Spring has sprung and along with the cherry blossoms and cute baby animals is a raging army of workaholics just dying to break out of the office and go totally wild. Not some bikini blitz or a round of jello shots -- we're talking into the wild, you know . . nature.
But is it possible, you ask, to experience real nature in the metropolitan madness that is Washington, D.C.? Sure it is. Whether you're looking for a coyote pack, a hooting owl, or just a quiet spot under a tree (sans dog poo), the Capital is like a big old national park, except with interns instead of moose (though we do have black squirrels). To guide us through our backyard jungle, we turn to our good friends at DCNature.com, a bunch of local shutterbugs who showcase their candid photography of local wildlife in and around the beltway. (photo)
You know why we beg you people to stay in cities? It's not just the wifi, decent Indian food, and notable absence of the kind of people who don't live in cities. It's also because we care:
According to the National Park Service, air quality in many of country's esteemed parks is worsening... statistics show that at places like Joshua Tree National Park (one of my favorites), clean air is no longer a guarantee of the outdoors... according to an article in the LA Times, ozone pollution has increased in at least 10 national parks around the country; Canyonlands, Craters of the Moon, Death Valley, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, North Cascades, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yellowstone.
Now some dirty hippie might try to convince you that pollution is worse in urban areas. Should you find yourself in such an uncomfortable situation, here's how to handle it. First, remind the hippie that cities make up for that with things like doctors, medicine, and indoor plumbing. Second, stop talking to hippies.
Most urbanites don't know their cherry from their maple, unless we're talking about a trip to ihop. When it comes to city-living, we lack those precious plaques found stapled to every tree and bush of the suburbs. Why should our gritty landscape go unlabeled? The folks behind Urban Flora: A Taxonomy of the City encourage city slickers to appreciate the elements of their landscape.
Urban Flora is a project that aims to alter city dwellers' experience of their environment through a series of stickers that identify objects in the urban environment. These "urban flora"... are presented in a traditional taxonomy such as one would see in an arboretum or botanical garden. By defining these man-made artifacts in the context of the botanical world, the project draws attention to the presence or absence of nature in the urban space.
So embrace the beauty that is the public phone, the hot dog vendor and the mailbox (we're looking at you, Italy), and check out their site, which includes a handy guide to making your own Urban Flora stickers. Help others appreciate the markers that make your city unique and show those damn suburbanites, once and for all.
If you follow my postings here, you've probably figured out that I'm head-over-heals in love with Tokyo, and am quite the city boy. But I'm not averse to taking in some nature, and one of the things that a lot of people probably don't realize is that you can just hope on a train, and maybe 40-50 minutes later and for less than $10, you're out in the wilderness and enjoying some rather nice outdoor scenery. The picture you see above was taken this past Sunday during an outing at Takao Mountain. It makes for quite a nice afternoon, as you can hike up the mountain (a nice walk, nothing too strenuous, but there's also a cable car and chair lift) and not only enjoy the view, but also take in the Yakuouin temple up on the summit, famous for its Tengu imagery. To get there from Shinjuku station, take the Keio line all the way to Takaosanguchi station (or take the Chuo, and switch to the Keio line at Takao station).
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Gridskipper is a blog about travel and leisure, written especially for urban dwellers who appreciate the need to get off the grid from time to time. More About...
Spring has sprung and along with the cherry blossoms and cute baby animals is a raging army of workaholics just dying to break out of the office and go totally wild. Not some bikini blitz or a round of jello shots -- we're talking into the wild, you know . . nature. 
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You know why we beg you people to stay in cities? It's not just the wifi, decent Indian food, and notable absence of the kind of people who don't live in cities. It's also 
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