boundary wall of the deer forest is passed, is crossed by extensive peat hags. Many of these are deeper than the height of a man and add considerably to the time required.</p><br>
<h2>Ascents</h2><br>
<p>The ascent of Rest Dodd is usually started from the valley of Patterdale where there are two possible starting points: the village of Hartsop gives the most advantageous start being just two miles from the fell summit but it is a tough climb from Hayeswater Gill to join the main path from Patterdale village to Haweswater. The other route is longer (3.5 miles) and starts in Patterdale village and utilises the main path over Boardale hause and past Angle Tarn before following an old stone wall which leads unerringly to Rest Dodd’s summit.</p><br>
<h2>Summit</h2><br>
<p>The summit of the fell has a substantial cairn due to the proximity of quite a few old stone walls and gives a good full length view of the Helvellyn range to the west as well as a spectacular view of the Ramps Gill valley to the north.</p><br>
<p>Carters Grove, also known as Carters Grove Plantation, is a 750 acre plantation located on the north shore of the James River in the Grove Community of southeastern James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States.</p><br>
<p>The plantation was built for Carter Burwell, grandson of Robert "King" Carter, and was completed in 1755. It was probably named for both the prominent and wealthy Carter family and nearby Grove Creek. Carters Grove Plantation was built on the site of an earlier tract known as Martins Hundred which had first been settled by the English colonists around 1620. In 1976, an archaeological project discovered the site of Wolstenholme Towne, a small settlement downstream a few miles from Jamestown which had been developed in the first 15 years of the Colony of Virginia. The population of the settlement was decimated during the Indian Massacre of 1622.</p><br>
<p>After hundreds of years of multiple owners and generations of families, and the death of the last resident in 1964, Carters Grove was added to Colonial Williamsburg Foundations (CW) properties through a gift from the Rockefeller Foundation in 1969.</p><br>
<p>Carters Grove was open to tourists for many years but closed its doors to the public in 2003 while CW redefined its mission and role. Later that year, Hurricane Isabel seriously damaged Carters Grove Country Road, which had linked the estate directly to the Historic Area, a distance of 8 mi, bypassing commercial and public roadways. CW then shifted some of the interpretive programs to locations closer to the main Williamsburg Historic Area and announced in late 2006 that it would be offered for sale under specific restrictive conditions, including a conservation easement.</p><br>
<p>In December 2007, CNET founder Halsey Minor acquired the Georgian style mansion and 476 acre for $15.3 million and announced plans to use it as his home and for a thoroughbred horse breeding program with the Phipps family. The Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources co-hold the conservation easement on 400 of the 476 acres. However, Minor never lived at the property and filed for personal bankruptcy in 2013. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation submitted the only bid at the auction held on May 21, 2014, for the outstanding mortgage amount, and announced that it planned to resell it, with a price increased because of significant costs related to the sale, including over $600,000 in necessary repairs. Samuel M. Mencoff, a founder of Madison Dearborn Partners, acquired the property later in 2014.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Wolstenholme Towne</h3><br>
<p>In 1620, Wolstenholme Towne was built on the original land grant on the James River known as Martin&#39;s Hundred (in what is now James City County, Virginia). It was owned by an investment group of the Virginia Company of London but was later abandoned after losing many of its citizens in the Indian Massacre of 1622.</p><br>
<h3>Robert Carter</h3><br>
<p>Robert Carter (1663–1732) aka "King" Carter, was born in Corotoman in Lancaster County, Virginia. Robert was married to Judith Armistead (1665–1699). He bought some of the land that had been Wolstenholme Towne, when his daughter, Elizabeth Carter (1688–1721) married. Robert retained ownership of the property and Elizabeth was entitled to the income produced by the land.</p><br>
<h3>Elizabeth Carter</h3><br>
<p>Elizabeth Carter of Corotoman, Lancaster County, Virginia (1688–1721) was married to Nathaniel Burwell (1680–1721), in 1709. Elizabeth and Nathaniel had a son: Carter Burwell (1716–1777).</p><br>
<h3>Carter Burwell</h3><br>
<p>Carter Burwell (1716–1777) inherited the property from his grandfather, and built the current house on what was by then a 1,400 acre estate. Carter married Lucy Ludwell Grymes (1720-?). Lucy was the daughter of John Grymes (1691–1749) and Lucy Ludwell (1698–1748). Carter and Lucy lived in the completed house for six months before Carter died in 1777. Carter had a son, Nathaniel Burwell (1750–1814), who married Susanna Grymes (1752–1788) on November 28, 1772.</p><br>
<h3>Nathaniel Burwell</h3><br>
<p>Colonel Nathaniel Burwell (1750–1814) moved to Carters Grove in 1771 and raised corn and wheat. Carters Grove remained in the Burwell family until 1838 when it was sold to Thomas Wynne, grandson of John Wynne (1705-1774).</p><br>
<h3>Archibald McCrea</h3><br>
<p>Archibald McCrea, a Pittsburgh industrialist, bought the dilapidated mansion in 1928. He and his wife, Mary "Mollie" Corling (Johnston) Dunlop McCrea, originally of Petersburg, restored the mansion, and substantially modernized and expanded it under the guidance of Richmond architect Duncan Lee who designed several of the stately homes along Monument Avenue. These renovations significantly changed the appearance of the mansion. As originally built Carter&#39;s Grove had a low hip roof similar to Wilton, the McCreas had the roof raised and added dormer windows for additional rooms on the upper floor which gave the house a roofline similar to the mansion at Westover Plantation.</p><br>
<p>Archibald McCrea died in 1937, but his widow lived on at Carter&#39;s Grove another 25 years. Soon after her death, it was purchased from her estate and transferred to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.</p><br>
<h2>Colonial Williamsburg Foundation</h2><br>
<p>From 1969 to 2007, Carter&#39;s Grove was operated by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, and was open to the public for most of those years. In the 1970s, archaeological discoveries uncovered the remains of the circa 1620 Wolstenholme Towne fortified settlement on the property (which was substantially wiped out by the Indian Massacre of 1622, and soon thereafter abandoned). Wolstenholme Towne and slave quarters from a later period were partially restored to represent their respective periods during the almost 400-year history of the property.</p><br>
<p>It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1971.</p><br>
<p>However, while inclusion of a Colonial-era plantation was part of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.&#39;s aspirations for Colonial Williamsburg, the practical challenge with Carter’s Grove was that it did not connect directly with the focus on presenting Revolutionary-era Williamsburg and was unable to attract sufficient audiences. Audience development—the appeal to rising generations—is fundamental to the Foundation.</p><br>
<p>On January 2, 2003, the site was closed to the public to save operating funds saying:</p><br>
<p>The main house at Carter&#39;s Grove is furnished as it was in 1928, and does not fit into the time period of Colonial Williamsburg.</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is 7 mi away and few visitors make the journey to the plantation.</p><br>
<p>Closer to the downtown Williamsburg area, Colonial Williamsburg operates the Great Hopes Plantation which can easily be reached by the pedestrian traffic from the restored area.</p><br>
<p>An additional hardship in the physical linking between the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg and Carters Grove Plantation was severe weather damage to bucolic Carters Grove Country Road in James City County during Hurricane Isabel later in 2003. The storm destroyed many trees along the paved road, which is located almost entirely on private property, and required much of it to be semi-permanently closed, pending funding for costly repairs. (Since the hurricane, the Carter&#39;s Grove Plantation property continued to be physically accessible by its main entrance on USA Route 60 in Grove, Virginia, although still closed to the public).</p><br>
<p>In 2006, completing a four-year evaluation, CW concluded that the best approach to Carters Grove was to offer it in a fully protected sale. This was to include restrictions to ensure protection of the James River view shed, wetlands and forest, exterior and interior architecture, and archaeological sites on the property as well as prohibit residential and commercial development. On March 31, 2007, Colonial Williamsburg announced that it would be listing Carters Grove with a real estate company based in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the amount of $19 million.</p><br>
<h2>2007 and beyond</h2><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg put Carter&#39;s Grove up for sale, asking $19 million.</p><br>
<p>On December 19, 2007, it was publicly announced that Carter&#39;s Grove, its Georgian style mansion and 476 acre were acquired for $15.3 million by CNET founder Halsey Minor, a Virginia native and wealthy entrepreneur. Per the press release from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation the new owner "plans to use the mansion as a private residence and use the site as a center for a thoroughbred horse-breeding program."</p><br>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg did not include the contents of the plantation in the sale. The contents, instead, were sold May 17–18, 2008, by at auction in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.</p><br>
<p>A conservation easement on the mansion and 400 of the 476 acre is co-held by the Virginia Outdoors Foundation and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.</p><br>
<p>Carters Grove Country Road was never fully restored after the damage from Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The easternmost portion remains part of the Carters Grove proper, subject to land conservation covenants. The portion west to Mounts Bay Road reverted to Kingsmill Properties. The section west of Mounts Bay Road continues to be owned by Colonial Williamsburg.</p><br>
