ROAD TRAINS

The Australian Road Trains are the longest trucks in the world.  They have 3 or more trailers and are 53 metres long,  hauling 115 metric tonnes and can have up to 60 wheels. They travel at a top speed of 85 kilometres an hour. The longest road train in Australia is 1474.3 metres. Road trains are an integral part of the Australian Outback, just like kangaroos, red dust and endless horizons. Unlike most other states, the Northern Territory relies heavily on triple road trains in excess of 115 tonnes as a major form of transport. 

Road trains are used extensively between southern capital cities, Darwin and other parts of the Territory. Road trains shrunk the Australian continent to a more manageable size. The long road trains are banned on the majority of populated roads since they would bring a lot of inconvenience and traffic when driven in the large cities.

Private swap with Gloria from Northern Territory

 

CAPE MAY POINT LIGHTHOUSE

 Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. The Cape May Lighthouse is located in Cape May Point State Park, Lower Township, on the Jersey Shore.  Built in 1859, nearly 100,000 visitors a year climb the 199 stairs to the top and enjoy a panoramic view of the ocean and bay. There are also moonlight climbs throughout the year, along with a visitor center and museum shop that makes the experience educational as well as entertaining.

It stands on the southern tip of New Jersey

The Cape May Lighthouse is also still active today.  The United States Coast Guard continues to operate the light to aid ships in navigation around the Cape May Area.  The light of the current lighthouse is visible for 24 nautical mils and flashes at an interval of every 15 seconds.

SAN DIEGO

The city of San Diego lies in the southwest corner of California, 120 miles (193 km) south of the city of Los Angeles and 20 miles (32 km) north of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. With its great weather, miles of sandy beaches, and major attractions, San Diego is known worldwide as one of the best tourist destinations. San Diego is also a location for cutting-edge businesses for telecommunications, biotechnology, software, electronics, and other major industries.

San Diego is renowned for its idyllic climate, 70 miles of pristine beaches and a dazzling array of world-class family attractions. Popular attractions include the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Sea World San Diego and LEGOLAND California. Balboa Park, the largest urban cultural park in the U.S., is home to 15 museums, numerous art galleries, beautiful gardens, the Tony Award-winning The Globe Theatres.

Received from my penpal Eileen in Philadelphia

PISMO BEACH

Pismo Beach is in the heart of California’s scenic Central Coast, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, along California’s legendary Pacific Coast Highway 1 and U.S. Highway 101. Pismo Beach is a classic California beach town with traditional seaside activities and 21st-century amenities. It offers small-town charm, Mediterranean weather, clean air, friendly residents and miles of pristine, uncrowded beaches. It’s a great place to get away from the crowds and relax at a leisurely pace.

Looking south toward Pismo Beach, you can also see the great dunes that march for miles to Pt. Sal

Pismo Beach in a Clamshell

• Walk on the historic Pismo Pier
• Lunch at a casual clam café
• Explore Pismo Beach on surrey bikes
• Relax on the beach while Matthew and Kaci ride the waves!
• Wine tasting at a downtown tasting room
• Dinner at a seafood restaurant with fantastic ocean views
• Watch live theater and vaudeville acts at the Melodrama (we can cheer the hero and hiss the villain!)

For more information visit Pismo Beach, CA Official Website  

NOURLANGIE ROCK

Kakadu National Park is a World Heritage-listed national park covers almost 20,000 square kms and is 253 kms east of Darwin the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. More than one-third of all bird species recorded in Australia live in Kakadu National Park; as do more than 60 mammal species, 117 reptile species, 1,700 plant species and at least 10,000 insect species.
Nourlangie Rock is a looming ancient escarpment of slowly eroding red rock creating sheer cliffs rising above the Kakadu wetlands. The sacred site is the keeper of one of the best local collections of Aboriginal rock art and a gateway to some of the most amazing views in Kakadu. The paintings provide a fascinating record of Aboriginal life over thousands of years. With paintings up to 20,000 years old, this is one of the longest historical records of any group of people in the world. Nourlangie Rock is significant to Aborigines as home of the Lightning Dreaming.

