• Tagged adrenaline rush, adventure, cave divers, cave diving, caverneers, dive, divers, diving, eels, extreme sport, fish, Florida, freshwater diving, nature, people, travel, Vortex Springs

Vortex Spring produces 28 million gallons of crystal clear freshwater, not saltwater, and holds at a steady year-round temperature of 68 degrees. It’s located right outside Ponce de Leon, Florida. Yet instead of the famed Fountain of Youth, the commercial dive location is famous for teaching people how to cave dive . . . and a bit infamous for all the cave divers who have died there. We had not heard of this unusual yet beautiful piece of paradise, but we hope you find it as fascinating and mysterious as we do. From professional cave divers to curious adrenaline junkies, adventurers travel far and wide to dive the Vortex. There are more than 1,600 feet of underwater passageways. At 310 feet down, there is a locked steel gate that bars the way into the cave so the inexperienced and uncertified will not risk the underwater grim reaper. Sometimes even qualified divers get lost; sometimes they dive into the Vortex but they don’t come out. [32 Photos, 5 Videos]

• Tagged Astronaut André Kuipers photos, Astronaut Don Pettit photos, ATV, Aurora, comet, dragon, ESA, International Space Station, ISS, lightning, lyrids, NASA, space, star trails, stargazing, stars

ISS astronauts continue to shoot spectacular images and send them back to Earth to share the stunning sights. [27 Photographs, 2 Videos]

• Tagged abandoned, abandoned Emge Food Processing Plant, abandoned Indiana, abandoned slaughterhouse, adrenaline rush, decay, demolition, Emge Foods, Fort Branch, urban exploration, urbex, urbex Emge

Emge Foods Plant in Fort Branch, Indiana, is listed as “Emge Foods Plant: Tourists’ most wanted hotspots on Google Maps …” on Wikimapia. I was looking for urban decay, but discovered a previously burned and partially demolished Emge Food Processing Plant where an adventure included a little climbing and even a bit of caving . . . urban exploration is after-all a type of ‘extreme sport‘ and adrenaline rush. On Memorial Day, when it seemed most unlikely anyone would pay double-time for a security guard, a trip for an urbex adventure sounded fun. Once I got there, come to find out, it’s in the midst of being demolished. Just the same, I’d made the trip so little things like ‘no trespassing,’ security cameras and danger zone weren’t going to stop me. I spent the next three hours inside the place, armed with my camera, probably the very last urban explorer to go inside. I’ve done a lot of adrenaline rush adventures and urban explorations, but nothing abandoned, burned, flooded, and a pile of wreckage being demolished. It caught fire yet again a few short days after this trip. It smelled terrible in spots, old burned asbestos, and then stagnate flooded areas down below. Fairly treacherous. Good times. Had fun and wanted to share the abandoned slaughterhouse tour. [72 Photos]

• Tagged Angels Landing, animals, arches, autumn, canyon, canyoning, environment, hiking, Left Fork, National Park, nature, Observation Point, rock climbing, The Subway, Toroweap, Utah, waterfalls, Zion National Park, ZNP

Zion National Park in Utah came in as the 7th most visited national park in the USA during 2011. You stand in the wide open surrounded by massive cliffs, or you can hike into the narrow slot canyon. The 229-square-mile park offers mild ‘leg-stretcher’ walks or seriously strenuous adventures. The majestic natural beauty calls out to nature lovers and adventurers alike for rock climbing, canyoning, rappelling, backpacking and hiking. Where else can you see both a place for Angels and a subway created by nature? [45 Photos]

• Tagged archaeological, China, dive, diving, lake, Lion City, lost city, photography, Qiandao Lake, Shi Cheng, Thousand Island Lake, underwater

Once upon a time, an ancient city in China was named Lion City because Five Lion Mountain loomed large behind it. The city, also known as Shi Cheng, has been buried beneath the water for 53 years. Like the lost Incan City of Machu Picchu was ‘rediscovered,’ so was this lost underwater city that had been founded about 1,300 years ago. Lion City is now located about 85 – 131 feet (26-40 meters) beneath the gorgeous Thousand Island Lake (Qiandao Lake). This valley was submerged when a dam was constructed and a lake was needed. The lake and thousands of islands were man-made. Shi Cheng ‘defied’ the Chinese norm since 5 gates and 5 towers were built into the city instead of 4. Lion City is about the size of 62 football fields. International archaeologists and a film crew recorded the amazing perservation of the lost ‘ruins.’ [23 Photos, 2 Videos]