Congaree National Park, South Carolina

A short tour of Congaree National Park in South Carolina. No, it's not Yellowstone, but it doesn't pretend to be. It’s a chance to experience a wild, unusual landscape where ancient towering trees, peaceful swampy forests, wildlife, and quiet trails come together in a way you won’t find in many other national parks.

More renaming of America - Lake, err, Ontario

I guess the renaming of America is continuing. Following up from my piece in the Hartford Courant last year, it's now a short video with a little AI help. OK, a lot of AI help. My lyrics, then AI created the music. I mean, it sounds like any country song (but which country?). I then told meta.ai what I wanted for each image and it created almost every one perfectly. Then I had to put the images and music together the old-fashioned in a video program which took way too much time (I used Photopia). All free to make (I don't monetize anything, just for fun). Give it a try

Create you own AI song - absurdly easy

It is absurd how easy it is to create songs/music with AI now. Needless to say, my first attempt was truly absurb - nutty lyrics I put together with 100% AI generated music (totally free) and took about 5 minutes. So I had to title it Absurd. I used EasyMusic.AI, but there are dozens of sites now. Next create images, then animate some...all AI. And, taking it one mind-numbing step further, see the video with all AI generated images.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Yes, it's out of the way, up there in North Dakota, but so much to see. Cool early spring mornings, with the mist hanging in the valley below, oh my. Bison? Check. Wild horses? Check. Adorable prairie dogs? Check. Link to story:

Jest A Moment: The Renaming of America

The "Gulf of America"? Mt. McKinley? Well, it's about time. But these changes don't go far enough. Suggestions to continue with the renaming of America appeared in today's Hartford Courant.

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Altanta's pandas...going, going... not gone - yet

Better hurry if you haven't got down to Zoo Atlanta in, you know, the past 25 years. Atlanta's 4 pandas are headiing back to China later this year. So adorable. Talked with the zoo staff after a recent visit. Link to story here.

Take a Hike! - To Bozeman, Montana

Starting a new column that will be appearing in publications across the US and which looks at our hiking adventures over the years. These are short hikes (or long walks - we're not mountain goats) up to a couple of miles with seniors in mind. Some familiar places such as National Parks or big cities, but also some obscure places with interestng hikes.

Let's start with Bozeman, Montana, which has an extensive series of connected city parks with breathtaking views of the mountains. A great place to hike/walk while enjoying to view and fresh air.

Read about it here. So, go take a hike!

1 Min Timelapse for 2024 Eclipse

It was indeed a wonderful sight. See you again in 2044.

Link to timelapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14m9WHRSd60

More Maine Moose

As our summer in Maine winds down, we are still finding more moose. Read about it here in the Bangor Daily News (although they have an annoying paywall, so you can only read a couple of free stories a month - sorry - but can see our quick 1 min moose video here). But if you've never visited the state, it's splendid in so many ways, not the least being the weather (well, except for winters). This year, while the rest of the country sweltered, we'd wake up to 50s/60s almost every day and mostly 70s high (and not a whisp of smoke from the Canadian fires which was weird since they were so clase). Expecting around a 100 when we return to the South soon. Oh joy.

Looking for Moose

Spending some time in Maine this summer, looking for moose. Found a few and even named one "Icy." Our moose hunting, with a camera of course, detailed in the Bangor Daily News recently, here (it was one of those slow news days).