Bears Ears National Monument: The House on Fire Ruin

Bears Ears National Monument makes for a great impact explorer destination due to its cultural history, remarkable beauty, and recent political controversy. This area was once home to the ancestral pueblo people centuries before Europeans ever came to Americas. There are literally thousands of archaeological sites throughout this vast, remote area. In 2016, Bears Ears made headlines when it was designated as a large national monument by President Barack Obama. Just one year later, Bears Ears was once again center stage when President Trump reduced its size by 85%. Immediately following the announced reduction, 5 Native American tribes, conservation groups, and even the CEO from the outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, filed lawsuits against the Trump administration. We'll see what happens with all these lawsuits, but for now let's take a look at the amazing House on Fire ruin which still lies within the national monument.

 One mile into the hike and you've made it

 Just look at those flames coming off the roof!

 Just 3 dwellings make up this stunning first ruin along the trail

 Gorgeous petroglyphs are EVERYWHERE. Keep your eyes open for them

 Aren't we a good-looking couple?

The roof is on fire!

How to get there- The House of Fire ruin is somewhat easily accessible to the public, though it's easy to get lost in this remote area. From Moab, head south on Hwy 191 until you pass the small town of Blending, UT. Four miles past Blanding, head west on Hwy 95 for 19 miles until you get to a dirt road just past mile post 102. The trail begins about a quarter mile down the dirt road. Park on the roadside and hike up the shallow canyon on your left. This is the south fork of mule canyon. The House on Fire ruin is about 1 mile up the trail on your right. You can't miss it!

Why Visit?- Besides being absolutely stunning and amazing, this whole area is scarily vulnerable and needs some love and attention. The more people come to visit this area, the more the local economy can benefit from tourism and create social change. The stiffest opposition to creating the monument came from locals who view the protected status as a 'federal land grab' which reduces their access for recreational or ranching activities. If Bears Ears can resemble its tourism-destination neighbor, Moab, then locals can be more supportive of protecting these treasures. Fortunately, I've heard from locals that they have already seen a 40% increase in tourism this year, thanks to all the publicity resulting from the political controversy.

Sadly, many ruins are no longer under protection and its scary how vulnerable they are to looting and desecration. Even inside the monument, my wife and I were amazed by how you could just walk right up to the ruin and no one is there is stop you, much unlike Mesa Verde National Park where park rangers and fences help protect the ancient, fragile buildings. So of course it goes without saying that when you visit this area, don't be stupid! Take your pictures and enjoy the moment, then leave it all be.

Ultimate Peru: The Other Amazing Incan Ruins

Peru easily makes its way on the list of amazing places that Impact Explorers wants you to know about. Peru is a poor country with a huge tourism industry that keeps growing. Your visit to Peru will most certainly contribute economically to the livelihoods of hard working Peruvians who live in poverty. This impact can be through your tour group bookings, market purchases, hotels, restaurants, street venders, and many other tourism services.

While the first thing that probably comes to mind when you hear the word "Peru" is Machu Pichu, there are so many other amazing Incan Ruins to see while traveling around Cusco, Peru. I have personally been to Cusco several times now, but it wasn't until my most recent trip when I visited additional ruins that I really gained a deeper appreciation of the beauty and magnitude of the ancient Incan Empire. Now, let's get started on our list!

Honorable Mention- Downtown Cusco: After having heard about this famous 12-sided stone so many times, I figured by my third visit to Cusco I had to just go take a look. Sure enough, there's a rock with 12 sides! It's amazing how the stones all fit perfectly together. All around the main plaza of downtown Cusco are ancient alleyways and walls built by the Incas. I can only imagine what it looked like before the Spanish conquest.

 Here is the famous 12-angled stone!

 This is the same wall of the 12-sided stone. All Inca made baby

 Took this pic as we passed by again in daylight

Long alleyway that feeds into the main plaza

7. Chinchero: Number 7 on our list of amazing Incan ruins is the small rustic town of Chinchero, whose stunning ruins are the centerpiece of town. Chinchero lies between Cusco and Urubamba and can be reached by a private taxi or by booking a tour through one of the many local tour operators. As is the case for many pre-Columbian ruins in Latin America, the Spanish built an adobe Catholic cathedral right on top of the ruins.

Tourist market right in the courtyard of Chinchero ruins

Spanish church on top of the ruins

The locals are happy to take selfies. Small tips are appreciated

 Open areas above the terraces

Me and my sweetheart out at the terraces

6. Moray: Next on our list, we have the intriguing ruins of Moray. We visited Moray with the same tour operators that took us out to Chinchero. Moray is intriguing because it was apparently an Incan agricultural experiment used to grow different crops that require different growing temperatures. The tour guides said there could be something like 10 or 20 degree differences between the lowest and highest layers, though I did read something about some German study that refutes this claim of a large temperature difference. Regardless of the different perspectives, this place is cool!

