Like many who got married during the first year of the pandemic, our plans shifted half a dozen times. The travel addict that I am, however, it was postponing my Santa Fe bachelorette that made me the saddest. So when it was finally time to make up that trip, I researched all the things to… Read More A Santa Fe Bachelorette
Yellowstone National Park was part of my most memorable vacation as a child: a camping road trip from California to Wyoming, weaving through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah in between. Besides the bison and Old Faithful though, I don’t remember much about that Yellowstone itinerary. So when it came time to revisit the United States’ oldest… Read More A Quintessential Summertime Yellowstone Road Trip
When I first mentioned to friends and coworkers that we were temporarily moving to Bend, Oregon, the common response was a two-parter: 1) Ooh, Bend is really popular these days. My XYZ just moved there, too, and 2) But why? Are there a lot of things to do in Bend? We fell in love with… Read More A Guide to the Big Little City of Bend
Yosemite National Park is one of the United States’ most well-known national parks, and certainly the most iconic in California. There are so many things to do in Yosemite, one or two trips is not enough. I’d visited Yosemite before as a youngster, but it was my partner’s first time when we visited this summer.… Read More A 3-Day Itinerary for Yosemite National Park
If I’m honest, Corvallis was never on a “must visit” list of mine. But 2020 is full of twists and turns, and so there we were in Corvallis near the end of September. Despite some uncooperative weather on our first day, we got to discover and enjoy some of the best things to do in… Read More Hikes, Brews & Wines: A Dog-Friendly Weekend in Corvallis
With months of shelter-in-place orders in many states and international travel nearly off-limits for Americans, this summer’s seen a surge of interest in getting to the great outdoors. Add that to the normal mix of folks who were already planned to go explore our country’s blessed natural wonders, and we’ve got a problem: no camping… Read More The Beauty of Camping in the Middle of Nowhere
Even though the Annapurna region is Nepal’s most visited trekking region in terms of the number of trekkers, I’d never heard of it until I started looking at what to do in Nepal and realized I didn’t have enough time to do Everest Base Camp. Turns out, the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek I did is… Read More The DIY Guide to Trekking Ghorepani Poon Hill
Perhaps like many other people, the Himalayas always signaled Mount Everest to me. It wasn’t until I started thinking about heading to Nepal before my Bhutan trip that I heard about the Annapurna. You see, I knew I didn’t have enough time to do the Everest Base Camp trek, but I wanted to get in some… Read More The Beauty of the Annapurna
The first time I learned of Bhutan was from a postcard that featured the nation’s most famous landmark: the Tiger’s Nest. Formally known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery, the Tiger’s Nest is also one of the most sacred sites in this Buddhist kingdom. Hiking to the Tiger’s Nest is one of the must-haves for almost every visitor… Read More How to Visit the Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan
The Manchu people consider it the birthplace of Bukuri Yongson, the ancestor of the Jurchens and modern Manchus. The Korean people consider it the birthplace of Dan’gun, the legendary founder of Gojoseon, the first ever Korean kingdom. Changbaishan, literally perpetually white mountain, is a mountain range that sits on top of the border of China and North… Read More The Mountain Across From North Korea