Travel Trip Journey : November 2019

Wednesday 6 November 2019

Turnip Rock - Most Amazing Rock Formations

Turnip Rock is a beautiful geological formation in Michigan. It is wondrous stack formation located in Lake Huron a few meters off the coast in Port Austin. The massive stone formed after a millennium of being worn by crashing waves thumping across its bow. In prehistoric times, Turnip Rock gets separated from the mainland. Then with the passage of time, some small trees engulfed the rock. The powerful stormy waves undercut the large cross-section of its base.

The exclusive formation attracting thousands of visitors each year, despite it, is located on private property. Turnip Rock was part of 20 finalists of Seven The wonder of Michigan in 2013. Turnip Rock only accessible through water and no public road there or slogging across the frozen surface of Lake Huron. Moreover, to prevent the further undercutting a concrete collar has been built around the base of the rock.

The mesmerizing sculptured landmass is full of serenity. One can see about 20ft high trees and vegetation, acrobatic squirrels and very little else on the top of the isolated rock. However, on the west side, you can find thumb rock also called Thumbnail of Michigan.

Getting to unique natural rock is not difficult as it’s about a 3 to 4 hours of 7 miles round trip. The water around the Turnip Rock is comparatively shallow and does allow voyagers to park their boats and walk around. Thus, one can upload a few photographs to all social media platforms. Also, be careful and put appropriate shoes, as the rocks can be quite slippery especially in the rainy weather.

The journey to soft limestone is for single kayak use only and is frequently accessible from March to mid-November. CNN called this place is one of the “Most Amazing Rock Formations” in the United States and Pure Michigan featured Turnip Rock on its magazine cover in 2016. Please keep important things with you, i.e., life jacket, sunscreen, sunglasses, towel, Mobile phone, and a dry bag. Also, take adequate water and something to munch on.

On the weekend, there are many paddlers enjoying the rock journey. If the area is quite rush, then move ahead to explore the cave, that features border the Pointe Aux Barques community. This cave was hideouts for fugitives for the late eighteen century.

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Tuesday 5 November 2019

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge – The Marvel of Civil Engineering

The T-shaped Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is a 26.7 km long roadway bridge in eastern China's Shandong province. Out of 25.9 km are over water representing the total length of three legs of the bridge. It is also called Qingdao Haiwan Bridge which is part of the 41.58 km Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project. The purpose of the bridge as part of the plan to provide better connectivity between the two fast-growing industrial regions on either side of the Jiaozhou Bay.

Qingdao is a fast-growing coastal city, playing an intergyral part in the country’s development strategy. So, the ever-growing business could not meet the ferry service providing to passenger and cargo levels. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge longest continuous segment is 25.9 km making it one of longest bridges in the world. This bridge reduces the road distance between eastern port city of Qingdao and an offshore island, Huangdao by 30 km and travel time from 20 to 30 minutes.

The main entry and exit points in Huangdao and the Licang District of Qingdao. The Bay bridge construct with the mammoth 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 cubic meters of concrete supported by 5,238 concrete piles. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge can face any catastrophic natural disastrous. It is designed to tackle the severe earthquakes (more than 8 magnitude), typhoons, even collision of gigantic ship (300,000-ton vessel).

The bridge cross-section comprises of two beams in total 115 ft wide carrying six lanes with two shoulders. The bridge is part of the Jiaozhou Bay Connection Project, which includes overland expressways and the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay tunnel. The total length of the project is 41.58 km. The Jiaozhou Bay has an annual ice period of two months expected to have at least 100 years of lifespan.

Moreover, cushion caps made the bridge’s pillars from the force of waves and freezing. Hence, considering the bay freezes annually and holds high volumes of salt, waves, and freezing patterns. The water design of these 1,258 cushion caps adequately protects the bridge.

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge was opened for the public on 30^th June 2011. After that Guinness World Records listed it the longest bridge over frozen water (total length). The record was taken by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge in October 2018. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge had the first oversea interchange in the world and that it has the world's largest number of oversea bored concrete piles.

The idea was presented by the Chinese Communist Party, and it took four years to complete at a massive cost of US$8.8 billion. There are several concerns raised regarding the quality of material used in construction. Such as poor crash-barriers, missing lighting, and loose nuts on guard nails. However, the bridge chief engineer rejects the safety concerns and claimed perfect for traffic and meeting the safety measures.

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge combines all the fields of civil engineering for an impressive result. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge claims to be the first self-anchored suspension bridge in the world with a single tower, which is 149m high.

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The Magical Marble Caves of Patagonia, Chile

The South American Patagonia is one of a magical place in the world that's marked by its melodramatic landscapes. The Marble Caves of Patagonia dubbed as the most wonderful cave network in Latin America. It is also called as “Cuevas de Marmol” or “Marble Cathedral” is a more than 6,000-year-old, sculpture hewn by the crashing waves calcium carbonate of Lake General Carrera in Southern Chile.

The area is intricate caverns are part of a peninsula made of solid marble encircled by the glacial Lake that spans the Chile-Argentina border. The Marble Caves of Patagonia's swirling pattern and its interiors reflect the lake’s azure waters, change in intensity depending on the water levels uttered by weather and time of the year. The early morning sunlight breaks into the openings of the Marble Caves reflects off the water and splashes the marble walls of the cave with distinct shades and patterns of blue hue.

This unique geological marvel attracts visitors to see the constantly changing beauty in its appearance. At the start of the Spring season, the shallow turquoise water creates a crystalline shimmer against the Marble Caves. The swirling walls increase the deep blue hue that gives an exclusive unworldly shade. Although, water level significantly affected due to the freezing and melting of the surrounding glaciers. The cold freezing water of the lake takes the fine silt sediments that rest on the lake bed.

To see this unique marvel, you must pass an arduous journey. You have to travel almost 800 miles on major highways to the next big city Coyhaique. After that, you must be followed by a 200-mile drive on rough dirt roads towards the lake. Eventually, you need a boat to access the caves. Although this journey is fair difficult and long challenging. But you will forget the tiredness to see the enchanting beauty of Marble Caves of Patagonia, which is worthwhile.

This region has rising mountains, extensive ice fields, towering glaciers, and land forever altered by volcanic activity. The best time to visit this natural place between Sep to Feb. During these months, the ice melts and feeding the lake, which changes the color of water particularly enchanting turquoise.

It is a great place for photography, then you have to go here early morning when sunlight is perfect for nature photography. Here the ferry service will take you to and through the Marble cave and its tunnels. Whenever you go to this part of the world, then you should list this place on top of your sightseeing plan.