• Tagged adrenaline junkies, adrenaline rush, extreme sport, fly, paraglider, paragliding, paragliding photographs, people, transportation

Paragliding is a simple form of human flight and also an adventure sport that people all over the world compete or participate in for high-flying fun. Much like an eagle, paragliders can soar in flights which last several hours and cover many hundreds of miles. The longest paragliding duration is 11 hours and covered more than 310 miles! Since paragliders are light, some adventurers choose to hike way up in the mountains; meaning paragliders have flown off of nearly every major peak in the United States and Europe, including Mt. Everest. By taking advantage of thermal lifts, paraglider pilots can stay aloft for 3 or more hours, climb to elevations of 15,000 feet, and go cross-country. Woot! As Leonardo da Vinci said, “For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.” [42 Photos]

• Tagged abandoned, abandoned military, abandoned NSA listening post, abandoned spy station, architecture, Berlin, bizarre, Devil's Mountain, Germany, NSA, Teufelsberg, urban exploration

Once upon a time, or during the Cold War, the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) built a man-made mountain of rubble over the top of an underground Nazi technical college in Berlin. This massive hill was called Devil’s Mountain, or Teufelsberg in German. It was on Devil’s Mountain where the NSA built one of the largest and highly classified Listening Stations in the world to eavesdrop and spy, intercepting Soviet, East German and other countries’ communications. This NSA Listening Station of Radar Domes on “The Hill,” was rumored to be a part of the global ECHELON intelligence gathering network. Other rumors include tunnels beneath the spy complex and yet others suggesting that by 1954, 1,200 calls could be recorded simultaneously, filling up more than 50,000 reel tapes, so that hundreds of tape recorders were installed, the better to hear and record you with my dears. The station continued to operate until the fall of East Germany and the Berlin Wall. Yet after the station was closed, abandoned, and the equipment removed, the derelict buildings and radar domes still remained. This was too much temptation to urban explorers, especially since the elevation of Teufelsberg is 377 feet, and the former NSA Listening Station is over 262 feet high, offering the best views overlooking Berlin. Here’s a urban exploration look at Devil’s Mountain; the once highly classified, now highly vandalized NSA radar domes at Teufelsberg. On this trail of spies during this armchair tour of abandoned NSA listening station in Berlin, remember a little intelligence motto: In God we trust; all others we monitor. [44 photos]

• Tagged National Park, nature, New Seven Wonders of Nature, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan, Philippines, is another of the fabulous locations nominated as a finalists in the New Seven Wonders of Nature competitions. The PP Underground River features a limestone karst mountain landscape with an 8.2 km. navigable underground river and is the second longest underground river in the world. The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the most important biodiversity conservation areas of the Philippines. With its crystalline waters and spectacular cave formations, the Underground River is possibly Puerto Princesa’s most popular attraction. [31 Photos]

• Tagged Banksy, graffiti, street art

After watching Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” followed by Banksy’s new TV show “The Antics Roadshow” which focuses on the history of public pranks and various forms of anarchy, we wanted to pay tribute to Banksy. Much like the sand demon competition that is only meant to be temporary, too often Banksy’s street graffiti lives a very short time before it’s removed. Pity that, cause we think Banksy is talented, funny, and can make some very loud statements with his art with which we agree. Although we know that any talk of graffiti seems to ignite a war of opinions ranging from “it’s art” to “it’s vandalism,” the rebel spirit of raging against the machine appeals to some of us. The artist himself said, “Is graffiti art or vandalism? That word has a lot of negative connotations and it alienates people, so no, I don’t like to use the word ‘art’ at all.” Here are some of Banksy’s graffiti that speaks loudly to us, mixed in with quotes gathered from around the web that are purportedly pure Banksy. [45 Photos]

• Tagged adventure, Alaska, climbing, Denali, Denali National Park, Mount McKinley, mountain, mountaineering, National Park, National Park Service, nature, Ruth Gorge, snow, winter