<p>Halsey Minor made no changes to Carters Grove, and he stopped making mortgage payments in 2010, announcing he owed $12 million in debts. Carters Grove LLC went into bankruptcy and a federal judge appointed Stan Samorajczyk as trustee to make repairs and sell the property. The leaking roof and inoperable environmental control system had caused deterioration. Thus, in 2013 the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Virginia Department of Historic Resources supervised repairs by, including replaced leaky flashing around 40 dormers, six chimneys and eight brick walls, installing new copper flashings in accordance with National Slate Association specifications; replaced flashings on the ridges and hips of the roof, as well as replacing some slates. The Martin&#39;s Hundred artifacts had been feared lost, but were saved.</p><br>
<p>In February 2012 Dominion Virginia Power gave notice that the company planned to construct a 7+ mile, 500 kV Extra-High Voltage transmission line from their Surry Nuclear Power Plant in Surry, Virginia, across the James River to a planned switching station, to just east of Carters Grove. The river crossing will be supported on 17 lattice-type transmission towers, four of which will stand 295 above the river surface, nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty. This has sparked significant opposition from historic preservationists who are concerned that these towers will mar the view from Carters Grove, and the nearby Colonial Parkway.</p><br>
<p>Chingle Hall is a grade II listed manor house in the township of Whittingham near Preston, England. The house was built in the 17th century on the site of an earlier building and contains a small private chapel, complete with priest holes.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Originally, the land where Chingle Hall now stands was owned by Ughtred de Singleton from around 1066. In 1260 Adam de Singleton built a small manor house known as Singleton Hall. It was surrounded by a moat and the studded oak front door was accessed via a small wooden drawbridge, which was replaced in the 16th century by a brick-built bridge. The door and bridge have survived to this day, although some of the moat has now dried up.</p><br>
<p>The hall, renamed Chingle Hall, remained in the possession of the Singleton family until Eleanor Singleton, the last of the line, died in 1585. The house then passed to the Wall family through the marriage of William Wall with Anne Singleton. Their son Anthony Wall, once mayor of Preston, died there in 1601. In 1680 the house was extended westwards. The Walls owned the hall until the mid-18th century when the house passed to a local branch of the Singleton family.</p><br>
<p>From 1794 the house was owned by the Farrington family for some hundred years before being bought by the Longton family. In 1945, the house was rented by the Howarths before they bought the property in 1960. After Mr Howarth died the house stood empty and was badly vandalised, until Sandra and John Coppleston-Bruce bought the house in 1986 and restored it. The property was then bought by the Kirkhams in February 1995.</p><br>
<p>The current owner is an eminent professional person and local historian who has carried out detailed research into the history of Chingle Hall and the families who have lived there since its construction. The house and gardens are private property and not open to the public.</p><br>
<h2>Saint John Wall</h2><br>
<p>Some have made the claim that Saint John Wall was born in the Hall in 1620. It is unlikely that he was a member of the Preston Wall family. He became a Roman Catholic priest in 1641. Some have claimed that Chingle Hall was used as a place of worship by Catholics during the time of the Catholic Reformation when it was illegal to practice mass in Britain. In 1678 John Wall was apprehended at Rushock Court near Bromsgrove. He was taken to Worcester jail, where he was offered his life if he would forsake his religion. He declined. Brought back from Worcester, he was drawn and quartered at Redhill on 22 August 1679. His quartered body was given to his friends, and was buried in St. Oswalds churchyard. A Mr. Levison, however, allegedly acquired the martyrs head, and it was treasured by the friars at Worcester until the dissolution of that house during the French Revolution. The Franciscan nuns at Taunton claim to possess a tooth and a bone of the martyr. He was canonised by Pope Paul VI in 1970.</p><br>
<p>The Calumet Theatre is a historic theatre located at 340 Sixth Street in the town of Calumet, Michigan. It is also known as the Calumet Opera House or the Calumet Civic Auditorium. It is integral to, but a separate unit of, the Calumet municipal building. The structure was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1971 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>The village of Calumet was a prosperous community at the close of the nineteenth century, primarily due to the rich vein of copper mined by the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, located just south and east of the village. In 1898, the community decided that an opera house was required to serve the people of Calumet. Local architect Charles K. Shand was chosen to design the building, and Chicago interior designer William Eckert developed a crimson, gold, and ivory color scheme for the interior.</p><br>
<p>The theatre opened on March 20, 1900, with the operetta The Highwayman, by Reginald De Koven and Harry B. Smith, on tour from Broadway. The theatre was one of the first municipal theatres in the country. It soon attracted attention from America&#39;s finest actors, actresses, and other theatre greats, such as Frank Morgan (later famous for his roles in The Wizard of Oz), Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Lon Chaney, Sr., John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, and Madame Helena Modjeska among others.</p><br>
<p>As time wore on, the theatre began to lose popularity, due mostly to the decline of the local economy and the increasing popularity of movies. In the late 1920s, the theatre was converted to a motion-picture house, serving in this medium until the 1950s. Summer stock theatre was brought back to the Calumet Theater in 1958, and performed there every summer until 1968, and returned in 1972.</p><br>
<p>In 1975, the auditorium was restored for the centennial of Calumet. In 1988-89, the exterior of the theatre was restored.</p><br>
<p>In 1983, the Calumet Theatre Company was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Five staff members and several volunteers help to operate the Theatre. Today, the Calumet Theatre is home to as many as 60 theatre-related events a year, with an estimated 18,000 people attending.</p><br>
<h2>Description</h2><br>
<p>The Calumet Theatre is a two-story Renaissance revival structure constructed from yellowish-brown brick. The building sits on a Jacobsville sandstone foundation, and has a copper roof with copper cornices. A porte-cochere covers one entrance, and a clock tower originally rising to include a bell) stands nearby. An illuminated marquee is at the Sixth Street entrance.</p><br>
<p>The theatre itself originally held 1200 seats. With the closure of the 2nd balcony, and addition of the movie projection booth on the 1st balcony, the Theatre now holds 700 seats and features 5 fantastic murals on the proscenium arch.</p><br>
<h2>Ghost stories</h2><br>
<p>Some of the visitors to the Calumet Theatre hope to catch a glimpse of the reputed ghost of the theatre, Madame Helena Modjeska. The story of the ghost first emerged in 1958, when actress Adysse Lane claimed that the ghost of Madame Modjeska appeared to her during a performance when Lane had forgotten her lines. Since then, unexplainable happenings have occurred. Many people have heard music and felt cold air from nowhere.</p><br>
<p>Charles A. Lindbergh State Park is a 569-acre  Minnesota state park on the outskirts of Little Falls. The park was once the farm of Congressman Charles August Lindbergh and his son Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator. Their restored 1906 house and two other farm buildings are within the park boundaries. The house, a National Historic Landmark, and an adjacent museum are operated by the Minnesota Historical Society. Three buildings and three structures built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s were named to the National Register of Historic Places. These buildings include a picnic shelter and a water tower, built in the Rustic Style from local stone and logs, and have remained relatively unchanged since construction. Although the property includes shoreline on the Mississippi River, the Lindbergh family requested that the park not include intensive use areas for swimming or camping, so development was kept to a minimum.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Charles August Lindbergh, known as C.A., was a prominent lawyer and real estate trader in Little Falls. In March 1901 he married Evangeline Lodge Land, the college-educated descendant of two notable Detroit medical families, who had come to Little Falls the previous autumn as a teacher. She, C.A., and his two daughters from a previous marriage moved to a property, which C.A. had purchased for a dairy farm three years earlier. They had a three-story house built on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. A tenants house was built across the road for the farm workers. Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born in 1902, and would be the couples only child. A barn was built later that year, and the farm was populated with cattle, goats, hogs, sheep, chickens, and pigeons as well as cats and dogs.</p><br>
<p>On August 5, 1905 a fire started for unknown reasons on the third floor. The house burned down to its stone foundation, but the Lindberghs and their servants escaped injury and managed to save many of the household items. The Lindberghs had a new house built on the foundation of the first. However it was much smaller, due to C.A.s overextended finances and a growing strain in the marriage. The new house fit awkwardly onto the footprint of the old, necessitating a short hallway with seven doors leading off. The basement, intended as a library for C.A., and the upper floor was never finished. Instead, C.A. entered politics and in 1907 began serving the first of five consecutive terms in the USA House of Representatives. For the next decade the younger Charles spent much of each year in Detroit and Washington, D.C., leaving only two or three months at the house in Little Falls. However, Charles would credit his time spent on the farm and playing along the Mississippi for his strength and self-reliance. The unfinished upper floor became Charles exclusive play area, and upon hearing an unusually loud engine one day in 1911 he climbed out onto the roof and saw his first airplane.</p><br>
