May 2023

By Brian E. Clark Thom Burns grew up in Dewitt, Iowa, a small town far from any ocean. In fact, the Pacific was about 2,000 miles to the west and the Atlantic was 1,000 miles east of his home. He’d never sailed until he joined the Navy directly out of

By Paul Clemence Mexico City’s ancient history and its rich cultural heritage, from the Aztec empire to the Spanish occupation, have made the sprawling capital a major destination for history and anthropology-inclined travelers. Not surprisingly, the city counts 3 Unesco World Heritage Sites. But in recent years, as the city

By Sandy MacDonald If it’s been ages since you trudged the halls of the venerable Museum of Natural History — an imposing Victorian Gothic behemoth built in 1874 and since swallowed up by a score of accreted additions — it’s time to return. The offending statue of nature-lover (sometime despoiler)

By Neil Wolkodoff I live in Colorado, and I find big water a bit magical because we don’t have it. Hearing about The Lake of the Ozarks set off a vision of aqua activities. The Lake started as a massive dam and hydroelectric project on the Osage River to service

By Mark Sissons As my snowmobile raced across the open tundra, I entered a sea of snow ringed by pristine white peaks glistening under a cloudless sky. Reindeer grazed on a distant slope, camouflaged in their coats of winter white. Somewhere in the distance, polar bears – poster animals for

By Larry Olmsted Rome is known as the Eternal City for good reason – year in and year out it is one of the best places on the planet to enjoy an urban vacation. When I walk around Rome I can’t help but wonder if the locals are jaded, since

By Everett Potter Australia has no shortage of memorable sights. That’s especially true in Queensland, which counts The Great Barrier Reef, the Daintree Rainforest, and the beaches of The Gold Coast among its natural treasures. But there’s another discovery in Queensland that’s been hiding in plain sight for years: The

By Brian E. Clark In 1857, wealthy builder Alexander McDonnell asked architect and German emigrant August Kutzboch to design him “the best house money could buy.” The ostentatious McDonnell chose a wooded lot for his home on a promontory called Bug Hill on the isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona