Adventure Around Every Corner

Ayers Rock, or Uluru Rock, is part of the Uluru National Park in southwestern Northern Territory, central Australia.  It is said to have emerged after a ferocious battle between two opposing Aboriginal tribes as a sign of the grief of the Earth. Aboriginal Anangu people believed the region was formed by ancestral spirits. There are those that believe the rock lies at the meeting point of several sacred paths that have been blessed by divine beings. There are also aboriginal tribes that believe Ayers Rock is a mythical animal that lifts its head once a year to take account of its surroundings.

I’d say this is among the most popular: the Bermuda Triangle. (pictured above) No one is sure, but apparently it covers 500,000 square miles of the Atlantic Ocean between Miami, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. As news stories will tell you, in this invisible triangle, more than fifty ships and twenty planes have vanished, never to be found or seen again. Those who have survived have reported seeing tunnel clouds and feeling super intense electrical forces. No one has purposely agreed to check it out for themselves, but if you are in the area be careful and be aware of your surroundings. No explanation has yet been found.

The Crooked Forest in Poland can be a big surprise if anyone stumbles upon it by mistake. Located in Eastern Europe, it is a magnet for visitors to see the more than 400 oddly shaped trees bending at a 90-degree angle at the base. These trees twist over themselves in a fishing-hook-like way to attempt to grow towards the sky. No one knows why these trees are the way they are, so it adds to the mystique of this place.

Death Valley is a desert basin in Inyo and San Bernardino Counties in California, United States. A hot and mysterious place, it is interesting to note for fans of the Addams Family that Gomez and Morticia spent their honeymoon here. It is home to an unusual phenomenon called Sailing Stones, where stones sail by themselves across the desert landscape propelled by some unseen force. Now that does not refer to pebbles but huge stones weighing more than 100 pounds. If they pass you by, I’d say just salute one as it goes sailing past. No one has actually seen them move, but once a stone relocates, you can see the trail marks left behind. Perhaps in this desert if you stood on a surfboard, you could go sailing across the sand.

Imagine how you would feel seeing the Door to Hell. This is what this unusual place in Turkmenistan is called. It is also referred to as the Darvaza Gas Crater, and perhaps it is only gas fires, but would anyone risk hanging around long enough to see the Devil step out? This glowing is visible from afar. A more reasonable explanation of this phenomenon is that it might have originated from a Soviet natural-gas drilling expedition that went terribly wrong and was just abandoned. For the curious and adventurous, there is the Gas Crater Tour, which adventurer George Kourounis with breathing apparatus took, descending into the 100-foot pit and emerging to tell about it.

Eternal Falls Flame in the US is located in the Shale Creek Preserve. This eternally burning flame is situated in a grotto right at the base of the waterfall. Supposedly the flame is fueled by natural gas that is emitted from the waterfall. It might have been lit to express eternal devotion to someone or something unknown. Whatever the reason, the flame never goes out, and if you visit and the flame has died, just flick your Bic.

Fosse Dion is an ancient well with pure gushing water that changes color in the beautiful Burgundy area of France. The mystery here is that no one knows where the water comes from. The well is surrounded by the towering Renaissance chateaux with lovely vineyards. Despite not knowing where the water gushes from, around 300 liters of water gush from it every second. Adding to the allure of Fosse Dion is that as the water swirls around the stone rim, it changes from brown to blue to turquoise depending on the position of the sun.

If you are a true ghost hunter or have good relations with the world beyond, you must visit the Highgate Cemetery in London, England. This is one spooky place where even ghost watchers have seen flickering lights and odd apparitions among the lichen-covered Gothic tombstones. Walking among the endless rows of graves, seeing the thick vines and gargoyles, you can imagine hushed whispers and footsteps that follow. The cemetery is also associated with vampire stories. Be brave; take a walk among the dead. You might befriend a lonely spirit.

Hoia-Baciu Forest in Romania has been called “The Bermuda Triangle of Transylvania,” and people believe it could be the portal to another dimension. People who have walked through this forest have reported feeling nausea, breaking out in rashes, and unexplained anxiety. With legends and ghost stories associated with this spooky forest, it is a wonder if anyone would even want to wander there. One legend is about a girl who vanished from the forest and came out of it five years later, having no memory of where she had been. Now it might make people think of alien abduction with UFOs picking people up, but perhaps it has something to do with the legend of Dracula. After all, if anyone survives the well-known bloodsucker, he hypnotizes them into not remembering him or where they have been.