The Sand Dunes of Rub al Khali





Aerial image of the sand dunes of Rub’ al Khali.





There is however, evidence of human activity at Rub’ al Khali dating from 3,000 to 2,000 years ago, including chipped flint tools, but no actual human remains have been found. Several fossil remains of animals such as hippopotamus, water buffalo, and long-horned cattle also indicates the presence of water once in the distant past.




Photo credit: NASA

















Pittsburgh, PA.,: A very Hilly City

Being from Winnipeg, one of the flattest cities in the world, hilly cities have always intrigued me. I always thought San Francisco was the U.S. city with the most hills, but I discovered that Pittsburgh is even hillier than the California city.



Pittsburgh is undoubtedly the cockeyedest city in the United States. Physically, it is absolutely irrational. It must have been laid out by a mountain goat… I’ve flown over it, and driven all around it, and studied maps of it, and I hardly know one end of Pittsburgh from the other… There’s just one balm — people who live here can’t find their way around, either.








The steps

Many of the city’s neighborhoods are steeply sloped with two-lane roads. More than a quarter of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods make reference to “hills,” “heights,” or other similar indicators by name.

The city has some 712 sets of outdoor pedestrian stairs with 44,645 treads and 24,090 vertical feet including hundreds of paper streets composed entirely of stairs and many other steep streets with stairs for sidewalks. Many provide vistas of the Pittsburgh area while attracting hikers and fitness walkers.


Population (2013)
 • City 305,841
 • Rank US: 62nd
 • Density 5,540/sq mi (2,140/km2)
 • Urban 1,733,853 (US: 27th)
 • Metro 2,360,867 (US: 22nd)
 • CSA 2,659,937 (US: 20th)
 • GMP $131.3 billion (23rd)


















Route 66

Route 66 motorbike riders.





American pop-culture artists publicized US 66 and the experience, through song and television. Bobby Troup wrote “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”, and the highway lent its name to a TV series in the 1960s.

The end of the road at the Santa Monica pier




The World’s Southernmost City



world's southermost cities


Ushuaia has a sizable population of 71,000 and the infrastructure to call itself a city. There is a settlement called Puerto Williams further south, but it has a population of only 2,800. Puerto Williams is the capital of the Chilean Antarctic Province, and it too claims the title of world’s southernmost city. But because of the town’s small size and population, that claim is not taken too seriously.

southermost city Ushuaia



southermost city Punta Arenas




southermost city Puerto Toro


National Geographic Magic

Sheep in Serbia transported to the market in the backseat.

Skydiving over the Pyramids.



Monument Valley Utah

Tarpon feeding


At first glance it looks like San Francisco, but it really is Vancouver, British Columbia.

Coming in to land in Ecuador

Newborn calf in Nebraska

Wave Rock Australia

Crni Kal Viaduct Slovenia

Appears to be a glacier. It’s actually sand dunes in China.

Buddha cave in Myanmar

Bruarfoss Falls Iceland

Tokyo apartments

Wyoming badlands

Covering of snow in the Grand Canyon

Is Canadian province of Saskatchewan named after Sasquatches?

Saskatchewan not named after sasquatches, residents insist


bigfoot1 (2)



Saskatchewanians are eager to correct the record after an NBA announcer insisted this winter that their province is named for its abundance of sasquatches.

The Fox Sports announcer made the comment while pointing out that Utah Jazz forward Trey Lyles is the first person from the province to play in the NBA.

“That region’s known for being home to a lot of sasquatches,” the announcer said, adding, “that’s what it’s named after.”

For the record, Saskatchewan comes from a Cree word for “swift flowing river.”

And as Manitoba sasquatch expert Chris Rutkowski points out, there are far fewer bigfoot sightings in the Land of the Living Skies than other regions like the Pacific Northwest.

Washington has had the most of any state or province, with 617, according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Association. British Columbia has had the most in Canada, 130. Saskatchewan has had a mere seven.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall laughed when he heard the news. “We might have more Elvis sightings,” he said.

Regina Mayor Michael Fougere also found it amusing, but saw an upside: “Now we’re going have a bunch of people that are going to come here wanting to see the sasquatch.”

Saskatchewan Tourism’s Aviva Kohen seemed more annoyed by the other things the Fox Sports announcer rattled off about her province, including that it’s cold and flat.

“That’s a myth I run into quite a bit in marketing and a myth I try to dispel.”


Sasquatch sightings in Canada



State # of
Alaska 22 1-2014 1-2013
Alabama 98 3-2016 7-2016
Arkansas 104 5-2019 11-2018
Arizona 84 10-2017 6-2016
California 441 4-2019 11-2018
Colorado 124 10-2018 8-2018
Connecticut 17 6-2019 11-2018
Delaware 5 9-2013 11-2012
Florida 325 4-2019 11-2018
Georgia 132 8-2017 1-2017
Iowa 76 4-2018 6-2018
Idaho 87 12-2018 11-2018
Illinois 298 4-2018 9-2017
Indiana 78 11-2015 8-2015
Kansas 46 3-2019 8-2017
Kentucky 113 1-2019 10-2018
Louisiana 43 8-2017 1-2017
Massachusetts 35 3-2018 10-2017
Maryland 35 11-2015 5-2014
Maine 17 12-2017 2-2017
Michigan 219 5-2019 6-2018
Minnesota 73 8-2018 7-2018
Missouri 148 6-2019 4-2018
Mississippi 23 4-2013 2-2013
State # of
Montana 47 1-2019 5-2016
North Carolina 97 4-2019 10-2015
North Dakota 6 12-2010 8-2005
Nebraska 15 1-2019 5-2018
New Hampshire 16 10-2017 7-2016
New Jersey 70 4-2018 6-2053
New Mexico 42 3-2014 10-2013
Nevada 9 4-2009 2-2005
New York 109 5-2019 8-2018
Ohio 290 2-2019 4-2018
Oklahoma 99 5-2019 10-2018
Oregon 250 12-2018 6-2018
Pennsylvania 118 6-2019 3-2018
Rhode Island 5 12-2011 11-2011
South Carolina 52 1-2014 2-2012
South Dakota 17 8-2011 6-2008
Tennessee 100 5-2019 8-2018
Texas 238 5-2019 2-2018
Utah 70 7-2016 7-2009
Virginia 78 4-2019 4-2019
Vermont 9 10-2017 12-2016
Washington 666 6-2019 12-2018
Wisconsin 99 1-2019 7-2018
West Virginia 102 2-2019 7-2017
Wyoming 28 5-2010 3-2010

Sea Stack formations along the Pacific coast

A strange geological formation occurs along the Pacific coast of the northwest United States.  They are found especially along the Washington and Oregon coasts.  Islands that pop out of the ocean and are particularly tall.  They make for picturesque scenery.

Sea stacks are found around the world.  A different type of stack is the Flower Pot Rocks along the coast of the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick.

A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, isolated by erosion.  Stacks are formed through processes of coastal geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and water are the only factors involved in the formation of a stack.  They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by hydraulic action, which is the force of the sea or water crashing against the rock. The force of the water weakens cracks in the headland, causing them to later collapse, forming free-standing stacks and even a small island.












Flower Pot Rocks in New Brunswick