Stuffed: The International Tamale Festival
Category: DestinationsEvery year in Indio, California, those who make the best tamales come to compete.
We happened to be near the area for the 30th Anniversary of the festival, which...
Mac’s View: Los Angeles– a Scary Place!
Category: Mac's ViewHello, it's me again-- Mac.
I hate to say anything bad about a place, but I really don't like Los Angeles-- it's a pretty terrifying city.
I want to...
Cities: Los Angeles, CA
Category: CitiesLos Angeles-- a city I've visited plenty of times-- for work, for pleasure travel, and to see old friends. And it's the place Moon grew up, so neither of...
Dive of the Week: Sloane’s (Indio, CA)
Category: Dive of the WeekBeing a vegetarian means you don't often get to order the House Special.
So many specialty dishes in restaurants are meat-based, and therefore Moon gets to experience these things...
Whiteout: White Sands National Park
Category: DestinationsIt's a National Park that lies smack in the middle of an active missile testing range.
Thus, it's advisable to check in advance to ensure there are no tests...
Past the Mission: the San Antonio Missions
Category: DestinationsI'm a history buff, but I had never been to The Alamo before.
And I hadn't necessarily wanted to, either. History is far grayer than a hero-villain portrayal, and...
Roadside Nonsense: Stonehenge II
Category: Roadside NonsenseI absolutely love having a proper road atlas. Call me old-fashioned, but algorithms and Google searches are only going to provide the most popular destinations-- and in my experience,...
Scene Around (Gallery): Driving Through Texas
Category: Scene AroundI don't have to tell you that Texas is a really vast state. Driving aaalllllll the way through it takes time-- and can be a slog, even with frequent...
Tailgating for Crafts: Houston’s Nutcracker Holiday Market
Category: DestinationsThis was the National Championship of Craft Shopping.
As we pulled into the convention center parking lot, we saw large groups of women in chairs behind their vehicles --...
Dive of the Week: Karbach Brewery (Houston)
Category: Dive of the WeekIn Houston, Karbach Brewery was tucked way back in a plaza-- the way good stuff tends to be, especially in Texas-- where strip malls contain multitudes. In a world...
Cities: Texarkana, TX (and AR)
Category: CitiesTexarkana is a city literally split in half, straddling two state borders.
Having traveled to Texas for over a decade for work, I can attest that even Texans are...
Roadside Nonsense: Robo World
Category: Roadside NonsensePeople who nerd out about things and take them to extremes-- that's really what roadside America is all about.
In Hot Springs, Arkansas, the newly-opened "Robo World" was a...
Odd Medicine: Hot Springs National Park
Category: DestinationsHot Springs National Park is the smallest of all the national parks in the system, and, though it only gained the designation of "National Park" in 2018, was one...
Dive of the Week: Root Cafe in Little Rock
Category: Dive of the WeekIn Little Rock, the Root Cafe offered a delightful setting for "second breakfast" as we rolled into town.
I ordered a "breakfast bahn mi" -- which consisted of two...
Cities: Memphis, TN
Category: CitiesOne of the most historically-significant cities in history, Memphis has a ton to offer to visitors who are keen to soak up the past in order to help make...
Cities: Nashville, TN
Category: CitiesNashville is a city that is made of full-on energy, non-stop.
I'd been to Nashville more than a few times for work, but rarely got to see much of...
Roadside Nonsense: The National Corvette Museum
Category: Roadside NonsenseWhat drew us to the National Corvette Museum wasn't the Corvettes.
Neither Moon or I are big on cars-- instead, we were there to 1. visit on behalf of...
Less Batty: Mammoth Cave National Park
Category: DestinationsMammoth Cave in Kentucky carries the title of the world's longest cave system, at 420 miles of passageways (that they have surveyed and therefore, know about). The park rangers...
Mac’s View: Squirrels– a Menace
Category: Mac's ViewIt's me, Mac.
I hate to break up the fun, but I would like to talk to you about a very serious matter.
SQUIRRELS.
Squirrels are the worst-- the...
