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“Hotdog Stand”: 50 Unusual And Bizarre Discoveries That Stunned Desert Explorers
Deserts are probably one of the harshest environments out there. With very little water and often extreme temperatures, they certainly aren’t places many ordinary people want to explore. Or are they?
You might be surprised to hear this, but today more than one billion people (yes, “billion” with a b) live in and around deserts. The reasons for that are a few, the most important of them being the fact that humans are simply very adaptable. We have figured out ways to survive and even thrive in places where very few animals can. Dubai, Casablanca, Phoenix, and Las Vegas are all desert cities with thousands of people enjoying their everyday lives.
Still, that doesn’t make the uninhabited parts of deserts any less menacing. Especially with all the weird things people come across there—such as the ones on this list. Scroll down to see the oddities that people have captured while out in the desert.
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A Desert Rose In Yemen
Hiking in the desert is probably one of the weirder pastimes that people willingly subject themselves to. It sounds uncomfortable, dangerous, and totally not worth it. Nonetheless, there are many enthusiasts out there. And, unsurprisingly, some of them get lost in the wilderness once in a while.
A lot of the times, this happens to people that get comfortable with danger and forget how treacherous nature can be. This is what happened to Ed Rosenthal who, one fine day in September 2010, decided to go on his usual 4-mile hike. He’d done it plenty of times, so he only took a small bottle of water with him and went on his merry way.
Libyan Desert Glass
10,000-Year-Old Giraffe Engravings In The Sahara Desert
During the hike though, Ed decided to take a little detour to explore the canyons. The views were beautiful and he was enjoying it until he realized the sun is setting and he has no clue how to get home. Whoopsie-daisy!
The man decided to stay put and not wander anywhere else in case he got even more lost. A couple days passed and he was parched, so he started praying for rain. Miraculously, his prayers were answered and he made attempts to get people’s attention with fire, but even then there was no sign of anyone around. That was not until the sixth day when the helicopter that was looking for him spotted Ed on the Canyon floor.
After a few days in the hospital, Ed recovered. Unsurprisingly, he swore off hiking in that area ever again.
Swirling Patterns In Rock, Nevada Desert
Found This Little Guy Abandoned In The Desert
Rare Super Blooms In The Desert Of Joshua Tree, CA
Accidentally getting lost is one thing. But going to the desert to run 155 miles in extreme conditions is on a completely new level of dangerous. But, surprise, surprise, people do that every year.
Found A Wild Watermelon Plant In The Sahara Desert
Bobcat Sitting On Top Of 40-Foot-Tall Cactus In The Arizona Desert After Being Chased By A Mountain Lion
Walking Mesquite In The Sonoran Desert
Marathon des Sables is a 9-day long race that happens in the southern Moroccan Sahara. People pay thousands of dollars to participate in what’s called a “self-sufficient adventure.” This means every runner has to carry all their own supplies for the whole week with them. The only thing they get at the rest stations is water and a place to sleep. Sounds enticing?
An Old Man I Met In The Desert Of California
Found A Rabbit Abandoned In The Desert, Taped In A Cereal Box
Million-Years-Old Whale Fossil Found In The Sahara Desert
This is why people in the 19th century realized that the world is not static and changes over time. They kept finding things like this and realized that Noah's flood made no sense.
Well, for Italian policeman and former Olympian Mauro Prosperi, it sounded like something he’d enjoy. So, back in 1994, he went there and was one of the fastest people out there until he was met by a sandstorm which threw him off course. He started running in the wrong direction and kept at it for a while until he realized he was probably mistaken.
This Is Wonderstone. A Natural Rock Found In The Desert Of Utah
A Desert Oasis In Peru
The Odd Yareta Plant, Grows In Chile In One Of The Driest Deserts In The World
Prosperi didn’t lose his spirit, though, he kept at it. He walked until he found a shrine. Inside, there were bats that he ate for both water and food. He “set up camp” in the shrine, hoping to find a way out, but after another sandstorm hit, he thought he’s done for. So, he decided to end his life by cutting his wrists. However, he was so dehydrated, his wounds clotted pretty much instantly. For him, it was a sign to carry on.
