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Appalachian Trail, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Image: Wes Hicks

Yes, the entire Appalachian Trail is extremely long. Actually, it is over 2,190 miles long. But, the Shenandoah National Park, 75 miles from Washington, D.C., has over 500 miles of hiking trails, including more than 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail ; You can tackle a small section in a day’s hike.

The park is the perfect place to explore the great outdoors in Virginia and it consists of 200,000 acres of protected land that are home to animals like deer and songbirds.

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Burroughs Mountain Trail, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

Image: Scott Longerbeam

More than 260 miles of maintained trails lead visitors through peaceful old-growth forests, river valleys, and subalpine meadows on the Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.

The park is home to one of the most iconic mountains in the world: Mount Rainier rises 14,410 feet above sea level straight into the clouds. Check out the Burroughs Mountain Trail for stunning views of mountain peaks and the alpine landscape.

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Rim Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Image: Tim Golder

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is home to the largest collection of odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion, known as hoodoos. Many of them can be viewed from the 5.5-mile Rim Trail .

The park also offers hikes for all levels, including backcountry options for those looking for a little added adventure and guided Full Moon Hikes for night-owl explorers.

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Upper Emerald Pools Trail, Zion National Park, Utah

Image: Jamie Hagan

A park filled with hiking trails for all experience levels, Zion National Park, Utah's first national park , is famous for its massive cream, pink, and red sandstone cliffs, and freestanding arches.

Hikers should attempt to visit at sunrise and sunset to enjoy the breathtaking views of sunlight splashing off the cliffs and into the rivers below. And if it is an approachable trail they’re looking for, the Upper Emerald Pools Trail is an easy hike leading to sparkling waterfalls.

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Grinnell Glacier Trail, Glacier National Park, Montana

Image: Aaron Clinard

Over 700 miles of hiking trails, including more than a dozen options around the Many Glacier area , like the popular Grinnell Glacier Trail , can be found at the Glacier National Park.

Lucky visitors can spot some of the park's varied wildlife, including 71 species of mammals, from the tiny pygmy shrew to one of the largest remaining grizzly bear populations in the country.

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Charlies Bunion Hike, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina

Image: Leslie Cross

The Great Smoky Mountains are world-renowned for its animal and plant life diversity, as well as for its miles of official and backcountry trails with views of waterfalls and old-growth forests.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park spreads across two states and offers plenty of activities for hikers. For a particularly breathtaking vista, hike to Charlies Bunion, a popular outcropping along the Appalachian Trail.

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Billy Goat Trail, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Maryland

Image: Eduardo Gutierrez

Considered a moderate-difficulty trail, Maryland's Billy Goat Trail has three sections totaling eight miles, though portions are strenuous and challenging . Outdoor enthusiasts can experience the raging Potomac River and the rocky crags of Great Falls. The hike is very popular, so early hours are advisable to beat the crowds.

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Chautauqua Trail, Chautauqua Park, Colorado

Image: Leslie Cross

An old park, Chautauqua Park in Boulder, Colorado, has been around since 1898. The 80-acre park has miles of hiking, much of which are uphill . But there are less strenuous hikes, too, like the Chautauqua Trail, which offers views of the Flatiron mountains and Boulder.

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Canyon to Rim Loop, Smith Rock State Park, Oregon

Image: Alex Diaz

Hikers of every level can find an appropriate trail at Smith Rock State Park, in Oregon. These vary in length and difficulty, but they all offer beautiful views of the Central Oregon landscape**.**

The park offers hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, and visitors may spot golden eagles, prairie falcons, river otters, and beavers throughout the day.

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Petroglyph Wall Trail, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada

Image: Kristin Melville

As visitors to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area can testify, not all short-distance hikes are the same. Many are labeled difficult, and it can take four to five hours to complete a five-mile hike.

Along the different routes, desert wildlife can be spotted, including lizards, toads, and hawks. One of the park's most beginner-friendly hikes is the 0.2-mile Petroglyph Wall Trail , where centuries-old rock art can be appreciated.

