WcP.Story.Teller's blog

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Survivors' story: Jeff Evans' Home Survived Camp Fire Nov 8 2018
"I inherited 11 dogs... my world changed pretty dramatically. I can't leave with 11 dogs. So I stayed here" in the Evacuation Zone.
59-year-old Jeff Evans and his parents, who live with him, told me his house survived unscathed, but his neighbors were not so lucky.
The Camp Fire in Northern California incinerated entire towns. More than 13,000 single-family homes were destroyed in the blaze.

California Camp Fire ravages town of Paradise, destroying more than 6,500 structures
Homes destroyed by the Camp Fire in Paradise, California.
Trees survived.

Fierce winds picked up in the Sierra foothills that morning, fueling the most destructive fire in California history, which has burned nearly 10,000 homes, killed at least 71 people and left more than 1,000 unaccounted for.

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Photo courtesy NPR and Newsweek

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A polar bear appeared to be praying for a cold winter after being seen placing his huge paws together and looking up at the sky.
The cub bear was pictured seemingly looking up to the heavens and asking for divine intervention in the animal's current plight.
Temperatures in their Alaskan habitat are higher than usual and as a result the pack have been left stranded on land waiting for the ice to freeze.
Until temperatures drop and more ice freezes after melting during the spring, the polar bears cannot go and find seals.

The male juvenile bear made the plea to a higher power just before he went to sleep, while his while his mother and sister were already napping.

Photographer, Shayne McGuire, captured the beautiful bear in Barter Island, Alaska, on the October 7.
She said: 'It was nap time for the bear, his mum and sister had already curled up, yet, there he sat, contemplating something, that we will never know.
'Then he looked up at the sky, raised his head and paws, and I heard one of my group say 'he is praying for the ice to freeze.'
'It is late in the season and yet, very little snow.
' I have seen global warming affect their habitat, I have been going since 2013 and there has always been snow in late September, early October.
'In 2015, there were snow storms and the snow was deep.
'Since then, I have been in early October to mid October and have had some ice, very little snow.'

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A hero Battle of Britain pilot has taken to the skies at the tender age of 99 for the last time - in a Spitfire.
World War II ace Archie McInnes is one of only six surviving RAF pilots who took part in the vital Battle of Britain - known as The Few.

The war hero took to the skies above Kent last week in a refurbished Second World War Spitfire - accompanied by the plane he flew during the war.

The flight was organised and photographed by pal Jonny Cracknell, working alongside the Battle of Britain Museum. Jonny said: 'There are only eight Battle of Britain airmen left, and out of them, Archie is the most active.

There are only six pilots and two aircrew left out of the thousands of heroes who risked everything to protect Britain from the Nazis.

Archie joined the RAF in 1938, the year before the war, and completed pilot training in August, 1940.

After the Battle of Britain ended, on Ocotber 31, 1940, Archie's illustrious career took him on board HMS Victorious - where he was part of the team that hunted the Bismarck.

Archie then took part in the North African campaign, where he was shot down and lost his arm.

Pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain are known as 'The Few' after an iconic speech by then-PM Winston Churchill: 'Never was so much owed by so many to so few.'

The flight was organised ahead of the 78th anniversary of Battle of Britain Day, on September 15.

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Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan is an island in Thailand, in Phang Nga Bay northeast of Phuket. About 40 metres (130 ft) from the shores of Khao Phing Kan lies a 20-metre (66 ft) tall islet called Ko Tapu or Khao Tapu. The islands are limestone tower karsts and are a part of Ao Phang Nga National Park. Since 1974, when it was featured in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun, Khao Phing Kan has been popularly called James Bond Island.

Khao Phing Kan means "hills leaning against each other" in Thai, reflecting the connected nature of the islands, and Ko Tapu can be literally translated as "nail" or "spike" island, reflecting its shape.

Khao Phing Kan consists of two forest-covered islands with steep shores. They lie in the northwestern part of Phang Nga Bay, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the mainland, amid a group of a dozen of other islands.

Ko Ta Pu is a limestone rock about 20 metres (66 ft) tall with the diameter increasing from about 4 metres (13 ft) near the water level to about 8 metres (26 ft) at the top. It lies about 40 metres (130 ft) to the west from the northern part of Khao Phing Kan.

A local legend explains the formation of Ko Ta Pu as follows. Once upon a time, there lived a fisherman who used to bring home many fish every time he went to the sea. However, one day he could not catch any fish despite many attempts and only picked up a nail with his net. He kept throwing the nail back into the sea and catching it again. Furious, he took his sword and cut the nail in half with all his strength. Upon impact, one half of the nail jumped up and speared into the sea, forming Ko Ta Pu.

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Image courtesy amazingplacesonearth.com

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Winx: Australian horse takes Queen Elizabeth Stakes for 25th consecutive win
The champion mare made her signature late charge to take the A$4m (£2.18m) race.
Six-year-old Winx is now unbeaten in three years, matching the 25 successive wins of fellow Australian mare Black Caviar, who retired in 2013. Winx first ran in 2014 and has now won 29 of her 35 races, the winning streak starting on 16 May 2015.
"What can I say? She is just an exceptional athlete," said her jockey Hugh Bowman.

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Photo courtesy BBC

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2018 - Year of the Bird
2018 marks the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the most powerful and important bird-protection law ever passed. In honor of this milestone, nature lovers around the world are joining forces to celebrate the "Year of the Bird"” and commit to protecting birds today and for the next hundred years.

Stunning Video Shows a Man Flying With Birds
What started as a conservation effort in the 1990s now puts tourists into the air, soaring alongside geese and cranes.
When Christian Moullec saw that lesser white-fronted geese were struggling with their migration from Germany to Sweden in 1995, he took to the skies to help them. Today, weather permitting, he soars with birds on an almost daily basis.

A meteorologist by trade, the 58-year-old Frenchman didn't start out as a pilot. But inspired by an Austrian zoologist known as "the man who walked with geese," Moullec adapted a two-seater ultralight aircraft to fly alongside the vulnerable species to guide them on a safer migration route. Now, from March through October, he takes tourists up to fly with birds.  read more »

Goslar

Quedlinburg

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The small 1,000 year old city of Goslar is a UNESCO World Heritage site as is the vast Rammelsberg silver mine, the source of the city’s great wealth. Silver was discovered here in 968 and although it’s no longer an active mine going down into its bowels is an fascinating tourist experience.

The medieval city seems miraculously preserved since the days when it was the treasure chest of the Holy Roman Empire (1039 to 1339).

The highest mountain in the Harz region is the Brocken, famous in Germany for where Goethe’s Faust was taken by the devil after selling his soul. It’s an eerie place, shrouded by mist for most of the year. There are several steam trains pulling vintage carriages and its possible to stand on the open air platforms that connect carriages for the full coal smoke experience. Rising to 3,690 feet the train gradually passes through deeper snow, with fairy tale smothered fir trees, until the top.  read more »