Place-of-Mystery

I've been busier than I imagined I would over the holiday break.  Earlier in the month, we had a small amount of weekend rain, so the younger boys soccer games have been pushed back, so we're attending a number of their playoff games.  Jonathan's team pulled off a last minute win last night and Andrew's team tied, so they're both still in the running.

I spent yesterday putting together a new grill for the family we purchased in the shopping sales and Tim set up the Christmas lights.  It all seems a bit early looking at the calendar, but  Thanksgiving fell early this year.

Out here in California there are only mild changes to the weather, so unless businesses started putting up decorations, you'd never know what season it was.  Yesterday it was in the mid 80s.  It's always odd to be thinking about grilling and setting up Christmas lights in shorts even if that's what I grew up with.

Enough about that though, now on to the game!

Below you will find an image of a place somewhere in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me where it is located.

Good luck!

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Place-of-Mystery

Sorry for the delay today - too many kid activities all at the same time this morning, but we're up and running now!

Below you will find an image of a place some place in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me where it is located.

Good luck!

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Place-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of an obscure place from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

Vjku dwknfkpi encf kp agnnqy uvqpg fqgu pqv eqoogoqtcvg c igaugt,
agv tgecnnkpi vq “dct c cnqpg qrrqpgpv” yqwnf ocmg aqw cnn vjg ykugt.
Pqy cv tguv cnn ctqwpf, ngv’u egngdtcvg vjg lwdkngg!
Vjqwij aqw’f fq ygnn vq tgecnn pqy ‘vycu dwknv da “cpita og.”

So, where could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter the name of this place into Google Images and images similar to this will be found in the image results.

Place-of-Mystery

Welcome to Cipher Saturday!  You've found the home of everyone's favorite weekend pastime, where a stylized photo of an obscure place from history is provided here for you to identify.

Additional clues may be found in the cipher below:

C rac hktb’r ejikru oajl 
Er jcqqkxejd uk eur ajl; 
Oazkjl, chh rviiaq-dqaaj, uba wchhaz hear 
Tqclhal ej Behhr -- c Bedbhcjl mcqclera.
Baqa’r uk uba Thcjricj’r bkqj 
Atbk nqki atbk okqj 
Dqkxr nceju cjl ncejuaq cr xa uahh uba rtkqa 
Cjl ncjtz uk uba ncejuaru cllr kja ikqa.

Jkx icjz c xejuaq hkjd 
Bcr rhamu uba atbk-rkjd; 
C wcjerbal fkz - c mqauuz ubejd hcel oz 
Ej rkia nkqdkuuaj lqcxaq kn iaikqz.

Ovu ej iz acq ukjedbu 
Qawewar uba khl lahedbu, 
Rmkjucjakvr cr c ikqjejd hcqg - uk rucqu 
Hkjd uqcejr kn rviiaq atbkar ej iz bacqu.

So, where could I be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter the name of this place into Google Images and images similar to this will be found in the image results.

Socotra Island

Congratulations to Jack, who correctly identified Socotra Island as the Place-of-Mystery in this weekend's contest!

Socotra is a mountainous, arid, and remote island in the Arabian Sea, about 150 miles off the horn of Africa.  Although owned by Yemen, the slightly over 40,000 inhabitants of the island speak the Soqotri language.

What makes the island truly unique though is it's isolation.  The island was known to the ancient Egyptians and was written about by Marco Polo, but even so, it had no paved roads until about 2007.

Socotra Island seen towards the far right

Apart from the curious island caverns and beautiful waters, Socotra is best known for its unique flora and fauna, some of the most distinctive on the planet.  The tree pictured on Saturday's post, is the Dragon's Blood Tree, so named for it's distinctive blood red sap.

Dragon's Blood Tree

Dragon's Blood Tree Sap

Another unusual and famous native plant, known for its unusually thick trunk and beautiful pink blossoms is the Socotran Desert Rose.

Socotran Desert Rose

The near drought-like conditions on the island have produced a landscape peppered with alien looking plants.

All told Socotra is home to 825 plant species (37% of which do not occur anywhere else on the planet).  Additionally, 90% of Scotora's reptile species and 95% of its snail species only occur on this island.  Significant numbers of land and sea birds are threatened or endangered and even the marine life is unique, boasting 253 species of reef-building corals, 730 identified coastal fish, and 300 species of crab, lobster and shrimp!

Truely, this isolated island is a unique jewel and will hopefully stay that way for a long time to come.

Place-of-Mystery

One of the nicest things about my new school is that for the first time, I'm teaching at a building with a library on site.  I love taking my students there and looking over the titles.  As I spied one book, it made me think of a scene like the one in today's contest and it brought back pleasant memories, like a friend I had forgotten.

Below you will find an image of a place somewhere in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me where it is located.  For the extra daring, try and guess the book.

Good luck!

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Or if you're just stopping by, thanks for visiting.  And why not leave a suggestion today for a good book you've read.

Place-of-Mystery

A big congratulations to Debbie, who last week correctly identified the Place-of-Mystery as the recreated palace of Czar Alexis of Russia.  I've always found Russia fascinating and I do hope to go there someday.

For this week, I have several other stylized images of a place somewhere in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me what it is and where it is located.

Good luck!

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Oh, and I almost forgot, the boys both did great at the triathlon this morning.  I'll hopefully have time to post more on this later.

Place-of-Mystery

Being back at school, my mind is wandering to places I'd like to visit someday, so we're continuing the Place-of-Mystery theme for another week.

Below you will find a stylized image of a place somewhere in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me what it is and where it is located.

Good luck!

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.

Place-of-Mystery

Well, I'm still behind at work.  I've got lots to catch up on and the website is kind of taking a backseat right now.  However, I'm going to try and continue to at least post on the weekends for the time being.

Today I'm going to mix it up a bit and give you something a little unique.  Today is the inaugural Nate's Nonsense Place-of-Mystery Contest.  Below you will find a stylized image of a place somewhere in the world.  The winner will be the first one who can tell me where it is and what it commemorates.

Good luck!

Place-of-Mystery, Outside Aerial View

Place-of-Mystery, Inside View

So, where could this be?  That's the mystery!  Go ahead and take a guess and then go enjoy your day.  Check back tomorrow and I'll reveal the answer.  The first correct post will be declared the winner.

If you'd like to make sure that your guess is correct, enter this place name into Google Images and photos like these will be found on the first pages of the image results.