What? You didn’t know I went to Paris over the holidays? I am sneaky like that...but truth be told, this part of Paris was firmly rooted in the Texas soil of Lamar County. Around Christmas, I spent a few days visiting my friend Rochelle in McKinney, Texas, which is north of Dallas. When we learned that the town of Paris had erected a 64-foot steel structure in homage to the original (and two of her brothers were, indeed, in that famed city at the time), we knew a day trip was in the making. Of course, Texans have to put their [View Full Entry]

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I’ve always felt that the best gauge of the true pulse of a city is to wander the streets during one of the day’s busiest times. While the tour group perused the gift shops at Casa Cultural for a little souvenir shopping, I slipped outside for a brisk walk through the teeming side streets of the central market district in Recife. The call of the vendors, the clap of the hands to signal a potential customer, the stalls of leather belts and sandals, pyramids of fruit stacked at the ready, and the smell of street food such as grilled meat or [View Full Entry]

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Autumn in the Pacific Northwest has been ushered in with spectacular weather: blue skies, high temperatures, and the glow of amber and crimson leaves. This weekend is the Autumn Moon Festival in the Chinatown/Old Town section of Portland. It’s a celebration of tradition and history, as well as shaping a path for continued appreciation of culture and diversity. For the past several years, the city has been busy with a development project in Old Town. They’ve installed more of the uniform red lampposts throughout the district, as well as updated signage, poured new curbs and [View Full Entry]

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Saturday was a day dedicated to exploring the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I had intended to start at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, but was sidetracked by St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. The exterior, in part, looked like an old, concrete warehouse. The interior was simply immense. When the cathedral was originally drafted, it was to be much more elegant and ornate than it is today, but the depression that started in 1929 tempered those plans. Volunteer Park is home to the Asian Art Museum, as well as the site of the old water tower which serves as a unique 360° panoramic viewpoint [View Full Entry]

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The first time I saw a hot air balloon night glow was entirely by happenstance. I was living in southeastern New Mexico at the time, serving as a missionary, and enjoying dinner with some members of the local congregation. Bobbing up over their backyard fence we could see the balloons inflate and rise into golden orbs glowing in the evening spring air. Dinner was forgotten as we dashed around the block to watch and mingle and enjoy the event. That was ten years ago, and I’ve thought many times about attending another balloon fest. When I found out about the Balloons [View Full Entry]

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It’s been awhile since I have experienced the anticipation of the unknown. That feeling one has when you close the door of the rental car--with only a basic map in hand--and wonder not only how you’re going to find your hotel, but how you’ll get out of the parking lot. That moment of excitement when you turn the corner and catch your first glimpse of a vista that is new and unexplored expanding before you. That is what travel does for me, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Sicily - or in this case Spokane - that is the featured destination. [View Full Entry]

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About a year ago, my co-worker Patrick started talking about alpacas. Sure, I’d seen the furry critters on occasion during drives through the countryside, but I knew relatively little about them. Smaller than a llama, native to the Andean mountain range, perhaps related to the camel? That was about the extent of my random knowledge. Then last fall, Patrick bought four alpacas. I told him that when shearing time came around, I’d be interesting in seeing the process. The date was set, and off I went with my camera in hand to [View Full Entry]

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Some called it history in the making, to others it was mere spectacle. But whatever your view, I must admit there is some magnetic pull toward witnessing demolition. I had mixed sentiments about the implosion of the Trojan cooling tower, which I wrote about earlier in . But in the end, I had to witness it for myself. I knew the best viewing position would most likely be from the Washington side of the Columbia River. So I drove north to Woodland the evening before the event, and then woke up at 5:30 am on Sunday morning to jockey for a [View Full Entry]

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Although spring was officially ushered in over a month ago, the weather hasn’t wholeheartedly corresponded with the season until this past week. With spring just beginning to bud, the landscape of central Oregon is not yet parched, cracked, and baked to a crisp. Descending from the plateau into the Crooked River Valley made me reminisce about other high desert locales I’ve called home: southeastern New Mexico, Salt Lake City, and the valley south of El Paso, Texas. The desert grows on you after a while. This was only my second visit to Prineville, which is home to the Les Sc [View Full Entry]

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If you were to conduct a quick search on the internet to learn more about Riddle, Oregon, chances are, very little would come up. At least, that was my experience. Usually I can find some small tidbit of information to inform me before visiting a new place. My searches returned nothing but empty pages, and the southern Oregon tourism website doesn’t even acknowledge its existence. As I was leaving town, I took this photograph from my car window. And as I look at it now, I realize that it alone depicts a fairly accurate picture of Riddle. The fact that the [View Full Entry]

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