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Clear your mind in these open spaces made for exploring
Get out there
Fifty percent of the world's population lives on just 1% of the Earth's surface. That leaves plenty of wide-open, uncrowded spaces to explore. Taking a break from the hustle and bustle can help you find a new perspective or ease your troubled mind. Here are a few places where you can get away from it all.
Photo courtesy of iStock / GlowingEarth
Traveling by van in Mongolia
For eleven days, I traveled by van in Mongolia. Two hours outside of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, there were no more roads, street lamps or electricity poles.
This area in the Gobi is called the Flaming Cliffs, Bayanzag, Bain-Dzak or in Mongolian, Улаан Эрэг, and it's where many dinosaur fossils have been found. An America paleontologist, Roy Chapman Andrews, discovered dinosaur eggs here in the 1920s.
If you're interested in wildlife, perhaps travel to the northern reaches of the planet where you'll be outnumbered by animals. At Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge near Hudson Bay, I walked with polar bears with Churchill Wild. It was one of the best bucket list adventures I've ever experienced.
If the Arctic isn't your scene, perhaps traveling by rail through the Canadian Rockies will be more your speed. You'll feel like you could stare out the giant train windows all day.
In addition to spectacular views, we saw the historic Spiral Tunnels and Craigellachie, where in 1885, the "last spike" united the East and West of Canadian railway track.
For wide-open spaces in warmer climes, a trip to Tanzania and Kenya might be in order. I saw these zebras on the first day of my African safari in Tarangire National Park with Abercrombie and Kent.
It was a treat to be allowed out of the safari vehicle to walk around high above the hippos. As the light faded, we went back to our mobile tent camp, Sanctuary Kichakani, and heard lions roaring around us during the night.
After visiting the children at Enkereri Primary School, we passed by this family of giraffes. The Chief of the village near Sanctuary Olonana, Richard, invited me to teach his warriors in the Maasai Mara how to hula hoop.
We spent hours watching elephants in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. Some of them were practicing fighting, some were eating and all were moving along towards the water.
Lisa Ellen Niver is an award-winning travel expert and science teacher who has explored 102 countries and six continents. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she worked on cruise ships for seven years and backpacked for three years in Asia. You can find her talking travel at KTLA TV and in her We Said Go Travel videos with over 1.7 million views on her YouTube channel. She has won 5 awards from the SoCal and NAEJ Journalism Awards. Niver has written for WIRED, AARP, AAA explorer, American Airways, Ms. Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Teen Vogue, United Airlines and Wharton Magazine.