Category: Travel

Tour of The Troubles: Belfast in a Black Taxi

It was a sunny Saturday morning, warm for early spring, and the city was bustling with life. Families pushing strollers. Earnest cyclers on the back of their bikes. Smiling couples walking together, stride for stride, perhaps heading into the center of the city for some shopping and a bit of brunch. But as we cruised…


Western Missouri: Following in the Steps of Jesse James

His name remains infamous, and immediately evocative. Perhaps no figure is so instantly identified with a West that was wild, and dangerous, and still looms large—dream-like, full of big character and even huger stories—in our collective imagination. Yes, there are others: Bonnie and Clyde, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, and Buffalo Bill Cody. (Tim Johnson)…


A Morning Mountain Tour in Zululand

It had been a very nice drive, already. Sitting in the open air in the back of a safari Jeep, rolling along winding roads that curved and curled through a dramatic mountain range, the vibrant, verdant flanks giving way to craggy peaks. The morning chill is cut by warm blankets, and there’s the promise of…


Cambria Is For the Birds and a Lot More

They call themselves birders, and they come in almost as many varieties as the avian species they find so fascinating. There are the most serious, the semi-scientific birders who take part in highly coordinated documentation research and tracking. Their favorite app is eBIRD, where every day’s (and night’s) sightings can be recorded and compared. Then…


Southern Italy and Sicily: An Unexpected Tropical Paradise With a Side of History

By Jess Fleming From Pioneer Press St. Paul—During the long, cold Minnesota winter, more than three dozen readers and I had the chance to escape to an unexpected tropical paradise—Sicily and Southern Italy. I had been to Tuscany before, but the beaches, abundant citrus trees, palm trees and agave and prickly pear plants in the…


Destination: Cambria

Cambria, on California’s Central Coast, is one of those special destinations. It offers a spectacular coastline with an abundance of cliff-side trails, verdant hills and valleys ideal for cattle ranching, vineyards and open-air landscape painting. Architecturally Cambria features a remarkable collection of original 19th-century salt-box homes and an early 20th-century downtown district known as East…


America’s Most Beautiful Landscapes: Grandson and Grandma, 93, Visit All 63 US National Parks in a 7-Year Epic Journey

A grandson and his 93-year-old grandmother, who spent nearly a decade estranged, have come together to complete an epic quest: the pair has visited all 63 national parks in the United States in just over seven years. In doing so, the grandma made history. On May 16, “Grandma Joy” Ryan became the oldest living person…


Colorado Wildflowers Could Be Epic This Year Thanks to Abundant Snowpack, but Other Factors in Play

By John Meyer From The Denver Post Denver—With Colorado’s snowpack ranging from ample to exceptional this spring, hikers who adore wildflowers may already be envisioning days of strolling along lush landscapes of spectacular blooms under columbine-blue skies when all that snow melts. It could well happen this summer. But because several factors affect the quality…


Plan Well Ahead for an Adventure to Be Remembered

By Lynn O’Rourke Hayes From FamilyTravel.com There are family vacations. And then there are epic adventures that may qualify as the experience of a lifetime Here are five to consider now. Join an Expedition Plan ahead for a winter holiday voyage to introduce the budding scientists in your clan to a one-of-a-kind wilderness. In addition…


South African Adventure: Kruger and Klaserie

In moments like these, the air feels more rare, time seems to slow down, and everything crackles with tension. Just a few minutes earlier, a call came over the radio and my guide, Khutso, quickly put our open-backed Jeep in gear. Doing his best imitation of a Formula One driver, he roared over the rough…