We’re not really the adventure-travel type. That’s why, when planning our spring break trip to Puerto Vallarta, Russ and I snubbed the jungle canopy zip-line option, the deep-sea dolphin swim and even the VIP nightclub crawl (“Party like a professional!”). Instead, we went with the all-inclusive family resort with five fabulous restaurants. We’re boring that way. But given how slowly …
It’s the view, along with the Mediterranean, from my daughter’s top floor flat in downtown Barcelona: Gaudí’s infamous Sagrada Família. After days of exploring Barcelona and accompanying breathtaking Spanish countryside, which included a five-day trip to Minorca, I toured the Basilica, the largest unfinished Roman Catholic Church in the world, with my former sister-in-law, Heather Carri and her fun friend, …
Places I’d like to visit again? Monet’s Garden. Claude Monet, one of the giants of Impressionism, is among Dorette’s and my favorite artists. We’ve seldom missed an opportunity to see his work. We’ve also twice visited his estate near Meudon, France, a short train trip from Paris. Traveling with us last year was Avery Dusterhoft, Dorette’s granddaughter, who brought along …
With every turn of a page in “Prairie Mosaic,” the reader will delve into the rich ethnic history of North Dakota. The Rev. William C. Sherman labored for many years to reveal an astonishing level of detail, down to the township level, and to tell the story of the state’s inhabitants. “Prairie Mosaic: An Ethnic Atlas of Rural North Dakota,” …
We went away over Christmas for a winter interlude with my sisters and their families and my mother, gathering in a large house in the woods of the Black Hills of South Dakota. Driving west across the Memorial Bridge, we could see chunks of ice in the Missouri River. We traversed familiar west Dakota roads, in the midst of the …
I’ve never been much for bucket lists. But if I were, I’d have been able to check off a big one earlier this month. That is to see Havana, Cuba, from the backseat of one of the country’s classic American cars from the 1950s and ’60s, still operating on the streets every day. The importation of new cars — and lots of …
For me, a trip to Cuba earlier this month would not have been complete without experiencing the Tropicana nightclub in Havana. Its cabaret show is considered among the top three shows in the world (by people who decide these kinds of things, I guess). After seeing it, I believe it. For openers, Havana’s Tropicana nightclub shouldn’t be confused with the …
One of the benefits I enjoy when traveling the world is trying new dishes in the country I’m exploring. My ever-increasing list of favorites include Germany’s humble spätzle, England’s simple Shepherd’s Pie, Scotland’s perfect Scotch Eggs, France’s yummy Brie and Bleu d’Auvergne cheeses, Cuba’s creamy flans and Spain’s authentic paella. Shortly after arriving on Menorca, one of Spain’s three Balearic …
If you’d asked me a couple of months ago if I had plans to spend a few days in Menorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean, I’d have said not anytime soon. However, when you have a daughter who is a seasoned world traveler and lives in Barcelona, Spain, you learn to keep your options open. Andrea found a terrific …
Although it is now more than 30 years ago, I remember very clearly the day when I was a graduate student at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University and Dr. Michael Rothacker gave his students the assignment of reading a novel of our choosing and writing a report on said novel. My friend, Pamela Jean, and I went right over to …
It’s taken me a couple of weeks to return to reality after a 17-day trip to Barcelona, which included an extraordinary side trip of five days in Menorca. The initial purpose of my trip was to visit my daughter, Andrea La Valleur-Purvis, who has called the Catalonian capital home for over a year. She loves it, and I can see …
How do I write about a place I’ve waited four decades to see, with great anticipation? Only to say architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Wisconsin home, Taliesin (near the town of Spring Green), was worth the wait, and I find myself ttruly inspired anew. All of my life, I’ve been an admirer of Wright’s work. Long ago when I cataloged Stoxen …
Lizzie was sad Monday a week past. She saw those suitcases, and she became clingy, not sure whether she was going with us or not. For her, this time it was the kennel, as Chelsea is gone for schooling and thus her best pal not available for dog-sitting. Thus, it was that we two English majors made a road trip east, …
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson spent the summer working at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Here are some of the spectacular sights that caught his eye.