<p>Evangeline&#39;s relationship with C.A. and his daughters worsened, and in 1917 she and Charles moved back into the house year-round. Charles continued sleeping in his bedroom, which was really a screened-in porch, on all but the very coldest winter nights. He began overseeing the farm and was an early adopter of mechanization technology. Charles left in 1920 to attend college and returned only once, in 1923, arriving in his Curtiss JN-4 plane and landing in a field on the west side of the property. In the next two years the barn burned down and C.A. died, and the farm was largely neglected. After Charles Lindbergh became famous in 1927, souvenir seekers frequently broke into the empty house and caused extensive damage.</p><br>
<p>Encouraged by locals hoping to see the house protected, the Lindbergh family donated the 110 acre farm to the state of Minnesota in 1931 as a park in memory of C.A. The family worked with the Minnesota Historical Society to restore the home, and donated many original furnishings. The Works Progress Administration developed the park for recreation. In 1969 the house and its grounds were transferred to the Minnesota Historical Society. In what was to be his final public address, Charles spoke from the porch of his boyhood home at the 1973 grand opening of an adjacent interpretive center. He died the following year. The Lindbergh Visitor Center initially focused on the three generations of Lindberghs in America, at the request of the spotlight-leery Charles. However, a 2002 remodeling doubled the exhibit space and added more about the aviator himself.</p><br>
<p>In 1989 the WPA developments were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a 9 acre historic district. The district contains six contributing properties—two buildings (a picnic shelter and latrine), two structures (the water tower and a retaining wall along Pike Creek), and two objects (drinking fountains near the picnic shelter). All were built between 1938 and 1939. They are considered historically significant as examples of New Deal federal work relief and Minnesota&#39;s state park development, and architecturally significant for their National Park Service rustic design. The same picnic shelter design was used in Lake Bemidji State Park.</p><br>
<h2>Park grounds</h2><br>
<p>The land is glacial till deposited between 100,000 and 10,000 years ago. Slate boulders carried in by glaciers from farther north are visible in the bed of Pike Creek. The vegetation remains similar to its pre-settlement composition of pine forest with oak and prairie openings. Damming has raised the water level of the Mississippi substantially from the days when Charles Lindbergh swam in it.</p><br>
<p>The park has a campground with 38 sites, 15 of those with electrical hookups. There is also a group campsite that accommodates up to 30 people, one walk-in campsite, and a canoe-in site along the Mississippi River.</p><br>
<p>Monte Grappa  is a mountain of the Venetian Prealps in Veneto, Italy. It lies between the Venetian plain to the south and the central alpine areas to the North. To the west, it is parted from the Asiago upland by the Brenta river, and to the east it is separated from the Cesen-Visentin massif by the Piave river. To the north lie Corlo lake and Feltre valley. In the past, the mountain was called Alpe Madre , and is currently divided among three provinces: Vicenza to the west, Treviso to the south and Belluno to the northeast. It is the highest peak of a small massif, which also includes many other peaks such as Col Moschin, Colle della Berretta, Monte Asolone, Monte Pertica, Prassolan, Monti Solaroli, Fontana Secca, Monte Peurna, Monte Santo, Monte Tomatico, Meatte, Monte Pallon and Monte Tomba.</p><br>
<h2>Geomorphology</h2><br>
<p>The Grappa Massif was formed almost ten million years ago. It was created by the collision between the African and European lithospheric plates. Over the millennia, these sediments have been interested by a cementification and then they were lifted up by pressures that caused the Alpine mountain range to rise.</p><br>
<p>Nowadays, the main types of rocks found on the Grappa are:</p><br>
<p>The Grey Limestones: the oldest formation, comprising the biggest part of the massif: it is found on the cliff faces. Its calcareous composition has caused such an expanded karst phenomenon that brought to light a lot of caves full of stalactites, deep wells and caves</p><br>
<p>the Rosso Ammonitico: with its calcareous origin, it forms the “cities of stone” situated in the Poise and Meda Valleys</p><br>
<p>the Biancone: a calcareous rock which is found on the summit and around the villages of Borso and Semonzo</p><br>
<p>the Red Flake: a clayish limestone that is also the raw material used to make cement.</p><br>
<p>Furthermore, over the centuries, different external atmospheric pressures have modified the morphological structure of the Grappa massif.</p><br>
<p>the glaciers, which are responsible for the high valleys of the Brenta and Piave rivers. They also caused the formation of the glacial cirques near the summit.</p><br>
<p>the creeks, which have been caused by erosion from rainwater.</p><br>
<p>The karst phenomenon, that is really extensive in the Massif. There are a lot of caves and wells, sinkholes and swallow holes, the absence of streams and sources at high altitudes and the "cities of stone".</p><br>
<h2>Flora</h2><br>
<p>Due to its geographic position near the Venetian plain, the Monte Grappa area is very rich in both flowers and plants. In fact, its climatic conditions has favoured the prevalence of small Mediterranean scrub bushes and alpine vegetation that is composed mostly of conifers in the snowy areas. Typical trees and bushes on Monte Grappa include Mount Maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) and Lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos) with various geophytes underneath, the White Fir tree (Abies concolor), the spruce fir and the beech tree. Typical forest flowers include; Dandelion (Leontodon tenuiflorus), Knautia persicina, Globularia nudicaulis, Wild Peony (Paeonia officinalis), the Cengio iris (Iris cengialti), soldanella and clematis. Typical pasture grasses include;Festuca paniculata and Helictotrichon parlatorei, and on the cliffs, Minuartia graminifolia can be found.</p><br>
<h2>Fauna</h2><br>
<p>The Grappa Massif is also rich in fauna. Common species include roe deer, mouflon, and chamois; there are birds of prey such as the buzzard, the peregrine falcon, the golden eagle and the eagle owl, and squirrels, the foxes, badgers, and lizards can all be found on its slopes.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>Some of the events of World War I and World War II took place on Monte Grappa, and a memorial monument, the statue of the Madonna del Grappa (ruined during World War I but restored in the following years), and a World War Museum lie on the mountain. The remains of Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who died in war are kept here.</p><br>
<p>During World War I, after the Italian Caporetto defeat, the Austrians tried to conquer the peak to reach the Venetian plain from November 11, 1917 to October 24, 1918. The Italians made caves in the rock and built fixed emplacements for the artillery so that they could keep control from the Valderoa Mount to Caprile hill. The most important military work is the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery, which is equipped with water tanks, infirmaries and beds.</p><br>
<p>During World War II, the Partisans sought refuge on Monte Grappa. Here the Nazis and some Fascists killed a huge number of soldiers: however, those who had not been killed in battle were taken to Bassano del Grappa and publicly hanged.</p><br>
<p>Post war, NATO built a radar missile base on Monte Grappa for American anti-aircraft defense, which was demolished in the 1970s.</p><br>
<h3>The Military Memorial Monument</h3><br>
<p>On the summit of Monte Grappa there is a military memorial monument, designed by the architect Giovanni Greppi in collaboration with the sculptor Giannino Castiglioni. It was inaugurated on 22 September 1935.</p><br>
<p>In the central body lie the remains of 12,615 soldiers, of these the identities of 10,332 are unknown. The monument is composed of five concentric circles laid on top of each other to form a pyramid. On the top there is the little sanctuary of the Madonnina del Grappa.</p><br>
<p>Near the monument, there is cave where some people believe that some Partisans had been burnt alive by the Nazi-fascists. Since 1974 there has been a statue called Al Partigiano in that cave, made by the sculptor Augusto Murer.</p><br>
<h2>Sporting activities</h2><br>
<h3>Walking</h3><br>
<p>Due to the presence of hiking trails and mule tracks, activities such as Nordic Walking and trekking are popular during the summer, or, in winter, walking using snow rackets and skiing. In particular, the Bassano&#39;s CAI27 has created for some years a lot of hiking trails which cross the area of Borso del Grappa.</p><br>
<h3>Cycling</h3><br>
<p>Monte Grappa is considered one of the most difficult Italian cycling climbs. It is very demanding from wherever you start, because of its incline and length.</p><br>
<p>The classic route coincides with Cadorna street, which had been built by Cadorna general during the World War to reach the summit. It starts from the centre of Romano d&#39;Ezzelino and it ends on the peak after 27 km. The two hardest parts are the first and last kilometres, whereas the middle section is slightly more gentle. In addition, there are some events committed to cycling - among them the Grappissima and the Monte Grappa Challenge.</p><br>
<p>Grappa&#39;s slopes are also a paradise for people who practice downhill cycling.</p><br>
<p>Monte Grappa was included in the Giro dItalia several times during the 1970s and 1980s. During the 2010 Giro the Grappa was climbed again, but it didnt reach the summit.</p><br>
<p>The 2014 Giro d&#39;Italia arrived on Cima Grappa after an uphill time trial from Bassano del Grappa.</p><br>
<p>Every year, in July, there is a classic race for amateurs on the mountain called Bassano-Monte Grappa.</p><br>
<h3>Rock climbing</h3><br>
<p>In Santa Felicita Valley there is a cliff wall which is used to practice the rock climbing. known as a rock gym "It is one of the most well known such gyms in Veneto. There is a fully equipped course that mimics all the complexities that are found in similar courses; there are also fixed equipment for fall tests.</p><br>
<h3>Free Flight</h3><br>
