It is silent out there, except for the rhythmic patter of husky paws on snow and the gentle creaking of the sled. Occasionally the dogs heads pivot in unison to left or right. You may be able to spot a line of tiny wells in the powder, indicating that a wolf has walked this way before you. You are traveling through one of the last remaining great wildernesses in the world. Photo by: Mike Barish

It is a territory larger than the state of California, yet one that only 31,000 humans call home. There are, however, 70,000 moose for company, along with considerable numbers of grizzly and black bears, caribou, wolverines and Dall sheep. Photo by: Bill and Esther

You leave the forest trail and mush along the surface of a river. Evening is falling and a full moon rises high in the sky, casting a silvery light across this remote bitterly beautiful land. Later, perhaps, the northern lights will dance across the starry night sky for you. Visitors at Yukon Territory can try their hand at dogsledding for anything from half a day to a week or more. They can base themselves in comfortable accommodation at a kennel or can opt to camp with dogs along the extensive trails of the north. If you wish you can watch how the experts do it and follow the course of Yukon Quest, known as the toughest dogsledding race in the world. It runs each February with conditions often the harshest, for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse. Photo by: Mike Barish

Photo by: Mike Barish

Hotel Jumeirah Bab al Shams is located on the desert in Dubai. This is an elegant desert resort located in a traditional Arabic fort. There are many shopping and entertainment options near the hotel.

Guests are offered a choice of 115 exquisitely appointed accommodation units that are traditionally decorated and equipped with the latest in modern conveniences.

Room Facilities: Mini Bar, Safe, Radio, Free Newspaper, Smoke Detectors, Internet Access,TV, Air Conditioned, Modem Lines in Room, Hairdryers Available, Coffee Maker, 24 Hour Room Service.

 Leisure: Sauna, Play Ground, Health Club, Outdoor Pool, Exercise Gym, Poolside Snackbar, Fitness Center and Spa.

Guests at the Bab Al Shams can choose from 4 fantastic restaurants offering a variety of traditional and international cuisine. The famous open-air Al Hadheerah Desert Restaurant offers diners a unique Arabian experience.

The 2010 Dakar is on the territories of Argentina and Chile and promises to each kind of driver a sequence adapted to their qualities. The long stay in the Atacama Desert will be the exciting point of a 9000 kilometres loop through the continent. But the global balance of the course with varied difficulties force all to be consistent and careful to the end. The days will be long and not only in road section. The most skillful competitors will find an opportunity to build on a position from which they will be able to capitalize. 

The road is as one of the most beautiful in the world will serve as a break before jumping on a detailed exploration of the Atacama Desert. The driest part of the world that the competitors will this time discover all the way to the city of Iquique, is the kingdom of dune crossings. During five stages, cut by a rest day at Antofagasta, the riders and crews will head to the north of Chile where off-road mileage will be considerable. It will be without doubt the toughest part of the rally, with reduced road sections: the stop watch will never stop. 

The riders and drivers of the Dakar will experienced a rich diversity of landscapes. From Argentina where the competitors got a first taste of their passion, to Cordoba, where the aficionados of the traditional round of the WRC turned out in force, the rally’s popularity remained constant. Argentinian flag is carried by Orlando Terranova, at the wheel of a BMW X3. Long and thin, Chile is the next with its Pacific Ocean coast and the Andes chain of mountains. Over such a huge length all types of climate are present, as well as many different types of relief. 

From the first to the last, staying focused is the key. There are always withdrawals just a few lengths away from the finish. The last 206 kilometres  covered on very fast tracks  have to be taken extremely carefully. At the finish, the heroes of this 32nd edition will at first be celebrated in the village of San Carlos de Bolivar. The aficionados, aware that the most intense moments of joy occur on the line, will certainly have come in numbers. After the finish, the competitors will drive to Buenos Aires where a huge crowd will be expecting them for more glorious moments. Photos by: Natacha Pisarenko.

For more information and extremely awesome pics click here

The luxurious eco-camp can be found on a distant beach on an unspoiled island in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez, a one hour boat ride from La Paz. There are no high-rise buildings or noisy clubs, just the sounds of the nature. Baja Camp offers large ten-person tents house beds, soft linen, and warm showers. The biggest tent is a large dining area and lounge, with comfortable chairs to sink into.

