 |
|
|
|
|
| Home Page | Featured Articles | Awards | Photo Gallery | About Yvonne |
|
“I Shall Return” Macarthur In The Philippines, Part One |
 |
On October 20, 1944, US General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise that he had made to the Philippine people in World War II. To commemorate the 64th anniversary this month of that fulfillment, “Follow Me!” retraces the General’s steps in the Philippines |
|
“I Have Returned” Macarthur In The Philippines, Part Two |
“. . .Just Fade Away. . .” Following Macarthur, Part Three |
||
|
|
||
|
On October 20, 1944, US General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise to the Philippine people in World War II. To commemorate the 64th anniversary this week of that fulfillment, “Follow Me!” retraces the General’s steps in the Philippines |
On October 20, 1944, US General Douglas MacArthur fulfilled a promise made to the Philippine people in World War II. To commemorate the 64th anniversary of that fulfillment, Part Three returns General MacArthur to the US. |
| Just A Little Scrape. . . . |
 |
“It was just a little scrape, a superficial cut. But it wouldn’t get well. . . .” |
|
Take Mom To Tea - In Japan! |
Your Most Romantic Valentine Lunch - In Hong Kong! |
||
|
|
||
|
When Mom was a little girl, I bet she invited her friends to a pretend tea party. This Mother’s Day, let’s take Mom to an unforgettable real tea party—in Japan! |
Your Valentine will love it when the two of you meet for a romantic lunch at the elegant hotel known world-wide as “Grande Dame of the Far East.” |
|
Nesting Triggerfish: War & Peace - What You Need To Know |
 |
Triggerfish are colorful critters to watch and photograph. So what should divers and snorkelers do? |
|
A Bevy Of Balloon Photo Tips! |
Hot Tips For Cool Beach Pix! | ||
|
|
||
|
You want to go for the “Oh, wow” balloon shot. How? Format your memory card, set your alarm for 4 AM and follow me to: White Sands Balloon Invitational and Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta |
“Look here, kids. OK, smile.” Tired of the usual ho-hum vacation pix? This year, let’s fill that summer photo album with pizzazz! |
| Surely You J. E. S. T. |
 |
If camping with a pup tent, freeze-dried food and water-purification tablets is too citified for you, try trekking into the Philippine jungles surrounding Subic Bay. Leave your usual camping gear at home. You won’t even need the backpack and canteen. “The jungle provides all you need—food, water, utensils, soap, insect repellent,” advises Jun, your camouflage-clad leader. Surely he jests? |
|
Living Inside A Nature Documentary —In The Heart Of Serengeti's Great Migration! |
Two Days In Nairobi - Your Family's Best Vacation...Grownups' Turn! |
||
|
|
||
|
Remember that scene from PBS’s “Nature” in which hundreds of wildebeest leap into a muddy river in a mad rush to get to the other side, only to be swept away by the current or eaten by crocodiles? Live it with me now. |
Are you ready to step back in time, improve US-Kenya trade relations and eat like a lion? Follow me to Nairobi! |
|
Picture This: Six Tips To Turn Your Vacation Pix From “Oh, No” To “Oh, Wow!” |
 |
When you haul out the album, do you hear gasps of awe—or groans of misery? This week, tips that turn “Oh, no” into “Oh, wow.” |
|
Surviving Chile’s Whitewater! Part One--The “Fig” |
Ten Whitewater Rapids In Two Heart-Stopping Hours-- River Rats On Tne “Fu”! |
||
|
|
||
|
Green water foamed and crashed against wet boulders ten feet above the river. Ask any whitewater rafter to willingly jump into a cold, fast-moving river and you’ll get a resounding “No way.” But what if you had no choice. |
Imagine riding a bucking bronco— in a raging river. You heave up and down, slam forward and backward, getting drenched with every buck. This is whitewater rafting. You love it. You’re a River Rat! |
| Discovering The “Real” Florida With Your Grandchildren! |
|
Do your grandchildren think Florida vacations are only movie-themed amusement parks with cartoon character parades? Then take them on a cave trek and nature walk instead—in the “real” Florida. Florida Caverns is one of many State Parks where families can hike, canoe, fish, observe birds and wildlife. |
|
Sure Fire Tips For “Oh, Wow” Spring Break Ski & Snowboard Pix!! |
Expedition Cruise Ship Doctor— Wilderness Medicine At Sea |
||
|
|
||
|
Whether you tuck a Point and Shoot camera in your parka pocket or strap on the semi-pro model with multiple lenses, you want the best Spring Break pictures ever. For super ski and snowboard photos, try these tips |