 Selfie above the main terraced formation

 Same spot minus the selfie

 Another terraced formation at Moray

Complete with views of the magnificent Andes

5. Sacsayhuamán: For our next 2 Incan sites, we need to head back to Cusco. First, we have the fortress of Sacsayhuamán. Sacsayhuamán forms the head of the puma in which the city of Cusco was designed to resemble, and sits on the hills overlooking the city. The massive stone walls are impressively smooth and fit together perfectly. It kind of looks like a medieval castle!

I Gotta throw in a pic of my little cutie!

The whole fam...

...and even my mother-in-law! I love the backdrop of this photo

I love the traditional dress of this area

  Epic view of Cusco from Sacsayhuamán

4. Quorikancha: The Qorikancha, or temple of the sun, is so dang cool. This was the mother of all Incan temples up until the Spanish conquest when it was mostly destroyed, and also topped off with a Spanish cathedral. Today, tourists can visit this unique blended building and see where the colonial era meets the Incan era. I wish I could have seen this place before the Spanish destroyed it. I've read from some early conquistador accounts about how amazed the Spanish were at the sight of this temple. Even today it is absolutely amazing!

 At first we admired this place from outside

 And then admired it some more

Finally, we just had to go inside!

3. Tipón: Tipón is a demonstrates the water engineering mastery of the Incas. This ancient garden sits 3,400 meters above sea level.

Main fountain of Tipón

Main plaza of the Tipón garden

2. Pisaq: Ok, now things are getting juicy. Number 2 on our list are the spectacular ruins of Pisaq. Pisaq is located high up on a mountain at the beginning of the sacred valley. As this was the last stop of our marathon tour day, we barely made it through the gates before it closed- and I was so glad we made it! Pisaq was once one of the great fortresses of the Incan Empire, and it's easy to see why.

 View at the entrance of Pisaq

 The largest cluster of buildings overlook the terraces

Sun going down-closing time!

1. Ollantaytambo: We've made it to number 1 on our list! Ollantaytambo was the place where it hit me that there was so much more to Peru, Cusco, and the Incas than just Machu Picchu. Ollantaytambo is your last stop in the sacred valley before you make your way through the jungle towards Machu Picchu. The entire city of Ollantaytambo is an archeological site! As you make your way through the still-inhabited ancient town you can see the fortress of Ollantaytambo on the mountain above town. It was here where Manco Inca and his forces resisted an attack from the Spanish.

 Little Genesis peering from a perfectly shaped window

 Entrance to the temple (destroyed by the Spanish-those jerks!)

 Selfie halfway up the steps

 Neysla by the windows

 View of the sacred valley behind Ollantaytambo

Selfie on top

Check out the amazing stone work!

View from the top                               ^^^^Above: View from the ruins on the opposite side of town

Spanning the ancient alleyways in town

 Such a cute woman in a cute little town!

Grand Teton National Park

If Yellowstone National Park is the crown jewel of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), then Grand Teton National Park is the runner-up. Grand Teton National Park is the only other national park within the GYE landscape, and therefore plays a critical role in protecting the land, wildlife, and history of the area. Unless land is designated as a national park, national monument, or a wilderness area, then it still may be open to mining, logging, or ranching even if it's public land, such as a national forest. Just north of Jackson, Wyoming, Grand Teton NP is a major lure for the nature-based tourism economy of the GYE.

With breathtaking vistas of the jagged Teton range, wildlife viewing opportunities, and places of historic importance, your visit to Grand Teton will be unforgettable! Like Yellowstone to the north, Grand Teton NP is also home to herds of bison, elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. You are also more likely to see a moose near the banks of the snake river than in most other places of the GYE.

From a historical perspective, the valley floor on the teton range was not always thought of as an off-limits wilderness. As settlers began flooding into the area, John D. Rockefeller Jr. became concerned that this area would become just another western city along the rocky mountains. As a wealthy son of a wealthy father, Rockefeller began purchasing land all around the valley floor and eventually donated his land to the federal government to eventually become the national park we know it as today.

Historic buildings can still be visited around the valley floor, such as some old cabins and barns along  what is known as Mormon Row. It is here where 5 Mormon families settled into the valley, which up until that point was known as a rough bachelor town. The Mormon settlers brought with them values of religion, community, and education.