Nourlangie Rock, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia 

Private swap with Gloria from Northern Territory

DOLORES RIVER

 The Dolores River flows for more than 200 miles through south-western Colorado, starting high in the San Juan Mountains and descending to its confluence with the Colorado River near the Colorado-Utah border.Dolores River was named “El Rio de Nuestra Senora de Dolores” when a Spanish trader encountered the river in 1765. But in many ways, the only sorrowful thing about the Dolores River is that like so many rivers in the West, it is, perhaps, too well loved. With headwaters at 14,000 feet and a nearly 230-mile run, the Dolores is a gateway to truly world-class scenery.

The autumn blaze of gamble oaks and narrow leaf cottonwoods bring glorious color to the banks of the Dolores River in San Juan National Forest

 

The San Juan National Forest encompasses about 1.8 million acres in the south-western corner of Colorado.  Terrain ranges from high-desert mesas to alpine peaks, with thousands of miles of back roads and hundreds of miles of trails to explore. Visitors can enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, alpine and nordic skiing, horseback riding, and camping.

Received from my penpal Diane in California

NEW JERSEY STATE CAPITOL

 New Jersey’s capitol is the most historic building in NJ state. The term “State House” harkens back to the time of its origination and remains as its popular name. THE STATE HOUSE is located in the heart of New Jersey's capital city, Trenton, situated on a bank of the Delaware River. This gilt-domed building, constructed in 1889. Second oldest capitol in continuous use in the U.S. (Maryland has the oldest), houses the NJ executive and legislative branches since 1792. For more than 200 years, New Jersey Senators, Assemblymen, and Governors have been making the laws of the state in this building. Today the State House continues to serve New Jersey as both a historical monument and a place of work. It's located in a beautiful area and holds so much of the state's history. And both the interior and exterior design and architecture of the building are absolutely jaw-dropping.

For more information visit: www.njleg.state.nj.us

THE PRAIRIES

Spreading over the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the vast lands between Ontario in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west are commonly called “the Prairies”. They constitute the great wheat-producing region of Canada and are a major source for petroleum, potash, and natural gas. With British Columbia they form the Western Provinces. The Prairies are Canada's breadbasket, three geometrically-shaped provinces which in addition to the wide-open expanses of flat prairie land also collectively include mountains, hills, lakes, shoreline, and metropolitan cities. 

Prairie rainbow

The prairie experience can be unforgettable. Here brightly-painted grain elevators dot distant horizons and mile-long trains can be seen  rushing their loads to market. Everywhere you look, you are reminded that this is grain country. A visit for the first time is to be overwhelmed by the expanse of both earth and sky.

This postcard received from PC user Pat

MT. RAINIER

 Mount Rainier, highest mountain (4,392 metres) in the state of Washington, U.S., and in the Cascade Range. It lies about 64 km southeast of the city of Tacoma, within Mount Rainier National Park. Rainier is sometimes referred to by its Native American name, Mount Tacoma, or Tahoma. The mountain has three major peaks: Liberty Cap, Point Success, and Columbia Crest. 

Mount Rainier looking over the serene Northwest landscape 

The English explorer George Vancouver sighted the summit on May 8, 1792, and named it for fellow navigator Peter Rainier. Rainier is noted for dense stands of coniferous trees on its lower slopes, scenic meadows (with a profusion of wildflowers during the warmer month) waterfalls and lakes, as well as an abundance of wildlife. The summer draws hikers, mountain climbers, and campers; the winter lures snowshoers and cross-country skiers. No trip to Washington State is complete without a Mount Rainier experience.

Visit Rainier, the Official Site of Mt. Rainier Tourism
 

WILDLIFE AUSTRALIA

A trio of Australia's fascinating wild creatures: 

• The termite-eating short-beaked Echidna. It is  among the few living representatives in the world of mammals that both lay eggs and suckle their young. Due to their small size and slow speed, the echidna protects itself by either hiding, or curling into a ball being protected by their spikey exterior. Sometimes called the porcupine of Australia. 

• The platypus lives in an aquatic environment like a fish, suckles its young like a mammal, lays eggs and has the bill of a duck! Platypuses are carnivores. They hunt worms, shrimp, insect larvae, and crayfish at dawn, dusk, and night. They live along streams and rivers in eastern Australia, including Tasmania.

• The Blue-winged Kookaburra, a giant kingfisher. Nielsen Park is inhabited by the kookaburra, easily identified by its call, which sounds like laughter. Kookaburras are very efficient breeders: one of the young birds is kept on in the nest to look after the next batch of hatchlings, leaving both parents free to gather food.

(left to right): Short-beaked Echidna; the Platypus; the Blue-winged Kookaburra