Blog

I’ve landed in the Marshall Islands
Look out the windows on either side of the plane when you fly into Majuro in the Marshall Islands, and you’ll see one thing - water. It’s a little disconcerting. But Majuro, the capital and largest city in the chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls between Hawaii...

On your way to Big Bend, stop by Ferguson Motors in Sanderson
I detoured through the little West Texas town of Sanderson while heading back to Austin from Big Bend recently and discovered a new coffee shop called Ferguson Motors. I first wandered through Sanderson three years ago, when I wrote about the scrappy little town for...

Goats, a yurt and a double moon at Paisano Azul Ranch in Terlingua
Add soaking in an inflatable pool on a deck in the Chihuahuan Desert to the list of things that make me happy. I spent a night at Paisano Azul Ranch in Terlingua, where you can rent a yurt or a small modern cabin, or pitch a tent alongside a cactus-covered hillside. I...

A camping shakeout at McKinney Falls State Park
My backpacking crew is headed east this summer, to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail. I can’t make that trip, since I’m recovering from knee surgery, but I joined the gang for a quick shakeout at McKinney Falls State Park this week. The 641-acre park, located...