Garden of the Gods

It was August of 1859 when two surveyors started out from Denver City to begin a townsite, soon to be called Colorado City. While exploring nearby locations, they came upon a beautiful area of sandstone formations. M. S. Beach, who related this incident, suggested that it would be a "capital place for a beer garden" when the country grew up. His companion, Rufus Cable, a "young and poetic man", exclaimed, "Beer Garden! Why it is a fit place for the Gods to assemble. We will call it the Garden of the Gods." It has been so called ever since.

Thorncrown Chapel

Nestled in a woodland setting, Thorncrown Chapel rises forty-eight feet into the Ozark sky. This magnificent wooden structure contains 425 windows and over 6,000 square feet of glass. It sits atop over 100 tons of native stone and colored flagstone, making it blend perfectly with its setting. The chapel's simple design and majestic beauty combine to make it what critics have called "one of the finest religious spaces of modern times."

On July 10, 1980 Thorncrown Chapel opened. Since then over six million people have visited this little chapel on the hillside. Thorncrown has won numerous architectural awards. It has been featured on television programs such as NBC Nightly News and the 700 Club. Almost every major magazine in the country has carried a story about the chapel including Time, Newsweek, and Parade.

Thorncrown Chapel is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It is located on Highway 62 West three miles outside of Eureka Springs. There is no admission fee, but donations are accepted. Every tour group will receive a presentation telling the story of the chapel followed by an inspirational song by one of the Thorncrown musicians. There is ample parking for buses and RVs. So, while in the Ozarks, stop by what many have called one of the most beautiful and inspiring chapels in the world. It will be a visit you will not soon forget.

Basilica di Santa Croce

In E.M. Forster's "A Room with a View", the young heroine, Lucy Honeychurch, winds up alone in Basilica di Santa Croce, seen here, without her "Handbook to Northern Italy." With no cultural authority to tell her what to think, Forster wrote, "the pernicious charm of Italy worked on her, and, instead of acquiring information, she began to be happy."

The Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross) is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south west of the Duomo. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini, thus it is known also as the Temple of the Italian Glories (Tempio dell'Itale Glorie).

Glass Beach

Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass created from years of dumping garbage into an area of coastline near the northern part of the town.

Lizard Island

Australia's northern most resort, Lizard Island Reosrt is located right on the Great Barrier Reef, fringed with coral reefs and 24 powdery white beaches. Outstanding in every respect, the unique pleasures of Lizard Island have created an idyllic retreat known as 'one of one'. Spectacular diving and snorkelling opportunities abound, including the famous Cod Hole, where you'll come face to face with a massive, yet curious Potato Cod swimming right up to inspect you with child like curiosity. Discover secluded, pristine beaches by foot or by motorised dinghy with a gourmet picnic just for two. Try bushwalking, sailing, fishing, a glass bottom boat trip, or perhaps indulge in a pampering treatment at the luxurious Azure Spa. Dining is another of the many pleasures here. The menu, which changes daily, is fresh and creative, showcasing the finest local produce. Each of the 40 villas is elegant and spacious, with either ocean or beach views. All meals, beverages and many island activities are included.

Hocking Hills State Park

Hocking Hills State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the Hocking Hills region of Hocking County, Ohio, United States; it is contiguous with the Hocking State Forest. Within the park are several spectacular features based around rock formations, including Old Man's Cave, a narrow, deep gorge featuring waterfalls; Rock House, a cliffed area with a rock shelter; Cantwell Cliffs, a broad gorge at the head of a hollow with a unique stone stairway; and Ash Cave, a large rock shelter with a small waterfall, and Cedar Falls, a larger waterfall south of Old Man's Cave.

Popeye Village

Popeye Village, also known as Sweethaven Village, is a group of rustic and ramshackle wooden buildings located at Anchor Bay in the north-west corner of the Mediterranean island of Malta, two miles from the village of Mellieħa.

It was built as a film set for the production of the 1980 live-action musical feature film Popeye, produced by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions and starring Robin Williams. Today it is open to the public as an open-air museum and family entertainment complex.

Le Moulin de l'Abbaye Hotel

The Moulin de l'Abbaye sits in the heart of the beautiful village of Brantôme, known as the "Venice of the Périgord". Nestled alongside the original mill-pond, this spot is one of the most delightful places in the Dordogne. The mill itself is wreathed in ivy, and looks out over the 16th century masterpiece that is the right-angled bridge, the Pont Coudé, which links the abbey, founded in 769 by Charlemagne, with the monastery garden as well as the medieval tower, the Renaissance pavilion and the abbey itself.

Zion National Park, Utah

Emerald pool at Subway

The mystical journey through the Left Fork of North Creek involves route finding, plunging cautiously into chilly pools then sloshing, sometimes frantically, through frigid water over and through difficult obstacles. The narrow Subway section of this hike forces hikers through a unique tunnel sculpted by the Left Fork of North Creek. Churning water chisels the rock floor, forming shallow potholes that fill to the brim with frosty water. Silhouettes dance freely on multi-colored walls where only a trickle of sun light penetrates into the curved chamber of the Subway. Falling water echoes in the nature carved tunnel where dragonflies dart, frogs laze about and shimmering emerald pools tempt cold hikers to dawdle. Before long, the promise of daylight urges an exit to the warmth of the sun waiting outside the Subway. The canyon widens as hikers cross back and forth across the creek, making their way to the grueling uphill exit. For those that want a glimpse of the canyon, but choose to stay away from uncomfortable obstacles, explore the canyon from the bottom where thin sheets of glistening water cascade over mossy stair-step slivers of rock.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetary

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is a cemetery located on Bedford Street near the center of Concord, Massachusetts. The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States' greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as "Author's Ridge."









Famous Graves:

• The Alcott family, including Amos Bronson Alcott (Transcendentalist, philosopher, educator), Abby May (Wife of Amos Bronson Alcott), and their daughter Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and others)
• Ephraim Wales Bull (inventor of the Concord Grape)
• Arthur R. Bethke (Concord Oil Owner, US Army Captain, Bethke Cancer Center)
• William Ellery Channing (Transcendentalist and poet)
• Ralph Waldo Emerson (Transcendentalist and poet)
• Daniel Chester French (sculptor of the Lincoln Memorial)
• Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlet Letter and others)
• Sophia Hawthorne (wife of Nathaniel Hawthorne)
• George Frisbie Hoar (19th-century politician)
• Richard Marius (Reformation historian and Southern novelist)
• Ralph Munroe (yacht designer and pioneer of South Florida)
• Elizabeth Peabody (education reformer)
• Franklin Benjamin Sanborn (author and social reformer)
• Henry David Thoreau (Transcendentalist, philosopher, and author)
• George Washington Wright (California's first representative in Congress)