I’ve been on the road three weeks now. It’s taken me awhile to wrap my head around the fact that I’m doing this. Now that I am here though, it’s time to make some choices about how to structure my travel. After having given it some thought, it boils down to three things:
1. Cost
2. Humanitarian efforts
3. UNESCO World Heritage List

Cost is self explanatory.
The Humanitarian efforts I will be writing about.
Today though, I want to tell you about UNESCO.

UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization. They have published a World Heritage List. “The World Heritage List includes 962 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 745 cultural, 188 natural and 29 mixed properties in 157 States Parties. As of September 2012, 190 States Parties have ratified the World Heritage Convention.”

Out of the 962 historic sites Cambodia, so far, has two:

Angkor
Temple of Preah Vihear

The United States has 21 designated sights that I’ve listed below. Click on World Heritage List see the whole list AND and Click Interactive Map to fool around with a cool map that looks like this…

YOU MUST CLICK HERE TO PLAY WITH IT

These are the 21 sites of the United States. Many people from other countries have asked me if I have seen them and I am happy to be able to say “yes” to most.

Mesa Verde National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Everglades National Park
Grand Canyon National Park
Independence Hall
Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek # * 34
Redwood National and State Parks
Mammoth Cave
Olympic National Park
Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
Statue of Liberty
Yosemite National Park
Chaco Culture
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville
Taos Pueblo
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Waterton Glacier International Peace Park
Papahānaumokuākea