The Iditarod – The Great Dog Race on Earth

 Starting from Anchorage every March and ending 8 to 15 days later in Nome, the Iditarod is one of the great endurance tests in the sport, with competitors mushing sled dogs across 1,150 miles of snow and ice in temperatures as low as 60°F below zero. It is Alaska’s largest spectator sport and few things celebrate the pioneering spirit of our 49th state better.
 
Now a National Historic Trail, the Iditarod began as a mail and supply route for miners. It winds across frozen rivers and desolate tundra, through dense forest, and along miles of windswept coast from Seward, near Anchorage, to Nome, on the western Bering Sea coast. In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a lifesaving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome.
 
Diphtheria raged, and serum had to be brought in by intrepid mushers and their hard-driving dogs. In commemoration of those heroic feats, the route was turned into a racecourse in 1973, and today mushers come from as far away as Japan and Norway to compete for a share of the $600,000-plus purse. You can get into the race yourself as a passenger, or “IditaRider,” by bidding for a spot on a musher’s sled for the first 11 miles (the auction begins in November, with a $7,500 offer guaranteeing your choice of musher). For a less competitive take, contact Raymie Redington, son of Joe “Father of the Iditarod” Redington Sr., leads short trips on the Iditarod Trail.
 
Winterlake Lodge, one of the remote fly-in outposts directly on the trail, offers four handsome guest cabins and opportunities to traverse the trail with a team of 24 Alaskan huskies (it’s also one of the state’s few wilderness lodges that stays open year-round). The dinner menu is remarkable even by big-city standards. Nome, the “end of the line” for the Iditarod (and almost everything else), stands on the coast of the Bering Sea.
 
Its dirt streets and rough-and-tumble saloons are quiet until the month-long Iditarod celebration rolls into town every March. Along with the race, fans come northern lights aficionados, as well as participants in the Bering Sea Ice Golf Classic, who hit orange golf balls onto Astroturf laid across the frozen sea.
 
Where: Headquarters in Wasilla, 40 miles north of Anchorage. Tel 907-376-5155 or 907-248-6874 (race time); www.iditarod .com. When: early Mar. IditaRiders auction: Tel 800-566-7533 or 907-352-2202; www .iditarodauction.com. When: early Nov–Jan. Raymie Redingtion: Tel 907-376-6730.
 
Cost: half-hour dog sled rides $50. When: beginning with 1st snow in Nov. Winterlake Lodge: Tel 907-274-2710; www.withinthewild.com. Cost: 2-night stay, $2,130 per person, all-inclusive with air transfer from Anchorage.

Finger Lakes New York, United States

 The Iroquois attributed these long, narrow lakes to the Great Spirit, who laid his hands in blessing on this particularly beautiful area of upstate New York, but it’s more likely that glacial activity carved them out eons ago. Most are deep—Cayuga and Seneca, the largest, are 435 and 618 feet deep, respectively, and about 38 miles long. Together, these 11 parallel lakes cover an area no more than 100 miles across in a bucolic region where the sleepy Main Streets of waterfront towns like Geneva, Skaneateles, and Hammondsport invites strolling and antique hunting. 

The Finger Lakes are particularly known for their “boutique” vineyards—today numbering close to 100 and recognized for some of the country’s best Rieslings and chardonnays. The Finger Lakes is a group of eleven long, slender, jaggedly north-south lakes in an area called the Finger Lakes region in New York, in the United States. This part of the world straddles the northern and transitional edge, recognized as the Finger Lakes Uplands and Gorges ecoregion, of the Northern Allegheny Plateau and the Ontario Lowlands ecoregion of the Great Lakes Lowlands.

Of the area’s various trails, the most popular is the Keuka, named for what is widely considered the most beautiful of the lakes. The route takes in the pioneering Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, outside Hammondsport, and nearby Pleasant Valley Wine Company, whose eight historic stone buildings add up to one of the best tours in the region. Geneva on the Lake, a 1910 Roman villa–inspired hotel, has a beautiful expanse of parterre garden leading down to a pool on the shore of Seneca Lake. 

At Skaneateles Lake—among the cleanest in the country—the Mirbeau Inn and Spa is a Francophile’s dream with a garden that would woo Monet. Along Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway lies Aurora, a tidy little town of 650 that is experiencing a renaissance thanks to Pleasant Rowland, creator of the American Girl dolls. Rowland restored the lakeside Aurora Inn, a redbrick Federal-style inn from 1833, and its neighbor, the 7-room E. B. Morgan House. The Aurora Inn’s dining room opens onto a waterfront veranda, where American classics, like oven-crusted pork tenderloin, are paired with wines from neighboring vineyards. 

Hadrian’s Wall - Hexham, Northumberland, England

Here legions once marched, sheep now peacefully graze. A few sections are all that remain of this dividing wall that was constructed some 1,800 years ago as the demarcation line for the  northwesternmost border of Rome’s mighty empire. Named after Emperor Hadrian (a.d. 76–138), who ordered its construction, the wall spanned 73 miles across England, between Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast (beyond Carlisle) and Wallsend on the east coast (beyond Newcastle), with major forts and smaller “mile-castles” dotted along its length.