One of the famous pioneer barns at Mormon Row

Family selfie at Jenny Lake

    

Escape to the Galápagos Islands

It's time to talk about an unreal impact exploration in an unreal place. We're talking about the Galápagos Islands! I visited the Galápagos Islands with my family in 2017 and was completely blown away by how incredible this place truly is. It's like living in side a real-life wildlife documentary. Being able to take an up close glimpse of the rare and endemic species of this archipelago is unlike anything else you will ever do. Rest assure, your visit to the Galápagos Islands directly funds the continued conservation of this natural wonder and contributes to the local economy.

The Galápagos Islands were annexed by it's neighbor Ecuador in 1832. There are 18 main islands, 3 smaller islands, and 107 rocks and islets. They were first discovered by Spanish explorers and conquistadores who accidentally came upon them while on their way to Peru from Central America. The Spanish took note of the peculiar wildlife, like the Galápagos tortoise and the marine iguana. The area was not suitable for human settlement, however, due to a complete lack of freshwater on the islands. For hundreds of years, the Galápagos Islands were a strategic and convenient pit stop for pirates who sailed around the new world and Pacific Ocean. The giant tortoises were used as a source of fresh food as they could be stored on board ships and eaten during long voyages. Due to this exploitation, the Galápagos tortoise population plummeted, and certain subspecies have already gone extinct on some of the islands. Efforts have been underway for several decades to restore the Galápagos tortoise population.

Map of the Galápagos Islands

Even from a logistical standpoint, visiting the Galápagos Islands was unlike anything I've ever done.We flew in from Quito, Ecuador and landed at the main airport on Baltra Island. From Baltra Island, we took a short ferry ride to Santa Cruz Island where we then took one of the many taxis (which were all pickup trucks) to our hotel in Puerto Ayora, the largest human settlement in the Galápagos. I was amazed to find out that the entire archipelago is a national park, though there are designated zones for human settlement. We passed by several cattle ranches and even a tortoise ranch on our way to town.  

Pricing: Entrance fees for Galápagos National Park are $100 per adult and $50 per child, unless you are from the Ecuador, the Andean Community, or any Mercosur nations. Although this price is not cheap, this is where your vacation directly impacts the conservation of a natural wonder. 

My lovely wife, Neysla, posing by a sea lion and pelican at the main port in Puerto Ayola. Those guys are regulars here. This little port is just like any other commercial port in Latin America where locals buy and sell sea food.

Now, on to the fun stuff. The first things we wanted to know about the Galápagos Islands were what to go do and see. We weren't in a financial or even logistical position to plan way ahead or pay tons of money to book a tour with a big tour company, but we found everything we needed right on the main street of town, just 2 blocks from our hotel. Despite all the warnings about planning ahead that we read online, there were plenty of tour companies in town hungry to take anyone on one of their many tour options. Of course, we wanted to see the tortoises, so we visited one of the nearby tourist ranches that lies at the border between the human settlement and wildlife zones. These ranches are really the best place to see the tortoises up close, and boy are they HUGE! These guys can weigh up to several times my own weight, and I'm not skinny!

                                     

A massive dude along our hike to and through a sweet cave

The trick to getting a good shot with the wildlife is to position yourself directly in front of or behind the animal. Park rules are strictly enforced, and you must be 2 meters away from all wildlife.

Next, we wanted to see the birds. I had seen documentaries about the Galápagos Islands and learned all about these beautiful birds with funny names, like the Blue-footed booby. For this adventure, we took a boat with a different tour group to Seymour Island, just north of Baltra Island where the airport is. We saw lots of Blue-footed boobies and Royal Frigatebirds.

Puffed-up Royal Frigatebird

 Blue-footed Booby

 We saw lots of these land iguanas on Seymour Island

Last, but not least, we wanted to snorkel. Snorkeling in the Galápagos was the coolest thing ever. We snorkeled in two places during this short trip. First, we took a hike with a tour group right on Santa Cruz Island to this awesome volcanic crevice on the beach where tourists like to snorkel. I saw tons of fish and took amazing videos with my (at the time) brand new GoPro camera.

Snorkeling in Las Grietas, a super cool volcanic crevice on Santa Cruz Island. This is a popular spot to snorkel on the island.

Hiking out to Las Grietas.

More epic snorkeling was had on our way out to Seymour Island. The tour group stopped at this little, rocky islet where we saw tons of sea lions chillin' out in the sun. As soon as you hopped in the water they all swam up to you. It was the coolest thing ever!

 Up close and personal with a sea lion

If you're looking for the trip of a lifetime and want to make an impact while you travel, then plan your trip to the Galápagos Islands! You will not regret it!