17. High Above

Sarasota born and raised Nik Wallenda, keeps up with 200 years old family tradition of daredevil acts. Some of his achievements include walk on a tightrope over the Grand Canyon and over the Niagara Falls.

His latest tightrope walk, which will air live on the Discovery Channel on Nov. 2, will feature two portions: first, Wallenda will walk the length of two city blocks up a 15-degree angle from the Marina City’s 534-foot-tall west tower to the 635-foot-tall Leo Burnett Building, more than 50 stories above the Chicago River. In the second part of the special, he will be blindfolded while walking from the west tower to the east tower of the Marina City building on State Street in downtown Chicago.

Nik is practicing for his Chicago challenge at the Benderson Park in Sarasota.

 

33. Paths and/or Trails

The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest continuously marked footpaths in the world, measuring roughly 2,180 miles in length. The Trail goes through fourteen states along the crests and valleys of the Appalachian mountain range from the southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia, to the Trail’s northern terminus at Katahdin, Maine.

Only about 2,000 people attempt to walk the entire length of the trail each year. I was one of 2-3 million people walking a section of the Trail. My (short) walk was in the picturesque Smoky Mountains National Park.

6. Bridge

For over a century, Laurel Mountains in Western Pennsylvania have been Pittsburgher’s favorite weekend escape destination. In the mountains you can find several resorts (e.g. Seven Springs), many impressive mansions (e.g. Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright) and thousands of cabins. Many of those cabins were built in remote areas and accessing them requires some ingenuity.

Yarriambiack is a Shire (County) in the state of Victoria, Australia. I don’t know connection between Yarriambiack and a cabin in Laurel Mountain. If somebody knows, please let me know.

5. Butterfiles and/or Bees

Powdermill Nature Reserve in Laurel Mountains of Pennsylvania is the environmental research center of Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Butterfly garden is a part of Powdermill, where butterflies and bees are doing what they do the best: work hard and pose for pictures.