175 articles tagged with hiking
There's something profoundly grounding about standing alone beside the Missouri River, watching it carve through ancient stone with the same relentless patience it's held for millennia. Great Falls isn't the Montana most travelers picture—there are no Yellowstone crowds here, no...
Twenty years ago, I discovered that healing waters could change lives. My journey through therapeutic hot springs eventually led me to Taiwan, where Sun Moon Lake became one of my favorite destinations—not just for its famous Wen Wu Temple hot...
When I first told my colleagues I was spending a week working remotely from Carson City, the responses ranged from confused to bemused. Nevada's capital? Isn't that just a pit stop between Reno and Lake Tahoe? But here's what most...
When my Edinburgh-based tech colleagues suggested Chattanooga for our spring team-building trip, I'll admit I was skeptical. Could a Tennessee city really deliver the adrenaline rush our group craved? Spoiler: it absolutely did. Nestled between the Cumberland Plateau and the...
When most people think of Nevada, they picture casinos and neon lights. But as someone who's explored valleys from the Pantanal to the Alaskan wilderness, I can tell you that Reno holds secrets that rival any ecological wonder I've witnessed....
Most people think of Reno as just casinos and neon lights, but I'm here to tell you about a different side of the Biggest Little City—one that reminds me why I fell in love with Western landscapes after moving from...
After three decades analyzing balance sheets in Chicago, I've developed an appreciation for experiences that offer genuine return on investment—both financially and spiritually. Edinburgh, my ancestral homeland, delivers precisely that. Whilst tourists queue for castle tours, the city's surrounding landscape...
When I first planned a research trip to Arkansas to study pre-Columbian earthworks, I expected academic fieldwork—not the revelation that this state harbors some of the most accessible yet wild outdoor spaces in America. Little Rock surprised me with its...
The human brain responds powerfully to elevation—both literal and metaphorical. Standing 2,300 feet above Rio de Janeiro on my first morning atop Pedra Bonita, watching hang gliders launch themselves into the void, I experienced what psychologists call 'awe'—that rare emotion...
There's something magical about Montana in the summer that keeps drawing me back, despite having access to the world's most exclusive destinations. Bozeman—a place where rugged mountain ranges frame crystal-clear skies and where luxury and simplicity dance in perfect harmony—offers...
Standing at the edge of Lake Superior, watching the morning mist roll off what appears to be a massive stone giant in repose, I'm reminded why I abandoned my climate-controlled lab for these wilderness excursions. The Sibley Peninsula, or what...
There's something magical about cities that embrace their mountainous surroundings, and Bogotá exemplifies this perfect marriage of urban energy and natural escape. After years of scaling Italian cliffs, I found myself drawn to Colombia's capital and its towering guardian—Monserrate. Standing...
The first time I visited Rapid City, I expected Mount Rushmore to be the pinnacle of my experience. Little did I know the surrounding Black Hills would reveal themselves as a sociological goldmine—spaces where nature and human history collide to...
The first time my boots hit the dirt paths of Skiathos, I knew I'd found something special. This isn't your typical Greek island experience of just beaches and ouzo (though there's plenty of both). Beneath the tourist veneer lies a...
Standing at the edge of a cliff in Meteora last fall, watching the morning mist swirl around ancient monasteries perched impossibly on stone pillars, I couldn't help but whisper *'¡Qué maravilla!'* This wasn't my first rodeo with breathtaking landscapes—from Patagonia's...
