home of dollywood

Pigeon Forge is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 5,083. Situated just five miles north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is primarily a tourist resort. The city's attractions include Dollywood and numerous outlet malls and music theaters. Attractions and events in Pigeon Forge include the Dollywood theme park, the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, the award-winning Country Tonight Theatre, the Comedy Barn, the Miracle Theater, Dixie Stampede, Zorb Smokey Mountains, Flyaway Indoor Skydiving and many other entertainment venues. (Courtesy: Wikipedia

four corners

The Four Corners is a region of the United States consisting of southwest Colorado, northwest New Mexico, northeast Arizona and southeast Utah. The name comes from the Four Corners Monument, located where the four states touch — the only location in the United States that is on the boundaries of as many as four states.

autumn colors from outer space

Ever wondered what........ the autumn colors look like from space? NASA’s MODIS (for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) site downlinked this photo of the Great Lakes September 23, 2007 from the Terra satellite. (courtesy: www.henrykisor.com)

modern alaskan log cabin

Colorful view of a typical Alaskan modern day house. many Alaskans cling to the tradition of the log cabin plus the construction is strong and rugged and still well suited to the sever Alaskan climate and snow conditions. Courtesy: www.cardcow.com

black hills.south dakota

The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of trees in a sea of grass." The hills were so-called because of their appearance from a distance, covered in trees.

florida everglades

Wetlands reappear in a river floodplain. The Kissimmee River forms the headwaters to the greater Everglades ecosystem. This project is a forerunner to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), which is restoring the famed River of Grass along with other federal and state efforts. When finished, the current project will restore more than 40 square miles of river-floodplain ecosystem, including almost 20,000 acres of wetlands and 46 miles of historic river channel. (Courtesy: CERP Newsletter)

ketchikan, alaska

Ketchikan is the fifth most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska and the southeastern area's most sizable city. The economy is based upon tourism and fishing, and the city is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." The Misty Fjords National Monument is one of the area's major attractions. The city serves as both an air and marine transportation hub for southern Southeast Alaska. A bit of trivia: Ketchikan's post office zip code, 99950, is the highest zip code ever assigned in the United States.

autumn on the way

Autumn Color, Baxter State Park, Maine

(courtesy: www.wallpaperme.com)

outer banks of north carolina

Sandbars swirl beneath Oregon Inlet in Cape Hatteras National Seashore on North Carolina's Outer Banks. Waves driven by ocean winds can cause the sandbars here to shift and change literally by the hour, making conditions hazardous for boats. The Outer Banks are a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast that cover approximately half the northern North Carolina coastline. The islands are home to colonies of wild horses, sometimes called "banker ponies", which according to local legend are descended from Spanish Mustangs washed ashore centuries ago in shipwrecks.

acadia national park

Acadia National Park preserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands, off the Atlantic coast of Maine. Traditionally inhabited by Wabanaki Indian hunters, fishers, and gatherers, the area includes mountains, an ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes. The town of Bar Harbor is located on the northeast corner of Mount Desert Island. The park is home to some 40 different species of mammalian wildlife. Among those are red and gray squirrels, chipmunks, white-tailed deer, moose, beaver, porcupine, muskrats, foxes, coyote, bobcats, and black bears. Many marine species have been observed in the surrounding area and waters.

connecticut river valley

This grand view of out New England countryside in vivid colors shows a typical 1960s era village and tobacco farms bordering the lowlands of the Connecticut River Valley. A group of businessmen interested in promoting tourism gave the name Pioneer Valley to the region in 1939.

arizona's painted desert

A vividly colored mesa, the Painted Desert, with its buttes and ridges, can be seen for miles along the Little Colorado River in Northern Arizona. It is a portion of the Petrified Forest National Park which was established in 1895, some 17 years before Arizona became a state. The area is noted to be especially beautiful at sunset and sunrise when the land appears to glow in hues of violet, blue, red and gold. Other key features include the many mesas and buttes that rise sharply from the desert floor. Sparse desert flora and fauna can also be found.

crater lake national park

Crater Lake National Park is located in Southern Oregon and whose primary feature is the lake itself. It was established on May 22, 1902, as the fifth National Park in the U.S. The park encompasses Crater Lake's caldera, which rests in the remains of a destroyed volcano posthumously called Mount Mazama. The lake is 1,949 feet deep at its deepest point which makes it the deepest lake in the United States and second in North America. The lake's water regularly has a striking blue hue and the lake has no inlet or outlet and is filled entirely from direct precipitation in the form of snow and rain.

okefenokee swamp, georgia-florida

The Great Okefenokee Swamp, one of America’s most fascinating natural areas is the largest Swamp in North America. "Okefenokee" what Seminoles called "Land of Trembling Earth" is approximately 700 square miles located in the southeast corner of Georgia and extending into north Florida. Most of this Eco system has been officially protected since 1937 as the OKEFENOKEE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE and in 1974 a portion was designated National Wilderness Area. Two rivers have headwaters in the Okefenokee, the Suwannee, flowing south through Florida to the Gulf of Mexico and the St. Mary's forming the eastern boundary of Georgia and Florida on it’s way to the Atlantic Ocean.

flagler college - ponce de leon hotel

Flagler College, formerly the Ponce de Leon Hotel was built in 1888 by Henry Morrison Flagler, oil magnate and railroad pioneer. Made of poured concrete, the interior is decorated in marble, carved oak, and extensive murals. The stained glass windows were made by Louis Tiffany. In 1968 the hotel was converted to a four year liberal arts college, with its campus said by many to be "the most beautiful in the United States." The historic campus now consists of 15 buildings scattered around downtown St. Augustine, Florida, with the focal point being Ponce de Leon Hall.