When my son Brandon was a cadet at Virginia Military Academy, his professor teaching Modern Military History gave a lecture on the 1980s War in Afghanistan fought by Afghan Mujahaddin against the Soviet Red Army occupation of their country. One of the pictures he showed was the one above of “three typical Mujahaddin fighters.”

Brandon raised his hand. “Yes, Cadet Wheeler,” the professor called on him. “Actually, Professor,” Brandon said, “only the man in the center with the white beard is one. The man on the right is United States Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, while the man on the left is my father.”

The professor was stunned while the rest of the class stifled laughter. “Are you quite sure of that, Cadet Wheeler?” stammered the professor. “Oh, yes sir,” Brandon replied. “I recognize my own father. That photo is framed in my father’s study. It was taken in November 1988. The Afghan Commander’s name is Moli Shakur. I have known Congressman Rohrabacher all my life.”

The cadets all applauded in appreciation. To this day, this remains one of Brandon’s fondest college memories. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #145 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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The small black mountain in front of you is a volcano called Tavurvur on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. In 1994, Tavurvur erupted, covering New Britain’s beautiful capital Rabaul in ash. The entire area is volcanic, including the hot springs where I’m standing to take this picture. Tavurvur is very much alive and smoking today – starkly beautiful and dangerous.

History can be like this – beautiful and peaceful, then without warning it explodes in violent destruction. The lesson then is how to overcome, rebuild, and avert its repetition.

It’s an obvious lesson to learn right now, with the destruction of our economy by the Chinese Communists unleashing their virus, and the current attempted theft of the presidency and our entire electoral system by the Democrats. We must overcome these twin evils, and we must make extremely sure that we never allow such travesties to threaten our country ever again.

You can climb to the rocky rim of Tavurvur to stare down into its smoking caldera. There’s fabulous scuba-diving along the coral reefs offshore of Rabaul, and upon sunken Japanese battleships from World War II. It’s a worthwhile experience to come here as you learn the Lesson of Rabaul. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #97 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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In a remote valley between the northern escarpment of the Tibetan Plateau and the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia, you find these magic painted mountains of red sandstone created by Himalayan uplift and millions of years of erosion.  It’s at the sunrise light of early dawn that the colors are most apparent before they get sunwashed in the bright of day.  It takes quite a hike in pre-dawn darkness to get to the right viewpoints at the right time, but certainly worth it. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #261 photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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In a remote corner of the Pacific Ocean, off the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia lies one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries: the only ancient stone city built on a coral reef. No one knows who built it or how.

Micronesians say their ancestors called it Soun Nan-leng, The Reef of Heaven. Their name for it today is Nan Madol, the City of Ghosts.

On artificial islets connected by a series of canals are massive walls up to 25 feet high enclosing temples, tombs, ritual centers, and platforms for thatch homes – all made of giant columnar basalt stone. Eons ago, lava flows on Pohnpei cooled into vertical pillars. Over a thousand years ago, ancient Micronesians began hauling these basalt logs miles away to build this stone city. With an average weight of 5 tons, 10,000 pounds – and some up to 25 tons, 50,000 pounds each – how they did this remains unexplained. It lies deserted today, abandoned and lost for centuries.

Paddling a kayak through the canal maze of Nan Madol to clamber over these monumental stone complexes in solitary silence – for visitors are rarely here – leaves you in a state of unforgettable awe. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #6 Photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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This is the black sand beach the US Marines stormed on February 19, 1945, beginning the legendary Battle of Iwo Jima.  Overlooking the beach is Mount Suribachi, where four days later Joe Rosenthal took his iconic photo of six Marines planting the US flag on its summit.

You can come here once a year at a commemoration jointly held by the US and Japanese militaries.  Guests of honor are the few Marine veterans of the battle still alive. I attended on the 70^th Anniversary of the battle in 2015.  To be here on these sands and on the summit of Suribachi, where the memorial lauds them – “On Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue” – with these heroic men is an indescribable privilege. (Glimpses of Our Breathtaking World #23, photo ©Jack Wheeler)

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Most of you have noticed my adventure travel company of over 40 years, Wheeler Expeditions, is now Wheeler-Windsor Expeditions.

That’s because of my new partner, Edward Windsor – yes, as in the House of Windsor, the British Royal Family, cousin to King Charles, godson of Princess Diana, and the future Duke of Kent.

Everyone calls him Eddy as he’s such a pleasure to collaborate with and so much fun.  Quite an athlete too, with a passion for cold water swimming.  Here he is at the Seven Pearls of Shing lakes with me in Tajikistan –

Recently, as we’ve had so many requests for Scotland from TTPers, Rebel and I asked Eddy to design his “dream” Scotland trip – and did he ever!  He loves Scotland deeply, having lived in the Scottish Highlands and led several private expeditions there for friends.

This will be a truly extraordinary journey – indeed, just between us, we could call it “Royal Scotland,” as where we go, who we meet, and what we learn could only be done by someone of British Royalty, with personal friendships among the lairds of Scottish nobility. He's even arranging a special visit for us at Balmoral Castle, the favorite home of Queen Elizabeth who was like a grandmother to Eddy.

While Rebel and I are going, of course, this is Eddy’s design and he will be leading. He’s known in England as Eddy Downpatrick after his current title, Lord Downpatrick, and uses the English spelling:

WWX The Splendours of Scotland

When I read what Eddy has planned for us, it simply blew me away – and I think it will do the same to you.  Better hurry, though. Click on the link, be mesmerized by all what we see and do, then tell me, “I’m in, Jack!”, before someone else beats you to it, which they will if you don’t. And FYI, we’ll give priority to couples.  See you in Edinburgh!

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