Alexandria, Va., photographer Jeff Olson and his wife, Joanne Plager Burke Olson, recently traveled to upstate New York and took in a few sights, including hiking trails in the Adirondack Mountains, Lake Champlain, the Green Mountains, Fort Ticonderoga and Split Rock Falls.
“But your solitude will be your home and haven even in the midst of very strange conditions, and from there you will discover all your paths.” — Ranier Maria Rilke My path this past week took me to North Dakota’s Roughrider Country. Our first stop was a meeting of the Little Missouri River Commission in Dickinson, where we bore witness …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland recently returned home from a trip to California. Here are some of the view he and his traveling companions saw while in the Golden State.
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland recently spent some time in Chicago, the Windy City. Dave went to graduate school in Chicago at the Northwestern University in the mid-1960s. Here are some of the sights that caught his eye.
The lure was Fort Abercrombie, but no contest, the highlight for me on our latest blue highway North Dakota road trip was getting to ride the combine. Not just any old combine but a great big John Deere with GPS steering, driven by, of all things, a farm worker from Slope County, someone who’d grown up about 15 miles from my …
Yellowstone. There aren’t many more words in the American lexicon that conjure such powerful images of Western history and geography. The Yellowstone River courses through much of the giant state of Montana, and its confluence with the mighty Missouri River is in extreme northwestern North Dakota, near Forts Union and Buford. I’ve visited both, on multiple occasions, and urge everyone …
Something happened to me today that has I’ve never done before while traveling. I made my reservation for the wrong day. In a European calendar, the days begins with Monday not Sunday. When making reservations I have always caught this fact but must have been tired when booking the Pension Gina in Gorlitz, Germany, because I made it one day later …
Trails have been much on my mind this year, and I’ll be writing more about trails in upcoming blogs. This past weekend, I drove to the Black Hills to visit a friend who lives near Hill City, S.D., roughly following the Bismarck to Deadwood Stage Trail, although in my case in a Toyota. I had most of the day to …
One of the things about travel is that you really have to learn to “go with the flow,” and for me, some of those parts are easier than others. For example, a snafu with weather, a travel delay or an unexpected glitch in my plans usually doesn’t get under my skin. Being late for flights, however, not so much. Unfortunately, …
This is for the history buffs out there. On our way back from our trip east of Billings, Mont., is this site where William Clark from the Lewis and Clark expedition carved his name into the stone on the bluff that has come to be know as Pompey’s Pillar National Monument. I have always wanted to see this, as I have read …
Island Lake, located in Mahnomen County near Lengby, Minn., is a popular destination for many in northwest Minnesota. The lake offers trophy-class walleye fishing, and and panfish are also plentiful. Island Lake also boasts diverse outdoor recreational opportunitiess such as miles of snowmobiling, four-wheeler and walking trails through the woods. Grand Forks photographer Russ Hons had the opportunity to visit Island Lake recently, and here …
On the second leg of their recent eight-day trip, Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner and his wife, Sheila, stayed in Custer, S.D., and spent time on the Needles Highway. A spectacular 14-mile drive through pine and spruce forests, meadows surrounded by birch and aspen, rugged granite mountains, sharp curves and low tunnels, the road gets its name comes from the needlelike granite …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland, along with Dorette Kerian and her granddaughter, Avery Dusterhoft, recently returned to the U.S. after a visit to Paris, “the City of Lights” (“la Ville des Lumières”). Dave has been to Paris several times, so he knows his way around quite well, as is evidenced by these beautiful shots, included in the second of two …
Bloomington, Minn., photographer Dave Vorland, along with Dorette Kerian and her granddaughter, Avery Dusterhoft, recently returned to the U.S. after a visit to Paris, “the City of Lights” (“la Ville des Lumières”). Dave has been to Paris several times, so he knows his way around quite well, as is evidenced by these beautiful shots. This is the first of two …
Surprising as it may seem, I traveled to eastern North Dakota again this week, to take my octogenarian mother to visit her grandsons, Matthew and Michael McLaughlin. She hasn’t been on a road trip for quite some time and was quite excited at the prospect. But first, the drive east. My mother loves to go to thrift stores and when …
