USA

Visiting the Manhattan Project B Reactor Near Tri-Cities, WA

Odds are good you know a bit about the development of the nuclear bomb that ended the Pacific campaign of WWII. 

If you haven't gone deep into the history, discussions are often relegated to the Manhattan Project's work in Los Alamos where the bombs were built and tested. But did you know the nuclear materials used in said bombs were not created in Los Alamos but instead were split between two other sites in the USA (for safety and security purposes)?

The plutonium enrichment was actually achieved at a reactor outside of the Tri-Cities in Washington state, and the Hanford B Reactor is now a National Historic Site that is open for tours in partnership with the Department of Energy!

I was fortunate enough to attend a media visit to this one and have to admit, it is a pretty amazing tour all around.

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5 Things to Do In Cleveland, Ohio On Your First Visit

Cleveland is our neighbor to the west (about two hours away from our home in Pittsburgh), and we love visiting this city as much as possible.

But the more we visit, the more things to do in Cleveland we find. In fact, there is so much to do in this Ohio city that you can barely begin to scratch the surface in a single visit.

That being said, when visiting Cleveland for the first time, we highly recommend checking out some very important spots!

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Hike Through Fern Canyon – Jurassic Park in the Redwoods

Imagine yourself walking through a prehistoric jungle of various ferns growing on a canyon. Fern Canyon is a Northern California hike that takes you through a fern-covered canyon. Located in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, the Fern Canyon hike is the greatest canyon hike you can take in the redwoods.

This place is so unusually beautiful that Steven Spielberg's The Lost World: Jurassic Park shot a film scene here. Plus, two dinosaur documentaries – Dinosaurs Alive (IMAX) and Walking with Dinosaurs (BBC) – were also filmed here. Here’s all you need to know about the Fern Canyon hike including insider tips:

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Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: A Long-Distance Hiking Adventure

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is an epic long-distance footpath that traverses some of America's most spectacular wilderness areas. The PCT was designated as a National Scenic Trail in 1968 and stretches for 2650 miles (4265 km) in length.

Many backpackers and adventurers dream of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in a single season, a feat known as a “thru-hike”.

Hiking the entire trail is not for the faint of heart, however. The PCT stretches from Mexico to Canada along the spine of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. A typical thru-hike takes approximately 5 months and requires hiking 20+ miles (32+ km) every day.

Thru-hikers spend months in the wilderness and encounter all sorts of complex (and often dangerous) challenges. They must meet nature on its terms and push themselves to the absolute limit of their endurance.

Most hikers who start the PCT do not finish it, whether due to illness or injury, or other unforeseen circumstances.

But for those who hike this stunning trail, whether they finish it or not, the experience is a life-changing one.

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