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Lonely Planet's Top US Travel Destinations For 2013
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Whether you're returning to an old favorite or picking a new city to visit on a weekend away, these ten destinations are great places to consider booking your next vacation.
Louisville, Kentucky
From horses to a hot cultural scene, Louisville has secured the number-one ranking for 2013, with editors at Lonely Planet going so far as to call it "the new Portland" for its "lively offbeat cultural scene," writing about cool restaurants in "NuLu" and old warehouses turned breweries in addition to micro-distilleries on the Bourbon Trail as well as the famed Kentucky Derby.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Visit for the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) or great food at the Taste of Alaska at the Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center. This cold destination is hot, hot, hot.
San Juan Islands, Washington
Dubbed the "Gourmet Archipelago" by Lonely Planet guidebook author Brendon Sainsbury, these islands boast 250 days per year of sunshine, numerous beaches and tons of places to explore by bike or foot.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This capital city was nominated not for its famed cheesesteaks but for its burgeoning arts scene. In addition to the world-renowned Philadelphia Museum of Art, the formerly remote Barnes Foundation, a once private collection of Matisse, Renoir and Cézanne, has a new central location. There's also a slew of new museums and galleries in areas like Liberties and Fishtown.
American Samoa
It's not a state, but this remote island destination has untouched pacific beauty as well as a great national park. You'll fly from Honolulu to Pago Pago to explore this remote yet beautiful destination.
Eastern Sierra, California
Think of this area as the untouched version of Yosemite. Explore this California destination's wide range of natural phenomena.
Northern Maine, ME
Go off the grid in Maine, in a remote area that borders our northern neighbor, Canada.
Twin Cities, Minnesota
Midwest, here we come. Lonely Planet suggests a visit to Minneapolis and St Paul, where can ride bikes, check out great music or enjoy small town vibes in a big city. The only thing cold here is the weather.
Verde Valley, Arizona
Located Phoenix and the Grand Canyon, this lush destination has it all – food, spas, and great art.
Glacier National Park, Montana
Another remote national park, this remote destination is easier to visit than ever thanks to a relatively new shuttle system. But visit soon, climate change means that the park's glaciers could be gone by as soon as 2030.
[Image Credit: Lonely Planet]
A Family Night Out In Baghdad
![Baghdad, Iraq, Iraq tourism, Iraq travel](http://web.archive.org./web/20121205180936im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2012/12/dsc0316.jpg)
After a long road trip around Iraq, I find myself back in Baghdad. It's our last night together as a group. For our final dinner we decide to eat a famous Baghdadi recipe at a famous landmark –mazgouf fish at Abu Nuwas Park.
Abu Nuwas park runs for one-and-a-half miles along the east bank of the Tigris in central Baghdad. It's named after an early medieval poet who was half Arab and half Persian, and wrote poems in both languages. His poetry celebrated wine and sex and made fun of the Arab nostalgia for Bedouin life. This ensured trouble during his lifetime and fame after his death.
In keeping with the Abu Nuwas' liberal tradition, the park that bears his name is a neutral ground for the city's warring factions. Everyone comes here to relax, not fight. Of course there's still the usual cordon of armed guards. Trust is in short supply in this country.
Once inside, though, it doesn't feel like Baghdad at all. Families have picnics on blankets spread under trees. Kids do cartwheels on the grass. The Tigris glitters with reflected streetlights. A fountain at the edge of the riverbank shoots up water as colored lamps make the jets pulse red and purple. Music mixes with the calls of vendors selling nuts, candy, and Spongebob Squarepants balloons.
We've come to dine at one of the city's most popular restaurants, Mazgouf, named after a large fish found in the Tigris that's considered a delicacy. The fish is cut in half down its length and stuck on spike next to an open wood fire to slowly cook. When it's done, it's pulled off the spike and put on a plate. The scales and eyes on the outside are still preserved, making a sort of bowl from which to scoop out the goopy and incredibly rich insides. The restaurant at Abu Nuwas Park is said to be one of the best.
We find the restaurant and sit outside. As usual, the people at the next table come over and welcome us to Iraq. Mazgouf is made to order so there's a long wait before we get our meal. Once it comes, everyone digs in with relish. I'm no expert on mazgouf but it's the second-best meal I've had this entire trip. It's so rich and heavy I can only finish half of it, although I'd love to eat the whole thing. The mood at the table is celebratory. We've made it through Iraq unscathed. Everyone is thinking of home but disappointed to be leaving.
While everyone else is leaving tomorrow morning and the guards will go off to other duties, my flight isn't until the following morning, which means I get a whole day to myself in Baghdad. This worries me only slightly. My time in Iraq has taught me that the country is far safer than most people believe, and my hotel is in a good neighborhood. Besides, staying in the hotel all day simply isn't an option. I just hope I don't have any trouble when I go out alone.
After dinner we stroll around the park. The mood is relaxed and festive. So is the dress code. A woman walks by in a skirt and I almost keel over. It's the first bare female leg I've seen in more than two weeks. Young couples who may very well be unmarried walk hand in hand, whispering to each other. I've stepped into another world. It's even more relaxed than Kurdistan. Flashing lights and squeals of laughter draw me down a path and to another gate.
