In the harshest of environments, a gentle mountain goat poses for the clicks of a few cameras. He doesn’t care I am invading his mountain, a mountain of 14,130 feet. No, he will ham it up for someone who enjoys the camera just the same. I am on top of Mount Evans in Colorado where the Continental Divide is almost in full view. You can see storms up ahead signaling to me it’s time to head down the highest paved road in America. Opened in 1931, the road was originally intended to connect with Highway 285, an infeasible feat, as time would tell. Despite the impossibility, they kept this Continue Reading
The Tale of The Belfast Thief: What I Learned About Travel and Theft
I was just days away from going home after my first time trying solo travel. I had a certain confidence I didn’t have when I left Colorado. I managed to drive all the way around Ireland by myself, navigating solely on roads that should really be called sidewalks. I talked to strangers. I drank Guinness. My Ireland trip was a success in all regards until I hit Belfast. I checked into my guesthouse, right near Queen’s University. I was already impressed by Belfast. I had driven through years ago with family, but I was more preoccupied by men with machines guns and barbed wire than getting a Continue Reading
Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of July 18, 2011
As I wonder where July is going, I bring you this week’s Suzy Stumbles Over Travel. Each week I ask writers and readers to submit their favorite travel posts of the week. I read each submission, comment, tweet the article on Twitter, stumble it using Stumbleupon and place a link to the post on my Facebook page. The goal is to promote your work that might not have gotten the attention you think it deserved. The following week I select my five favorites to be featured here and the stumbling begins into the next week. Just a few things to keep in mind, please only submit one post per person Continue Reading
Redhead Reviews Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 For Travel Photography
Full Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. While my thoughts and opinions about the product are my own, your results might vary. Photography is such a vital part of travel. If you can’t capture where you have been, it can be a challenge to keep up with those travel memories. I am a point and shoot camera totting traveler. I don’t have a fancy pants camera, just my trusted Canon. When I get home from an adventure, I try to make the best of what I have captured, usually with just a simple click of the “Enhance” button on iPhoto. Sometimes I kick myself for Continue Reading
Arches National Park, Utah Wishes You Were Here
Three women gossip on top of red rocks. They watch each car pass by as the cameras click, whispering in each others' ears in comment. At Arches National Park just outside of Moab, Utah, these women never seem to leave. However they might one day if erosion has anything to do with it. From the La Sal Mountains Viewpoint you can see these Three Gossips on the left, the Tower of Babel on the right and the Organ just in front on the right. The landscape appears not of this world, but another, so red, so creative in formation and so empty at the same time. Feelings of emptiness are short Continue Reading
Showers, Smells and Excuses on Travel Planning
I awoke yesterday morning, just like every other. I headed down to start the coffee. I took a sip and began writing away the morning. By noon, I figure I should join the human race and shower. I had bought a shampoo I also brought to Italy last summer. Lathering up, I was suddenly transported to that turquoise and yellow bathroom in Florence. It is amazing how a simple smell of recognition can bring you back to a time, to a place and most importantly to a state of mind. The smells of travel are what remind me to get out of my routine. I might put on a certain perfume or lotion I brought to Continue Reading
Suzy Stumbles Over Travel: Week of July 11, 2011
Another year older, I bring you this week’s Suzy Stumbles Over Travel. In case you are new to this site, each week I ask writers and readers to submit their favorite travel posts of the week. I read each submission, comment, tweet the article on Twitter, stumble the piece using Stumbleupon and place a link to the post on my Facebook page. The following Monday, I feature my five favorite submissions submitted last week and the stumbling continues into the next week. Just a few things to keep in mind, the post must be travel related. You have until the end of the day on Friday to submit. Continue Reading