• Tagged abandoned, Africa, architecture, desert, diamonds, environment, ghost town, ghosts, haunted, images, Kolmanskop, nature, photos, pics, pictures, sand

There is a slowly sinking city in the desert of southern Namibia, Africa, a ghost town called Kolmanskop. In the 1900s, diamonds were discovered just sitting upon the sand, waiting to be found, so people from all over the world with diamond fever flocked from the port of Lüderitz to the once desolated lonely desert. Kolmanskop became a mining town, but after the First World War when diamonds sales dropped, the sand-clearing squad failed to show up. That was the beginning of the end; Kolmanskop turned into a ghost town being buried by sand and trapped in time. The TV show Destination Truth visited this ghost town since it is highly rumored to be haunted. They were not disappointed, having captured EVPs of ghosts whispering, seeing shadows, hearing footsteps, and having the fluff scared of out them in Kolmanskop. [21 pictures]

• Tagged bizarre, Black Rock Desert, environment, Fly Geyser, geothermal, geyser, geysers, images, nature, Nevada, phenomena, photos, pics, pictures, places, travel

Mother Nature didn’t create this bizarre geothermal wonder located in the Nevada desert, but neither did aliens. The vividly multicolored Fly Geyser phenomena is the result of an accident by man. Since the 1960s, the volcano-shaped Fly Geyser has continuously spewed hot water, as if morphing the land and environment into its own ecosystem and desert habitat.

• Tagged animals, Berlin, Germany, Knut, photos, pics, pictures, places, polar bear, polar bears, Thomas Doerflein, travel, zoo

When the polar bear cub Knut was rejected by his mother, Berlin zoo keeper Thomas Doerflein took over his care. Knut was an adorable white and fluffy baby which soon skyrocketed Knut to fame. Knut became a superstar polar bear and had a very special relationship with Doerflein. Yet recently Knut was found dead at the Berlin Zoo. He was only a little over 4 years old. Here is a 30 picture tribute in memory to a one-of-a-kind superstar polar bear. R.I.P. Knut.

• Tagged Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, images, nature, New Seven Wonders of Nature, photos, pics, pictures

No matter how many times you gaze at the gorgeous Grand Canyon in Arizona, it will look slightly different depending upon the play of sunlight and shadows on the mutlicolored rock walls. Being 277 miles long, about a mile deep, and up to 18 miles wide, there are almost limitless places to take photos. The Colorado River is believed to have carved out the steep canyon over 17 million years ago. As one of the world’s most spectacular natural attractions, Grand Canyon National Park has more than 5 million visitors per year. It’s a finalist in the New 7 wonders of nature competition. The Grand Canyon is an outdoor adventurers delight and we highly recommend visiting it at least once during your life. Believe it or not, seeing the the power and grandeur of nature at the Grand Canyon can change your life. We love the Grand Canyon and we love these pics!

• Tagged lightning, nature, photos, pics, pictures, storms, thunderstorms, weather

Whammo! Zap! Strike! Yikes! Live Dangerously — Ride the Lightning! Spring is nearly here in the U.S. which means rain, but sometimes the rain doesn’t sweep in nice and gentle. Sometimes storms are wicked dangerous. One thing most all of us have in common worldwide is thunderstorms and the lightning that comes with those storms. The National Weather Service reports more than 3,000 deaths a year from lightning strikes, with 4-5 times many more people injured by lightning. Yet we are spellbound, staring at the awesome scary power of lightning. Some photographers are great at capturing that split second of nature’s zapping fury. Here are 45 wicked pics of lightning. We love these pics!

• Tagged Bled Castle, Bled Island, Bled Lake, castle, Castle Bled, fairytale, lake, nature, photos, pics, pictures, Slovenia

In Slovenia, there is a place that seems like something out of a fairytale. That place is beautiful Bled Island which is in the middle of an emerald green mountain lake, Bled Lake, with spectacular Castle Bled perched high on a cliff and overlooking this fairytale kingdom. We love these pics! [20 Pictures]

• Tagged architecture, history, holiday, Ireland, Irish, nature, photos, pics, pictures, quotes

Before St. Patrick’s Day last year, the Library of Congress asked for, and posted, more than 100 color photochroms of Ireland taken between 1890 – 1900. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day this year, here’s a look at some of those same spots in Ireland as captured in pictures over a hundred years ago, then again today. This post is sprinkled with a generous dose of Irish sayings and blessings to bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part. Even if you’re not Irish, blessings never hurt anyone. [17 Pictures]

• Tagged ALMA, ESO, La Silla, Milky Way, nature, Paranal, photos, pics, pictures, space, stargazing, stars, VLT

When you were a kid, did you ever wish upon a star? Stargazing always seems to help put problems into perspective. Americans usually know more about and love NASA, but the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is cool too. The ESO operates the Paranal Observatory, located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile at an altitude of 8,645 feet. The largest telescope on Paranal is called the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and it shoots a super cool laser into outer space. These incredible pictures were all taken at the ESO, featuring gazillions of stars in the majestic Milky Way, the VLT, Cerro Armazones, La Silla Observatory, or ALMA antennas. We love these pics! [35 Photos]

• Tagged archaeological, Easter Island, environment, Moai, nature, photos, pics, pictures, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Easter Island, (Rapa Nui) Chile, is an extremely remote island and one of the world’s most famous yet least visited archaeological sites. It has perhaps more mystery and speculation in proportion to its size than any other prehistoric place on Earth — since about half of the 887 massive stone monuments remain unfinished in its main quarry. People have wondered why so many statues were left unfinished, when was the last one carved, and how were they transported in as early as 500 AD? The Rano Raraku quarry at Easter Island is where the incredible ancient relics called moai were cut out of volcanic rock and sculpted prior to transport to various sites on the island. At least 288 of the monumentally massive moai once stood upon massive stone platforms called ahu. The moai dotted Easter Island, the paradise turned wasteland which serves as a cautionary tale and poster child for ecological disaster. [25 Photos]

• Tagged architecture, China, Chinese gardens, garden, nature, photos, pics, pictures, places

China has population of around 1,331,460,000 people, but for such a crowded place, it offers many gorgeous and peaceful gardens. There is nothing left to chance in the design of Chinese gardens. They are meant to reflect a painting or a poem, to be a place of spiritual utopia to connect with nature and a person’s inner heart. Chinese gardens are socially and culturally important. They serve multiple purposes as an extension of the house, used for retreat, for festivity, for study of poetry, and for romance. Looking at the pictures, we feel peaceful. So relax and take a virtual tour through a few stunning and superbly serene Chinese gardens. We love these pics! [21 pictures]

• Tagged architecture, haunted, Jordan, Petra, photos, pics, places, rock-cut architecture, ruins, travel, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Petra, “a rose-red city half as old as time,” is one of the world’s most famous rock-cut architectural sites. It was half-built, half-carved into the rocks and is surrounded by mountains dotted with passages and gorges. This ancient fortress is now in ruins and reportedly haunted with centuries worth of ghosts. Petra, Jordan, is situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, and inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1985, UNESCO designated Petra as a World Heritage Site. Petra is definitely on our bucketlist. We love these pics! [22 Photos]