The Mysterious Migrating Spoonbills of Houston
by Tracy Cheney – photos by Greg Lavaty Every major city flaunts a zoo and a plethora of museums and theaters. But how many boast a rookery of mating spoonbills ringed by a moat of patrolling alligators? Perched at the bottom of the continent on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico, here in the…
Be One with Nature in Calgary’s Best Kept Secret
by Brian LewisEdworthy Park, with its Douglas Fir Trail, is one of Calgary’s best kept secrets. It borders the west side of the inner city and comprises 70 acres of pristine, natural parkland. It’s a gem that you don’t want to miss. Historically, various areas of it were used as a bison kill site, tipi…
Sailing Down the Nile in Beautiful Silence
by Trent RockwoodIt is very rare in this era of worldwide big-business tourism that you get to see what the world’s famous tourist sites were like before the advent of airplanes, tour buses, parking lots, and gift shops. We can only imagine when the pyramids, the Acropolis, or the Great Wall of China were approached…
Soaking Up the Mineral Hot Springs in Los Angeles
by Tracy CheneyPoised as it is on the Pacific rim of fire, California is a geothermal hotbed. Underground volcanic activity spurts up as mineral hot springs from hillsides up and down the length of the state. For eons, Native American families enjoyed soaking in the gurgling springs and pools. Later, 19th century travelers refreshed themselves…
Five Must-Haves to Keep You Safe on Your Next Road Trip
by Sally KivowitzEarly one morning, in the middle of a snowstorm, I set out from my new home in Nazlini, Arizona to attend a Christmas party in Flagstaff. Being cut from the car and life-flighted to the Flagstaff Medical Center was not a part of the plan. Fortunately, there were people who stopped to help…
How One Reader Scored Two Paid Vacations and 41 Bylines: Interview with AWAI Member Sandra Kennedy
BONNIE: Hi Sandra. I understand you’ve turned your travels into paid vacations. Can you tell us a little bit more about how you got started and how, specifically, you went from sitting in a chair at the Ultimate Travel Writer’s Workshop to sitting in an airplane seat on your way to an all-expenses-paid trip to…
Avoiding Hotel Surcharges and Nine Odd Uses for Toothpaste
Hotels love to add surcharges onto every long-distance call you make from your room. And I love to sneakily avoid them. Here’s how: When you’ve got more than one long-distance call to make from your hotel room, don’t hang up between calls. Instead, wait for the person on the other end of the line to…
FEATURED PUBLICATION: Matador Travel
Matador Travel is a hub of nine different e-zines wrapped into one online travel community. Each separate arm of the site has its own writer’s guidelines and each is on the lookout for fresh content. There’s a travel article style for everyone here, from trip ideas to traveling and studying abroad, travel tips, nightlife, travel…
Correct Underexposed Photos in Lightroom
Last week we took a look at adjusting underexposed photos in Photoshop with Levels and Curves. As promised, today we’ll look at the Lightroom rescue remedy for those underexposed shots… The first thing you will have to do is import your photo into Lightroom (for instructions on how to do that click here). I’ve chosen…
Fast Lenses: What It Means When You Have a Fast Lens
Last week’s photography expedition in Paris, France, did NOT start well for me. On Day One, I accidentally left my camera bag unzipped and when I picked it up off the floor, my camera rolled out. It wasn’t a hard roll but it must have hit the ground just right because it broke my lens. …
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