Clingmans Dome is one of the best places to view the beautiful changing colors of fall foliage. It is the highest point in the Great Smokey Mountains and Tennessee with an elevation of 6643 feet. On a clear day the spectacular view from Clingmans Dome provides the sightseer with the chance to see the five surrounding states of Kentucky, Georgia, South and North Carolina, and Tennessee all in one place.

There are more than twenty banded iron formation (BIF, BIFs) sites around the world. These formations were formed more than a billion years ago. There were three occurrences during the Precambrian era between 3.8 – 0.6 billion years. The three BIF eras were: 0.6-0.85, 1.8-3.5 and 3.65-3.8 billion years.

A true skyscraper on the University of Pittsburgh campus, the stone spire rises 42 stories into the air. Most classes meet in one of its rooms, including the renowned Nationality Rooms.

Odessa is a major port on the Ukrainian border of the Black Sea. In the eighteenth century the region on the Black Sea that now contains Odessa was under Turkish rule. When the Russians took over in 1792, they moved quickly to establish Odessa as a port. Compared to most cities in the Ukraine and Russia, Odessa has an overwhelmingly European feel to it. The Duc de Richelieu is credited with the early design and building of this city, having fled, from the French Revolution, where he had been a prominent member of the Royal Government. He was offered a position in the Russian army, and was invited, by Czar Alexander I, to become governor of the province of Odessa.

Plan your getaway to the Big Apple

The first, and probably the most important question is: how to get there with a decent deal that is not going to break your heart? If you are based in a place over 2,500 miles from New York, say, San Francisco, what are the choices you have? Of course, you can hitchhike all the way and do something really hip, given you are a die-hard Kerouac-maniac on a beat pilgrimage. Otherwise, this would be way too much hassle for average travelers.