Video: The Beauty and Importance of Water at Yosemite National Park
Here is a video about the beauty and importance of water at Yosemite National Park. The video contains some amazing scenery. The second clip contains streaming time-lapse footage of the tallest waterfall in North America - Yosemite Falls.
Shelton Johnson, a park ranger at Yosemite National Park, says, "I think the reason why everybody comes to Yosemite is water. Whether it's a giant sequoia, whether it's a bear, whether it's a river and whether it's a wild flower, everything that's alive in Yosemite, water flows through it, and that is the origin of beauty. Water is the origin of beauty."
The Park rangers also explain how the water from Yosemite ends up helping grow crops in California. Two watersheds - the Tuolumne River and Merced River - empty into California's Central Valley. Take a look:
Garrett McNamara Sets Record for Riding Biggest Wave
The Guinness World Records has recognized Garrett McNamara of Hawaii has holding the record for surfing the biggest wave ever. McNamara surfed a monster 78-foot high wave off the coast of Portugal in November, 2011. Here is some footage of McNamara's epic ride:
Turanor PlanetSolar Completes Journey Around the World
Bloombergreports that the Turanor PlanetSolar, a solar powered catamaran, has completed its journey around the world using the power of the sun. Bloomberg says Monaco's Prince Albert II will be one of the guests joining the vessel for celebrations.
The amazing ship contains over 38,000 solar panels. It is the biggest solar ship in the world. It is 31 meters long with a width of 15 meters. The surface of the solar panels measures 537 square meters. It's top speed is 14 knots. Energy is stored in 6 blocks of lithium-ion batteries. The ship can store up to 3 days of power for periods of cloudy or inclement weather.
Here is an animation from NMA News about the solar ship's journey around the globe. Take a look:
Crude, Creepy Booby Traps Set on Hiker Trail in Utah
Crude booby traps were found set on a popular hiking trail in Utah. The devices were set to swing rocks and sharp sticks toward a hapless hiker that tripped the traps. The traps were found by an observant forest ranger,. Two men admitted setting the cruel traps on the hiking trail, but claim they were trying to capture animals. Take a look:
Outdoors Blog is now on Pinterest. Pinterest is a new social networks that lets users create virtual pinboards on different topics, such as their favorite outdoor hobbies. You can find Outdoors Blog on Pinterest here.
Wave Glider is a Wave and Solar Powered Unmanned Robotic Craft
Liquid Robotics created this unique marine research robot named Wave Glider. The unmanned robot uses the power of the waves, plus solar energy gathered by solar panels, for power. It can travel at speeds up to two knots per hour collecting real-time ocean data for scientists. The Daily has more details about these research robots here. Take a look:
Locals Save 30 Stranded Dolphins in Arraial do Cabo Beach
Locals saved about thirty dolphins at Arraial do Cabo (Brazil). The poor dolphins were found stranded in the morning on March 5th, 2012. Great job to all the people who helped them. The video was filmed by Gerd Traue. Take a look:
New Zealand police arrested actress Lucy Lawless. She was protesting on Noble Discoverer, a Shell oil drilling ship, with five Greenpeace activists. Lucy and the five Greenpeace activists were all arrested after spending four days aboard the ship conducting their protests. They were all charged with burglary. You can see photographs of Lucy protesting the ship here. Here is some raw footage:
Australians Set Water Skiing World Record With 145 People Water Skiing Simultaneously
145 Australians water ski simultaneously to set a world record in this video clip. This is a lot of people water skiing at the same time. It looks like it will be very difficult to beat. Take a look:
Lil' Drac: The Story of an Orphaned Short-Tailed Fruit Bat
Here is a video about a Lil' Drac, a baby bat abandoned by its mother and raised by volunteers at the Bat World Sanctuary. The baby short-tailed fruit bat likes rocking himself after each meal. Take a look:
In a comment on the YouTube page its says Lil' Drac still recognizes his human friends, but also has new bat buddies. Bat World Sanctuary's MsMercury writes, "He flies over to get hand-fed melon treats that we offer the bats both morning and night. Honeydew is his favorite. He still knows us, but also knows he is a bat and has favorite bat buddies he 'hangs with' (which is exactly what we want :)"
Outdoors Blog now has a Google+ page. Google+ is a new social network from Google. You can follow us on Google+ by clicking on the Google+ button below and adding us to one of your circles.
Vice President Joe Biden draws his bow in this photograph taken outside outside Ulaanbataar, Mongolia. The archery event was part of a cultural demonstration. Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold is next to Biden.
Photo: Official White House Photo by David Lienemann
Kayaker Encounters Blue Whale off Southern California
Kayaker MrRJCtube (Youtube username) encountered a majestic blue whale when he was kayaking off the coast of Redondo Beach in Southern California. He recorded some amazing footage of an enormous blue whale diving and resurfacing right near his kayak. The kayaker also dove underwater to record some video of the blue whale. Pete Thomas notes that the kayaker may have violated whalewatching guidelines from the National Marine Fisheries Service. Take a look:
U.S. Postal Service Launches Edward Hopper Sailboat Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service has launched a Forever Stamp featuring Edward Hopper’s sailboat painting, "The Long Leg." The stamp is part of the
American Treasures. Hopper's 1935 painting features a boat sailing against the wind near Provincetown, MA. You can buy the stamp here on shop.usps.com.
Timelapse Video of Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland 2011
This timelapse video of the northern lights was filmed during winter 2011 in several locations in the Finnish Lapland. The video was filmed for visitfinland.com. with DSLR cameras with timelapse technique and with remote pan/tilt heads. Take a look:
