You know your neighborhood pretty well, I’m sure. But what about a few neighborhoods away? How well do you know your neighboring city, county or state?
What about something 1,000 miles away? Over 1,000 miles away from Dallas is another country, a legendary mountain, tropical beaches and the doorstep to outer space, just to mention a few.
Check out what we’ve found that’s exactly 1,000 miles away, measured from Dallas City Hall.
Follow the California coast down past the U.S.-Mexico border, and you will find yourself on the Baja California Peninsula. This peninsula extends south for nearly 775 miles, and it is the dividing landmass between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California.
The tourist city of La Paz lies on the gulf side of the southern tip of the peninsula, It’s famous for its beaches, fishing spots, diving and many other aquatic sports.
When you picture a Caribbean getaway, what do you see? Do you see white, sandy beaches, crystal-clear blue water and vibrant sea life? Well, that’s exactly what Cancún is like! Stay in any of the luxury seaside hotels to experience the quintessential tropical vacation, or head inland to experience the bustling culture and nightlife of the city.
The last piece of solid ground that Neil Armstrong set foot on before his boot hit the surface of the moon was the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. How crazy is that?
The Kennedy Space Center used to be called the Launch Operations Center before President Lyndon B. Johnson changed the facility’s name in 1963 in honor of President Kennedy. It was Kennedy who created the goal of a crewed lunar landing by the year 1970, which spurred the creation of the center. Johnson changed the name just seven days after Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.
All of NASA’s manned space flights have launched from either the Kennedy Space Center or from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just east of the center.
You may think that Grand Teton would be the highest and most challenging peak in Wyoming, butGannett Peak takes the cake on this one. This massive mountain is at the very heart of the Central Rockies and is considered to be one of the most tricky state high-points to summit in the United States. It’s just shy of 14,000 feet, but the five surrounding glaciers, jagged ridges, extreme weather and grueling 50-mile round-trip make this mountain more challenging than many others.
The next-tallest mountain is over 290 miles away, making Gannett Peak one of the most isolated mountains in the country, and most certainly in Wyoming.
The peak was named in 1906 after the U.S. Geological Society’s chief geographer, Henry Gannett. Gannett was also one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society, and he was influential in establishing the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, which became the official naming society for geographical places in the United States.
In the center of Salt Lake City, Utah is a 10-acre complex belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints. The complex, known as Temple Square, contains many buildings owned by the LDS Church, including visitors’ centers, conference buildings, an assembly hall and, as the most prominent building by far, the Salt Lake Temple.
Towering over 222 feet above passersby, the Salt Lake Temple is truly something to behold. The massive white temple is considered a sacred place and is accessible only to those with a temple recommend, but the general public is free to walk around the grounds of Temple Square around it.
Nestled in the northwestern corner of Arizona is a remote, undeveloped piece of land covering more ground than the entire state of Rhode Island.
While the area is managed by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, the national monument is devoid of visitors’ centers, paved roads and other tourist services common to national parks. Instead, this remote wilderness is kept as just that: remote and wild. Because of the rugged landscape and lack of development, the national monument offers some pristine, unaltered views, scenic drives, star-studded night skies and stunning nature that shows what the world would have been like if humans had never even existed. It’s astoundingly beautiful.
On a small island off Wisconsin’s panhandle in Lake Michigan is a 152 year-old lighthouse that dutifully signaled watercraft on Lake Michigan for over 99 years. The lighthouse is no longer in use, as there is now a battery-powered beacon on a separate structure that does all the work, but the old lighthouse and building is kept on the grounds as a museum and public park for visitors.
Next time you’re thinking of the world around you, think of how different even just a thousand miles makes. Your Downtown Dallas apartmentsare a thousand miles away from the white, sandy beaches of Cancún, but while it seems like a world away, a thousand miles is barely anything when it comes to modern transportation. So get out there and explore the world outside your neighborhood! You never know how it could change your life.
