Travel

Solo Traveler: The Stripper’s Keys

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Solo Traveler: The Stripper’s Keys
Column by SHERRY HARDAGE

As a solo traveler, I’ve learned the hard way that there is no one to count on but myself. That means I have to be über-responsible, always alert and on guard.

Traveling in second- and third-world countries, every day is a training ground. Literally, the ground must be watched carefully, or I will fall, trip, drop into a hole, or have my feet slide out from under me. Falling is by far my biggest travel fear, and I seem to have a trip per trip, no matter how careful I am.

The other great fear is losing something extremely valuable, like the Read More

Solo Traveler: Planning a Really Big Trip … Alone

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Solo Traveler: Planning a Really Big Trip … Alone
Column by SHERRY HARDAGE

Surely every person with a few decades under the belt has a list of things they still want to do before kicking the bucket.

As I’ve gotten older the list has grown. Every time I check off an item I find more places or things to add to it.

Many years ago, I went to San Francisco with a friend. We had such a good time and saw so little of that wonderful city that I vowed one day I would return and live there for a year. At that time, I hadn’t traveled much outside the U.S. and thought I would love to live for a year in different American cities. Read More

‘A Down Under Photo Adventure’ at Mountaineers Meeting 7:30 p.m. Today!

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Sunset on Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand. Today’s meeting of the Los Alamos Mountaineers will feature photography from a month-long exploration of Australia and New Zealand. Photo by Momo Vuyisich

Misty rainforest in Blue Mountains National Park, Australia. Photo by Momo Vuyisich

LAM News:

Late in 2012 – our winter, their summer – Momo Vuyisich of Los Alamos and his family took a month-long camping trip through Australia and New Zealand.

They drove, hiked, kayaked and flew, exploring the forests, cities, mountains and coasts of these two beautiful countries. Read More

Solo Traveler: Traveling For Inspiration

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Solo Traveler: Traveling for inspiration
Column by SHERRY HARDAGE

People who travel broadly do it for a variety of reasons. Personally I love to experience life and culture outside the realm to which I’ve become accustomed.

And in the process, I am often inspired to look at an incident and see it in a wider global context, to put some normal life occurrence into a broader perspective. Once in a while, poetry even gets written.

Iceberg in Alaska. Photo by Sherry Hardage

Alaskan Excursion

The tough old bird
yelled at the clueless
land-living tourists,
gawking at the iceberg
instead of paying attention
Read More

Solo Traveler: Pueblo Magico Comitán de Domíngues

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Solo Traveler
Column by SHERRY HARDAGE

Pueblo Magico Comitán de Domíngues

The Mexican Tourism Board has given the designation Pueblo Magico to a number of cities around the country.

It is an honor indicating a place of exceptional beauty, historical significance, and tourist opportunities that provide a “magical” experience.

Most of them are colonial cities, built during the first 150 years of Spanish occupation. Some, like San Cristóbal de las Casas and Comitán de Domíngues in Chiapas, were founded a mere 50 years after Cortes invaded Mexico.

Comitán is lower in altitude than Read More

Going Wild at Yellow Hills Ranch

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Wild mustangs run free at Yellow Hills Ranch. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
 
A sheep is sheared using traditional methods at the Tierra Wools Spring Fesitval. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com
 
By BONNIE J. GORDON
Los Alamos Daily Post

I recently spent the day in the Chama River Valley on a day-long adventure that took me to the Tierra Wools Spring Festival in the village of Los Ojos and then to Yellow Hills Ranch. I was part of a Yellow Hills Ranch Eco-Tour led by Deborah Stephens.

I joined a small group of fellow adventurers for the 1.5 hour drive, which landed us Read More