When I first started traveling, it made sense to do multi-day group bus tours: it was economical (a big bang for the buck), it was a lot of activity packed into a short amount of time, they took care of all the transportation and hotel arrangements, and I didn’t even…
In Junior High, the time when other kids are the most critical if you look a little bit different, I used to go to swim team practice before school. Which meant that, without a miracle, my red chlorine eyes were going to get all kinds of the wrong attention. So…
My parents, who both grew up in Idaho (my mom in Boise, and my dad in the small northern town of Kellogg), moved our family to Coeur d’Alene in 1966. That was when my dad bought his first business (of 28 he bought and sold) at age 29: Eddyville Lodge,…
The Smoky Mountains have a special allure. Perhaps it is the southern Appalachian culture or the ever present morning fog (“smoke”), but with over 11 million visitors per year who do not have to pay a dime to enter, no wonder it is the most visited National Park in America….
One of the most remote places on earth is Easter Island, which is about 2300 miles out into the Pacific Ocean from Chile. Over the years I had heard so much about it: the mystery, the conjecture, but even more than that, it was something I had to purposely plan…
It’s a story that has fascinated throughout the centuries, and drawn the readers of Genesis 6-9 into the drama and spectacle of Noah and his family, the ark and the flood. So, it’s one of the coolest things ever that a group of visionaries put together a team of engineers,…
Before I saw it on a list of Most Amazing Ancient Ruins to See Before You Die, I had never heard of Tikal. So, in my quest to visit exotic places that show up on “lists,” it was off to Guatemala! I signed up for full day tour that included…
Where can you walk down ancient streets that still show the ruts of wagon wheels and the signs of everyday life before it became a tomb for 2000 people? It is the largest outdoor museum in the world, and located about 5 miles from the source of its destruction, Mount…
Madagascar is located off the the southern coast of Africa and is the 4th largest island in the world (around 229,000 square miles or a little smaller than the size of Texas). The very name conjures up images of exotic creatures and endless lush landscape. I had wanted to go…
My experience in India was a love-hate relationship: while I’m glad I went and saw amazing sites in person, the extreme poverty (and corresponding beggars), traffic congestion (and corresponding pollution), and garbage piled everywhere (and corresponding stench) was an assault on my senses. I felt the cloud of spiritual warfare…