A dear reader recently commented to me on the bleak nature of Israel’s Negev region after viewing this post. Certainly Israel’s Negev is a harsh landscape and doesn’t harbor the greenery found in a region such as Banias or Galilee. However, The Velvet Rocket staff are attracted to stark landscapes and the Negev desert’s Makhtesh … Continue reading
El Nevado de Toluca is an extinct volcano that created Mexico’s fourth highest peak. It also happens to be the central component of Mexico’s Nevado de Toluca National Park. The park, established in 1936, is well worth a visit and is even doable as a day trip from Mexico City. The drive out to Nevado … Continue reading
Located in Israel’s Golan Heights region, the Banias Nature Reserve serves as a strong reminder that Israel’s capture of the Golan Heights was about a lot more than just punishing Syria and seizing the military advantage afforded by occupying high ground. You see, Mount Hermon is in the Golan Heights. And the Hermon Spring emerges … Continue reading
At the foot of the Judaean Mountains, along the western shore of the Dead Sea, can be found the Ein Gedi Oasis. Ein Gedi is fed by several springs which flow through two canyons, Wadi David and Wadi Arugot. The springs are, in turn, fed by rain that falls in the Judaean Mountains which, after … Continue reading
Perhaps it is a guy thing, but I have always been fascinated by volcanoes. I remember seeing video footage when I was a child of Etna spraying lava hundreds of meters into the night sky and wanted to visit ever since then. Nice to cross something else off of the list… Mount Etna is actually … Continue reading
Timber companies have always faced a problem with moving logs from the stump to sawmills often many miles away… This is particularly of relevance in a state such as Maine where there are still many vast tracts of wilderness. Historically, oxen and horses dragged the logs to streams and rivers that would then carry them … Continue reading
Picturesque Nameri National Park was not officially established until November of 1998 (although it began to receive some degree of protection as early as 1978). Access to Nameri is from Potasali, 2km off the Tezpur-Bhalukpong road. So, in other words, it is on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh… According to the government of … Continue reading
