If you’re not afraid of getting a little dirt under your fingernails, a visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas may yield a glittering gem that will put the Hope Diamond to shame. Crater of Diamonds State Park features a crater shaped by unique geologic conditions which produced a wealth of precious…
There are many bodies of water around the world that claim to have the same vibrant color as a sapphire or emerald. British Columbia’s Emerald Lake—which is situated near several receding glaciers—truly does glow like a precious jewel. A steady stream of fine deposits of glacier dust are largely responsible for Emerald Lake’s brilliant color….
Pfeiffer Beach isn’t exactly easy to find, but scanning Big Sur’s Cabrillo Highway for an obscure road that you will miss if you blink is certainly worthwhile. Accessing Pfeiffer Beach does require a bumpy journey down a curvy unpaved road that isn’t suited for larger vehicles, If you don’t get hopelessly lost or succumb to…
There is a great debate about which National Park is the most stunning. Some argue that Yellowstone’s bubbling mudpots and erupting geysers are one of the most impressive sights that a traveler could ever hope to see. Others say that Yosemite’s grand valleys and rock formations will stop visitors in their tracks and leave them…
In the early 1900s, a reclusive miner named William H. “Burro” Schmidt decided to hand dig a mining tunnel that would help him transport precious metals without putting his beloved burros Jack and Jenny in harm’s way. William Schmidt had moved to a remote stretch of the Mojave Desert from the east coast in order…
In the late 1800s, a young pharmacist named Charles Alderton who was based in Waco, Texas decided to craft a beverage that tasted like the sweet fruit flavors that Mr. Alderton smelled each day when he was hard at work compounding medication. After much trial and error, Charles Alderton created a sweet carbonated beverage that…
The name Forbidden Caverns brings to mind the lair of a fierce dragon, or the dwelling of a grumpy witch who will not hesitate to turn intruders into newts. Forbidden Caverns—located in Sevierville on the outskirts of the Great Smoky Mountains—is one of the state of Tennessee‘s most popular caves. Visitors are routinely captivated by…
New Jersey’s Tripod Rock may look like an edgy modern sculpture, or a ceremonial stone structure created to help observe the moon and the stars, but geologists firmly believe that Tripod Rock was created by the elements. Over time, a melting glacier sculpted a giant rock perched upon three smaller rocks. Tripod Rock is a…