<p>The free flight has found the ideal conditions to be practised in Borso del Grappa. This sport gathers people from all social classes, men and women from 16 to 70 years old; in fact nowadays it is very common to see paragliders and hang gliders in the sky over the Grappa massif.</p><br>
<p>The reasons why this discipline has had a great success in this area are:</p><br>
<p>the particular climate conditions that permit the development of upward currents all year round, which allow to fly even for many hours</p><br>
<p>the fact that it is easy to reach the different take off points, situated on the southern slope of the massif</p><br>
<p>the presence of well-kept and safe landing areas.</p><br>
<p>In 1979 a group of people impassioned of free flight founded the sport association Aero Club Montegrappa, which has nowadays a lot of members (men and women) from all the Venetian provinces.</p><br>
<p>Every year the association organizes one of the world&#39;s most important events called Trofeo Montegrappa, the only event in the world that gathers in two competitions paraglider and hang glider pilots. Thanks to the great presence of champions from all over the world, now the area of the Grappa Massif and its ideal conditions for the free flight are known in the world.</p><br>
<p>James A. Garfield National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Mentor, Ohio. The site preserves the property associated with the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield, and includes the first presidential library established in the United States.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>James A. Garfield acquired the home in 1876 to accommodate his large family. The home, named Lawnfield by reporters, was the site of the first successful front porch campaign in 1880. That same year, Garfield had 11 rooms added to the building to accommodate his large family. Garfield was President from March 4, 1881 until his death on September 19, 1881. Four years after his assassination, Mrs. Garfield and her family added the Memorial Library wing, setting the precedent for presidential libraries.</p><br>
<p>Garfield purchased the Mentor residence for several reasons. Until this time, he had been a resident of Hiram and represented the 19th Ohio congressional district. The Democratic Ohio Legislature had redistricted and removed the Republican Party counties of Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, and Trumbull from the district, leaving only the Democratic Party counties of Ashland, Stark and Wayne.</p><br>
<p>Garfield also wanted a place where his sons could learn about farming, as well as a permanent residence where he could spend his summers while Congress was on recess.</p><br>
<p>Lucretia Garfield lived in the house at least part of every year until her death in 1918. Her brother, Joseph Rudolph, lived there until he died in 1934. In 1936, Garfield&#39;s children donated the house and its contents to the Western Reserve Historical Society for use as a museum. On December 28, 1980, the United States Congress declared the Garfield home a National Historic Site.</p><br>
<p>The site was operated by the National Park Service with the Western Reserve Historical Society until January 2008, at which time the WRHS transferred the site&#39;s land, buildings and operation to the National Park Service. the site is managed by Cuyahoga Valley National Park.</p><br>
<h2>Restoration</h2><br>
<p>In the 1990s, a $12.5 million, six-year restoration of the Garfield house took place, with a grand reopening in 1998.</p><br>
<p>The Garfield Historical Site is one of the most accurately restored and highly detailed of the 19th-century USA presidential sites. Of its hundreds of examples of antique Victorian furniture, over 80% was owned by the Garfield family themselves in the 1880s. Many others were acquired or recreated by the National Park Service to supplement the collection. Ten wallpapers were also reproduced from photographs, and from samples found under layers of wallpaper applied through the subsequent decades.</p><br>
<p>The Forest of Compiègne  is a large forest in the region of Picardy, France, near the city of Compiègne and approximately 60 km north of Paris.</p><br>
<p>The forest is notable as the site of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany which ended World War I on 11 November 1918, as well as the Armistice of 22 June 1940 after the Battle of France in World War II.</p><br>
<h2>Geography</h2><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne is roughly circular with a diameter of about 9 miles; it is approximately 58 miles in circumference and its area is roughly 14,414 hectare, making it the third largest forêt domaniale (national forest), a category corresponding to the French State&#39;s inalienable domaine, as heir to the monarchy, under a judicial regime distinct from the national patrimoine and from private property, defined by a royal edict issued in 1566.</p><br>
<p>The forest is lushly irrigated, being adjacent to the Oise and the Aisne rivers, as well as many smaller tributaries and streams.</p><br>
<p>On its northwest, the forest hugs its small namesake city, and to its north and northeast, beyond the Aisne, lies the large national forest of Laigue (Forêt Domaniale de Laigue). Around its remaining perimeter, it contains or is adjacent to numerous communes including Vieux-Moulin, Lacroix-Saint-Ouen, Saint-Sauveur, Béthisy-Saint-Pierre, Saint-Jean-aux-Bois, and Pierrefonds. On its south it borders the Forest of Halatte.</p><br>
<p>Just outside the city of Compiègne, a grand entrance to the forest begins at the resplendent Château de Compiègne, a former royal residence on the city&#39;s western edge. Stretching forward from the château, the Avenue de Beaux Monts scales the heights of the same name, providing a scenic promenade into the woods.</p><br>
<h2>Characteristics</h2><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne is famous for its picturesque natural attractions, with its elegant arrays of oak and beech trees projecting a "noble and ordered beauty".</p><br>
<p>The most prominent tree species are oak (Quercus robur), beech (Fagus sylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). Much of the oak was heavily harvested over the centuries but was replanted aggressively in the nineteenth century when fears of deforestation began to be addressed. Since the late twentieth century, the North American black cherry tree (Prunus serotina) has spread vigorously throughout the forest, eliciting mixed reactions from local arborists.</p><br>
<p>Numerous flowering plants thrive in the woods, notably large numbers of Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis). Small lakes, ponds, brooks and springs abound throughout the forest, including the Spring of Saint-Sauveur, which is actually a pair of therapeutic mineral water springs running both hot and cold.</p><br>
<p>The forest sustains a great number of game animals including deer, rabbit and wild boar, adding up to over six hundred miles of trail with stately vintage signposts marking most of the intersections. The oldest ones include a small red mark which shows the direction to the château, relics of an imperial order given during the Second French Empire after the Empress Eugénie found herself lost in the thick woods.</p><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne is a popular destination for all types of tourists. Horse-riders and bicyclists particularly enjoy the forest; a long-running bicycle event, the Paris-Roubaix race, has an established path through the forest.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Prehistoric and classical eras</h3><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne area shows evidence of prehistoric habitation, and continuous forest cover has been definitively proven since at least the end of the Roman Empire. Gallic-Roman edifices have been discovered there, and it is traversed on its south and east sides by an ancient Roman road During the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar won a decisive victory in the forest, defeating one of the larger tribes of north-eastern Gaul, the Bellovaci. A multitude of the forests classical-era artifacts are on display at the Châteaus museum.</p><br>
<h3>Dark Ages</h3><br>
<p>The earliest Frankish kings established the forest as their privileged hunting grounds, and Clothaire the Great built the first royal residence there in the 7th century, and there he died of a fever. The small palace, fitted cozily among the trees, was named Cusia and for some time thereafter the forest itself went by the name Forêt de Cuise that is memorialized in the village of Cuise-la-Motte that lies to the east of the forest boundaries. A battle between the Merovingian-era kingdoms of Austrasia and Neustria took place in the forest in the year 715.</p><br>
<h3>Medieval era</h3><br>
<p>As Empress Eugénies signposts attest, the thick and heavy forest can be a disorienting and potentially fatal place. In the twelfth century, at the age of fourteen, the future King Philip II of France found himself lost in the forest: he came so close to tragedy that his father, Louis VII, felt compelled to make a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury in England to offer thanks for his recovery. In the sixteenth century, King Francis I commanded the construction of eight hard-surfaced roads through the forest, all of which converge on a single point called the Kings Well (Puits du Roi).</p><br>
<h3>Early modern era</h3><br>
<p>Further avenues connected by an octagonal ring were opened through the woods for the formal hunting parties of Louis XIV, and under the Ancien Régime the number of rides was increased to 200. Napoleon opened the avenue of Beaux-Monts (illustration).</p><br>
<p>Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the lush woodlands provided lumber for a thriving woodworking community around Compiègne. One of the most popular products supplied by the forest was beech oil, used for cooking and folk medicines: it was bottled in prodigious quantities and sold worldwide from Compiègne through the 19th century, until its marketshare was supplanted by newer, more refined oils.</p><br>
<h3>Second Empire</h3><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne witnessed much activity during the reign of the Emperor Napoleon III, for whom the abundant forest was a personal favorite retreat. The Emperor was an avid huntsman, and he reconstituted the forest as grand hunting grounds, even going so far as to revive the age-old office of Grand Veneur to oversee it. The Emperor had a deep affection for the forest and frequently organized his hunting parties at the King&#39;s Well. In addition to hunting parties and competitions, the forest of Compiègne was the scene of extravagant receptions, parties and even theatrical performances.</p><br>