Freshly caught fish and shellfish are a highlight of the Mexican cuisine on offer. Fresh yourself with a huge selection of tropical fruits in the morning. You can snorkel with sea lions, dive to see manta rays, sharks and school of darting, colourful fish or take kayaks out to explore nearby coves. Go drift fishing on the camp boats or try the trill of sport fishing to catch marlin, tuna, wahoo, yellowtail, and mahimahi. The camp is only open from June to September. 

Photos by: ChoiceCamps.com

This is not very popular, but Reunion Island is part of the European Union, being one of France’s fully incorporated overseas departments. It is one of the French Republic’s 26 regions with the same status as those on the European mainland. Because Reunion is in a time zone to the east of Europe, the first ever purchase with the EU’s new currency was made here in 2002 – a 1 euro bag of lichees in Saint-Denis market. Photo by: Gido Gerland

The tropical island is located in the Indian Ocean, 200 km to the south west of Mauritius. The British seized the Mascarene Islands every in the 19th century, but Reunion was latter returned to France. It was uninhabited when the first Europeans visited – Portuguese explorers in 1513 – but the Reunion of today is well populated and economically successful. It is 63 km long by 45 km wide. Photo by: xavierlelay

Reunion’s boasts with vulcanological fame is that – like Hawaii – it is located on a hotspot above the earth’s crust. Fournaise is a shield volcano that has erupted more than one hundred times since the 17th century and is still erupting, most recently in 2007. The higher Piton de Neige is an extinct volcano. The island has a great variety of landscapes – volcanic peaks and lava beds, heavily forested slopes, coastal lowlands, rocky shores and a few sandy beaches. Photo by: zanimo

Tourism is an important economic activity and a typically French range of accommodation may be found – hotels, pensions, gites and the occasional resort. Getting around isn’t hard – there is a good public bus service on paved roads, though traffic can jump up at peak times – and Reunion offers a really excellent and varied range of interesting visitors attractions. Photo by: stephjeu

When to go: The very rainy season (December to March) is best avoided. Population: 785,000. How to get there: By air, ideally (for coats reasons) from Paris or Mauritius. By boat from Mauritius. Photo by: miko974

Photo by: Aureline et Freddy

Today Taiwan boats of an incredible solar-powered stadium that produce 100% of its electricity from photovoltaic technology!  The stadium had a dragon shape with 50,000 seats and 8,844 solar panels that illuminate the track and field with 3,300 lux. The stadium is brand new and will officially open its doors later this year to welcome the 2009 World Games.

The architect is Toyo Ito, whose design negates the energy drain with a stunning 14,155 sq meter solar roof that is able to provide enough energy to power the stadium’s 3,300 lights and two jumbo vision screens. To illustrate the incredible power of this system, officials ran a test this January and found that it took just six minutes to power up the stadium’s entire lighting system!Wow

The stadium also features additional public green spaces, bike paths, sports parks, and an ecological pond. Additionally, all of the plants occupying the area before construction were transplanted.

The stadium not only does the solar system provide electricity during the games, but the surplus energy will also be sold during the non-game period. When the stadium is not being used, the Taiwanese government plans to feed the extra energy into the local grid, where it will meet almost 80% of the neighboring area’s energy requirements. Besides the stadium will generate 1.14 million KWh per year, preventing the release of 660 tons of carbon dioxide into atmosphere annually.

The record speed for a wind powered vehicle is 126.1 miles per hour! That is the record set by Richard Jenkins this past weekend at the Ivenpah Lake in Nevada, where he finally managed to do what he set out to do 10 years ago – pilot the fastest wind powered vehicle in the world.

The Greenbird is a carbon-fiber composite vehicle that is exclusively wind powered, making it essentially an earthbound sailboat. There were challenges involved, since at high speeds the vehicle tends to, well, take off. To counter this problem the vehicle incorporates specific design solutions, such as wings similar to those found in formula one cars.

