In the weeks before arriving in Banff, I read several travel guides, travel blogs, and watch informative and entertaining videos on YouTube. Before I travel anywhere, I do a lot of homework to familiarize myself with the destination. I believe it enhances a trip because it provides a roadmap, so to speak, of places […]
Early in August my wife and I went on an 11-day tour of Banff, Glacier, and Yellowstone National Parks. Being nature lovers, it ranks as one of the most scenic trips we’ve had in our travels in the past few years. With Covid-19 still raising its ugly head around the world, we were relieved to […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Embrace of the Wild Isabella Lucy Bird was a Victorian Age adventurer who endured tremendous hardships in her explorations of the Rockies in 1873. She became the best-loved travel writer of her time, and was the first woman inducted into the Scottish Royal Geographical Society. In my book […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Each day, thousands traverse the narrow road that hugs the coast of Southeast Maui to the village of Hana, one of last remnants of old Hawai’i. Typical bridge on Hana Highway It is a miracle that the over fifty one-lane bridges, many of which are over a hundred […]
While we were visiting family in Wisconsin we took a side trip to the small town of Spring Green, site of Taliesin, home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Why is his home out in the middle-of-nowhere Wisconsin? Because that’s where he grew up. He went off to the University of Wisconsin […]
I’ve been away from home for a little over a week, with a week to go. We’ve had a good time. But honestly, traveling today is more trouble than it used to be. There’s the usual trouble of remembering car keys, room keys, iphone, reading glasses, distance glasses, bug spray, […]
Lisbon is the vibrant capital of Portugal, a gorgeous city steeped in history, impressive architecture, cultural diversity, and friendly residents. The only things that could spoil a visit would be the weather, sitting in an enclosed tour bus, and not having enough time to take in a lot of the activities and sights to satisfy […]
By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Camping tents glow beneath dramatic storm clouds on the edge of the Tatshinshini River in Alaska’s Yukon. As temperatures begin to soar, I dream of the rivers I have known and loved. Tension mounts as I hear the rumble of rapids roiling ahead. Sitting up straight, tucking a […]
We’re driving out to Wisconsin to visit my daughter. On the way we stopped in Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan. The university is famous for many things — well, yes, a 108,000-capacity football stadium, the largest in the U. S. — but also site of a 1960 speech […]
Portugal’s gorgeous Algarve region offers a variety of things to do and see with charming towns, beautiful beaches, rocky coastline, and historic sites. It is the southernmost region of Portugal with about a half-million inhabitants, but it triples during the vacation season with seasonal residents. A marina in Portimão Our two-day visit in early March […]