Scout Adventure #12 // A Weekend in the Woods in Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest

anna michener cabin

I've been feeling cooped up this winter. Shortly after the new year rolled around—and thanks, in part, to a plethora of snow days—cabin fever seemed to set in early. While reminiscing about summer fun a few months back, a friend and I came up with the great idea to go camping for my birthday, which is in mid-March. Let's just say it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Well, the cold weather didn't quit just because it was my birthday. The day of the trip I was relieved to find the weather was balmy. But when we started the mile-long hike into the campsite, there ground was covered in fresh snow.

anna michener cabin

Thankfully, we arrived at the campsite to find some friends had already started a rip-roaring fire. The rest of the night was filled with a campfire potluck, plenty of laughs, and even some birthday cake. What more can you ask for?

anna michener cabin

Before we knew it, our bodies had synched up with nature. We went to bed early(ish) and awoke soon after the sun came up. After some campfire eggs and pancakes (plus plenty of instant coffee), we were off on a hike to an overlook where we could laze around in the warm sunshine.

anna michener cabin

The rest of the weekend was filled with a mix of rest and relaxation. Well, at least in between all the wood chopping, fire starting, and tidying up. There's nothing like having to start a fire to boil water for coffee and washing dishes in a cold stream to make you appreciate modern amenities. The trip certainly rekindled my love for hibernating at home—at least until next weekend.

These images were taken at the Anna Michener Cabin in Pennsylvania's Michaux State Forest.

Scout Adventure #11 // A Bustling City in the Middle of the Brazilian Rainforest

No roads lead to Manaus. Smack dab in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest, the only way to reach Brazil’s seventh-largest city is by boat or airplane.

manaus-brazil-tourism-boats

The bustling boat docks are more akin to floating bus stations, with boats crammed in and brazenly advertising what direction down the river they are headed. Men carrying oversized packages load onto these ships via slim, wooden planks. I even saw one guy climb a ramp while precariously balancing a piece of wood with three open buckets of tar on his back.

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The boats aren't the only colorful part of Manaus, though. Each building seems painted in a different hue.

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We made a quick stop at the local market. From plantains to piranha, there was just about everything you can imagine for sale.

manaus-brazil-market-banana-pile

Banana consumption in Manaus must be like corn consumption throughout the U.S. There was a whole football-field-sized section of the market dedicated solely to the fruit. This man proudly sat next to one of the largest stacks.

manaus-brazilfish-market

Another expansive section is the fish market, which I'm told is the largest in Brazil. Inside, a hundred-or-so men decked out in white uniforms chop up, package, and sell fish that's been freshly plucked from the river. Some of the ones on the right were still squirming around.

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Outside the market, I spotted this lonely bike. Later, we met a man selling maps in a park.

manaus-brazil-rivers-converge

Manaus itself is a city of about 1.8 million people (more than Philadelphia!) that is located where the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimões converge, creating the swirl effect seen above. The dark, black-ish water is the Rio Negro, while the murkier, muddy-looking water is the Rio Solimões. It really was a sight to see.

manaus-brazil-rio-negro-reflection

I was there to cruise along the Rio Negro. The water is so dark it's like a sheet of glass reflecting everything on the surrounding banks. I kept trying to capture this mirror effect, but no pictures seem to really do it justice.

manaus-brazil-ariau-amazon-towers

Manaus is a far out destination, but one that is well-loved by ecotourists. On one boat trip, we breezed by the Ariau Amazon Towers, a collection of wooden towers built in the rainforest that are connected by snaking, raised catwalks (not a design decision, but instead a way to avoid flooding as the river rises and falls). Our guide told us the room with the balcony pictured above used to belong to Bill Gates – which also might explain why there is a huge cell phone tower outside of the hotel, the only place where we could get any reception during the five-day trip.

5 Weird Museums Only Found in Vienna

Vienna is justly famous for its museums. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is one of the biggest in Europe and has huge galleries of Dutch and Italian masters as well as one of the best medieval art collections in the world. Other attractions such as the Leopold Museum showcase the art of Gustav Klimt and other important Viennese artists. Besides these major attractions, Vienna has many odd little museums that are often overlooked but well worth a visit if you have a special interest or some extra time. The Viennese are museum crazy! Here are five of the strangest they’ve come up with.

(above) A display at The Globe Museum in Vienna (Where is Your Toothbrush, flickr).

Esperanto

The Esperanto Museum

Ĉu vi parolas Esperanton? Do you speak Esperanto? It’s the world’s most popular artificial language, spoken by hundreds of thousands of dedicated adherents who believe that a universal, easy-to-learn language shared by everyone would help solve many global problems. You’ll learn about the history of Esperanto from its origins in 1887 and its spread across the globe. You can even see cartoons in Esperanto and take an interactive quiz that will show you just how quickly you can learn this universal language.

Globe

The Globe Museum

Upstairs from the Esperanto Museum is the Globe Museum, fascinating for globetrotters and the only one of its kind in the world. Vienna was one of the centers of early globe production as European explorers sailed around the world in search of wealth and knowledge. You’ll see some rare examples here such as the 16th century terrestrial and celestial globes made by Mercator.

In the early days of exploration, globes were luxury items and were often works of art. A visit here will enrich your understanding of how the world became a progressively smaller and better-acquainted place.

One ticket covers the Esperanto Museum, the Globe Museum, and the interesting but not particularly weird Papyrus Museum.

snowglobe

The Snow Globe Museum

The Austrians are big on snow globes. You see them for sale everywhere, especially during the Christmas fairs, so why not have a Snow Globe Museum? This exhibition space, associated with a snow globe manufacturer, has a dazzling array of snowy spheres that will make even the most hardened traveler smile with kitschy delight. You’ll even learn how they get the snow inside!

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering, “snowglobe” is "globo de neĝo" in Esperanto)

Crime

The Crime Museum

Lots of cities have a crime museum and I find myself attracted to their garish displays the same way that I slow down when I pass a traffic accident. (Don’t sneer, you do that too.) The Crime Museum in Vienna is the most extensive I’ve seen, and gets extra points for thoroughness and gore. A series of large rooms takes you through the history of crime in the city, from serial killers, assassins, pimps, missing persons, arsonists, and much more. There are also displays on police work and punishment. The section on crime and punishment under the Nazi era is especially gripping. You don’t think of such mundane things as shoplifting happening under the Third Reich. Unfortunately the descriptions are written only in German but the front desk will give you a summary in English, and the displays are pretty easy to understand in any case.

This is not the museum for the faint of heart. There are several graphic photos of murder victims, which are either educational or exploitative depending in your opinion, along with a few preserved body parts.

condom

The Condom Museum

It’s one of those everyday, disposable objects we don’t think about much, but we owe a lot to the condom. Safe sex has arguably changed society more than, say, nuclear missiles, yet how often do we think about the origins and development of the condom? This museum, located in a condom specialty shop, will stretch your knowledge until you are overflowing with facts. It may be small, but size doesn’t matter because it succeeds on style. The exhibition goes from the earliest condoms made of sheep’s intestines through odd variations to the modern condom we know and love/loathe. An added bonus is that the Condom Museum donates its profits to AIDS prevention.