HEAVENS

as we drove on , the evidence of land mismanagement accumulated. On one side of the road, we spotted an area fenced off to prevent grazing, where grass was making a comeback, while on the other, still-grazed side of the road, all we saw was sand. First we passed wooden fences, then a desiccated meadow filled with stumps—the trees probably had become the fence.

People, yurts, and farmhouses were few, and structures tended to disappear within the folds of Inner Mongolia’s rolling landscape. It was jarring to realize just how few people the region’s fragile environment could support and a relief to have escaped intensely populated and polluted Beijing. Breathing Inner Mongolia’s reassuring fresh air and seeing its emphatically blue sky felt like guilty pleasures.

It was late afternoon byThe Two-Way

3:21 pm

Wed February 12, 2014

Yankees' Jeter Says 2014 Season Will Be His Last

Derek Jeter says the upcoming baseball season will be his last. Jeter has played his entire career with the New York Yankees.

Tom SzczerbowskiGetty Images

"I want to start by saying thank you," New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter tells fans on his Facebook page, starting a note that should quell the wide speculation about Jeter's future in baseball. He will retire after this season, he said.

"I could not be more sure. I know it in my heart," Jeter wrote. "The 2014 season will be my last year playing professional baseball."

The idea of Jeter retiring from pro ball has been a subject of debate in recent years, driven in part by his age (39), a nagging ankle