Off the Beaten Path

Imagine spending days, even weeks, in the vast plains with only your horse and your loyal dog for company. Herding cattle during the day, sipping mate next to the campfire at night. The need for human interaction will be met at the nearest pulpería, although near and far are relative terms in the Argentinean Pampas. Deliver the cattle to the port first or take it to a distant pasture and only then you can relax and stock up on staples.

The Scottish Highlands are a place of ancient history, stunning natural beauty, and magic. Among the older generations, some claim that high in its earthy hills you’ll find the homes of creatures only heard about in legend.

Mountains are where heaven high-fives the earth. Indonesia is a diverse destination with 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, the world’s sixth-largest island.  West Sumatra, on the Indian Ocean, is often overlooked by most international travelers.  However, Indonesians have long been drawn to this province’s much cooler mountainous highlands, particularly its centerpiece, Bukittinggi.

Vintage cars fill the gymnasium. They straddle bleacher seats and occupy the showers. They fill room after room of the main building. There are cars in the woods, cars under tents, and cars in garages undergoing restoration. More cars pack a vast storage building literally to the rafters. If you think car museums are all alike, then you haven't seen the LeMay Collections at Marymount.

I adore the prairies of America’s Great Plains and especially Nebraska’s version. I’ve crisscrossed this Wyoming-bordering state a few times and recently returned to focus on its two largest cities—Omaha and Lincoln—and a few traveler-worthy gems that lie between them. Omaha, Warren Buffet’s hometown, has been hosting the annual 10-day college baseball world series since the 1950s. The city, rich in research hospitals, is also a dining and merriment hotspot.

The popularity of this valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is also its greatest drawback. If you visit during a busy part of the day, it may take two to three hours to drive the single-lane loop—especially if cars are stopping to view American black bears or other wildlife that have wandered near the roadside. Instead of an awe-inspiring commune with nature, you might end up feeling like you’re stuck in traffic.

I entered Peru via Bolivia – on a boat from Lake Titicaca and then a bus across the border. Peru marked my 40th country visited. At an altitude of 4,000+ meters,  I was riding high and proud of traveling through 40 countries as a solo female traveler. I felt like an old pro, until the altitude really did get to me.

Fresh lynx tracks weave through deep powder near Quesnel Lake in British Columbia's Cariboo Mountains. At minus 18 degrees Celsius, the morning air crystallizes our breath as Ryan, our EcoTours BC guide, motions us to pause. Though the elusive lynx remains hidden, its story is written in the snow. Here, it stalked a snowshoe hare. There, it rested beneath a sheltering spruce. Its tracks trace a single line across the surface of a frozen river. The vast wilderness stretches before us, an untamed landscape where mountain peaks disappear into low clouds and ancient forests harbor secrets beneath 27 feet of annual snowfall.

People tend to skip over Sumatra when they travel to Indonesia. Bali is always their top pick. In North Sumatra lies Lake Toba, a hidden gem that intertwines historical and cultural allure.

Dharavi, in central Mumbai, is considered one of the largest slums in Asia, but deep within this neighborhood, below the shanty grey roofs, loosely comprised of scavenged, upcycled metal, lives a resourceful and innovative community that plays an imperative role in Mumbai’s city-wide waste management.

Although I’ve lived in Phoenix, Arizona for twenty years of my life, there are still times I wonder why on earth someone thought it would be a good idea to build a city in the middle of a desert with no water source.

...if you find your way east of Phoenix and approach the small town of Apache Junction, the city lights melt away and the mountains rise to meet you. As cacti replace streetlights and horses replace sports cars, you might wonder if you’ve stepped back into the Wild West.