Gallery: Baghdad Amusement Park
Mountain2Mountain: Advocating For Voice And Women's Empowerment In Afghanistan
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Three years ago I was in Telluride, Colorado attending Mountainfilm festival. I was particularly blown away by a series of huge photographs that depicted life in Afghanistan. I remember being particularly moved by one of a beggar woman in a burqa, sitting in the middle of a dusty street with a boy sitting in her lap. I had read, and even written about the Streets of Afghanistan photo exhibit, in the days leading up to the festival, but seeing it was completely different. That was the same day I went to listen to Shannon Galpin give a presentation on both the photo exhibit and her nonprofit, Mountain2Mountain.
Galpin and I had corresponded back and forth via email, but this was the first time that I had met her in person.
I sat almost shell-shocked as she told the story of her rape at the age of 19, and then the subsequent rape of her sister several years later and the impetus for deciding that she would not be a victim. Then came the birth of her daughter, a moment where Galpin realized that all women and girls around the world deserve the same rights that, being born in the United States, her own daughter would have. She launched Mountain2Mountain in late 2006 with that exact idea in mind, paving a way for women's rights in Afghanistan.
Culture Shock In Green California, Where Even Homeless People Drink Craft Beer
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We went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, traveling in a carpool lane for much of the way, and noticed that all the best parking spots were reserved for hybrid cars. On our Africa tram ride at the park, our driver gave us a lecture on how to drive (slow down, come to complete stops, use proper tire pressure) in order to help us be more green. Afterwards, we repaired to a nearby mall to get my sons, ages 3 and 5, slices of pizza and noticed a Caucasian family all eating with chopsticks in the food court.
I approached the mother and told her I was impressed that her children, who ranged in age from 4 to 15, were using their sticks so deftly.
National Park Service Announces Fee-Free Days For 2013
![The National Parks will have 13 fee-free days in 2012](http://web.archive.org./web/20121205180936im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2012/12/dsc0161.jpg)
Recently, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar officially announced the dates of the fee-free days for 2013, giving us all the opportunity to start making our plans early. Here is a complete list of those days for next year:
- January 21 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- April 22-26 - National Park Week
- June 8 - Great Outdoors Day
- August 25 - National Park Service Birthday
- September 28 - National Public Lands Day
- October 13 - National Wildlife Refuge Day
- November 9-11 - Veterans Day Weekend
[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]
Photo Of The Day: Woman Feeding The Pigeons
Some travel moments just beg to be captured on film. Take this photo of a Turkish woman on the steps of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. She sits calmly in a sea of pigeons, looking off to a point beyond the photo's boundaries. Her bright blue headscarf stands out against the faded backdrop. Her expression is pensive, and somewhat enigmatic. Who is this woman? What is she thinking? Why is she feeding pigeons? It's a beautiful, mysterious moment in time, captured brilliantly by Flickr user othernel.
Do you have any great travel imagery? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.
Beyond The Jet Age, UK Firm Has Ticket To Space Travel
Reaction Engines Ltd (REL) is a company in the United Kingdom formed to develop the technology needed to make an engine that can operate at up to five times the speed of sound or fly directly into Earth orbit.
"We have made the biggest breakthrough in propulsion technology since the jet engine," said REL chief executive Tim Hayter in a CNN report.
Developing ultra-lightweight heat exchangers, capable of putting a plane into a high altitude cruise, REL promises flight to anywhere on the planet in no more than four hours.
Birth Of A Hotel: Before And After Room Images
![model room](http://web.archive.org./web/20121205180936im_/http://www.blogcdn.com/www.gadling.com/media/2012/12/standardroom.jpg)
Capella is fast moving towards its projected January opening, and one of the best updates we've seen this week is the model showroom interior. Here, you'll see the original guestroom renderings.
[See more Birth of a Hotel posts here.]
Antarctica's Tallest Peak Captured, North Pole Not So Much
On October 22, 2012, during a flight over the continent to measure changes in the massive ice sheet and sea ice, NASA captured this image as part of its ongoing program.
Kurdistan: The Other Iraq
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Families out for an evening stroll, friends sipping coffee at sidewalk cafes, tourists seeing the sights without a police escort – am I still in Iraq?
Sort of.
I'm in Kurdistan, an autonomous region made up of Iraq's three northernmost provinces. The Kurds kicked out Saddam in 1991 after suffering years of bloody persecution, and they've pretty much been doing their own thing ever since. I never saw an Iraqi flag flying in the Kurdish region, only the Kurdish "regional" flag that everyone seems to look to as their national flag. The region even has its own national anthem. The Kurdish government also acts independently at times, such as making oil deals with foreign companies even though they're supposed to be approved by Baghdad.
Erbil, the region's capital, is a boomtown. New buildings are going up everywhere and the shops are full of expensive products and people who can afford to buy them. Auto dealerships, electronics stores, and swank restaurants are everywhere. There's a relaxed, optimistic mood in the air.
The Kurds have reason to be optimistic. A distinct people with their own culture and language, their population stretches across several international boundaries. Kurds are found in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Being a minority with a strong sense of independence has meant they've faced persecution in all of these countries. Now they have their own region and they're doing well for themselves. Kurdistan has the lowest rate of poverty in Iraq thanks to a booming oil and gas industry.
There's even a tourism industry. This is the one part of Iraq where you can travel individually, and an increasing number of curious Westerners are doing just that. Kurdistan's mixture of ancient sites, functioning cities and rugged mountains has a lot to offer.