Consider this your introduction to what may just be the most unique pair of islands in the entire world: the Diomedes. Found in the middle of the Bering Strait, which separates the easternmost portion of Russia from Alaska, this duo of rocky, mesa-like islands is unlike any other for two big reasons.
Read MoreAs one of the largest sources of freshwater in the world — first in total area and second in volume only to Russia’s Lake Baikal — it’s difficult to imagine anyone making the argument that the Great Lakes aren’t named appropriately. But what if we were to compare the individual lakes with one another? Which of the Great Lakes is the greatest? The least-great? Now that’s a debate worth having.
Read MoreYou may think you know the globe pretty well, but it’s highly likely there’s an island or two — maybe even 15 — that you managed to gloss over the last time you were checking out a world map. With 71 percent of the earth’s surface covered in water, who could blame you, though? There’s bound to be far-flung islands that are impossibly difficult to get to that you’ve never heard of — it’s just a fact.
Read MoreWhen winter comes around, there’s one question that never fails to pop into my head: why do people enjoy traveling (or living, for that matter) in places where the cold regularly punishes their faces? Plenty of people who live in the Midwest, as I do, deal with the snow and the cold for maybe four to five months out of the year, but why, oh why, would anyone choose to live in a state of perpetual winter?
Read MoreThe calendar has flipped to 2019, and only nine days into the new year the good folks over at The New York Times have gifted us with their annual list of 52 destinations that travelers the world over might like to consider hitting up over the next 12 months. With more than 15 locations across Europe, a dozen or so in North America, and a smattering of other choices from Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, and the Middle East, the “52 Places to Go in 2019” list contains options for just about everyone.
Read MoreI could not have imagined, even a week ago, that I would be sitting here, in a Starbucks across the street from Chicago Union Station, finishing up the final post of the year as I wait to board a train headed for St. Louis this evening. But that’s how life goes, things can change in an instant.
Read MoreWith thousands of cities and communities the world over, there's bound to be some places that bear the same name — people are only so original, after all. For example, in the United States alone, there are 31 cities named Franklin, 29 each named Clinton and Washington, and 28 named Arlington.
Read MoreVisiting destinations whose outdoor temperatures regularly reach a level of “Okay, this hurts my face,” has, oddly enough, always come with a certain level of fascination for me. What’s even more fascinating than the prospect of visiting such a place is the fact that people actually live in places where the mercury has a difficult time getting past 40 degrees Fahrenheit or so, even in the warmer months of the year.
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