What's Better Than a Water Slide? A Natural Water Slide! - Sliding Rock

Forget Splash Zone, or whatever water park is in your vicinity, this summer. Get your swimsuit-covered butt over to Sliding Rock in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest to experience a natural water slide. Nothing beats slip-sliding down a 60-foot sloping boulder, pushed along by 11,000 gallons of water! Just as at Splash Zone, however, long lines and strict rules still apply. That means no going down head first, troublemaker.

Think Outside the Rink - Paterswoldse Meer Lake

I love ice skating but hate going in circles (in the rink, as well as metaphorically). Which is why I'm saving up to visit Paterswoldse Meer Lake in Groningen, Netherlands, where I'll be able to skate as far as my little legs can take me in a gorgeous, natural setting.

Now please excuse me while I work on perfecting my double axle for this trip.

Waterfall Fake Out - Hierve el Agua

"Oh, another waterfall?" you say. "What's the big deal?" The big deal, my friend, is that what we have here is a petrified waterfall - so not cascading waters at all, but a rock formation in Oaxaca, Mexico, called Hierve el Agua. It was created by fresh-water, calcium-loaded springs over thousands of years. At the top, however, is actual spring water that you can bathe in as you peer over the edge of the cliff. I know where I'm headed the next time I want to feel both relaxed and terrified all at once.

Green Mountains Are Boring - Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park

Mountains may be beautiful, but don't you find them a little monochromatic sometimes? All that green can get a little boring, amirite? If you're in the market for a more colorful mountain, journey to the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu, China, where the mountain ranges are decidedly more technicolor, having been formed by various layers of sandstone and minerals over 24 million years. Go, just go.

Pooling Together - Spotted Lake

Um, so what's going on here? Is it a natural mineral deposit? A toxic wasteland? A painting palette for a giant? If you chose the first option then you're right, if a little boring. Spotted Lake, located in the town of Osoyoos in British Columbia, is created every summer when the lake evaporates from the heat and leaves behind these distinct pools of minerals. Each one has a different mineral composition, which explains all the different, beautiful colors.

That's pretty cool ... but not as cool as the idea of a giant who likes to paint.

World's Most Relaxed Monkeys - Jigokudani Monkey Park

What's better than bathing in a Japanese hot spring? How about watching monkeys bathe in a Japanese hot spring! At Jigokudani Monkey Park in Yamanouchi, wild Japanese macaques hang out in the naturally heated water all winter long, working out those knots as visitors observe them relaxing.

Welcome to Ireland - The Dark Hedges

If I came upon this road flanked by crazily entwined beech trees that look almost sentient, my instinct would be to turn around and run as fast as I could in the other direction. But the intention of the Stuart Family, who planted the trees in the 18th century along Bregagh Road in Northern Ireland, was to create a welcoming pathway leading up to their mansion. To each his own, I guess?

Actually, we can all agree that this scene is beautiful. Creepy, but beautiful. And the name of this place, The Dark Hedges, doesn't really help. Maybe if they called this place The Friendly Trees That Definitely Won't Come Alive, I'd go visit.

Crimson is the New Green - Hitachi Seaside Park

Who says that botanical gardens need to be green? At Hitachi Seaside Park, in the Ibaraki prefecture of Japan, the dominant colors of the flowers and shrubs might be yellow, purple, blue, pink or crimson, depending on the season. The explosive colors are almost otherworldly, making ordinary old green gardens look passé.

I am, of course, jumping on the next available plane to Japan to see this natural wonder for myself and to frolic in all the color. Because I'm sure the urge to frolic (and to cavort and to gambol) will be very strong here.

It's Obviously Black Magic - Crooked Forest

For this Halloween edition of Trippy Places, I present ... the crooked forest of Gryfino, Poland. What the heck is going on with this forest of about 400 trees? Why were they growing at a 90-degree angle? Did someone do this to them or is it a natural phenomenon? The world may never know. [Cue eerie wailing noises.]

Actually, the world has a few guesses. Some think that farmers purposely shaped the trees as saplings so that they could create interesting pieces of wood for furniture building. Others think a severe snowstorm may have kept the saplings in a bent position until the snow and ice melted. Still others (as in I) think that it was obviously black magic. But no one knows for sure, because just after the time the trees started growing this way, all the surrounding Polish towns were devastated by World War II, so no witnesses or records were left. Which might be an even eerier story, actually. [Cue more wailing noises.]

