by Elaine M. StromThe sun’s brilliant mantle slowly descends over the shadow cloak of night, revealing the most majestic mountains on this earth. Welcome to Banff, Canada. Draw back the drapes, step out onto the balcony, and you will find an invigorating adventure along the Bow River and Bow Falls trails waiting below. Although these […]
by Leanne MatzengerCampers, hikers, and horseback riders, eager to escape the congested streets of their hometowns, flock to the brilliant Superstition wilderness. Here, tiny lilac flower clusters dot the emerald hillside. Giant saguaro grow sky high, their ribbed branches bursting with white funnel-shaped flowers. And sporadic clumps of pale yellow grass grow haphazardly across rolling […]
by Mary Anne Lonze Sampans skim past, laden with heavy cargo that sinks their hulls into the murky brown water. Women cast circular fishing nets, then slap the water with paddles to attract fish into the traps.Children lie on wooden decks scribbling homework as a stove seeps tendrils of smoke under a weathered pot of pho. […]
by Barbara-Jeanne Blank Like a mustang, Tombstone—Arizona’s “Town too Tough to Die”—was born on its feet. Silver built the town in the 1870’s in Apache country and silver still drives it … Apache silver and tourist silver. Here are your best bets for spending a little of your tourist silver while you’re in Tombstone:
by Earl F. MartinelliA controversial poet, a scandalous divorce, a bizarre medieval-style stone tower, a love story unparalleled, a perfect bed to die in, a life of self-sufficiency, and waves bashing the shoreline—all of this is yours when you tour Tor House and Hawk Tower, the former home of poet Robinson Jeffers and his family […]
by Janice F. Miller Sixteen shady acres of dirt pathways, steeply pitched roofs on narrow buildings and even a few turrets… all signs of a medieval European village… pop up just 15 minutes from downtown Kansas City. It’s the home of the Kansas City Renaissance Festival, a.k.a. the KC Renfest.
by Ellen and David HillThere underground, nestled like silkworms in a mulberry leaf, is the witchetty grub, all fat and creamy, filled with a protein-rich almond-flavoured ooze.At eye level there’s a Grevillea bloom, pregnant with syrupy nectar, already dripping its golden sweetness on your fingers. The air hangs heavy with the heady odour of dozens […]
by Roy StevensonI’m overwhelmed by the loud, rhythmic sounds of people chanting and drumming. Hundreds of people swirl around in multi-colored batik sarongs and skirts. Bright sunshine … suffocating heat and humidity … a sweet perfumed smell of flowers and incense wafting across the potholed asphalt … all of this gives me sensory overload. Standing on the brown […]
by M. Joy GorenceLocated about six miles south of the intersection of Routes 951 and 41, a fishing village in southwest Florida transforms itself into a gathering spot every Sunday afternoon for an eclectic array of visitors. On the road to Goodland early Sunday mornings, local fishing enthusiasts claim their favorite spots. Folding chairs, umbrellas […]
by Tracy CheneySurrounded by immense swaths of stark desert, three “island” environments rise into the sky above the searing lands of the southern continental U.S., each offering refuge to unique species of plants and animals. Far-sighted efforts have preserved these “islands” as national parks to protect the unique ecosystems evolved in isolation over eons. Each […]
