In 1985, Mel Gibson went head to head with Tina Turner in the post-apocalyptic action film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” The movie was set in an otherworldly, Australian landscape, intriguingly barren and completely coated in a red layer of sandstone dust.
Stretching for 275 glistening square miles across the diverse landscape of New Mexico, White Sands National Park is a natural wonder, unlike any other in the United States. Its pristine sands seem to undulate in waves and patterns that change almost imperceptibly, but continuously.
Are you getting ready to take a trip to El Paso, but you’re unsure of what you should do while you’re there? El Paso tourism has been on the rise for years, and the latest data show the city receives nearly nine million visitors per year. From delicious Tex-Mex food and incredible desert vistas to famous historic sights and cultural attractions, there is plenty to experience in this fabulous city. Read on to learn about some of the top things that you shouldn’t miss when visiting El Paso, Texas.
On the eastern coast of China, a once-bustling fishing village blends seamlessly into the hillside, reclaimed by the ivy and moss of the lush, green landscape. The village, located on Shengshan Island, is part of the Shengsi Islands, a smattering of over 400 islands just south of the mouth of the Yangtze River.
Lake Baikal, known as the “Pearl of Siberia,” is the world’s oldest and deepest known lake. Reaching depths of nearly a mile, the ice layer on the surface reaches a thickness of over six feet during the winter months. Lake Baikal’s crystalline ice formations and its endless palette of reflected colors are more reminiscent of an artist’s canvas than a simple body of water.
Just on the fringe of the Arctic Circle, the Finnish city of Rovaniemi is an idyllic setting for the “home” of one of the world’s most universally beloved figures: Santa Claus himself. Surrounded by rolling hillsides and crisp, clean air, Rovaniemi seems to have leaped straight off the cover of a postcard.
In the late 1800s, the bustling town of Oatman, Arizona, was overflowing with miners who hoped to stake their claim on some of the millions of dollars in gold and silver from the surrounding mountains. The town was named after a Mormon teenager named Olive Oatman who, as the locals tell it, was captured by Apache warriors, sold to a Mojave tribe, and eventually freed after five years of captivity.
The Sandhills Curiosity Shop, opened by Harley Russell and his late wife Annabelle, is one of the few stores with countless items on display, but nothing is actually for sale. Instead, the shop is a showcase of decades’ worth of Route 66 memorabilia, proudly displayed in every square inch of the property.
Some people dream of tropical climates and hot, sandy beaches when they plan a vacation – the hotter, the better. For those who prefer a cooler destination, the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in Heilongjiang Province, China may be just the place.
For thousands of years, Yuncheng Salt Lake has served as an important source of salt for residents all over China. Located in the Shanxi Province in Northern China, the lake, nicknamed “China’s Dead Sea,” has been the focus of numerous wars, territorial disputes, and religious traditions for over 4,000 years. Ancient people even worshipped “salt gods” in nearby temples to pay homage to the lake.