<h3>Armistice of 1918</h3><br>
<p>The forest of Compiègne was the site of the Armistice between the Allies and Germany which ended World War I on 11 November 1918. The French commander-in-chief Marshal Foch convened the armistice talks deep in the forest beside the tiny village of Rethondes, with an eye towards secrecy because he wanted to shield the meeting from intrusive journalists, as well as spare the German delegation any hostile demonstrations by French locals.</p><br>
<h3>Armistice of 1940</h3><br>
<p>During World War II, a second treaty was signed in the forest, this time arranging an armistice between France and Nazi Germany (22 June 1940). With an unmistakable desire to humiliate his defeated enemy, German dictator Adolf Hitler gave orders that the surrender should be received in exactly the same spot, even the same railway car, where the Germans had surrendered in 1918.</p><br>
<h2>Armistice Clearing</h2><br>
<p>A memorial site called Clairière de l&#39;Armistice ("Glade of the Armistice", or "Armistice Clearing") covers the historic treaty area. Additions include a statue of Marshal Foch and the large Alsace-Lorraine Memorial, which depicts an Allied sword pinning down an Imperial German eagle. A famous memorial tablet placed at the precise location of the cease-fire signing reads (in French), Here on the eleventh of November 1918 succumbed the criminal pride of the German Reich... vanquished by the free peoples which it tried to enslave. The original tablet was destroyed by the Nazis, but a new one was emplaced after the war.</p><br>
<p>For the 1918 meeting, the French had specifically assembled the train with a special railcar which had once belonged to Napoleon III. The car was decorated with old Imperial emblems, redolent of past glories and mutely confirming the resurgence of French power after its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1950, a faithful replica of the original railcar was installed at the site. Decades later, some vestiges of the original car were discovered in Germany and returned to France: the pieces were added to the memorial display in 1995.</p><br>
<p>The Armistice Clearing remains open to the public six days a week. Visitors routinely leave photographs and other mementos to be displayed or stored in the museum, making it "an ever-changing place of pilgrimage".</p><br>
<p>Pat Sin Leng is a mountain range in the northeast New Territories of Hong Kong, located within the Pat Sin Leng Country Park. The name Pat Sin Leng literally means "Ridge of the Eight Immortals", who are famous xian  in Chinese Mythology, and symbolizes the eight peaks along the Pat Sin Leng mountain range, each named after a different Immortal.</p><br>
<h2>Mountain peaks</h2><br>
<h3>Shun Yeung Fung</h3><br>
<p>Shun Yeung Fung is the sixteenth highest peak in Hong Kong with an elevation of 591 m, located in north Tai Po of New Territories. It is also the most due west and highest peak of the Pat Sing Leng mountain range. The peak is named after the leader of Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin &#39;s secular name Chunyang Zi.</p><br>
<h3>Chung Li Fung</h3><br>
<p>Chung Li Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 543 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Zhongli Quan.</p><br>
<h3>Kuai Li Fung</h3><br>
<p>Kuai Li Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 530 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Iron-Crutch Li.</p><br>
<h3>Kao Lao Fung</h3><br>
<p>Kao Lao Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 530 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Elder Zhang Guo.</p><br>
<h3>Hsien Ku Fung</h3><br>
<p>Hsien Ku Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 514 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Immortal Woman He.</p><br>
<h3>Sheung Tsz Fung</h3><br>
<p>Sheung Tsz Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Han Xiang.</p><br>
<h3>Tsao Kau Fung</h3><br>
<p>Tsao Kau Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Royal Uncle Cao.</p><br>
<h3>Choi Wo Fung</h3><br>
<p>Choi Wo Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Lan Caihe.</p><br>
<h2>1996 hillfire</h2><br>
<p>A hill fire broke out on Pat Sin Leng on 10 February 1996, when a group of 49 teachers and students from HKCWC Fung Yiu King Memorial Secondary School were hiking in the mountains. 200 firemen and 4 helicopters were sent to rescue the group. Two teachers, Chau Chi Chai and Wong Sau Mei and three students died, with 13 others injured.</p><br>
<p>Spring Breeze Pavilion was built on the mountain in memory of the five who died. It was inaugurated by the then-Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, on 12 March 1996.</p><br>
<p>St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is an independent Catholic church building located in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Formerly a parish belonging to the Catholic Church, it was established in 1880 to serve the Polish community in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. It is considered to be the best example of the opulent Polish Cathedral style of architecture west of the Mississippi River.</p><br>
<p>The church is notable for a highly publicized dispute over control of the parish and its assets between the churchs lay board of directors and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis. In December 2005, Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke declared the parishs board members and its priest, Marek Bozek, excommunicated and announced his intention to disband the parish with the likelihood that the premises would be sold. The parish responded by holding a Christmas Eve Mass attended by 1,500-2,000 people. The church and the Archdiocese settled their legal dispute in 2013.</p><br>
<p>The parish continues to be maintained and managed by its parishioners as a not-for-profit corporation, calling itself "Catholic", but unaffiliated with the Catholic Church.</p><br>
<h2>Church history</h2><br>
<p>In 1878, the Archdiocese of St. Louis authorized the construction of a parish to serve the citys growing Polish Catholic community, which up until then attended St. Patricks at Sixth and Biddle Streets. In 1880, construction began on St. Stanislaus Kostka. The church was built just north of Downtown St. Louis, in a neighborhood that was home to a large number of Polish immigrants. The original church building was built in Romanesque Revival style. It was originally administered by the Franciscans and was the mother church for three other Polish parishes-St. Casimir (1889), St. Hedwig (1904) and our Lady of Czestochowa (1907).</p><br>
<p>Under a land deed signed by Archbishop Peter Kenrick in 1891, the parish property was assigned to a corporation under a pastor and lay board members to be continually appointed by the Archbishop. The founding documents are known collectively as the Deed and Charter & Bylaws of 1891. A new larger church, designed by Wessbecher and Hummel was dedicated in September 1892.</p><br>
<p>In 1928, the church was damaged by a fire that destroyed the center dome of the structure, and almost all of the original interior decoration The dome was not rebuilt. In 1969, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Archbishop of Kraków (later Pope John Paul II), visited the church. The building was listed as a City Landmark in 1976 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.</p><br>
<p>The church continued to serve the Polish Catholic community in St. Louis even as the community dispersed from the surrounding neighborhood. By the 1950s it had lost most of its local parishioners but continued to receive ethnic support. By the 1970s, the parish buildings were severely deteriorated. The parishioners undertook a large-scale restoration of the church building and began acquiring land surrounding the church. Later improvements included the construction of a Polish Heritage Center. By 2005, the church assets included 8 acre of land, and the board of trustees estimated the total value of the parish assets at $9.5 million.</p><br>
<h2>Conflict with archdiocese</h2><br>
<p>The controversy, involving both the control of the physical and financial assets of the parish and the administrative authority of the archbishop, focused on whether those assets would be controlled by a pastor appointed by the archbishop, which is the current canonical norm in the United States, or by a lay board of directors, a practice known as trusteeism. The controversy began under Cardinal John J. Glennon and continued under the late Cardinal Joseph Ritter and his successors, Archbishop John May, Cardinal Justin Rigali, and Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke. The present Archbishop of St. Louis, Robert James Carlson, is endeavoring to find an adequate compromise that satisfies canon law and all concerned parties, but the breakaway members rejected his latest proposal.</p><br>
<p>The current structure of the parish derives from one created in 1891. The current parish board has taken the position that the purpose of Burke&#39;s actions was to take control of the assets of the parish primarily for economic reasons. They note that the parish had sustained and restored itself without financial assistance from the Archdiocese and claimed that Burke intended to close the parish once he had control of it.</p><br>
<p>The archdiocese alleges that the lay board of directors, in the early 1980s, without permission from Archbishop May, changed the original 1891 bylaws, which stipulated that the lay board was to function solely as an advisory body to the pastor and thus under the archbishop (cf. the Plenary Councils of Baltimore). In the bylaws as amended, the authority of the pastor was revoked, putting the lay board in full control of the parish. In response, not long after his appointment, Burke mandated that the structure of the parish once again conform to current canon law norms for the United States. The lay board formally appealed to the Holy See and that appeal was denied. However, the archdiocese does not dispute that the deed to the church property itself belongs to the parish corporation and not to the archdiocese. What is disputed is the membership of that corporation, and how the members are to be chosen. In interpreting the bylaws on these questions, the District Court ruled against the archdiocese and affirmed St. Stanislaus&#39; ownership of its property and its right to craft bylaws that limit the authority of the Roman Catholic Archbishop.</p><br>
