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Exit Glacier at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska (© Nathaniel Gonzales/Alamy)

Wild and beautiful Alaska

In honor of Alaska National Parks Day, we're traveling to Kenai Fjords National Park—home of the awe-inspiring Exit Glacier seen here. The park sits at the edge of the North Pacific Ocean where frequent winter storms dump the snow that feeds this land of ice. The Harding Icefield crowns the park with at least 38 flowing glaciers—one of which is Exit Glacier. Exit Glacier is known for being one of the most-visited of Alaska's glaciers, likely because it’s accessible via the Seward Highway. In mid-November, the road to the glacier closes due to heavy snowfall, so visitors can only get there via snow-friendly transportation like dogsled or cross-country skis.

Kenai Fjords is just one of Alaska's eight national parks, which together boast the nation’s largest glacial system, incredible wildlife viewing, and North America’s tallest peak. These parks exist in part because of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which President Jimmy Carter signed into law on this day in 1980. It converted massive tracts of Alaskan wilderness into protected land, doubling the amount of national park land in the state. For that, we are grateful. Alaska may be cold, but it sure is beautiful and worth protecting.

波特兰比尔灯塔处的晨光和海浪，英格兰多塞特郡 (© Lee Pengelly/Getty Images Plus)

“哈雷六号”科考站上空的南极光，南极洲 Aurora Australis over the Halley VI Research Station in Antarctica (© Stuart Holroyd/Alamy)

Southern lights for Antarctica Day

In honor of Antarctica Day, you're seeing the southern lights dazzle above Halley VI, the latest version of the six-decade-old Halley Research Station in the British Antarctic Territory. The modular building stands on hydraulic legs and is movable via retractable skis. The five previous facilities, Halley I–V, were each compromised by Antarctica's harsh climate and were decommissioned. Since 2017, while scientists monitor dangerous cracks in the surrounding Brunt Ice Shelf, Halley has been unmanned during the dark Antarctic winter months—but the research team equipped it with an autonomous micro-turbine that keeps its atmospheric instruments ticking as the snowdrifts pile up.

The first Antarctica Day was December 1, 1959, when twelve nations peacefully agreed to dedicate Earth's southernmost continent to the pursuit of science by signing the Antarctic Treaty. That agreement, adopted by both the US and the USSR amid the accelerating Cold War, stands 60 years later as an important landmark in global relations and has expanded to include 54 countries.

马拉喀什的Jemaa el-Fnaa广场 Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in Marrakesh (© Pavliha/Getty Images)

A big place to shop small

Small Business Saturday started in 2010 to get shoppers out of the big box stores the day after Black Friday and support local retailers. The US is home to more than 30 million small businesses (500 employees or fewer), representing 47 percent of private-sector employees. Of course, the concept of patronizing local merchants is nothing new. Here in Marrakesh, Morocco, souks (markets) like this one in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square have long been a big part of daily life, as well as major tourist attractions. During the day, musicians, dancers, and even snake charmers entertain shoppers as they search for crafts, clothing, and other goods. At night, the focus shifts to dining, with dozens of stalls offering different specialties and takes on traditional Moroccan food.

阿斯本附近的褐铃山，科罗拉多州 The Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado (© Christopher E. Herbert/Getty Images)

Opt outside today

Instead of rushing to the mall today for Black Friday deals, perhaps you could make it a Green Friday and find a treasure in a nearby park or a wilderness like the Maroon Bells near Aspen, Colorado pictured here. A few years ago, outdoor retailer REI made news by closing its doors on the biggest shopping day of the year and encouraging its employees and customers to 'Opt Outside' and spend time with their families instead. And while there is still no shortage of shopping options available to the intrepid Black Friday deal-hunter, a growing number of organizations have gotten behind this concept of Green Friday. And let's face it, after all that turkey and pie yesterday, you could probably use a nice walk. (And you can always shop online at work on Cyber Monday ;).)

Las Catedrales海滩，西班牙加利西亚 (© Davide Seddio/Getty Images)

凤凰城天港国际机场鸟瞰图，亚利桑那 Aerial view of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix, Arizona (© Nearmap/Getty Images)

Have you turned off your electric device?

If you're already in the air looking down at this bird's eye view of Sky Harbor International in Phoenix (or some other airport), well then, congrats. You've made it through the terminal on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Wait for a second, isn't the day before Thanksgiving the absolute busiest day to travel? Well, according to travel industry experts, traffic is actually heaviest on Fridays during the lazy, hazy days of summer. That's when crowds of people clog the highways and skyways to get out of their respective towns and go on vacation. You, on the other hand, can relax. Unless your plans are to host a table full of hungry guests on Thanksgiving. In which case, may we suggest yoga and meditation tonight? (And turn off this electronic device before the flight attendant comes by again.)

Autumn in the cypress swamp

Autumn still brings a splash of color to this hardwood forest of bald cypress in Louisiana. But make no mistake, a stroll through these wetlands is not a cozy New England leaf-peeping journey. The swamp forest floor is often covered by the waters of Atchafalaya River delta as it drains into the Gulf of Mexico, so the autumn colors here are best viewed from the seat of a canoe or a pirogue, as the local Cajuns use. The water-resistant bald cypress thriving in the Atchafalaya Basin constitutes the largest tract of contiguous cypress forest in the United States. The ecosystem here is so unlike any other in the US, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area organization calls it ‘America’s foreign country.’

The Cutty Sark turns 150

We're featuring the Cutty Sark in today's image to mark the 150th anniversary her launch on November 22, 1869. Built for speed, this extreme clipper ship began its abbreviated career as a tea clipper racing across oceans 'at a clip' (hence the designation 'clipper ship') to deliver the season's first tea harvest to England. While at times the Cutty Sark was considered one of the fastest ships in the world, its practical use as a cargo ship was ending almost as soon as it was launched. That's because steamships using the much shorter route through the newly opened Suez Canal were able to deliver the highly anticipated tea harvest faster and cheaper. In 1883, the Cutty Sark began hauling wool from Australia, but within 10 years steamships also disrupted this business.

By 1922, she was the last clipper ship still in use when she was sold to Wilfred Dowman, who had her restored and turned into a cadet training ship. In 1954, the Cutty Sark was docked at Greenwich, restored again, and opened to the public. After a devastating fire in 2006 she was closed again for the Cutty Sark Conservation Project which was completed in 2012. Today, visitors to the Royal Museums Greenwich can explore all facets of this onetime pinnacle of sailing technology, which is part of Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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