There’s a fine story from last year that I can’t remember if I blogged about about taking a trip in Tanzania by bike. This is a nicely done, pretty unconventional piece with some superb visual elements including a photo gallery and audio slide show. The rider deals with lousy roads and legions of bugs, but there’s no question that the trip is worth it. Locals gawked at the author and his friend as they rode by random villages on their tandem bike. Pretty neat. There is nothing quite like seeing another country at 15 mph.
Fresh Fruits and the Nude Beach of Sauvie Island, Oregon
Portland, Oregon, is home to some wonderful sights and is a terrific, vibrant town nestled in some of the best scenery in the country. But, however picturesque the city is, you might still need to “get away from it all.” One of the best places to go is a small alluvial island near the convergence of the Columbia and Willamette (pronounced will-A-mit, sounds like “dammit”) rivers, called Sauvie Island.
It’s actually minutes from the center of town, but it’s worlds away. Here, the lovable hippie-grunginess of the Pacific Northwest meets the quaintness of Tuscany and the vistas of Switzerland. You can find ‘u-pick’ farms growing vegetables and flowers, along with dairy cows, horses, and a big wildlife preserve. There are camping locations, nature trails and beaches.
Right now is the time to head there to grab your late-summer-harvest fresh foods. Make sure to try the different berries indigenous to this region, such as the marionberry, which even grow wild on the roadsides. If you are not afraid of starches, test your orientation skills in the Corn Maize, an annual maze cut through a farmer’s field. A tip for runners or cyclists: the paved portion of the island is a scenic 12-mile loop of good, flat pavement.
The best time to go is early morning, when the quiet little rural island is still waking up. Clear days offer gorgeous views of both Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood and very little traffic. It’s common legend that it has Portland’s only nude beach; but this, I can neither confirm or deny. I can confirm, however, as a former resident, that the legendary Pacific Northwest “Pillsbury-doughboy tan” can be spotted here, in the wild.
East Coast Retreat
For those of us who live here, New York can sometimes seem like its own world, and gazing out cross the river to New Jersey is like staring into the open void of an unknown world…albeit a world with large buildings, factories and a rather odd smell.
Ahem. The point is that living in New York is wonderful, but it can often be very difficult to get off the island. You can sometimes feel like you’re trapped here, caught in a narrow miniverse of your office and apartment. But there is hope on the horizon…literally. Venturing into Tony Soprano’s New Jersey you can find all manner of captivating, lung-expanding activities that will make it seem like you’ve been transported out West, where you can camp among towering pines (or at least, well, trees) and spend a day hiking or paddling a smooth-flowing river.
One place we recommend is the Mohican Outdoor Center (MOC), located in the vast, wooded Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Appalachian trail passes through here so you can follow the blazes and catch site of black bears. Or take the 12-mile round-trip trek to Sunfish Pond that takes you along the jagged spine of Kittatinny Mountain where you can fill up your memory card with great views of the valley. If you can nab a spot in the MOC’s lodge, you might find yourself singing campfire songs with fellow weekend escapees wielding acoustic guitars. All that within a few hours drive from the big city.
The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh
Some folks here might remember the trip I took to a while back and the series of dispatches I filed from that lovely, wonderful country. Armenia is one of those lesser-known gems in the world, a place you can go to not only see centuries-old historical sites, but also to get s glimpse of modern history as well, since the country was for several decades under communist rule, and there is still a marked, somewhat brutal feel to much of the architecture there. Of course, what may be brutal in some ways is today’s kitsch, and so many of the places in , and in particular,
All this is to bring up a wonderful new guide book that is out that I recommend you consider if you are thinking about a trip to . Soon to be released by Matthew Karanian, Robert Kurkjian and their Stone Gardens Productions, the book: Armenia & Karabagh is one of the best guides you will find on the region (the guide includes not just Armenia, but the disputed territory of Karabagh. I used the earlier version of Stone Garden Guide during my trip and found it immensely useful. The book provides ample history and context for its recommended sites and is both lively and informative about what you should see and do. As I mentioned in some of my dispatches, Armenia is not just a great place to experience history, it is also lovely and very appealing to the adventuresome. There are rivers and mountains and lakes all perfect for hikers, climbers, bikers and paddlers.
Anyway, I recommend you take a look at the guide if this fascinating little country happens to be on your life list of places to visit.
South Dakota in Photos
It’s safe to say I don’t really know diddly-squat about South Dakota and I’m not going to waste my time or your time trying to get your tourist dollars into the marvelous state. I don’t get paid for that. Thankfully someone out there does care enough about the state and all its fascinating attractions to do a photo essay on the land. This month at Go World Travel the online magazine features almost all of South Dakota’s note-worthy sights in a very well-done piece by Sheri L. Thompson. Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, the Badlands, the Mammoth Site, Needles Highway, Black Hills National Forest, Wall Drug, and Four Mile Old West Town are all there.
After exploring the photo essay and text I learned a lot more about the area and knew a lot more than I actually gave myself credit for. I wouldn’t mind making a quick jaunt through the area this fall though it’ll probably be very cold. If South Dakota is on your radar visit this Go World Travel piece and the tourism site to start planning your trip now!