I can almost count on one hand the number of experienced sunrises in my life. Not much for rising before the sun, most of those sunrises have involved an early travel day. After 27 hours of travel to reach the island of Santorini from the middle of the United States, I arrived to the island’s main town of Fira under the cover of night and jet lag. After a quick meal and a shower, I am out like the light, but not for long. The church bells will soon ring. Under such conditions, I knew a sunrise was in my future. I rose to Fira’s blue gates leading toward the sea. The sun and the tourists in Continue Reading
A Day in Oia’s Paradise Lost
Grabbing the northern red cliffs of Santorini, similar to that of a parent’s grasp on a roaming toddler, the village of Oia bathes in the spotlight. It is no wonder Santorini hangs on to this settlement with such a firm grip. Oia is the popularized Greece, the image you will often see on any article featuring the Greek islands. It is the blue domes, the whitewashed buildings, the windmills that serve no function other than being aesthetically pleasing. I could see Oia from the distance in Fira. I knew it would be a challenge to reach with a bag fit for a month in Europe. We arrived as Continue Reading
Ancient Thira Wishes You Were Here
To truly see a new place, the traveler must find the highest point. Uncovering the highest point of a destination can be advantageous to the lost explorer looking to find their place on the map. Most importantly, to know a new place, you must find the metaphorical high point, even if the lows surround you. On the Greek island of Santorini in the Cyclades, it was often difficult for me to find the high points. Bogged down with overpriced resorts, plenty of tourist traps and clogged roads with ATVs steered by those in tank tops and colored the bright red of tomatoes, I was beginning to Continue Reading
A Colorado Ghost Town Survivor: Silver, Spooks and St. Elmo
It always seems to take longer going to a place than coming away from it. Roughly three hours from Denver, we made the turn west in between two mountain peaks. Stuck between a rock and hard place, we continue up a road that turns from pavement to rock to dirt. With each twist and turn, we question whether we have missed the very place we seek. When you set out in search of a ghost town, it isn’t surprising to wonder if it has vanished from the road. After nearly turning around, we finally receive affirmation that the ghost town is still up ahead. St. Elmo sits in Chaffee County, close to Continue Reading
Pikes Peak Wishes You Were Here
When Zebulon Pike first set out to climb what he deemed the “Great Peak” in 1806, he was eventually forced to retreat due to a blizzard. Perhaps to make himself feel better, he speculated that it would never be surmounted. Despite not being the first to climb such great heights, Pike would have the last laugh with the lasting name. I have just passed the tollgate to enter the Pikes Peak Highway, a 19-mile journey to the top of the most visited mountain in North America and the second most visited mountain in the world. Over a half a million people each year make the journey by foot, bike, car Continue Reading
Oklahoma Wishes You Were Here
It is my favorite time of day heading south from the Oklahoma Panhandle, the western most part of the state that looks just like its name describes, the handle of a pan. The sun is beginning to take on its most magical light, the light that dances across the land and makes any stretch look appealing. I left for Oklahoma at perhaps the worst time to do so, during tornado season. A week prior, the widest tornado in the history of the United States roared through these now very peaceful lands. Largely forgotten from any traveler’s itinerary, Oklahoma fascinates me with its survivor mentality. Continue Reading
Conquering Castles in Eastern Colorado
The wind howls as though fall is dancing into winter. It is just over 50 degrees as I cover the last stretch of the trail. A covered wagon would sure come in handy right about now. My fellow travelers and I battle the winds and the cold to reach shelter just up ahead. It has been a long journey, one filled with unknowns and danger, but at long last, we have reached neutral ground. I am out in Eastern Colorado, a part of the state few come to see, but back in the 1830s and 1840s, this was the “Castle in the Plains”. Bent’s Old Fort sits just 8 miles east of La Junta, Colorado, off of a Continue Reading