The mountain switchbacks seemed endless as Dad drove the Ford station wagon with our family of six from Portland to Crater Lake National Park. We stopped just short of the park entrance for a leisurely …
March 20, 2016
Back to profile
Stories by Karin Leperi
Remembering Crater Lake
Welcome to Florida's Conch Republic
The Florida Keys attract a cast of irreverent, lively characters and denizens – independent folk who embrace the perks of island living. Perhaps that’s why the Keys became the “Conch Republic” in 1982, succeeding with …
May 29, 2015
Grand Canyon in the winter – best time to visit?
The Grand Canyon is such a magnificent piece of real estate that the awesome impact of its natural beauty can't be totally absorbed in one visit. That's why a trip to the Grand Canyon in …
February 19, 2015
Cayman Islands: from stingrays to tax shelters
Coral outcrops surrounded by coral reefs, the Cayman Islands are three tiny islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman) comprising the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands in the western Caribbean. Just south of …
Hook to cook: fishing Alabama's Gulf Coast
There’s a place on the Gulf Coast where the ocean sparkles turquoise, white sand sifts through your toes, and the water teems with fish of all types: amberjack, snapper, grouper, triggerfish, mackerel, shark. Alabama’s Gulf …
Fredericksburg, VA: America's most historic city
The Interstate 95 (aka I-95) is the main highway on the East Coast, running parallel to the Atlantic Ocean seaboard on a north-south trajectory and serving as the principal artery for cities from Florida to …
June 28, 2014
Texas two-steppin' in Fort Worth
Cowboy culture is alive and well in Fort Worth, a city of about 775,000 just to the west of Dallas (and often lumped in the same metropolitan area). Fort Worth's a colorful composite of cattle …
April 28, 2014
Kentucky's bourbon country
Billed as the “Horse Capital of the World,” Lexington, Kentucky, is also home to some of the world’s greatest bourbon. And, surprisingly, it hosts a robust, thriving food scene, showcasing an innovation more typical of …
January 13, 2014
Ohio's best-kept secret: state park lodges
Last summer, I stayed with a close friend of mine for almost three months in a small city called Stowe, Ohio. Not once during my local travels and explorations of the Buckeye State did I …
October 6, 2013
Pagosa Springs, CO: hot springs, cool mountains
There’s an “almost” secret place in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, also known as the San Juan Mountains, where sulfuric-laden hot springs bubble to the surface, spewing forth therapeutic heat and mineral-rich waters from …
August 15, 2013
Wild about FL's Franklin County
There’s a place in Florida where wildlife abounds, where you can snorkel, scuba dive, bird watch, canoe, kayak and hike in relative isolation in Mother Nature’s sanctuary. This same place is a haven for seafood: …
El Paso from six feet under
I’ve never considered visiting graveyards a “must-see” travel experience, but I’ll have to admit that lately I am finding a wealth of history and a deep sense of place that develops necessarily when jaunting graveyard …
April 25, 2013
Here Be Dragons: Ascending Switzerland's Mt. Pilatus
High above the bustling lake town of Lucerne, Switzerland, lies the rugged cliffs and steep mountain terrain of Mount Pilatus. It’s here where the legendary dragons of yore resided – in particular, a winged dragon …
February 4, 2013
MONA: World's Most Unconventional Museum
It just opened on January 21, 2011, and already it's the most talked-about museum in the world. And who could have guessed? David Walsh, the eccentric pro gambler and millionaire founder of MONA, or the …
August 7, 2012
Melbourne Street Art
Across the street diagonally from Federation Square – a celebrated architectural icon and Melbourne cultural center – is a hidden laneway named Hosier Lane. It’s here where I start my urban encounter with the street …
June 30, 2012
Changi Airport, Singapore: Layover Shangri-la
I just returned from a marathon flight halfway around the world, where I was faced with a layover of almost seven hours in Singapore. By my calculations, that translated to almost a day before I …
Christchurch, New Zealand's International Antarctic Centre
In February 2011, Christchurch captured world headlines when New Zealand’s second-largest city was jolted by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, flattening downtown buildings and claiming 181 human lives in its debris-laden wake. Though parts of downtown …
March 9, 2012
Oklahoma City: Who Knew?
The last time I'd been in Oklahoma City was as a 6 year-old child. My family was passing through on our annual road trip from California to Indiana to visit aging relatives. What I remember …
November 25, 2011
Cody, Wyoming: Stoking My Inner Cowgirl
I must've been a cowgirl in a previous life, because nothing can quite explain the immediate attraction and connection I experienced on a recent trip to Cody, Wyoming. From immersing myself in Western culture at …
September 15, 2011
Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, Oregon
On a recent visit to Portland, Oregon, I found myself unexpectedly with an extra day in my itinerary. So, being an aviation buff and former flight engineer in the Naval Air Reserve, it was a …
August 16, 2011
Shenandoah National Park: Mountains that Whisper
“For me, it’s Yosemite and Shenandoah.” ~ Ken Burns, documentary filmmaker As I sit perched atop Blackrock Summit, the highest point in the Big Meadows area at 3,721 feet, I ponder the panoramic vista of …
July 5, 2011
Panama in the Buff
Today, wedged between the old and the new, the natural and the modern, Panama is a country of both paradox and transition. With a biodiversity exceeding its more famous neighbor to the northwest – Costa …
June 9, 2011