<p>In August 2004, Burke removed both priests from the parish and transferred the Polish ministry to St. John the Apostle and Evangelist parish across from St. Louis Union Station. When the priests left the parish, they took with them much of the property of the parish, including the hymnals, missals, song books, and parish records. In January 2005 Burke threatened the members of the parish board of directors with an interdict if they did not comply with his instructions by February 4, 2005. On February 10, 2005, the lay board had still not complied, and the archbishop issued an interdict against the board members, stating that they "knowingly, deliberately and publicly damaged seriously the unity of the Church."</p><br>
<p>As of February 25, 2005, Burke&#39;s reorganization plan for parishes in south St. Louis City permanently changed the personal parish for Polish Catholics in St. Louis to the nearby church of St. Agatha, a move to which was completed on July 1, 2005.</p><br>
<p>In December 2005, the lay board announced plans to hire a priest of the Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Rev. Marek B. Bozek, whose bishop, John Joseph Leibrecht immediately suspended him for leaving his post without permission. In response to the action of the board, on December 16, 2005, Burke declared that Bozek and the lay board members, Dr. Joseph Rudawski, John Baras, William Bialczak, Edward Florek, Stanley Novak, and John Robert Zabielski, were guilty of the ecclesiastical crime, or delict, of schism from the Roman Catholic Church, an offense to which is automatically attached the penalty of excommunication. In a letter to Catholics in the Archdiocese, he warned the faithful that they would be risking grave sin if they knowingly attempted to receive sacraments from a priest who is in formal schism. Burke also announced his intention to suppress the parish. Following this announcement, a sizeable crowd attended the first Mass celebrated by the new pastor, on Christmas Eve 2005. On December 29, 2005, Burke canonically suppressed St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, since it was operating independently of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.</p><br>
<p>On May 15, 2008, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a decree rejecting the recourse filed in March 2006 by Rev. Bozek and the other excommunicated board members against the decrees of excommunication. This decision on the part of the Vatican ratified the excommunications on the basis of the commission of schism being "evident" on the part of the excommunicated board members.</p><br>
<p>In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI dismissed Bozek from the clerical state.</p><br>
<h2>Subsequent developments</h2><br>
<p>The Archdiocese of St. Louis issued the following statement on July 23, 2008:</p><br>
<p>Mrs. Bernice Krauze, Mr. Stanley Rozanski, and Mr. Robert Zabielski, members of the previous Board of Directors of Saint Stanislaus Parish Corporation, met last month (June 10) with Archbishop Raymond L. Burke to be reconciled fully with the Catholic Church. They are once again in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and are no longer under any censure. Edward Florek was reconciled fully with the Roman Catholic Church in 2008 and is in full communion. He is no longer under any censure.</p><br>
<p>Since then, the three have joined other ex-parishioners of the former Saint Stanislaus Kostka parish in filing a lawsuit against the Saint Stanislaus Parish Corporation. The lawsuit is asking for the corporation to adhere to the 1891 Bylaws, to which the parish and the Archdiocese of St. Louis had agreed. If the lawsuit is successful, the Archdiocese of St. Louis is prepared to appoint a Catholic priest, Rev. Michael Marchlewski, S.J., to Saint Stanislaus as administrator.</p><br>
<p>In 2010 an offer to settle the lawsuit was made by the archdiocese. The offer would have left control of the property and assets in the congregation but brought the parish back into control of the archdiocese. However, there was no guarantee the parish would not be closed in the future. The excommunicated priest, Marek Bozek, whose liberal views have become an issue to conservative Archbishop Burke, would have been required to depart. The settlement was rejected 257 to 185.</p><br>
<p>Under Marek Bozeks leadership, the church, in a decaying St. Louis neighborhood, has grown by roughly 500 families, despite approximately 200 families leaving since the beginning of the recent dispute. Bozeks non-orthodox views include allowing priests to marry and permitting women and homosexuals to be ordained. Transmogrification of the issues from property to doctrinal issues has alienated some traditional parish members but attracted other new congregants.</p><br>
<p>On March 15, 2012 a St. Louis circuit court judge ruled that control of the church property and assets belonged to St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation, not the archdiocese. Judge Hettenbach wrote in a decision that sided with the parish on all but two of the case’s 12 questions "The archbishop may own the souls of wayward St. Stanislaus parishioners, but the St. Stanislaus Parish Corporation owns its own property".</p><br>
<p>On February 13, 2013, St. Stanislaus Corporation and the Archdiocese of St. Louis issued a joint statement that said:</p><br>
<p>In August 2013, Bishop Wayne Smith of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri announced that the diocese and St. Stanislaus had entered into preliminary discussions regarding St. Stanislaus joining The Episcopal Church. It was reported to also be in discussions with the Polish National Catholic Church and other groups regarding possible affiliation.</p><br>
<p>The National Farmers Bank of Owatonna, Minnesota is a historic bank building at Broadway and Cedar Streets. It was designed by Louis Sullivan with decorative elements by George Elmslie. It was built in 1908, and was the first of Sullivans "jewel boxes". The building is clad in red brick with green terra cotta bands, and features two large arches on its street-facing facades. Single-story wings, originally housing bank offices, extend along each side. Internal elements include two stained-glass windows designed by Louis J. Millet, a mural by Oskar Gross, and four immense cast iron electroliers designed by George Grant Elmslie and cast by Winslow Brothers Company .</p><br>
<p>The officers of the National Farmers Bank sought Sullivan out, in part because they wanted a fresh idea of a bank building that would suit their specific needs, and they felt that conventional bank architecture of the time would not meet those. The building Sullivan designed included a farmers exchange room, where its clients might do business with each other, a womens consultation room, a conference room for the bank board, and the presidents office. All of these rooms were richly decorated, with custom furniture.</p><br>
<p>The bank was remodeled in 1940, and many of the interior architectural elements were destroyed. Subsequent work in 1958 and from 1976 to 1981 restored it to its original grandeur. On January 7, 1976 it was recognized as a National Historic Landmark for its architectural significance. The building now houses a branch of the Wells Fargo bank. It is also a contributing property to the Owatonna Commercial Historic District.</p><br>
<h2>Images</h2><br>
<h2>Other Louis Sullivan "jewel boxes"</h2><br>
<p>Farmers and Merchants Bank, Columbus, Wisconsin (1919)</p><br>
<p>Henry Adams Building, Algona, Iowa (1913)</p><br>
<p>Home Building Association Company, Newark, Ohio (1914)</p><br>
<p>Merchants&#39; National Bank, Grinnell, Iowa (1914)</p><br>
<p>People&#39;s Federal Savings and Loan Association, Sidney, Ohio (1918)</p><br>
<p>Peoples Savings Bank, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1912)</p><br>
<p>Purdue State Bank, West Lafayette, Indiana (1914)</p><br>
<p>The Grant Range is a mountain chain in east-central Nevada in the western United States. It runs for approximately 30 miles  in a generally north-south direction in northeastern Nye County. It is located south of the Horse Range and northeast of the closely associated Quinn Canyon Range. To the west is the expansive Railroad Valley and to the east is the White River Valley. The White River Valley drains the eastern slopes of the range into the Colorado River.</p><br>
<p>The Grant Range mountains cover an area of 346 square miles (896 km²). The Bureau of Land Management manages 60.5% of the area, while the Forest Service oversees 39.3%. Troy Peak is the tallest mountain in the range, reaching 11,298 feet (3443 m) above sea level northwest of Scofield Canyon. The Grant Range is home to the Grant Range Wilderness, administered by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.</p><br>
<p>Almost 60% of the area is made up of pinon-juniper vegetation, with sagebrush scrub accounting for about 15% of the range. The mountains are home to at least four species of mice, three species of chipmunks, and three species of snails. Steller&#39;s jay and the hairy woodpecker also use the mountains, as well as the Great Basin fence lizard.</p><br>
<p>Imandra  is a lake in the south-western part of the Kola Peninsula in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, slightly beyond the Arctic circle. It is located 127 m above sea level; its area is about 876 km², maximum depth is 67 m. The shape of the shore line is complicated. There are a number of islands and the largest one, Erm Island measures 26 km². There are three principal parts of the lake connected by narrow straits: Greater Imandra  or Khibinskaya Imandra in the north , Ekostrovskaya Imandra in the centre , and Babinskaya Imandra in the west . The lake drains into the Kandalaksha Gulf of the White Sea by the Niva River. The lake is known for the transparency of its water and its abundance of fish.</p><br>
<h2>Towns on or near the lake</h2><br>
<p>The town of Monchegorsk, located on the Monche-Guba inlet in the north-western part of the lake, is known as a centre of winter sports. During the summer, many residents enjoy boating on the lake, while in winter the frozen lake is popular with cross-country skiers.</p><br>
<p>Apatity is located near the eastern shore of the lake, and Polyarnye Zori are on the Niva River a few kilometers below its outflow from the lake.</p><br>
<h2>Navigation</h2><br>
<p>Presently, Lake Imandra is only used by local residents for recreational boating.</p><br>
<p>However, for a number of summers in the 1930s, before the railway branch between Monchegorsk and the Leningrad-Murmansk mainline had been constructed, Monchegorsk was connected to the rest of the country by Lake Imandra boats. Boats from Monchegorsk would arrive to a dock in Tik-Guba (today&#39;s Apatity), on the main rail line.</p><br>
