Merit: A Night at Deadvlei. The night before returning to Windhoek, we spent several hours at Deadveli. The moon was bright enough to illuminate the sand dunes in the distance, but the skies were still dark enough to clearly see the milky way and magellanic clouds. Deadveli means “dead marsh. The camelthorn trees are believed to be about 900 years old, but have not decomposed because the environment is so dry. (Photo and caption by Beth McCarley/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

Iceland horses play on a meadow of a stud farm in Obernhain near Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises Thursday, July 23, 2020. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

A zoo curator using a kayak tries to catch a pelican in order to move him into its winter enclosure at the zoo in Liberec, Czech Republic, Tuesday, November 16, 2021. (Photo by Petr David Josek/AP Photo)

A person watches the sunrise from the Edge observation deck at Hudson Yards on the first day of spring on March 20, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)

A model wears a creation for Vivienne Westwood's Spring-Summer 2016 ready-to-wear fashion collection, presented during the Paris Fashion Week in Paris, Saturday October 3, 2015. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)

Gerald Herbert is a staff photographer for the AP based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Before that he was a staff photographer for the Washington Times, the New York Daily News and a freelancer for the AP in New Orleans, Boston and New York. Photo: A worker grooms away tracks after an alligator crossed through a sand trap on the 14th hole during the first round of the PGA Tour Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Thursday, April 25, 2013. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

A devotee is smeared with a vermillion powder while celebrating the “Sindoor Jatra” vermillion powder festival at Thimi, in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 14, 2016. Devotees mark the festival by playing traditional drums, singing, dancing and carrying chariot of various deities around town while throwing vermillion powder to welcome the advent of spring and the New Year. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A Hindu devotee wearing a t-shirt printed with a portrait of Lord Shiva takes a holy dip while participating in the “Bol Bom” pilgrimage in Kathmandu August 10, 2015. The faithful, chanting the name of Lord Shiva, run about 15 km (9 miles) barefooted toward Pashupatinath temple seeking good health, wealth and happiness. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)