I shot this photo in Monday of a professional dog walker in the Bois du Boulogne, the large park on the edge of Paris, which figures in Marcel Proust’s novel, “A La Recherche Du Temps Perdu.” Over my lifetime, I’ve read this work more than once in English translation (all 3,031 pages in seven volumes), and some of it in …
My husband and I took off this week from our duties at Red Oak House for a quirky blue highways trip. We zigzagged across the area between Bismarck and Grand Forks and had a thoroughly wonderful time, on a cerulean-sky-puffy-cloud kind of day. We departed from Red Oak House on Wednesday morning and headed north to Wilton and then east. …
My wife, Lillian, and I just did a quick two-day trip on (almost) all two-lane roads — you can’t get out of or into Bismarck without going on a four-lane, but our exit and entrance was our only concession to four lanes) — around the northeast quadrant of North Dakota. It was wonderful. That is all I am going to say …
I almost missed one of the coolest things ever because of my unwillingness to ask a question. Last Saturday, I had a free day. I ate a leisurely breakfast, showered, changed and considered what to do with the day. I had no plans at all. I toyed with the idea of seeing a play in the evening, visiting some of …
I’m back in London after a two-year absence. This is my 15th time here, each time with a group of students. I have eight with me this time, the fewest since my first year in 2000. It’s expensive, and although the cost of coming here for two weeks for the class is quite reasonable, it’s still expensive for students. I …
I never went to prom. However, at the age of 53, I did attend a Cambodian wedding celebration, which I believe goes one step better. In order to attend the wedding, and be properly respectful, the first order of business was getting a Cambodian dress. That was easier said than done, however, because the Cambodian people are small and I …
Grand Forks photographer Dave Bruner recently traveled to Minneapolis, where he captured these wonderful skyline images — morning and evening — of Minnesota’s largest city.
I recently took a solo two-way road trip from Bloomington, Minn., to Grand Forks, N.D. It’s 323 miles each way via Interstate 94 and I-29. I celebrated my daughter Kristi’s birthday one day and headed back the next. To say this drive can be monotonous is a gross understatement. So as usual, I brought along a handful of music CDs …
Cabo San Lucas, a resort city on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is a popular destination for travelers during the winter months. Cabo is known for its beaches, water-based activities and nightlife. Photographer Russ Hons and his wife, Paulette, recently spent some time there. These are some of the sights they saw. (Check out more photos from Russ Hons here.)
Sabino Canyon, located north of Tucson, Ariz., in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is a favorite walking, hiking and riding recreation area for residents and visitors to southern Arizona. Just minutes away from the desert, the canyon features large waterfalls along Sabino Creek with minor bridges constructed over them. Wildlife also is abundant in the canyon, including deer, javelina, skunks, tortoises, rattlesnakes and mountain lions. Stonework …
Christmas is a festive time in our nation’s capital. Among the sights is the National Christmas Tree, located in the northeast quadrant of The Elipse near the White House in Washington, D.C. Each year since 1923, the tree has been decorated. The North Dakota Christmas tree is one of 56 trees representing each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia …
Dave Vorland recently returned from a trip to the Caribbean, which included stops in the island of Dominica and Puerto Rico, where he took these photographs.
Photographer Russ Hons recently was in New York City, where he had a chance to visit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, which commemorate the September 11, 2001 attacks that killed 2,977 victims, and the World Trade Center bombing of 1993 in which six were killed. One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in …
A good night of sleep. Now I feel equal to it. After class yesterday, I ventured into the heart of Rome. There, I found my way to the statue of Bruno in the Campo di Fiori. He, a Renaissance humanist, heretic and memorization master, was burned at the stake in 1600 for a range of unacceptable views, including that Jesus …
It’s a big planet. I flew from Bismarck to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Paris, from Paris to Rome. I started at noon Saturday and arrived in Rome at noon Sunday, though, of course, I had lost seven hours in time zone. It’s a big planet. By the time I arrived I wanted to burn my clothes. But I had done …