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25 times a year

Image: Johannes Plenio

Its tall, elegant steel structure is definitely captivating; no wonder thousands of photographers, painters, and filmmakers have chosen the Empire State Building as the backdrop for their work. However, that imposing height comes with something a little scary: it's estimated that the building is struck by lightning about 25 times a year! Fortunately, it was designed to handle these strikes, so it's completely safe.

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Really fast

Image: Guilherme Cunha

There are buildings that took decades to complete. But this is not the case with the Empire State Building. In fact, this is one of the fastest skyscrapers ever built: It took only one year and 45 days to erect such an architectural masterpiece. That means it was built at a rate of an incredible 4.5 floors per week!

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Unlikely survivor

Image: Melanie Dretvic

It was 1945 when the Empire State Building was accidentally struck by a B-25 Mitchell bomber due to the thick fog that covered NYC. A worker named Betty Lou Oliver was on the 80th floor when the plane crashed into the 79th. She was severely injured, but incredibly, she survived. Hours later, while being rescued in an elevator, the damaged cables gave way, and Betty fell 75 floors to the basement. She survived that too!

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40 million dollars

Image: Pepi Stojanovski

A tremendous building like the Empire State couldn't be built on a shoestring budget. When it was constructed —in the midst of the Great Depression, no less— it cost about $41 million . That's a hefty sum, even today! Adjusted for inflation, that would be around $600 to $700 million in 2025. Wow!

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Secret floor

Image: roemer overdiep

If you are afraid of heights, be prepared: the Empire State Building has two public observation decks, one on the 86th floor and another on the 102nd. But there's another one, and it's even higher! It's located on the 103rd floor, but it's not open to the public and is mostly used for VIPs or special occasions.

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High security

Image: Pawel Czerwinski

Although an incredible 4 million people visit the building each year on average, getting in isn't easy. Many visitors say it feels like going through airport security, with X-ray machines and metal detectors everywhere. Visitors must also pass through a security checkpoint before reaching the observation decks, and the building is constantly monitored by cameras and security guards.

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King Kong

Image: Simon Ray

We all remember the iconic scene of the imposing King Kong climbing the towering mast of the Empire State Building. And while that image lives on in our minds, there's one detail many people overlook: When the original King Kong movie premiered in 1933, the Empire State Building was less than two years old! Plus, at the time, the building still held the title of tallest in the world, making King Kong's climb even more epic.

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Underground waterways

Image: Evgeniy Smersh

Beneath what is now NYC, there was a network of streams and rivers that flowed freely before Manhattan and other boroughs covered them. The land below the Empire State Building is no exception, and these old underground waterways still occasionally cause complications. For example, during heavy rains, water can rise and seep into the building's wind tunnels, sometimes flooding areas with up to two feet of water.

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The original plans

Image: Jaunt and Joy

The Empire State Building was originally supposed to have a dirigible anchor! That's right; the mast at the top of the building was meant to serve as a mooring post for dirigibles, with a docking platform and a door for passengers to disembark. However, due to the extreme height, high winds, and overall potential danger, the idea was discarded. Today, the mast is used for antennas and other communications equipment.

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Green building

Image: Chris Ladouceur

This iconic building that defines New York's skyline is considered a "green building." And no, it has nothing to do with the color of its walls; it's about something much more meaningful. The sustainability modifications that the Empire State has undergone over the years have made it one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its size, minimizing its environmental impact and earning it the title of "green building."

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Young inventor

Image: Randy Fath

Although we all know that Edison was an inventor -and one of the best- very few know that his passion was already loudly expressed at the young age of 10.

At that age, while other children were naturally playing ball in the park, Edison was already interested in chemistry, physics, mathematics, and electricity. At 12, he set up his first laboratory in the basement of his parents' house, where he began to do his first experiments! Some stories claim that explosions in the basement were more frequent than their parents would have liked.

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Self-taught

Image: Nicola Tolin

Edison's educational path was very different from the one many of us probably had. In fact, Edison had almost no formal education.