Work was begun in 121 by some 18,000 soldiers and indentured slaves and was abandoned around the year 400 as the Roman Empire crumbled. Today, the wall is Britain’s largest ruin dating from the Roman era and is one of northern Europe’s most impressive and important Roman sites. The best-preserved chunk is a 10-mile stretch in Northumberland, to the east of Carlisle and within striking distance of England’s much-visited Lake District (see p. 16).

Also, in this area are some of the region’s finest Roman forts, including Birdoswald, Vindolanda, and Housesteads, all with attached museums giving a fascinating insight into daily life on the wall for Roman soldiers. Walk beside the wall for a mile or two or hike its entire length on the Hadrian’s Wall Path—one of England’s most popular national trails. Or rent a bike and sample the equally popular Hadrian’s Cycleway.

South of the ancient wall sits several modern towns, including Haltwhistle, which claims to be the geographic midpoint of the country, a fact celebrated by the Centre of Britain Hotel. Dating from the 15th century, the hotel combines classic and contemporary style with a friendly welcome and good service. For more history and greater creature comforts, retreat to the nearby Langley Castle Hotel, about 7 miles east of Haltwhistle in the village of Langley-on-Tyne.

Built-in 1350 during the reign of King Edward III, its turreted 7-foot-thick walls and original medieval stained-glass windows, and spiral staircases enchantingly evoke the past. It’s a pocket of modern luxury complete with an acclaimed restaurant. Where: Hadrian’s Wall is between Carlisle and Newcastle, about 250 miles/ 400 km north of London.

 

Qandil Mountains

The Kurdistan region adjacent to the Iran-Iraq border has a range of the Qandil Mountains. This part of the mountainous area belongs to the Zagros mountain range. By nature, the area is extremely rugged terrain and hard to access. The Kuhe Haji Ebrahim Mountain is the highest peak in Qandil Mountains, has an elevation of 3,587 meters a subrange of the Zagros Mountains. The Kuhe Ebrahim Mountain range is sit in Western Iran and Eastern Iraq in Western Asia. The Qandil Mountains sprawling several high summits, a clutter of interlocking peaks and plateaus, is snow-covered for much of the year, and further up the mountain, there are deciduous forests.

The region is noteworthy as a sanctuary and headquarters for the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). This is about 5,000 PKK and other armed factions control an area of approximately 50 km². However, which has been at irregular intervals bombarded by the Turkish Air Force and shelled by Iranian military artillery for some years. The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) is also based in Qandil, which lets them infiltrate into Iran. The Turkish military carries out operations in the Qandil mountains where they believed PKK are hiding. Turkish military believed Qandil Mountains are a safe place for Turkey and no more doubt in them. However, the bulk of the Qandil Mountains itself is in Iranian territory.

 

Block Island – Rhode Island United States

Unpretentious Block Island is a barefoot-and-bicycle kind of place, with rolling green hills, hundreds of freshwater ponds, and dramatic 250-foot bluffs that remind many of Ireland. So bewitching is it that Nature. Conservancy was inspired to call the island “one of the last great places in the Western Hemisphere.” Not much happened here until tourists began arriving in the 1870s (leading to a boom in the construction of grand Victorian hotels).

Today, on peak summer weekends, up to 20,000 tourists flock to this 11-square-mile New England gem. Despite the island’s popularity, there is no Martha’s Vineyard–style social fuss. Residents and visitors tend to be quiet and protective of the natural beauty around them. A third of the island is set aside as wildlife refuge, with more than 30 miles of hiking trails and gorgeous cliffside biking paths.

The island is ringed by some 17 miles of beach, while the Great Salt Pond harbors hundreds of pleasure boats, most from nearby Newport (see next page). Situated on the Atlantic flyway, it’s a favorite of birdwatchers during the autumn migrations, when huge flocks representing more than 150 species pass through. Dubbed the “Bermuda of the North” during its Victorian-era heyday, Block Island still boasts a number of rambling porch-fringed buildings, which wear their age with dignity.

The Hotel Manisses is a big 1870s charmer that surprises by way of its upscale restaurant with garden seating. (Order the signature lobster mashed potatoes.) Of several sister properties, the nearby 1661 Inn is the most inviting while the ten-room Sea Breeze Inn is delightful: It sits on a bluff overlooking the ocean and is surrounded by flowering gardens. Where: 12 miles south of mainland Rhode Island. Visitor info: www.blockisland chamber.com. 

How: Ferries depart from Pt. Judith year-round. Seasonal departures from Newport; New London, CT; and Montauk, NY. Hotel Manisses and 1661 Inn: Tel 800- 626-4773 or 401-466-2421; www.blockisland resorts.com. Cost: Manisses from $75 (offpeak), from $240 (peak); dinner $50. 1661 Inn from $100 (off-peak), from $375 (peak). 

