Doesn't this look blissful? Flickr user Bernard-SD took this shot at Yosemite National Park. Summer is one of the best but also the most crowded times at our country's national parks, so it's refreshing to see a great nature shot with nary a human to clutter the view.

Bernard's photo is great not only for the scenery but also because it's nicely framed. I like how the lone hiking path cuts across the foreground, winding off into unknown. The tree on the right is also a nice counterpoint to the gorgeous waterfall on the upper left. Just imagine yourself hiking down this peaceful path, the vista of the park's mountains looming in the distance.

Have a great travel photo you'd like to share with the world here on Gadling? Add it to our Gadling pool on Flickr and we might pick it as our Photo of the Day.

The only time my family on either side of my tree has had a reunion was when my dad's side converged at Fontana Village near Fontana Dam for a week. In the midst of the Great Smoky Mountains, this was a gorgeous place to spend time.

The drive there was filled with winding roads and vistas. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Seventy-five years ago, from donations collected from the public and private sectors, the land in North Carolina and Tennessee that now boasts 800 miles of maintained trails, 1,500 black bears, plus elk and deer, became property for the public to enjoy.

If you can't make it to the anniversary celebration, there are planned activities throughout the spring, summer and fall every year. This summer is filled with them. Here's the link to the interactive calendar that highlights what is happening on specific days. I adore ranger programs. I've never seen a bad one.

To kick off the 75th anniversary, there is a nifty Web site that highlights the upcoming activities and the park history. The interactive timeline that dates back to pre-1900s is particularly cool. For example, did you know that Clarence Darrow visited here in 1925 when he was in the midst of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial?

Along with the park itself, the neighboring communities also have events planned to celebrate the beauty in their midst. Knoxville, Tennessee has several. From what I can tell, events will be added as the year goes on, so keep checking back.

If you have been to the Great Smoky National Park and want to add to the legacy, there's a feature, "Smokies Family Album" where you can share your photos.

The big weekend Anniversary Weekend is June 13-15. 2009.

Right after I posted about the Jesus Trail in Israel that meanders for 40 miles through the land where Jesus walked, I received my daily missive from Intelligent Travel. There was the post "What would Jesus eat?" Now, that's a pairing combo--eating and walking.

Travel writer, Andrew Evans just returned from Israel armed with details on food that have a biblical basis. While you're walking along the path that Jesus might have wandered, pop into the eateries he suggests and you'll have some mighty fine meals.

Evans tells which restaurants serve what and gives a bit of a background history of some of the foods, many that date back to the time of Jesus or earlier.

Eucalyptus is in Jerusalem and Muscat Restaunt and The Organic Kitchen are at the Mizpe Hayamim Health Resort overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Here are some of the foods Evans mentions eating, although some of them are from markets he visited along the way:

• yellow lentil soup with hyssop
• lamb braised with pomegranate
• tilapia with lemon butter sauce and baked vegetables
• sage tea (thought to cure jet lag)
• pumpkin-filled Bukharian pastry
• pickled green almonds,
• black Persian lemons
• Yemeni yogurt balls
• bread sprinkled with olive oil and herbs

Here is a bit of low impact tourism that can provide you with some exercise, a history lesson--and a walk similar to one that Jesus might have made.

Instead of hopping on a bus to be taken to certain holy sites to see places where Jesus did his ministry, there is a walking option.

This go-at-you-own-pace trip is along a 40-mile path that brings you to sites like: Nazareth where Jesus grew up as a boy; the Arab village of Kana--where Jesus turned water into wine; the sea of Galilee, Mount of Beatitudes where it is thought Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount; and to the location where it's said that Jesus turned two fish and five loaves of bread into enough food for the multitudes.

There are sites important to Islam as well.

According to Laurie Copans who took the trip, it has appeal, partly because of the interactive quality. Listening to birds, feeling the breeze, and experiencing the topography adds meditative and reflective elements to the travle experience.

As one of the people interviewed for the article said, "The more intimate you become with the land, the more intimate the land becomes to you--the smells, the feel, the hills."

The tricky aspect of this trail is that it's not marked. Here are your options for doing the trip without getting lost.

• Hire a tour guide
• Download a Global Positioning System that coordinates with Jesustrail.com, or
• Pick up a Map--but with the trail not marked, I say hire a tour guide.

For more details and contact information about how to follow the Jesus Trail, read Copan's article. The photo is of Galilee from Mount Beatitudes by hoysameg on Flickr.

In the (very near) future I'm going to write a comprehensive article about why and how to pack light, so make sure you're RSSed up and ready for that in the next week or two.

Consider this the prequel. The most important part of packing light is the bag, and I'm proud to say that I've found the ultimate bag for packing light, the Deuter Futura 28.

I found the Deuter Futura 28 by accident. I was at Whole Earth Provisions in Austin, Texas, getting ready for my 10 month trip around the world. I needed a bag.

I looked at the North Face bags, the Osprey bags, the Arcteryx bags, and all of the other usual suspects. None of them stood out.

As I was about to leave I saw a bag tucked away in the far corner. It was pushed back into the rack so that only someone obsessively evaluating every single bag would find it. That's me.

