Essays.
Have you ever missed a flight and ended up at Genghis Khan horseback battle reenactment?
Rock climbing and Taylor Swift in Yángshuò, Guăngxī, China.
How my wish to become a flying martial artist came true in rural China.
How I left my virtue at Huangshan, China's Yellow Mountain.
Sucked into an elaborate tea ceremony con in Shanghai, China.
Examining Japan's obsession with cuteness.
A visit to Tokyo's Meiji Jingu Shrine during the Japanese New Year.
A July 4 sea kayaking-camping trip on Catalina Island.
Skiing to remote Ostrander Ski Hut in Yosemite National Park.
Cycling through Cambodia's Angkor, the world's biggest religious complex.
Bicycling to the Cu Chi Tunnels and War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Cycling up Vietnam's Hai Van mountain pass toward an ancient Hindu temple complex.
Encountering magical turtles and afterlife-destined motorcycles on a bicycle trip in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Saying goodbye as Egyptian revolutionaries protest on the eve of an important referendum.
Seeing post-revolution Egypt's most stunning pharaonic monuments without tourists.
Backpacking through a revolution in the Land of the Pharaohs.
Two brothers fight food poisoning while filming their trek to Nepal's Everest Base Camp.
How two brothers managed logistics while filming themselves hiking in Nepal for 17 days straight.
After their father's death, two brothers tackle the trek to Nepal's Everest Base Camp and film the entire adventure.
A flying experience in Varkala, India rejuvenates two backpackers.
Seeking a life-changing hug and the secret to life from India's most famous female spiritual leader.
2010.
The Kerala Backwaters turn out to be a relaxing, alternate-universe India.
A tiger prevents me from killing an Indian taxi driver.
Sunrise and sunset at the Taj Mahal.
Chaos surrounds train ticket purchases in Delhi, India.
Witnessing mass animal sacrifices in Dakshinkali, Nepal.
Learning not to attack but to revere, while searching for Joshua Tree's eight hidden palm oases.
An Alaskan packrafting trip leads to a driving adventure.
Hiking Windy Pass from Cantwell to Denali National Park's Refuge Valley.
Packrafting the Sanctuary River in Denali National Park.
Hiking to Spencer Glacier in Chugach National Forest.
Bush planes, ATVs, trains, and packrafts are often the only way to get around Alaska, the U.S. state with the fewest miles of road.
Bicycling Anchorage's Coastal Trail, Lost Lake, and the Turnagain Arm.
Exploring the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Hiking the Chelan Lakeshore Trail before a wedding.
A renowned rock climber gives some life advice.
Taking a Yosemite climbing class with a 19-year-old, rock climbing heckler.
Making friends in Yosemite.
Moving into Yosemite's Camp 4.
After climbing Half Dome, I can't bear to leave Yosemite.
Tracking down vanished Indians in Mesa Verde National Park and Monument Valley.
A blizzard interrupts a visit to Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
Discovering ancient Indian ruins on the steep rim of Arizona's Sycamore Canyon.
Trying to one-up my middle school teachers by taking an Indian ruins road trip through America's Southwest.
Trying to understand the Twilight phenomenon on a Forks, Washington tour.
Exploring Forks, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, the setting of a teen vampire novel.
Brothers face the hardest single trekking day of their lives, snowshoeing up the Grand Canyon's North Rim.
Trekking the Grand Canyon as Saint Nicholas turns out to be a full time job.
Brothers tackle a classic trek with magical, holiday cheer.
2009.
Understanding the post-feminist ethos of roller derby.
San Francisco day trips to Muir Woods, Point Reyes National Seashore, Año Nuevo State Reserve, and Santa Cruz.
A lifelong quest for caffeinated nirvana.
Visiting the Grand Canyon North Rim's Cookout Experience and Yosemite's Wawona Hotel Lawn Barbecue.
A boy made of paper, and five other hikers, traverse Buckskin Gulch's Middle Route.
Hiking the world's longest slot canyon with a boy made of paper.
Hiking at night to Death Valley's highest point.
Bungee jumping in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Reenacting Mary Poppins at the Korean Bell of Friendship.