Only about 400,000 brave souls come to the remote and rugged last frontier of Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska each year. Many of those come to see the wildlife or scenery like the highest mountain in North America, Mount McKinley. Together, the park and preserve together cover 9,492 mi² (24,585 km²). The “centerpiece” of Denali National Park and Preserve is Mount McKinley which is known as Denali, meaning “The High One.” It’s massive peak crowns the 600-mile-long Alaska Range. According to the CIA World Factbook, Denali’s summit elevation is 20,335 ft (6,198 meters). Whether you regard it as fearless or foolish, some of the most daring and adventurous souls come to Denali to climb and to taste the clean, cold air of adventure. Some move far beyond “normal” climbing to mountaineering. Not just anyone can take on the world-class mountaineering opportunities at Denali, but climbers come from all over the world to test their mountaineering and wilderness survival skills. Since many of us will never go mountaineering on Denali, here’s a look at some of the climbers, mountaineers, and rangers who are up to the high altitude challenges of Mt. McKinley and the vertical rock and ice walls that line the Ruth Gorge. While we love these pics, we got cold chills just staring at the photos. We cannot urge you strongly enough to read the NPS Mountaineering Booklet from which we snipped bits of wisdom to go with these awesome photos. [37 Photos]

• Tagged animals, environment, Galapagos Islands, Galapagos Marine Reserve, Galapagos National Park, nature, New Seven Wonders of Nature, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Galapagos Islands are made up of 18 main volcanic islands in an archipelago of Ecuador. These islands and the surrounding waters make up a national park and a biological marine reserve. The young naturalist Charles Darwin developed his theory of natural selection explaining evolution after researching the Galapagos Islands. These amazing islands are part of the ongoing series for finalists in the New 7 Wonders of the Nature competition. In 2007, UNESCO put the Galapagos Islands on the “List of World Heritage in Danger” due to the threats posed by invasive species, unbridled tourism and overfishing. Time and again, poachers have come into the Galapagos National Park and slaughtered sea lions. However in July 2010, the World Heritage Committee removed the Galapagos Islands from the “endangered” list because significant progress had been made by Ecuador in addressing threats. Yet in July 2011, Ecuadorean authorities seized 357 dead sharks from a boat that was fishing illegally in the protected waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Since the Galapagos Islands have 170,000 visitors each year, new regulations have been introduced to protect the unique wildlife. Starting February 1, 2012, these new tourism regulations will limit vessels visiting the same site to no more than once during a 14-day period which may impact on travelers planning to visit the beautiful islands. So what do you think? Should the Galapagos Islands become one of the new 7 Wonders of Nature? [36 Photos]

• Tagged Atlantis, International Space Station, ISS, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, photography, space, space shuttle, space station, transportation

It’s been only a short time since the space shuttle Atlantis completed her 135th space flight and concluded her final mission into the space frontier. It’s the end of an era for NASA, the finale of the 30-year Space Shuttle Program. That just seems wrong to us since NASA seems as American as apple pie. Although it’s not the end of NASA, we already miss NASA in its former capacity. We love to stare at images of the shuttle and adore pictures captured far above Earth. This time, all of these photographs are either of Atlantis or taken from Atlantis. Here’s some of our favorite photos in a nostalgic look back at the Space Shuttle Atlantis. We still love you, NASA! [42 Photos]

• Tagged environment, lunar bow, lunar rainbow, moonbow, nature, phenomena, rainbow, white rainbow

Rare rainbows in the dark of night, midnight moonbows, are an amazing natural phenomena. A rainbow in the moonlight is several hundred thousand times less bright than a rainbow during the day. A true lunar rainbow is lit by the moon itself. To the naked eye, they can appear white and are also called “white rainbows.” There are a few places in the world where “spray moonbows” are so-called “frequent phenomena” such as near waterfalls in Yosemite National Park, Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, and Victoria Falls in Australia. Here is a collection of these wonderful lunar rainbows and well as a few other natural phenomena that appear a bit like rainbows in the dark. [24 Photos]