I had never heard of Deuter, so I assumed they must be some no name budget brand. After just a few minutes of examination, though, I realized just how wrong I was. This was the ultimate bag for the light packer.

The post about the eight abandoned hotels reminded me of the glory days gone by hotel where I worked one summer during college. Wildmere was a wondrous expansive wooden hotel that first opened in 1887.

Perched on the top of the limestone cliffs of Lake Minnewaska in upstate New York near New Paltz, it was a regal testament to monied folk.

When it was in its prime, the hotel gleamed white from fresh paint. When I worked there, it was at the tail end of fading. As with the hotels in the abandoned hotel post at ProTraveller, as the economy shifts, keeping up with beauty is not easy.

Paint flaked. Dripping pipes in the basement created puddles one had to gingerly step through on the way to the laundry room.

Travel health and the emerging specialty of "wilderness medicine" have obvious overlap. Dr. Paul Auerbach is one of the leaders in wilderness medicine: helping found the Wilderness Medical Society, co-author of A Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine and numerous journal articles and serving as faculty to the Stanford Fellowship in Wilderness Medicine.

His blog, Medicine for the Outdoors, is celebrating the two year anniversary. For those who haven't yet had a chance to visit, it is filled with practical information and advice for those exploring their environment and wanting to come back from the experience in good health. Travel and expedition medicine is the focus of my career and I find myself citing Dr. Auerbach's work and information, in my work. He is one of the pioneering physicians who helped elevate this field of medicine to a new and unique specialty.

A visit to his blog will allow the reader to learn about things from jellyfish stings and dislocated shoulders on the trail to malaria medications and outdoor recreation. This is truly an opportunity to read, first hand, the information from a leader in wilderness and expedition medicine. I highly recommend a visit to his blog, if you get a chance. Oh, and don't forget to congratulate him on his two-years of dispensing great advice!

It is unfortunate that what looks good, doesn't always feel good. I think this is no more apparent than with a pair of shoes. You have a killer pair of new shoes that you've been waiting to wear on your trip and that day is finally here! New shoes on your feet, you head out for a day of sightseeing in your new city. But this is a recipe for blisters -- nothing can slow down a day of hiking, shopping or sight seeing quicker than hotspots on your feet.

Understanding how blisters form and some basic treatments just might allow you to ambulate with less pain and save that pair of shoes, as well.

If you remember from the hazy days of high school biology, the skin is made of 2 layers: a thick, inner layer (dermis) and a thin, outer layer (epidermis). As heat, caused by friction and rubbing, forms a "hotspot" on the foot, the two layers of skin begin to separate and fluid fills in this space. Moisture from sweat or water acts as a lubricant between the sock and the foot as well as softening the skin. This increases friction potential and a greater chance for a blister. This concept is key for helping to understand blister prevention.

Blisters commonly occur in areas of softer skin, that are not used to being roughed up by shoes. The shoes you wear everyday have already toughened up your feet in the areas that that specific shoe rubs. However, the new pair of shoes or the shoes you do not commonly wear will rub your feet in new,potentially soft areas. Common sense dictates that you should not wear a pair of shoes new to your feet on a day that you have a lot of walking to do. If you have the time, try wearing your shoes around for a few hours at a time with thick and comfy socks. Even if you are just walking around your house, having the shoes on your feet help decreases the chances of future blisters. That's in a perfect world, however, and I don't know about you, but I rarely visit there.

I kind of have a thing for maps -- when I was a kid I either wanted to be a cartographer or a pickle factory (proper) -- so I perked up when I heard that the National Geographic Society had just launched Topo.com, a comprehensive database and guide for topographic maps in the United States.

Inside, users are free to browse around an interactive Google map onto which the NGS's topo database has been integrated. One can browse around updates trail and wilderness maps and ultimately customize a personal map to be printed and shipped to you.

The best part is that users can add their own video, pictures and trip reports to the site, making it incredibly easier to research a trip.

User content is still a bit low on the site, but take the opportunity to tool around your local area and see how the topography of the land around you changes. It's really interesting to see your neighborhood not from the perspective from the roads, proper, but rather from the perspective of elevation and boundaries.

Yesterday was National Trails Day. Sorry not to give the heads up sooner, but I found this out while I was hiking on a trail and without WiFi access. If you can swing a hike today on a national trail, I'd take one. If not today, than soon.

Make a plan for next weekend if you must. It doesn't have to be major hike, but give yourself enough time for your arms and legs to move in a rhythm with each other where you have time to find your stride. If there are trees around, a bit of nature, wildflowers, a bubbling brook--great.

On such a hike, keep an eye out for things you don't normally notice. A spider web that's stretched between two twigs, a large leaf clump high over head that marks a squirrel's home, a bird's nest, a butterfly that's dipping down for a drink in a stream, the way water shimmers in the sun when it's illuminated on a rock face. These are some of the reasons for taking a hike in Ohio where this picture was taken.

In New Mexico, it's the smell of juniper berries and pinion trees and the steady progress as you make your way up the Sandia Mountains or the Jemez--or any other steep mountains in the state. There are switchback after switchback. Notice how the earth turns brilliant orange or deep red depending on the time of day and the angle of the sun.