Three PCH road trips lead to Redwoods, San Francisco, Hearst Castle, and new lives.
Traveling over sand dunes and on a remote logging road on Pacific Coast Highway.
A travel guide to three Pacific Coast Highway road trips over seven years.
Hiking up Tikaboo Peak and witnessing a UFO near a mysterious military base.
A travel guide to America's most mysterious military base.
Reluctantly growing up and visiting Walden Pond.
An unnerving drive through rustic New England to a five-year college reunion.
A slapstick AirTrain comedy, ice skating, and Alcatraz in San Francisco.
Brothers face their deepest fears in Chile's Valles de Frances.
A father takes his teenage daughter on a final trip to Patagonia.
Hiking the Torres del Paine Circuit on another family's vacation.
2008.
The TSA's wacky security precautions have become even wackier.
Visiting The Wave, a sandstone formation near the Utah-Arizona border.
Why Las Vegas is a horrible place.
Becoming a certified Rescue Diver.
A romantic plan culminates.
Cartoon poultry guides stomachs and wallets in Honduras.
A Central American love story.
It's harder than you think to leave Celebrity Cruises.
A hilarious story-telling game fuels the end of a long trek.
A sparkling, clear day follows our worst day on the West Coast Trail.
Lighting a fire on a West Coast Trail beach in a rainstorm is not easy.
Brothers tackle dangerous surge channels on the West Coast Trail.
Losing a tuxedo and a friend in a single weekend isn't easy.
The peculiarity of studio cycling and Los Angeles gym culture.
The Salton Sea is an ocean in the middle of a desert, and it's not the only sign of the world's end there.
How to visit Disneyland alone.
Disneyland is more romantic than you think.
The rich reward of looking for a leopard is not what you'd expect.
Witnessing a zebra birth in Botswana, Africa.
Learning about South African apartheid on Robben Island.
2007.
Hiking in Joshua Tree can be rejuvenating if you can remember to bring matches.
Pop punk rock stars inspire eternal youth at their intense rock concerts.
Crossing a glacier in the Alaskan wilderness is harder than it looks.
Avoiding bears in the Alaskan wilderness requires impenetrable canisters and creative chanting.
A harrowing attempt at crossing the McKinley River in Denali National Park, Alaska.
Los Angeles may be full of shallow sycophants, but a few things make it palatable.
Things go horribly wrong at an enormous music festival.
2006.
A fake cemetery fits perfectly in Southern California.
Exploring a faux-Bavarian village in Washington State.
The thought of sandwiches while hiking make happiness impossible.
Counterintuitively, high gas prices are good for you.
A boat's motor fails in North America's deepest river gorge.
Rural Washington is both beautiful and buggy.
The astounding scenery around Mt. St. Helens tells a story of a horrifying natural disaster.
Owning a car isn't necessarily enough to get to Mt. St. Helens.
April 14th, 2006
Where is the Third World and should I worry about space shuttle foam on the way there?
Does the phrase "Third World" mean anything?
Visit Thee Lo Su Waterfall, ride a motorcycle, see a political protest, and more.
Southeast Asia teaches us about the environment, transportation, and poverty.
All choices are bad choices on the Mekong River.
Hunting elephants in Thailand, even souvenir elephants, isn't easy.
The environment and customer service are some of Southeast Asia's challenges.
Using a machete to repair a speed boat in the Mekong River.
Getting lost on a motorcycle near the Burmese border.
Picking friends while backpacking is harder than it looks.
Dancing Asian Ladyboys are so bad they're good.
Fulfilling a tourist cliche.
Some people go on vacation and never come back.
Western cultural imperalism gone awry.
Thailand's very high taste-to-price ratio.
Learning to say, "Thank you."
2005.
Nordstrom's excellent customer service helps avoid a dating disaster.
It's your birthday, but you're not special.
You can't turn left in San Francisco. Ever.
Learn how to play the best travel game ever invented.
Why spam makes me insecure in Italy.
Questioning the need for travel buddies in the Netherlands.
Prostitutes and dental floss in the Netherlands.
2004.
Remembering the past in Normandy and Seattle.
2000.
Experiencing an intern donut with Bill Gates.