No PhotoShop Necessary - Watkins Glen State Park

Sometimes a trippy place is right in my own backyard. Such was the case with Watkins Glen State Park in New York, which features a gorge trail that looks like a computer screensaver. Everywhere you turn you're hit with another unreal view.

Cliff faces carved from thousands of years of stream erosion? Sure, they're here. Waterfalls? There's 19 of them. Beautifully carved stone bridges? Got 'em, and I'll raise you 800 spellbinding stone steps. A place like this is so lush and stunning, you'll feel like a miniature person in a carefully kept terrarium. And who hasn't fantasized about being one of those?

Hiking to Hell - Erta Ale Volcano

Credit: Indrik Myneur

So you say you hiked a volcano on your vacation to Hawaii? Big deal. In the Afar region of Ethiopia there's a continuously spewing volcano called Erta Ale that's got lava lakes. Yes, we're talking LAKES filled with LAVA. And there are two of them. Mother Nature doesn't get more cray-cray than that.

At one time the volcano was only visible via helicopter, but after growing demand from those with a death wish (aka adventure tourists) for a closer look, it is now possible to hike Erta Ale and get within 4 miles of the lava lakes. Just don't expect an ice cream stand near this attraction.

Seeing Red - Red Seabeach

Beaches are meant to be tranquil, but the Red Beach of Panjin City, China, just makes me feel, I dunno ... angry. It's gotta be because this place isn't a beach at all - it's actually a marshland filled with seaweed. That's false advertising! Still, there's a certain beauty to this place that I can't deny. It may not be the most soothing landscape in the world, but it's definitely one of the most mesmerizing.

Take note, though: Go in the fall if you want to witness this colorful phenomenon; the seaweed only turns this vibrant red hue in the autumn months of September through November. The rest of the year, it's a boring old seaweed green. And if you spend a lot of money making your way to Panjin during the wrong season, you'll really have something to be mad about.

Room With a View - Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Credit: Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

Everyone's got the Northern Lights on their bucket list. But while I'd love to catch a glimpse of Aurora borealis, I'd hate to catch a cold while waiting for the light show. I know. I'm a wimp. But hey, who doesn't like being warm and toasty?

The good folks at Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in Lapland, Finland, totally get that. They've built an entire village of "glass igloos," or small, private hotel rooms with a glass ceiling so that you can gaze up at the icy skies while tucked into your bed, chugging hot cocoa. For you masochists, there are also some traditional igloos at the resort that are made of real ice. But book those at your own discomfort.

Beach in a Hole - Playa del Amor

Credit: Universal.org

Beaches are meant for relaxing, but if you've ever fought the early-morning lounge chair-claiming wars at a resort, you know that sometimes they're anything but. That's why for your next vacation you need to set up your umbrella at a secret beach, like the Playa del Amor at the Marieta Islands in Mexico.

Playa del Amor is a beach with clear, blue waters and pristine sand that just happens to be located in a huge hole in the ground. According to locals, the gaping hole is the result of government bombing tests from the early 1900s, and nature has since taken over and turned it into a tropical paradise, accessible only by a water tunnel. So there you have it - a beach that only you and I know about. Just don't go opening your big mouth and we'll keep it that way.

Buggy Nights - Waitomo Glow Worm Cave

Credit: paraskhnio.gr

I don't know about you, but I prefer my bugs cute and glow-in-the-dark. Not a fan of earthworms, for example, but glow worms I love. Which is why I'm remortgaging my house to pay for coach tickets on a 24-hour flight for the whole family to Waikato, New Zealand, where thousands of an indigenous species of glow worm hang out on the ceiling of Waitomo cave, doing their glowing thing.

Full disclosure, though: Glow worms aren't really worms at all, but a type of fly larvae. And it turns out that the luminescence comes from their excretory organs. You can see why the New Zealand tourism board went with "glow worms" instead. Still, the revolting truth won't be deterring me from viewing this natural wonder, and if you consider yourself an animal lover, you'd be wise to do the same.

When One Waterfall Isn't Enough - Plitvice Lakes

Credit: Travel49.com

The last time I saw a waterfall in person, I thought to myself, "This is beautiful. But why is there only one of them? I need to see more waterfalls. Preferably clustered close together." Okay, I didn't really think that, but now that I've seen images of Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, that's what I'll be thinking. Because what's more beautiful than one waterfall? Well, how about A DOZEN WATERFALLS.

