Shutterstock Autumn’s most colorful escapes Step into a world where nature’s paintbrush has dipped its strokes in fiery reds, brilliant oranges, and golden yellows. Across America, mountain towns explode in fall colors, inviting you to experience autumn in its most vibrant, unforgettable form. Whether you’re trekking through golden forests or sipping hot cider with the … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/US Navy USS Nautilus’s Secret 1958 Underwater North Pole Mission In 1958, the Cold War took a chilly turn beneath the Arctic ice. President Eisenhower, stung by Russia’s Sputnik success, sent the USS Nautilus on a top-secret mission to the North Pole. Before leaving Seattle, crew members snuck out to buy 140 quarts of … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/Isa B.Zecchi Palmer’s Dry Colorado Springs Versus Wild Colorado City In 1871, Civil War hero William Jackson Palmer looked at wild Colorado City and said “no thanks. ” The Quaker general bought land to the east and built Colorado Springs as its moral opposite. His new town banned booze while next door, Colorado City … Read more
Shutterstock America in miniature Maryland may be one of the smallest states, but it feels like a sampler of the entire country. Within just a few hours, you can drive from Atlantic beaches to mountain peaks. That variety makes road trips here exciting. Each stretch of highway looks and feels different. It earned the nickname … Read more
If you can tell the difference between “y’all,” “all y’all,” and “y’all’s,” you’re probably from Arkansas. The Natural State’s slang is part Southern charm, part country wisdom, and part “you just had to be there.” From Razorback pride to backroad directions that involve three landmarks and zero street signs, Arkansans have a language all their … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/National Park Service The Star Fleet’s Deadly Multi-Ethnic Labor Voyages The Star Fleet ships of Alaska once linked two worlds. From 1902 to 1930, these massive square-riggers made brutal 2,400-mile trips between San Francisco and remote Alaskan canneries. On board, thousands of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Native Alaskan, Mexican, Black, and European workers lived in … Read more
Shutterstock Dr. Hardison’s Sixteen-Year Fight for Petit Jean In 1907, a doctor named T. W. Hardison had a simple idea that changed Arkansas forever. While hiking Petit Jean Mountain with lumber bosses who said the land was too hard to log, Hardison thought: why not keep the trees standing and make a park instead? The … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/University of Washington: Special Collections Seattle’s Profitable 1909 World’s Fair at University Campus Seattle made history in 1909 when it hosted the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition on the University of Washington campus. The fair cost $10 million and took four years to plan, but the wait paid off. More than 80,000 folks showed up on opening … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/Archibald Crossland McIntyre of Montgomery, Alabama Jefferson Davis’s Confederate Inauguration at Alabama’s Capitol On February 18, 1861, a new nation was born on the steps of Alabama’s State Capitol. Seven states had split from the Union after Lincoln won, and now 10,000 people packed the grounds to see Jefferson Davis take charge. The crowd … Read more
Wikimedia Commons/History of Education in West Virginia Howard Johnson’s Fight for West Virginia’s Deaf School In 1869, a young blind teacher named Howard Johnson took on West Virginia’s most powerful men. The new state paid to send deaf and blind kids to schools in other states, but Johnson had a bold plan: build their own … Read more