This Shrine To Dogs That Have Passed, Stuck Randomly In A Desert Wash
Ships Of The Desert
The Aral Sea. It's in Kazakhstan. It was the fourth largest lake in the the world but the USSR diverted water for irrigation and it dried up. Feel free to tell me that humans can't change the climate after we turned a massive lake into a literal desert.
A Wet Road I Found In The Desert
So, Prosperi started walking towards the clouds. He drank his urine and ate everything he could find: ants, mice, snakes, and leaves. Eventually, he saw something moving in the distance. It was a herd of goats with a little girl. After nine and a half days, he finally found people.
Found "The Final Countdown" By Europe Cassette Tape In The Desert
Some Iron Filings That We Collected With A Magnet Out In The Mohave Desert
A Prada Store In The West Texas Desert That Is Never Open For Business
Prada Marfa, by Elmgreen and Dragset in Texas. 'Opened' 2005, it is designed to slowly deteriorate, a statement on our temporary luxuries. Located in Texas, it has been shot at, graffitied and basically man is helping it get wrecked. People are stealing from it and that's totally the point.
He returned to Italy soon after, where he promised to come back and complete the marathon. Which, of course, he did in 1997. And then, nine more times, the last one being in 2017 when he was 62 years old. What a legend!
Abandoned Star Wars' Set In The Tunisian Desert
Found This Skull While Out Riding My Quad In The Arizona Desert Today
Hotdog Stand In The Middle Of The Desert
All in all, deserts are dangerous, so be safe out there. Better yet, don’t go hiking on your own. And make sure to grab a camera in case you spot any oddities that are similar to the ones on this list.
Abandoned Train Tracks In California
It was a 11-mile hike in a super cold windy desert but there were amazing tunnels and bridges everywhere it was definitely worth it to see what happens over time.
A Train Sits Abandoned In The Arabian Desert Nearly 100 Years After Being Ambushed By T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence Of Arabia) And His Infamous Rebels
Stumbled Upon A Strange Doorway While Hiking In The High Desert Today
I played minecraft dungeons, out of the way folks. me and my hammer of gravity will show any bucko in there that it's hammer time.
Load More Replies...Yeah, I saw "The Hills have Eyes"... so if you need me, I'll be running in the opposite direction
A friend of mine made a door /doorway something like this down in Mexico except steel. American but a man in Mexico gave him use of a large piece of land. Kind of near Puerto Vallarta but way off the beaten path. He built a large tree house with different 'rooms' just off the river. From Puerto Vallarta you take a boat about 45 minutes to a small village - then you hike from there a ways to get to the treehouse. ANYWHO.... there was a natural cave in the cliff side and they framed in a metal door to have a place to store a bunch of their stuff between the times when they were down there. I've only seen a bunch of photos but the place looks very cool. This was like 15 years ago. I am unsure of its current status.
More common than you realize. A great deal of the US desert regions have been explored for mining and used by the federal government for testing locations.
I can read DAN and ANGELA if I squint, anybody able to read the name/text in the middle to the right?
I think it may be Ian? As for the middle part, the last two letters may NE. Would love to know more about this!
Load More Replies...This Salt Mine Trench In The Mohave Desert
Mojave/Mohave, depends on if you're in AZ v. CA or NV or near one of the native tribes' land, all the same desert
Button To Save People From Crossing The Desert From Mexico
most americans dont understand how dangerous that trek is. I suspect if they did, they would let the folks in who actually survived. The amount of dead people out there is insane. I knew a guy who did it 4 times. First time when he was 14. Last time when he was 19. He said he saw people die on the hike the second time he did it. He's legal now.
I Did Not Just Find Al Capone’s Old Hideout In The Desert. I Just Skated Al Capone’s Old Pool? I️ Love Living In My Van
House Abandoned And Retaken By The Desert In California
Obelisk In The Desert, USA, UT
Desert Finds
Abandoned Cinema In The Egyptian Desert. The End Of The World Cinema
These Mud Cracks In The Mojave Desert Were Pretty Cool
Dozens Of People Have Left Frogs Near The Mojave Road In The Middle Of The Mojave Desert
Staircase In The Desert Outside Las Vegas
An Outdoor Sculpture Of A Specter And A Bicycle In The Desert
A Village In The Middle Of A Desert. By Far, One Of The Coolest Places I've Ever Seen
It would be a far nicer picture if that blonde woman would get out of the way.