The waterfalls flow into 16 gorgeous lakes found in Plitvice Lakes National Park. And if the sheer quantity of waterfalls isn't enough, get this: The water is known for changing colors, from azure to green to grey, depending on the organisms in the water and the angle of the sunlight. This place has totally ruined the way I look at things. Now instead of enjoying and being satisfied with watching the sunrise, I think, "Wouldn't it be better to watch A DOZEN suns rising?" 

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Beach - Glass Beach

Credit: FortBragg.com

So you know how when you see broken glass at the beach your first instinct is to jump back 10 feet and rant about what the world is coming to? Well, a different set of rules applies at Glass Beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California, where the "sand" is largely comprised of broken glass. Visitors come by the droves every year to stroll on the shiny and colorful beach, the broken shards now harmless, polished sea glass.

Once known as "The Dumps," the area was a dumping ground for household garbage in the early 1900s. Eventually the location was closed and efforts were made to clean up the mess. The ocean did its part as well, pounding waves on top of the garbage and refining the shards of broken glass into small, smooth pieces that now cover the entire beach. Collecting the pieces of glass are prohibited, but visitors do it anyway and quantities are diminishing. In fact, there's now a movement to dump new piles of broken glass onto the beach. I'm not sure environmentalists would approve, but it does look awful pretty.

Do It for the Killer Views - Huashan Trail

Credit: BlogDeliciously.com

Hiking can be fun, but it's not always very exciting. In fact, sometimes when I'm hiking it hits me that I'm actually just ... walking. On a dirt path. Whee!

If you're also experiencing hiking ennui, perhaps we should take a trip together to Huashan, one of the five sacred mountains of China, near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province, where the hiking is decidedly more exhilarating. Steep ladders and narrow, rickety pathways lead up the mountain, and hikers must walk single file on parts of the path, sometimes without the aid of any sort of railing. (There's a rusty chain that you can grab onto in a pinch though!) And sometimes the trail disappears altogether and all you're left with are footholds that have been carved into the mountain face. Have there been fatalities? You betcha. But where else can you catch such, um, killer views, more than 7,000 feet above solid ground?

Bath Time - Pamukkale Hot Springs

I love hot tubs. Show me a steaming pool of over-chlorinated water and I will happily dive in, then proceed to recklessly ignore the warnings about not soaking for too long. If I am ever rich, my fantasy is to build a house with interconnecting hot tubs flowing from room to room. (Note to self: Patent the idea of interconnecting hot tubs in my latest effort to get rich.)

Or maybe I'll just take multiple trips to what may be the coolest hot tubs in the world, the Pamukkale hot springs of Turkey. Part naturally occurring phenomenon, part Candy Land fantasy, these pools of geothermally heated water sit on terraces made of white travertine and resemble cotton bowls filled with water (pamukkale means "cotton castle" in Turkish). I didn't even know landscape like this existed on Earth - it almost looks like a scene out of Star Wars. I know. I'm picturing Ewoks splashing in the pools, too.

Dark Magic - Bioluminescent Bay

When you're a kid, just about everything can be attributed to magic: Santa Claus, lightning, toilets. But by the time you become an adult, there's not a lot of magic left in the world. Well, that time I found a parking meter with 56 minutes left on it was pretty magical, but that's about the only example I can think of. See, it's a sad state of affairs. Which is why the bioluminescent bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico, is such a treat. It is a truly magical experience, no matter how old you are. You WILL squeal once you kayak through the bay in the dark, or jump into the waters for a swim. The water lights up in a mystical blue-green color every time you touch it. And if you scoop it up for a closer look, you'll see tiny silver sparkles twinkling like fairy dust in your hands.

So what exactly is happening here? I told you, it's MAGIC! Well, magic plus the fact that the biobay is home to tiny, single-celled organisms that light up when agitated. I know. How cute is that? They're glowing because they're mad! And because there are 720,000 of these organisms PER GALLON of water in the Vieques biobay, a bluish glow emerges from the combined bursts of light. But sometimes science can be such a buzz-kill. I say just go. Maybe keep your mouth closed when you jump into the water, though.