<p>Beacon Hill is the highest point in the English county of Norfolk. The hill is located 0.75 mi south of the village of West Runton on the North Norfolk coast. At its summit the hill is 103 m above sea level. The hill is also known as Roman Camp. The summit and surrounding woodlands are now in the care of the National Trust. A track, named Calves Well Lane, running west from Sandy Lane leads to a car park which is maintained by donations made to the National Trust collection box provide on the edge of the car park. Litter bins and benches make Beacon Hill an ideal location for picnics. There are several footpaths to follow across the area.</p><br>
<h2>Formation</h2><br>
<p>Beacon Hill is a part of the Cromer Ridge which is a ridge of old glacial moraines (terminal moraine) that stands next to the coast above Cromer. The Cromer Ridge seems to have been the front line of the ice sheet for some time at the last glaciations, which is shown by the large size of the feature. All the material that was dredged up from the North Sea was deposited by the glaciers to form Beacon Hill and the rest of the ridge. The Ridge is the highest land of East Anglia and stretches for 9 mi along the North Norfolk coast. It is characterized by its irregular, undulating, intimate and well-wooded topography and by substantial areas of heather in the west. Small, enclosed arable fields, hedge banks, sunken lanes such as Sandy Lane which leads up Beacon Hill are common characteristic features all along the ridge.</p><br>
<h2>Features</h2><br>
<p>On the summit of Beacon Hill there is an earthwork enclosure. This area is known as Roman camp, a name which it is believed was coined around the turn of the 19th century by local horse drawn cab drivers as a means to make this place more appealing for tourists using the already existing earthworks to justify this assertion. Despite its name there is no evidence of any Roman occupation on this site. The earthworks, or enclosure, was once a coastal signal station and probably of earlier beacons(s) although the exact location of this beacon(s) is not known. There have been several archeological excavations in this area but none of these have specifically investigated the earthworks at Beacon Hill. There are reports of a watch being kept at this site in 1324, so its very probable that some kind of Beacon existed around this time. Historians believe there would have been a Beacon here around the time of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and certainly one in 1608 when there are records of repairs. There are records from the Norfolk Quarter Sessions of money being raised in the 1650s and 1660s to maintain a Beacon here and to ensure a watch was still being kept. This would have been during the time of the Dutch invasions. According to Fadens 1797 map of Norfolk this hill is described as The Old Beacon or Watch Tower which suggests it was no longer in use at this time. Although the exact location of these Beacons on the ridge are not known, this site would appear to be the most likely place for such outposts. Maps from the 18th century have the site marked as a rounded enclosure ‘termed’ as the old Beacon and watch tower. The Ordnance Survey map of 1838 calls the site a Signal Station and calls it Black Beacon Hill. It is understood the banks located here today are the remains of a signal station built during the time of the Napoleonic Wars and was part of a chain of signals stretching from Devon and as far north as Edinburgh. The signal sites from Norfolk downwards were abandoned from November 1841.</p><br>
<p>The Rax is a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps on the border of the Austrian federal provinces of Lower Austria and Styria. Its highest peak is the Heukuppe . The Rax, together with the nearby Schneeberg, are a traditional mountaineering and mountain walking area, and are called the Wiener Hausberge . They are separated by the deep Höllental .</p><br>
<p>A cable car, the Raxseilbahn, starting at Hirschwang at the north-eastern foot of the mountains and the first in Austria (construction began in 1925), takes visitors to the extensive, high plateau of the Rax at a height of about 1,500 m. This area is a particular favourite with hikers from Lower Austria and Vienna. The steep sides of the plateau offer climbing tours of various difficulty. These steige (mountain trails) and the hütten, alpine huts offering basic accommodation, were built and are maintained kept by various Austrian Alpine Clubs. They were erected in the late 19th and early 20th century.</p><br>
<h2>Mountain huts</h2><br>
<p>Raxseilbahn mountain station, 1,540 m</p><br>
<p>Ottohaus, 1,640 m</p><br>
<p>Gloggnitzer Hut, 1,548 m</p><br>
<p>Habsburg Haus, 1,785 m</p><br>
<p>Karl Ludwig Haus, 1,804 m</p><br>
<p>See Hut, 1,643 m</p><br>
<p>Waxriegelhaus 1,361 m</p><br>
<p>Wolfgang Dirnbacher Hut, 1,477 m (shelter only)</p><br>
<h2>Some Hikes and Rises</h2><br>
<p>Alpenvereins Steig: Großes Höllental – Ottohaus</p><br>
<p>Amaliensteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe</p><br>
<p>Bärenloch: Hinternasswald – Bärengraben</p><br>
<p>Bismarck Steig: Karl Ludwig Haus – Neue Seehütte</p><br>
<p>Brandschneide: Kaiserbrunn – Bergstation Raxbahn</p><br>
<p>Großes und kleines Fuchsloch: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe</p><br>
<p>Gaislochsteig (former Guido von List Steig): Großes Höllental – Dirnbacher Hütte</p><br>
<p>Göbl-Kühn-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Neue Seehütte</p><br>
<p>Gamsecksteig: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm</p><br>
<p>Gretchen Steig: Preiner Gscheid – Karl Ludwig Haus</p><br>
<p>Grosses Wolfstal (unmarkiert, Schiabfahrt!) Kaiserbrunn – Ottohaus</p><br>
<p>Grosser Kesselgraben (Schiabfahrt!) Höllental – Gloggnitzer Hütte</p><br>
<p>Gsolhirnsteig</p><br>
<p>Gustav-Jahn-Steig: Verbindung Alpenvereinssteig – Ausstieg Gaislochsteig</p><br>
<p>Hans-von-Haid-Steig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand</p><br>
<p>Hoyossteig: Großes Höllental – Rudolfsteig</p><br>
<p>Kaiser Steig: Rehboden – Scheibwald</p><br>
<p>Karl-Kantner-Steig: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus</p><br>
<p>Kontrußsteig: Reißtalerhütte – Waxriegelhaus</p><br>
<p>Peter Jokl Steig: Hinternasswald – Scheibwald</p><br>
<p>Preinerwandsteig: Prein an der Rax – Preiner Wand</p><br>
<p>Preintalersteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm</p><br>
<p>Reißtalersteig: Preiner Gscheid – Heukuppe</p><br>
<p>Rudolfssteig: Höllental – Klobentörl</p><br>
<p>Schlangenweg: Waxriegelhaus – Karl Ludwig Haus</p><br>
<p>Schüttersteig: Verbindungsstrasse Nasswald/Hinternasswald – Scheibwald</p><br>
<p>Seeweg: Ottohaus – Neue Seehütte</p><br>
<p>Teufelsbadstubensteig: Großes Höllental – Wachthüttelkamm</p><br>
<p>Törlweg: Knappenhof – Ottohaus</p><br>
<p>Wachthüttelkamm: Höllental – Ottohaus</p><br>
<p>Waxriegelsteig: Predigtstuhl – Waxriegelhaus</p><br>
<p>Wildes Gamseck: Nasskamm – Grasboden Alm</p><br>
<p>Wildfährte: Hinternasswald – Grasboden Alm</p><br>
<p>Zikafahnlsteig: Scheibwald – Habsburghaus</p><br>
<h2>Other</h2><br>
<p>The local snowboard-crew is called ""</p><br>
<p>Beckwourth Pass is the lowest mountain pass in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an elevation of 5,221 ft.</p><br>
<p>Beckwourth Pass is located at the eastern edge of Sierra Valley at Chilcoot-Vinton, California in Plumas County, 20 mi east of Portola, California and 25 mi northwest of Reno, Nevada.</p><br>
<p>California State Route 70 crosses over Beckwourth Pass and the Feather River Route of the Union Pacific Railroad crosses beneath it via the Chilcoot Tunnel. Route 70 and the railroad line provide an alternate route between Sacramento, California and Reno, Nevada when Interstate 80 and the Overland Route, which cross the Sierra Nevada near Donner Pass, are impassable due to winter storms.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<p>In 1850 James Beckwourth discovered Beckwourth Pass and developed his Beckwourth Trail from Truckee Meadows (what is now known as Sparks, Nevada) through the pass into California and on to Marysville.</p><br>
<p>In late summer of 1851, James Beckwourth led the first wagon train of settlers along the Beckwourth Trail into Marysville. Between 1851 and 1854, 1,200 emigrants used the trail.</p><br>
<p>The Beckwourth Trail was used during the California Gold Rush until about 1855, when the railroad supplanted the wagon train as the preferred method of travelling to California.</p><br>
<p>Between 1895 and 1916, the pass was used by the Sierra Valley & Mohawk Railway narrow gauge. The abandoned right-of-way is still visible on the eastern slope of the pass.</p><br>
<p>In 1906, the Chilcoot Tunnel was constructed beneath Beckwourth Pass by the Western Pacific Railroad as part of its Feather River Route. This line is now owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad.</p><br>
<p>In 1937, a bronze plaque was erected at Beckwourth Pass by the Native Daughters of the Golden West to commemorate the discoverer and the pioneers who passed along the trail.</p><br>
<p>On August 8, 1939, Beckwourth Pass was designated as California Historical Landmark Number 336.</p><br>
<p>Cod Beck is a river in North Yorkshire, England. It has a catchment area of 209.34 km².</p><br>
<p>The river extends from above Cod Beck Reservoir at Osmotherley on the edge of the North York Moors through Thirsk and on to join the River Swale at Topcliffe.</p><br>
<p>Cod Beck has a long history of flooding Thirsk and a feasibility study completed in April 2005 recommended additional flood defences and upstream storage. In 2011, a proposed flood defence scheme in Thirsk was cancelled due to the Environment Agency having its budget cut by 41%.</p><br>
<p>The name Cod Beck is a derivative of Cold Beck, where beck is smaller than a river; the stream runs deep between banks, so is always fairly cool. Cod fish are of course not found in fresh water.</p><br>
<h2>Settlements</h2><br>
<p>from source</p><br>
<p>Osmotherley</p><br>
<p>Ellerbeck</p><br>
<p>Foxton</p><br>
<p>Kirby Sigston</p><br>
<p>Thornton-le-Street</p><br>
<p>North Kilvington</p><br>
<p>South Kilvington</p><br>
<p>Thirsk</p><br>
<p>Sowerby</p><br>
<p>Dalton</p><br>
<p>(Joins Swale)</p><br>
<p>Kriváň is a mountain in the High Tatras, Slovakia, that dominates the upper part of the former Liptov County. Multiple surveys among nature lovers have ranked it as the countrys most beautiful peak. Readily accessible along maintained marked trails and with the exceptional vistas afforded from its summit, it is the hikers favorite mountain in the western part of the High Tatras. Kriváň has also been a major symbol in Slovak ethnic and national activism for the past two centuries. It has been referenced in works of art from 19th-century literature, through paintings, film documentaries, to a Polish rock track. A country-wide vote in 2005 selected it to be one of the images on Slovakia&#39;s euro coins.</p><br>
