Wisconsin Best Beer Hikes: Creating Community Around Two of the Dairy States Favorite Past Times
Needless to say, writing this book was a lot of fun! In a state best known for its rolling farmland, Wisconsin offers a surprising dual identity, shaped equally by its wild natural beauty and its long-standing beer culture. This is a state where the same community of nature lovers can spend the morning hiking through […]
Hiking the Inca Trail: A Proposal at 8,000 Feet
My lungs were filing a formal complaint. Every breath felt thin and insufficient, as if the air itself was rationing oxygen and I hadn’t earned my share. My temples throbbed. My legs burned. My mouth tasted like coca leaves and effort. Above us, the Andes rose without apology, peaks clawing at the sky and utterly […]
I was recently asked to answer the question, “Why do you travel?”
When I am lost in the world and completely outside of my element, I feel truly alive. It’s as if travel is my beloved and I am in relentless and passionate pursuit. It is when I am submersed in different cultures, languages and landscapes that I am enamored with the entirety of life and all […]
Canyon Death Rides and Coca Leaves: 40 Days on a Motorcycle Through the Andes Mountains
Things look differently from the seat of a motorcycle going 90 kilometers per hour through the Peruvian Andes. They become more than your standard mountain range, they feel like a personality test. The mountains don’t just rise, they explode. Peaks like harpoon tips stab the sky before collapsing into rivers. I rented my motorcycle in […]
Waterfalls of Wisconsin: Rewarding Hikes and Epic Skinny Dipping
Why do we love waterfalls? Is it their power? Hundreds of thousands of gallons of falling water-the hydrogen dominant substance of life-making us feel small and insignificant? Or is it their awe-inspiring beauty? Waterfalls can often be found in remote and mysterious locations such as mist shrouded forests or rocky gorges. Perhaps it is the […]
Langkawi Island During Ramadan: Glass Bottom Sky Bridge, Fish Head Curries and Shameless Monkeys.
In this adventure we travel from Thailand to the Malaysian Island of Langkawi during the holy month of Ramadan. We rent a motorbike,
From “The Land of Smiles” to “The Land of Golden Pagodas”: Our Failed Attempt to Explore Myanmar’s Mergui Archipelago
Our destination was Myanmar’s Myeik Archipelago, also known as the Mergui Archipelago, a chain of some 800 islands stretched across nearly 400 kilometers between the southern ports of Myeik and Kawthaung. We end up being denied entry, but rediscovered an important gift that only comes from slow travel. The countries you pass through have voices, faces and heartbeats and a country’s greatest resource isn’t its beaches, or temples, or oil fields: it’s its people.
Exploring Koh Lanta: A Journey on Two Wheels, Jungle Trails, and Reggae Beats
Only after the larger beautiful tropical islands become over-developed, over-populated and polluted, it’s the small fishing villages – quiet islands – which look charming and attractive. Koh Lanta was once a quiet island populated by small fishing villages before it caught the eye of developers and, although its tourism industry is bustling, it has yet […]
A Brief Guide to Mexico City: If You Like The Same S##t I Do.
What the hell kind of title is that? The internet is filled with travel bloggers writing listicles: articles which list or suggest “top ten things to do” in your desired destination. The problem with creating a listicle for Mexico City is that it is so massive, so intricate, so abundant, and so diverse that it’s […]
Mexico City By Bicycle: Mezcal, Mariachis and Why Corrupt Bribe-taking Mexican Police Deserve a Little Slack
Next Destination Puebla…or so I thought. My next destination after San Cristobal de las Casas was the city of Puebla. Some old friends and coworkers lived in a small lakeside village outside of Puebla called Buena Vista and I was on my way to visit them. I purchased a one-way ticket to Puebla on an […]