The last time a foreign military force invaded the continental United States was on March 9, 1916, when Pancho Villa's raiders sneaked over the Mexican border and attacked the small town of Columbus, New Mexico. …
June 28, 2011
United States
Columbus, New Mexico, and Pancho Villa
Grayton Beach State Park, Florida
Eight days into our around-the-country trip, my friend and I walked the long stretch of white sand beach in Grayton Beach State Park from the setting sun towards the rising full moon. We had pulled …
June 23, 2011
On the Chesapeake: Easton, Maryland
As I drove east across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at dusk, a Peregrine falcon rose from the water over the railing and above the car into the trusses above, a fish gripped firmly in its …
June 21, 2011
Roswell, New Mexico
Located in the Pecos Valley, Roswell grew up around large cattle ranches on land previously occupied by Mescalero Apaches. From the development of Fort Stanton in 1855 to the closure of the Walker Air Force …
June 21, 2011
Camping in South-Central Miami
Through the thin walls of the tent, I hear an elephant trumpet, and a breeze caries its musty smell across the open expanse. Somewhere nearby, a lion joins in. If you had told me this …
June 16, 2011
Vikingsholm Castle, Lake Tahoe
Vikingsholm Castle sits at the bottom of a steep, mile-long switchback driveway that drops 500 feet to the shore of Lake Tahoe. Once at the bottom, I purchased a ticket to participate in a guided …
June 16, 2011
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West
Of all the buildings that Frank Lloyd Wright designed, his favorite was Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona. It’s one of the most popular destinations for lovers and admirers of the architect’s work, and, with the …
June 14, 2011
Historic Coronado, California
I float in a sun-warmed, peanut-shaped tile pool, watching the breeze flip the palm fronds against a turquoise San Diego sky, sipping a midday mimosa. Cally, the woman for whom I was house sitting, had …
June 9, 2011
Southeast Alaska: Craig and Klawock
You arrive at the Ketchikan Airport and quickly transfer to the Island Air Express counter. You excitedly secure your seatbelt and headphones inside the tiny nine-passenger aircraft. Within five minutes you’re soaring with the eagles …
June 7, 2011
Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico
Carlsbad Cavern National Park lies within the limestone Guadalupe Mountain range – the world’s best-preserved Permian-age fossil reef – in what was once a shallow inland sea some 240-plus million years ago. I talked my …
June 7, 2011
241 mariachi players missing
Crack Bust. A routine traffic stop on April 10 led to the arrest of a woman carrying 12 rocks of crack cocaine in her vaginal cavity. According to the report filed by officer Nicholas Juarez, …
June 1, 2011
Hellhole Canyon, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Pummeled by roaring, tent-folding winds most of the night, I awoke to the softest of morning gusts coming out of the canyon. Swaying in my hammock, I sipped freshly brewed licorice root tea surrounded by …
May 26, 2011
Snorkeling in Turtle Bay, Oahu
They don't call it Sunset Beach for nothing. The fading light casts vivid ambers and reds down the shoreline on the northwest of the island of Oahu. The rolling waves glisten, radiant, and a seal …
May 24, 2011
Filoli Gardens, California
With the fragrance of wisteria in the air, one million daffodils in full bloom stand brightly in meadows near the Santa Cruz Mountains. At Filoli Gardens, forty-eight varieties of daffodils – including 65,000 golden dawns …
May 22, 2011
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
The Amistad National Recreational Area on the Mexican border is beautiful waterway, surrounded with blooming prickly pear cactus and wildflowers. And, apparently, monster snakes. I was careful as I made my way down the rocky …
May 21, 2011