Thomas Edison attended school for only a few months. Due to some hearing problems he developed as a child, his mother decided to homeschool him, teaching and encouraging him, which awakened his impressive curiosity and appetite for knowledge.

By the time he was a preteen, he was already an autodidact. This fact was crucial on his way to becoming one of our country's most important inventors.

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Young entrepreneur

Image: Jingda Chen

The young Edison was not only curious and intelligent; he was also an entrepreneur.

When he was just a boy of 12, he sold snacks, candy, cigars, magazines, and newspapers on the Grand Trunk Railroad. From that age, he displayed a determined character, which enabled him to raise money for his experiments.

But his ambition was so strong that he started his own newspaper, the Grand Trunk Herald. That's right! Little Edison assembled and printed his newspaper and sold it to passengers and people who frequented the train stations.

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Hero

Image: Sugden Guy sugden

Did you know that Edison was also a hero? That's right!

In fact, we could say that his act of heroism as a teenager was the event that started his great career. By the age of 15, Edison was working and traveling on the Grand Trunk Railroad, where he became close to a station master and telegraph officer. One day, Edison spotted the station master's two-year-old son playing on the tracks as a train sped toward him. Without hesitation, he jumped and rescued the child.

The boy's father was so grateful that he offered to teach Edison how to use the telegraph system. And what do you think? He accepted immediately!

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Marriages

Image: Fernando @cferdophotography

Between labs and experiments, Thomas Edison also had time for love.

Thomas Alva Edison married twice in his life. His first wife was Mary Stilwell Edison, whom he married in 1871. Mary and Thomas had three children. Sadly, she passed away in 1884 after 13 years of marriage.

His second marriage was in 1886 to Mina Miller Edison. With her, Edison had three more children. As it couldn't be otherwise, it's said that Edison asked Mina to marry him in a rather peculiar way: he proposed using Morse code!

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His children's nicknames

Image: Sandie Clarke

Thomas Edison's creativity was evident in everything he did, and there's an anecdote that exemplifies this perfectly.

The inventor's passion and humor blended and resulted in fun and loving nicknames for his first two children. As we told you, by 1876, Edison already had two children from his first marriage. They were Marion and Thomas Jr., whom Edison called "Dot" and "Dash," respectively. Yes, you got it: it was a reference to Morse code!

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First phonograph recording

Image: Call Me Fred

As you probably know, in 1877, Thomas Edison introduced the phonograph. It was the first device capable of recording and reproducing sound!

As a result of his experiments, this device completely changed the history of communication. But what did the first recording made with the phonograph say?

Edison made a cute choice for his first recording: a recitation of the beloved nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb." That was the first time in history that anyone heard a previously recorded voice!

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His work team

Image: The National Library of Norway

It seems that Edison had a tendency for affectionate nicknames and monikers.

Edison didn't reserve nicknames just for his children; he also gave them to the members of his large staff. Many people worked in Edison's famous laboratory at Menlo Park, which he referred to as his "invention factory." Engineers, scientists, technicians, and people with different kinds of expertise gathered there to help make the great inventor's ideas possible. Edison affectionately referred to them as his "muckers," a nickname that shows not only his sense of humor but also his strong team spirit.

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His health

Image: Dan Meyers

One of the best-known aspects of Edison's health was his hearing loss when he was very young. Contrary to what one might think, Edison stated that this fact didn't negatively affect his career development. In fact, he believed it helped him focus and dedicate more time to his inventions and discoveries.

However, as an adult, he developed some other health problems. Some sources suggest that Edison's habits, including long hours in the lab and a poor diet, contributed to health issues like heart problems and diabetes.

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His last words

Image: Jonathan Borba

Edison's life was full of adventures, discoveries, love, and many other things. The American inventor didn't abandon his creativity even when it was time for him to leave this world.

It's said that, at the age of 84 on his deathbed, Thomas Edison looked at his wife, Mina, and uttered the words, "It's very beautiful over there."

While it's difficult to make a unique interpretation of these nice and calm words, their poetic and inspirational character is undeniable.