<h2>Name</h2><br>
<p>The name Kriváň, first recorded as Kriwan in 1639, is derived from the root kriv- meaning "bent" or "crooked". It reflects the angled appearance of its shape when viewed from the west and south, characterized in the work from 1639 as an "oxtail" (cauda bubula in the Latin original). The Slovak name is used in other languages including in Polish, rather than its potential Polonized version (Krzywań), except occasionally in Podhale in the immediate vicinity of the Tatras.</p><br>
<p>Two adjacent peaks in the nearby Malá Fatra range carry the same name, and so does the village of Kriváň farther away in southern Slovakia.</p><br>
<h2>History</h2><br>
<h3>Elevation</h3><br>
<p>Based merely on visual observation, Kriváň competed for the status of the highest mountain in the High Tatras with Lomnický štít, which dominates the view from the east, until 1793 when the latter was accurately identified as the higher of the two (but wrongly as the highest peak in the mountain range, an error corrected by Ludwig Greiner in 1837):</p><br>
<p>is generally said to be the highest of all the Alps in the Carpathian chain; but this opinion is not supposed to be founded upon any measurement.</p><br>
<p>The relative elevations of the two mountains were determined by the English natural historian Robert Townson, who ascended both peaks in August 1793 and also made an early recorded comment on Kriváň&#39;s aesthetic appeal:</p><br>
<p>The weather was very fine, and the Krivan, having got in the night a cap of snow, looked sublime. 1888 yards above the village of Vasetz Važec; the Krivan is therefore something lower than the Lomnitz Peak Lomnický štít</p><br>
<p>The exact elevation of Kriváň is currently recognized as 2,494.7 m</p><br>
<p>Kriváň is believed to have the greatest height from its base in the whole Tatras, as it rises from the bottom of the Kôprova valley or from Tri Studničky up to 1,400 m.</p><br>
<h3>Ascents</h3><br>
<h4>Before 1800</h4><br>
<p>A travel book Ungarisher oder Dacianisher Simplicissimus written by Daniel Georg Speer in 1693 mentions a current legend (may have more ancient roots) explaining how Krivan got its shape. Lucifer (the carrier of light) flew over Tatras carrying some people to hell. His foot tripped on the tip of Krivan which got bent, and losing his balance he dropped the sinners who populated since the county of Liptov.</p><br>
<p>Records of explorations by miners in the Kriváň massif date to the first half of the 15th century. Their presence increased during the gold rush of the 16th century. Although they may not have been the first to do so, it is probable that some of the miners reached the top of Kriváň; remnants of their shacks have survived below Priehyba Ridge at the elevation of about 2,000 m (6,560 ft.) through the present, and the highest, long abandoned, Terézia Shaft is merely about 60 m (200 ft.) below the summit. The commercial exploitation of the meager deposits discovered at Kriváň proved to be barely viable. It was abandoned in the 18th century.</p><br>
<p>The Scottish doctor Townson who ascended it in 1793 provided some evidence that Kriváň was already a recognized occasional destination for tourists in the second half of the 18th century. His guide from Važec had been to the top several times before and Townson saw him collect small coins from under a summit stone where hikers would leave them for luck. The first recorded ascent of Kriváň was by the Lutheran Pastor Andreas Jonas Czirbes from Spišská Nová Ves on 4 August 1773.</p><br>
<h4>Celebrities</h4><br>
<p>The first celebrity to attempt ascent of Kriváň was the 30-year-old Habsburg Archduke Joseph in 1806, but the plan was abandoned due to inclement weather although parts of the winding road to the old gold mine high on the slopes had already been improved and a campsite built. The first VIP actually to reach the summit was the 43-year-old King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony in 1840. The plaque placed at the top to commemorate the first monarch who stood there was gradually destroyed by activists in the 1850s-1860s, who would have wished the inscription to include a comment in Slovak and who objected to where the inscription spoke of the Hungarian (ethnic) nation in reference to all the subjects of the Kingdom of Hungary.</p><br>
<p>Lower nobleman Gašpar Fejérpataky Belopotocký, an influential publisher based at Liptovský Mikuláš merely 20 miles from Kriváň, and his six friends climbed to the top of Kriváň on 24 Sept. 1835, which he described in the literary journal Hronka in 1837. The account may have stimulated its readers who lived farther away to follow their steps.</p><br>
<p>The ascent that became most memorable in Slovak culture was by Ľudovít Štúr, then a 25-year-old teaching assistant of Slovak at the Bratislava Lutheran Lýceum (a preparatory high school and college). In the summer of 1841 he traveled through the Slovak counties with his private Greek student Prince Aristarchos and stopped at Michal Miloslav Hodžas parish at Liptovský Mikuláš, whose younger brother Juraj was Štúrs student at the lýceum. Štúr and a group of locals, Fejérpataky Belopotocký among them, hiked to the top of Kriváň on 16 August, its first recorded ascent that included women.</p><br>
<h4>National excursions</h4><br>
<p>A similar hike, without Štúr, took place the following year, and then sporadically later. Their organizers called them "national excursions" with increasing frequency. They were constituted as an annual late-August event by the authorities at Poprad in 1955 in order to commemorate the anniversary of the uprising of 1944. The attendance reached 480 people in 1981. They have continued with a broader national designation through the present. The National Ascent of Kriváň (Národný výstup na Kriváň) is an annual two-day event on the third weekend in August organized by the Slovak Tourist Club, Matica slovenská, and the towns of Vysoké Tatry and Liptovský Mikuláš. The number of persons allowed to ascend the summit on each of the event days is limited to 300.</p><br>
<h2>Access</h2><br>
<p>The three marked hiking routes to Kriváň start at different locations, but all ultimately converge at the elevation of about 2,145 m (7,035 ft.) for the final ca. 350-meter (1,150-foot) steep, rocky ascent to the summit − the only segment where both hands may be needed to maintain balance in places.</p><br>
<p>The trailhead of the -marked trail is on the road between Štrbské Pleso and Pribylina, the color stays the same to the summit; elevation gain ca. 1,300 m (4,265 ft.).</p><br>
<p>The -marked trailhead is on the same road closer to Pribylina at Tri Studničky, the trail links with the trail below the summit; elevation gain ca. 1,360 m (4,460 ft.).</p><br>
<p>Hikers starting from Štrbské Pleso follow the -marked trail towards Podbanské only to its intersection with the -marked trail at Jamské pleso from where they follow the trail to the summit; elevation gain ca. 1,150 m (3,770 ft.).</p><br>
<p>The historical winding road built by miners for horse-drawn ore carts and used by hikers in the past, including the participants of the revered 1841 excursion, is between the green and blue trails and links up with the trail above the timberline below Priehyba Ridge. The road is not marked, the Tatra National Park management decreed it off limits. It is partly obscured by shrubby mountain pines at higher elevations.</p><br>
<p>Kriváň has been favored by those appreciative of its aesthetic and historical allure, as well as by those who seek vistas from the top. Polls of nature lovers at large as well as of connoisseurs have consistently rated it as Slovakia&#39;s most beautiful mountain. The 360-degree view from the top is among the best in Slovakia with the scenery ranging from the populated valleys of upper Liptov, Spiš, and distant parts of Podhale, to the rugged drops of its north face, and many of the notable peaks of the Tatras including Giewont over Zakopane, Rysy, Lomnický štít, and Gerlach, the highest peak of the Carpathians. The panorama is framed by the Western and Low Tatras, and by mountain ranges beyond them in good visibility.</p><br>
<h2>Cultural images</h2><br>
<h3>Early development</h3><br>
<p>The mountain is mentioned by Nikolai Gogol as the abode of two Cossack brothers, Ivan and Petro, in his short story The Terrible Vengeance, written in 1832.</p><br>
<p>After lower nobleman Gašpar Fejérpataky Belopotocký (1794-1874) published an account of his 1835 ascent of Kriváň in the literary journal Hronka in 1837, its editor-in-chief Karol Kuzmány (1806-1866) wrote the novella Ladislav (1838), whose title character, taking the long way home from Italy via Germany and the Polish Podhale, hikes to the summit of Kriváň where he and his friends talk about brotherhood among the Slavs, sing ethnically-nationally arousing songs, and imbibe Tokaj wine. Both works may have motivated the hike by Ľudovít Štúr and friends in 1841 that inspired him to write two poems published in 1842. Romantic poets soon became fervent admirers of the eye-catching mountain. Eugen V. Šparnensis (1827-after 1853) called Kriváň a marker of his homeland, the Slovaks were "Kriváňs children" for Janko Kráľ, Samo Chalupkas poem saw the mountain as a symbol of their place among the nations.</p><br>
<h3>Popular culture</h3><br>
<p>The significance the intellectuals began to ascribe to Kriváň and its images they created were gradually adopted by popular culture. An early instance is the poem Oh, Below Kriváň (Hej, pod Kriváňom; originally: Hej, pod Muráňom) by Samuel Tomášik (1813-1887), which came to be seen as an anonymous folk song and is sometimes featured as such on folk albums. Likewise, the Polish poem Kriváň, High Kriváň! (Krywaniu, Krywaniu wysoki!) by Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer was labeled as a folk song and the author of the verses was not credited when its rock version by Skaldowie was released in 1972.</p><br>
<h3>Visual arts</h3><br>
<p>The short film Up the North Face of Kriváň (Severnou stenou na Kriváň; 1947) directed by Karol Skřipský with original music by Šimon Jurovský documented the first winter ascent of the Kriváň North Face, which, unlike the southern slopes of the massif, requires technical climbing. The mountain featured as an attractive backdrop in several films including Native Country (Rodná zem; dir. Josef Mach, 1954). It has appeared in numerous paintings, including by Ján Hála (1946), Miloš Alexander Bazovský (1956), Andrej Doboš (1967), and Ladislav Čemický (1979). The role of Kriváň in popular awareness and high culture was highlighted when a country-wide vote in 2005 selected it to be one of the images on Slovakia&#39;s euro coins.</p><br>