Cities: Louisville, KY
Category: CitiesOne of the cities that charmed us the most thus far was Louisville, Kentucky.
A small city with a humble vibe, in which everyone was very open and accessible--...
Roadside Nonsense: The Creation Museum (OMG)
Category: Roadside NonsenseTravel is about having experiences you normally wouldn't-- and the way I see it, sometimes that involves challenging yourself to enter places that you don't even really WANT to...
Take a Walk: Cuyahoga National Park
Category: DestinationsThe Western National Parks will spoil you.
The awe-inspiring grandeur of the West: the sharp mountain peaks, the big game roaming the valleys, the cascading waterfalls, the mammoth tree...
You Bet Your Aspen: Rocky Mountain National Park
Category: DestinationsThe impossibly-bright yellow leaves of an aspen tree in fall might be one of nature's most brilliant displays.
Instead of hiking briskly, the aspens had me strolling slowly-- my...
Hamlet of the Week: Ely, NV
Category: Hamlet of the Week"The Loneliest Road in America" is Route 50, according to both local lore and Life Magazine. And it's not an over-exaggeration-- one might only see a few drivers while...
Older than Dirt: Great Basin National Park
Category: DestinationsI'd never heard of Great Basin National Park until I saw it on our atlas.
The lesser-known parks still feel like hidden gems, as despite their mighty designation, they...
Making Tracks: Off-roading in Moab
Category: DestinationsThree straight days of off-road training seemed like a good idea, at the time.
You see, I was trying to learn as much as possible about driving my 9,500-pound...
Roadside Nonsense: The International Car Forest of the Last Church
Category: Roadside NonsenseWe tend to "jerk the wheel" when we see something unusual-- on the road, it's an urge you HAVE to allow yourself to give into. In our experience, if...
Cities: Omaha, NB
Category: Cities"Oma-HA!! Oma-HA!!"
Moon did not get the Eli Manning reference. I did it again for good measure:
"Oma-HA!!"
Moon blinked repeatedly. No dice. Like a tree falling in the forest, a...
Scene Around: Mom’s Cafe
Category: Scene Around'Second Breakfast' stops are some of our favorites on the road-- and Mom's Cafe in Salina, Utah is a real gem-- part of the tradition of little restaurants that...
Hamlet of the Week: Winnemucca, NV
Category: Hamlet of the WeekWinnemucca, Nevada-- a city that is famous for something that never happened. Well, it's not that it didn't happen, it's just that the myth doesn't exactly match the reality....
Scene Around: Nevada-Utah Border
Category: Scene AroundOn the border of Nevada and Utah, there's... almost nothing.
Except for loads of blowing dust.
Except a casino for those Utahans who are pious but also a little gambling-curious....
Mac’s View: a “Bark Ranger”
Category: Mac's ViewHey, it's me again-- Mac.
I had the most exciting time in Petrified Wood National Park-- first of all, it's one of only a few National Parks that...
Dried Out: Petrified Forest National Park
Category: DestinationsEver wonder what a changing climate can do to a lush rainforest?
Petrified Forest National Park provides a stark answer.
At first, Petrified Forest appears barren, devoid of life-- looking...
In Bloom: Saguaro National Park
Category: DestinationsWe got lucky; the desert was blooming when we arrived.
For those who travel into nature, you know that what you see, is often about when you see.
No advanced planning...
Person of Interest: This Doggo
Category: Person of InterestPulling up to Petrified Forest National Park this spring, I was lucky enough to meet perhaps the coolest dog I've ever met. His overprotective mother had bought him UV-blocking...
Mac’s View: ‘Hi, it’s Me, Mac.’
Category: Mac's ViewHi, it's me, Mac.
When I first started exploring and hiking with my parents, I really had no idea where it would take me. Sure, I loved hanging my...
Dive of the Week: Waffle Hut and Eatery
Category: Dive of the WeekIn Klamath Falls, Oregon, is the strangest, best waffle I have ever tasted.
The menu front proudly told the story of the "Liege" waffle-- which I thought was actually...