Brad Snead walks past melting ice on the Cook Inlet beach, Saturday, March 26, 2011, in Kenai, Alaska, while looking for agates. (AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, M. Scott Moon)
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)
Nepalese women and young girls struggle to drink homemade alcohol poured through a pipe sticking out of the mouth of Swet Bhairab, a god of Power, during the Indra Jatra festival at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, 17 September 2016. Hundreds of women and young girls gathered to drink alcohol as a blessing from idol of Swet Bhairab which they believes will keep them free from all diseases. The Indra Jatra festival is celebrated to honor Indra, the king of gods and god of rains. The festival also marks the end of the monsoon. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)
NHRA top fuel driver Kyle Wurtzel explodes an engine on fire during qualifying for the E3 Spark Plugs Nationals at Lucas Oil Raceway. in Clermont, Indiana on July 11, 2020. (Photo by Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)
An extreme Vespa enthusiast rides his bike after attending weekend festival for extreme Vespas in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, July 22, 2018. Every year, Indonesians from teens and granddads, to mechanics and students, gather in eastern Java to celebrate their love of the iconic Italian Vespa scooter. (Photo by Darren Whiteside/Reuters)
Members of the LSU Golden Girls dance team sit spaced apart wearing masks, under COVID-19 restrictions, requiring social distancing and masks, before an NCAA college football game between the LSU and the Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, September 26, 2020. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)
Hamish the polar bear tries out his new enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park at Branton, Doncaster on November 6, 2020, after moving from the Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland. Hamish was the first polar bear to be born in the UK. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Wire Press Association)
People view an installation over a lake that forms part of the Enchanted Forest Winter Illuminations at Stockeld Park in Wetherby, North Yorkshire on Monday, November 14, 2022. Light effects, a captivating soundscape, and animated installations come together in the ancient woodland once a year over the Christmas period. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)