An Old Abandoned Miner Town Graveyard, That Is Bigger Than The Actual Town. In The Middle Of The Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert in Northern Chile. One of the driest places in the world.
Chinese Lion Statue On The Side Of The Road In The Middle Of The Mojave Desert
Ancient Rock Art I Found In The Desert In Israel: Hunter And Ibex
Cecil! you can't use a blowgun on an Ibex! Remember what happened last time?
Off-Road And Hiking To Utah Monolith
Oh man I forgot about these things. They never figured out who was behind them IIRC.
My Friend Traveled To Egypt And Found This Crazy Awesome-Looking Object In The Middle Of The Desert. Meteorite?
Found In The Nevada Desert
And then, one day, the Scooby Gang's adventures abruptly came to an end.
The Remains Of A Piano Found Miles Into The Middle Of The Desert
I Found A Notebook At A Burnt-Down House In The Desert
that looks like some sort of cult book lol. just in time for spooky season
I Stumbled Upon This Tombstone Out In The Desert
Really Tall Mailbox In The Desert
Ok, BP, wtf is going on? Can't open loads of stuff on the app, but I can leave comments. On the website, I can open all the content but can't leave any comments. Ffs.
I thought it was just me on the mobile site who couldnt post comments. They have the post button blocked in the javascript. someone needs to update their wordpress plugins.
Load More Replies...Thank you, BP. This is the sort of fun and interesting stuff we want to see on here. Not the articles that are trying to encourage us to buy worthless garbage on Amaz0n.
Yes, there's a bunch of weird s**t in the Mojave. That's because there's a bunch of really strange people in the Mojave.
Is there anything in particular that seems to attract them?
Load More Replies...https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/eerie-fascinating-pictures-kolmanskop-desert-diamond-ghost-town
Load More Replies...Deserts are some of the most vibrant, effervescent places on earth. I live in a subtropical rainforest 27 miles (50 by car) from an awesome one called the “Ka’u Desert.” I recommend hiking its trails! - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/hawaii/kau-desert-hi/
Hawaii's big island is amazing. Volcano, snow, desert, jungle, green beach, black beach.
Load More Replies...These kinda make me sad. Who tapes a bunny in a box and leaves it in a desert?
Wait you all need to see Kolmanskop. Abandoned german town in Namibia. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/eerie-fascinating-pictures-kolmanskop-desert-diamond-ghost-town
Ok, BP, wtf is going on? Can't open loads of stuff on the app, but I can leave comments. On the website, I can open all the content but can't leave any comments. Ffs.
I thought it was just me on the mobile site who couldnt post comments. They have the post button blocked in the javascript. someone needs to update their wordpress plugins.
Load More Replies...Thank you, BP. This is the sort of fun and interesting stuff we want to see on here. Not the articles that are trying to encourage us to buy worthless garbage on Amaz0n.
Yes, there's a bunch of weird s**t in the Mojave. That's because there's a bunch of really strange people in the Mojave.
Is there anything in particular that seems to attract them?
Load More Replies...https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/eerie-fascinating-pictures-kolmanskop-desert-diamond-ghost-town
Load More Replies...Deserts are some of the most vibrant, effervescent places on earth. I live in a subtropical rainforest 27 miles (50 by car) from an awesome one called the “Ka’u Desert.” I recommend hiking its trails! - https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/hawaii/kau-desert-hi/
Hawaii's big island is amazing. Volcano, snow, desert, jungle, green beach, black beach.
Load More Replies...These kinda make me sad. Who tapes a bunny in a box and leaves it in a desert?
Wait you all need to see Kolmanskop. Abandoned german town in Namibia. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/eerie-fascinating-pictures-kolmanskop-desert-diamond-ghost-town