Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located near Washington State's southern border – 96 miles south of Seattle and 50 miles northeast of Portland. On May 18, 1980, the eruption changed more than 200 …
November 1, 2011
Travel Stories
Mount St. Helens, Washington: An American Volcano
A Week in Madrid, Spain
I was at the end of adjuncting three college courses, and hadn’t traveled internationally since 2006 when my husband and I went to Taipei to visit family. I had some money and time to go …
October 26, 2011
Dreaming with Freud in Vienna, Austria
Vienna, Austria, is a dreamlike city filled with two imperial palaces, one hundred art museums and countless Viennese cafes. So where do you begin for only a few days’ visit? If, like me, you’re married …
Discovering Phoenix, Arizona
Living in Southern California, I’ve always been interested in the dry desert climate of our neighbor to the east, Arizona. Last December, when we finally visited Phoenix, we got a much better idea of landscape …
October 25, 2011
Kappa
“What is that, a duck?” David followed my gaze to the green-painted humanoid statue. “Looks more like a turtle,” he said. “Turtles don’t have beaks. And look at its head – maybe it’s some kind …
October 25, 2011
Chihuahua Desert, Mexico: Dancing with El Diablo
A good friend of mine was doing her doctoral research in the middle of nowhere in the Mexican desert, and she invited me down for a visit. I couldn’t say no, because I love the …
October 20, 2011
Fall in the Eastern Sierras, California
You don’t need to travel to New England to see fabulous fall colors – a tank-and-a-half of gas away, California's Eastern Sierras are on full autumn display. A very early snowfall, up to 19 inches …
October 18, 2011
Checking Out the Wright Brothers in Dayton, Ohio
You know that they made that historic first airplane flight (in 1903). Perhaps you’ve heard they’re from North Carolina. And if you’ve seen pictures of the Wrights, it’s not surprising if you sized them up …
Hanoi, Vietnam: Looking Toward the Future
Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and second-largest city, is one of the most beautiful capitals in Asia. Most well known to Americans for its role in the Vietnam War, Hanoi celebrated its 1,000th birthday in 2010. As …
Plane Truth?
I’ve logged enough miles in the air to know that no flight is a go until those wheels leave the ground. This is why I was mildly disappointed but not terribly surprised when, after we’d …
October 16, 2011
Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma
How can you stay in the U.S. and yet be in another nation? You can in Cherokee Nation, located outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the state's northeastern corner. The Cherokee had been based chiefly in North …
October 14, 2011