The John Muir tree is in serious trouble. The giant sequoia towers 80 feet over the landscape, but its vibe is scrawny — a scarred trunk beneath a skimpy top half, where sparse branches wear scraggly foliage. Gone is the bushy canopy seen in its historic photos. Needles are entirely brown, not a good look for an evergreen’s mantle.

Escape to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore for a journey through hardwood forests and great views of Lake Superior.

When Karla Colom zips down the Paseo del Morro National Historical Trail at sunset in a golf cart loaded with food, water and cleaning supplies, the cats of Old San Juan come out of hiding. Colony by colony, they materialize from nooks in the rocks along the ocean and hiding places in the greenery at the foot of ancient walls built to protect the Puerto Rican city from attack by sea.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of American independence in 1976, the people of Great Britain gave the people of the United States a gigantic bronze and tin bell presented by Queen Elizabeth II in Philadelphia and engraved with the words “Let freedom ring.”