Why Don’t American Travel More?
During the last decade as I’ve traveled around the world, I’ve noticed something, almost from the first week I was outside of the United States: American’s don’t travel much. That isn’t to say I never meet Americans, but given the size and wealth of the country, there seems to be a significant dearth of Americans …
The Arid Trails of Big Bend National Park
As I close in on my quest to visit every National Park in the United States, there are still a few I have yet to visit. Today’s guest, Kay Rodriguez, gives us a taste of one of the lesser visited national parks in the US: Big Bend National Park, Texas. Everyone knows the stereotypes about …
25 Random Thoughts On Visiting My 250th World Heritage Site
Last month I spent 2 hours exploring the Emperor Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, Italy. It marked my 250th visit to a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here is a collection of thoughts and facts about world heritage sites that I’ve collected over the last 6 years: 1) As of the time of writing, there are 962 …
Moon Rock Redux
If you have been following my site for a while, or have gone back to read my old posts, you will remember the discovery I made in the Solomon Islands. I found a moon rock from the Apollo missions in an open display cabinet at the national museum in Honiara. (I think that post has …
New Zealand Help
It appears that I’ll be staying here till next Wednesday, then leaving for New Zealand for two weeks. While I planned on visiting New Zealand, I didn’t plan on visiting this soon. As it turns out, this will probably work out for the best as I won’t need to make a return trip to New …
Alive at Ground Zero
I’m well in Hiroshima. First, I’m finally around other tourists. Tons in Hiroshima especially around the Peace Park. Second, I get off the train, start looking at bus routes and a Japanese woman comes up to me and says in English “are you lost?” So much for people not speaking English. They also have electronics …
Ascending the Summit
I’m am writing this from base camp. Tomorrow I make the final push to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak on the Australian continent. Unlike Everest base camp, you don’t see as many tents and oxygen bottles here. Also, there are no sherpas. To climb Kosy, you have to carry your own gear. …
Donate to Support Philippines Relief Efforts
One thing that traveling has done for me is that it has a given me a more visceral and emotional connection to many places around the world. When a disaster strikes someplace I’ve been, it isn’t just a abstract curiosity. Traveling makes the people and places who are effected real. The Philippines is a real …