The crafts are elegant, sophisticated and futuristic – but are based on familiar aeronautical, sailing and wind technology principles. They use solid sails, much like an aircraft wing. The crafts’ design achieves staggering efficiency. It enables the land craft to travel at between 3 & 5 times the real wind speed, depending on the surface traction.

Cerro Negro is a volcano in Nicaragua, about 10km from the village of Malpasillo. Cerro Negro is a very new volcano, the youngest one in Central America. This fresh magma landmark offers a sudden experience through a roughly 1,600- foot volcanic slope, having air-rushing trajectory previously occupied by you and your volcano board.

Such an extreme sport is often notably at Cerro Negro. It’s hot, dusty, a little scary – and crazy enough to be fun. Cerro Negro is accessible from Leon, a colonial city historically emerged as a center of left-wing intellectualism that is about 15 miles southwest of the roughly 2,388-foot mountain (the height can vary from eruption to eruption, experts say). The city was once a Sandinista stronghold occupied by poets, revolutionaries and university students.

Nowadays despite from its spectacular churches, bright-hued colonial architecture, Leon is becoming synonymous, at least among backpacking adventure-seekers, with volcano boarding. The picture shows boarders receiving instructions on how to balance, steer and control speed on the slope, which is 41 degrees at its steepest.

With pebbles and dust flying everywhere, the ride is bumpy and the noise deafening. The whole run only takes a few minutes to descend.

Volcano boarding,  isn’t easy to master, but you can’t help but want to try. It’s a cheap adventure and a novel challenge, with actual technique required and speeds recorded. The post-boarding mojito Bigfoot throws in didn’t hurt either. Bigfoot Hostel runs boarding tours Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The price is $28, including $5 park admission. Dorm rooms at the hostel cost $6 a night; there are also four double rooms for $13, and a room for four is $28.

The total prize money on offer at the event is in excess of £3.5 million, and is contested by trainers, racehorses and jockeys from around the world. The jewel in the Royal Ascot crown is the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup, one of the greatest flat races in the world.

Enjoy and experience this unique event in the British social calendar, in one the many fantastic hospitality facilities, maintaining the tradition, heritage and pageantry of this royal occasion. An internationally renowned occasion that combines classic style, panache and elegance with enthralling sporting action, this is the perfect place to entertain clients, colleagues and friends.

The Royal Ascot Village has a private viewing area on the rails, an ideal location to view the Royal procession and the finish of each race. All Royal Ascot Village guests have full access to the New Grandstand throughout the day in addition to the exclusivity of the Village garden areas.

Calgary is the largest city in the province Alberta, Canada. Calgary is well-known as a destination for winter sports and ecotourism with a number of major mountain resorts near the city and metropolitan area. The city is among the sunniest in Canada.

Flames Central is a wonderful word class and entertainment center there.
A world-class restaurant and entertainment venue housed in a historic building makes excellent use of our custom capabilities. One 36-foot diameter and four smaller 16-foot diameter light features were created out of frame and fabric. The intricate metalwork encompasses four interlocking framed fabric rings on each element, which raise and lower to reveal the inner three-dimensional Calgary Flames logo.

Backlit with programmable LED lighting and installed on the 38-foot high ceilings, these custom light features illuminate the interior of the multi-faceted complex and change the atmosphere from a subtle corporate feel to a vibrant red when the Calgary Flames are in town. Dynamic framed ribbon forms of fabric above the bar create energy and focus.

The Lake Geneva Extreme Adventure Race will consist of a brutal cross-country race along the north shore of Lake Geneva beginning in downtown Library Park. The shore path utilized for the cross-country race is the original path established by Chief Big Foot and the Potawatomi Indian tribe who lived on the western shore of Lake Geneva in the 1800’s. The foot race (8 mile) will be followed by a demanding and cold kayak race (12 mile) along the shores of Lake Geneva. The adventure race will be held in conjunction with the annual Lake Geneva Marathon series and is designed to challenge experienced and beginning adventure racers alike. The second adventure race in the series will be held June 7, 2008 at the Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, Wisconsin, which is located seven miles west of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The race will consist of a kayak race around Delavan Lake, (13 miles) followed by a 5k run at the Lake Lawn Resort facility. The race will be held along with the Delavan Lake Triathlon series.