Traveling west from the plains of North Dakota something interesting happens as you approach Billings. The land begins to break up. The rolling prairie gives way to a fantastic landscape of buttes, plateaus and palisades. Looking around, you find yourself in a different environment. The first city you come to…
Read moreAs winter gives way to spring and COVID restrictions begin to lift, many people are contemplating a road trip this summer. Travel during the pandemic has been a dream when it comes to the cost of fuel, but the promise of more people hitting the road has already driven gas…
Read moreAs winter turns to spring, most cities across the US are opening or expanding indoor dining. Some, like Houston and Dallas, have thrown caution to the wind and are reopening fully with masking and social distancing left to the discretion of the restaurants. Others remain hyper-vigilant, like Los Angeles, which…
Read moreThe story goes like this. Two young enlisted men in their early twenties were tasked with operating a nuclear reactor in the Lost River Desert of Idaho. They were not scientists or engineers. They lacked college degrees. They were graduates of a crash course in how to operate a nuclear…
Read moreIf you’ve been keeping tabs on the world’s largest vacation rental marketplace over the past year, you can be forgiven for thinking Airbnb is on its last legs. Even before the pandemic struck in March of last year, the company was floundering. Any hope of long term profitability was fading….
Read moreDuring the next three months the cost of domestic airfares are at historic lows, but only if you travel in and out of major hubs. If you fly to a city that’s not a major hub, the cost of airfares are higher. To understand why this is happening and how…
Read moreSkiing came to Sun Valley—as it came to all of us—by a roundabout manner. Having existed in Norway for centuries as a form of transportation, it was little regarded as a test of courage and agility until the mid-19th century when those nutty Norwegians embraced the death defying thrills of…
Read moreThis year’s ski season has been both rewarding and challenging. Rewarding because capacity limits at most American ski resorts have made the mountains less crowded than usual. Challenging because policy changes have made things confusing for some. Here’s how ski resorts are handling the pandemic. Advance Lift Ticket Sales…
Read moreIn 1945 at the end of World War II a soldier named Bob Rodgers found himself stationed in the German province of Bavaria. While there, he fell in love with the people, the food, and the charming Bavarian architecture. After returning home to Seattle, he took a job as an…
Read moreImages of Washington’s Bavarian Village (Below) Leavenworth is America’s most authentic Bavarian village. Offering shopping, restaurants, bars and theaters in a magical setting at the foot of the Cascade Mountains. Leavenworth grew out of a dying logging town, transformed by two visionaries whose imagination and perseverance made their dream a…
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