When: Hotel Manisses, Apr–Oct; 1661 Inn, year-round. Sea Breeze Inn: Tel 800-786- 2276 or 401-466-2275; www.seabreezeblock island.com. Cost: from $160 (off-peak), from $230 (peak). Best times: May–mid-Jun and mid-Sep–Oct for fewer crowds; Aug for nicest weather; Sep–Oct for bird-watching.

Yellow Dog Lodge - Duncan and Graham Lakes, Northwest Territories

 

You would be imagining this: a fly-in fishing adventure with wilderness solitude, pristine waters, and trophy-size lake trout and northern pike to complete a too-good-to-be-true scenario. Unfortunately, the not-so-dreamy component of a fishing holiday at the remote northern lake has often been the lodge itself—sometimes no more than a set of weather-beaten cabins that puts the rough back in roughing it. However, a new generation of Canadian fishing lodges is set to prove that you don’t need to give up on comfort and fine food as you fish the lakes of the little-visited Northwest Territories.

Just 20 minutes north by floatplane from Yellowknife, the territorial capital, Yellow Dog Lodge is an exemplar of this new breed of backcountry destinations. On Pilot Point, which sits on a rocky divide between Duncan and Graham Lakes, Yellow Dog seamlessly blends the features of a high-toned ecotourism resort and a traditional fishing camp. During the long summer days, guided day hikes take guests past mossy bogs, across trickling ponds, and through the taiga, the boreal forest of spruce and fir that covers the rocky barrens.

From canoes and kayaks, guests can explore the lakeshore and view wildlife—moose, beaver, and nesting waterfowl all make a home in this aqueous landscape. In winter, when the lodge will open on special request, the frozen lakes become highways for snowmobiles, and the silent snow-filled forests invite exploration with snowshoes and Nordic skis. With zero light pollution, the pulsing, multicolored aurora borealis puts on a fantastic display in the fall and winter sky. But fishing remains the focus at Yellow Dog Lodge. Fishing guides will help ensure even amateurs a chance to catch that big one in the deep, pure crystal-clear waters of glacier-trenched Duncan Lake.

There’s also seasonal fly-fishing for Arctic grayling, a colorful trout relative with an outsize dorsal fin that gives a good, hard fight with lots of high, twisting jumps. The comforts of Yellow Dog Lodge are the reward for a long recreation-filled day in the arctic backcountry. Perched above the lake on a rocky outcrop, the lodge provides snug guest rooms, while private chalets extend along a pristine waterfront. The lodge’s food is a point of pride and expression of passion. Owners Kathy and Gordon Gin are excellent hosts and fine cooks, and lodge meals—served family-style in the cozy dining room or, in warm weather, on the lakeside patio—are jubilant occasions that combine great food and convivial conversation.

The wood-fired hot tub offers anglers and hikers a chance to relax weary muscles before another perfect day of adventure in the Canadian Arctic. Where: 30 miles/48 km north of Yellowknife. Tel 403-668-9936; yellow do lodge, double occupancy, includes all meals, lodging, use of equipment, and round-trip transportation from Yellowknife. When: closed Oct-May. Best times: Jan–Apr for winter sports; June–late Sept for fishing; Oct-Mar for northern lights.

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El Yunque National Forest Puerto Rico

 Popular day trip from San Juan, El Yunque combines all the magic of a rain forest majestic trees, giant ferns, and mysterious peeps and trills emanating from the dense foliage in the rugged Luquillo Mountains. As the only tropical rain forest in the United States National Forest System, El Yunque provides paved trails that are easy on children and inexperienced hikers. It even offers a drive-through option for windshield tourists who can enjoy the misty landscape and roadside waterfalls along Route 191, the only road through the 28,000-acre forest. But El Yunque, considered sacred by the Taino Indians, is indubitably best experienced on foot. This place is home to thousands of plants, including 240 tree species (23 of which are found nowhere else) and 70 orchids. El Yunque has 13 hiking trails covering 23 miles of varied terrain. 

The hardy can summit El Toro and take in spectacular 360-degree views of the forest, but even small children can handle the less-than-a-milelong Big Tree Trail that wends past La Mina Falls, whose cascades plummet 35 feet into a cool, refreshing pool of water the perfect plunge on a hot day. The 3-mile El Yunque Trail is considered the most rewarding. The farther away you can get from the cruise-ship crowds, the more jungle magic you’ll find. 

There are no large creatures here such as monkeys or panthers, but there are plenty of small ones that you may not see but will certainly hear. Millions of tiny coqui, the endemic tree frog that is Puerto Rico’s mascot, live here, trilling “co-KEE” sporadically until evening approaches, or after a rainfall when it turns into a full-blown chorus. The most prized sighting is the bright-green Puerto Rican SABA parrot, once abundant but now quite rare and highly endangered. After the rain forest, it’s only 8 miles north of Luquillo Beach, a much-photographed palm-lined crescent of white sand and calm turquoise waters that attracts lots of local families from San Juan. Follow them: They know which roadside stand sells the best alcapurrias, plantain fritters stuffed with seafood.