First White-Water Rafting Expedition

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

My favorite summer sport is white-water rafting, and my favorite places to do this are the North Island of New Zealand.  For an action-packed day, try rafting the Tongariro River.  For riverside beauty and a little more relaxed day, try rafting the Mokau River.

The first organized white-water rafting expedition took place in 1842, and was organized by topographer and explorer Lieutenant John Fremont (1813-1890) of the U.S. Army on Nebraska's Platte River.    Among other things, Fremont went on to be the 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona.  For more information click here and click here.

What did you learn today?

15 Sedona Vortexes

Photo of Cathedral Rock in Sedona, Arizona courtesy 123rf.com

Iron ore, silicon dioxide, and sandstone content in rocks can cause rocks to have a magnetic field.  In Sedona, Arizona there are 15 locations that exhibit intense positive or negative magnetic fields, powerful enough to cause the human body to react.  These areas are called vortexes and are sought out by people for physical-health and spiritual reasons.  For more information click here and click here.

Next Week: Daylight Savings Time

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

On this day next week, in the U.S. and some other countries we will be changing our clocks by one hour for Daylight Savings Time.  I remember how to make the change by saying, "Spring forward, fall backward." 

The only two states who do not use DST are Arizona and Hawaii.  In 1784 American Benjamin Franklin thought of the idea and wrote and essay about it.  In 1895 New Zealand entomologist George Vernon Hudson proposed a two-hour change.  In 1905 Englishman William Willett proposed a weekly 20-minute change over the course of four weeks each spring and fall.  For more information click here.  What did you learn today?

Snowy Owl Migration 2011-2012

Photo courtesy 123rf.com

The snowy owl winter migration has reached much further south than usual this year.  Only two states in the U.S. haven't reported sitings of a snowy oil in any winter migration:  Arizona and New Mexico.  For more information click here.