If the phrase “cruise ship doctor” conjures images of partying Love Boatstyle mega-liners, a stint on an expedition cruise vessel will blow that cliché higher than a whale’s spout. |
|
Discover Surprising Tularosa-- On A Walking Tour! |
 |
Which New Mexico community boasts: Underground tunnels connecting businesses and homes--and maybe hiding treasure. A fruit and garden oasis watered by a gravity-fed system over 100 years old. Homes dating from the 1800s still lived in and loved. The oldest and largest sycamore tree in the state. A church named on second thought. Surprise—it’s Tularosa! |
|
Hostel Living — Not Just For Students Or Backpackers Any More! |
Bugs Or Duck Feet-- What’s On Your Plate? |
||
|
Do you imagine hostels to be the province of the young, the cheap or the unwashed? Times have changed, according to Sharon Miller of Live Life Travel. In a recent newsletter, she reports the image has changed—and cleaned up. |
“Look! Salami—and lemon meringue pie—let’s eat breakfast!” Ignoring the prosaic oatmeal, eggs or toast, she loaded her plate with cherry Jell-o™, pistachio pudding, salami and a thick slab of lemon meringue pie. “I’d never eat this at home,” she murmured between bites. There’s something about being away from home that affects our eating habits. |
| Helicoptering To The Valley Of The Geysers! |
 |
|
Russia’s Valley of the Geysers is one of the three big geyser hotspots of the world. The other two are Yellowstone National Park in the US and Rotarua in New Zealand. But unlike Yellowstone and Rotarua, Valley of the Geysers is accessible only by helicopter |
| Are You Triskaidekaphobic? | The Princess And The Pee | ||
|
Today is Friday, April 13. Would you travel on Friday the 13th? Then you’re triskaidekaphobic! Don’t reach for the aspirin. Triskaidekaphobia is simply—or not so simply— fear (phobia) of the number thirteen (triskaideka). And for triskaidekaphobics, Friday the 13th is the ultimate whammy. |
Camping and rafting Class III, IV and V rapids for a week on the Katun River in Siberia’s Altai Mountains sounded like Adventure with a capital A. No matter that I had never camped before, that my whitewater experience was limited or that I spoke less than five words of Russian. I could learn. |
| Siapan's Grotto—The Best Dive of Your Life! |
 |
|
The scuba diver stood at the entrance to a grotto that led a hundred feet below to the sea. Crashing waves thundered from the grotto’s unseen floor and echoed off its walls, immense stone blocks that formed a giant throat down which 110 slippery stairs descended and disappeared. The Grotto in Saipan is one of the best dives in the world. But is it too dangerous? |
| Whet Your Appetite With Spirit! | Happy Fourth of July From Nome! | ||
|
|
||
|
“My skin crawled, my hair stood on end, my knees wobbled and I got the heck outa there as fast as I could!” People feel something when they come here and want to know more |
Ice cream overflows tall cones and drips down your arm. Spectators wave red, white and blue flags in one hand and balance mustard-y hot dogs in the other |
|
At One With the Wind- Ballooning With Cool Beans!! |
 |
|
Do you dream of drifting Peter Pan-like over trees and rooftops, looking down on earthbound people who stare and point? Then let’s go ballooning! |
|
Exploring Alaska, Part One:
The Wildest Birding Adventure! |
Exploring Alaska, Part Two:
A Different Petrified Forest! |
||
|
|
||
|
Pomarine jaeger, red-necked phalarope, rocky sandpiper, Lapland longspur, McKay’s bunting, bald eagle, black-legged kittiwake, parakeet auklet. How many of those birds have you seen? |
Can you name two states with petrified forests? Arizona, our next-door neighbor state, is the obvious answer for one. But did you guess Alaska for the second? Follow me to Unga Spit! |
|
Last Frontier Medicine Men & Women: Health Care In The Walrus Capital of the World And The Village Next To Tomorrow |
 |
|
Visit Savoonga, on Alaska’s St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Strait, the self-styled “Walrus Capital of the World.” Here, approximately 700 Yup’ik Eskimo live as their ancestors did keeping five Community Health Aides (CHA) busy at the local health clinic |
| Beware the Vicious Triggerfish! |
Lions, Hippos and Champagne! Ballooning Over The Serengeti |
||
|
|
||
|
Triggerfish nest during periods of the full moon. The females guard the eggs and will attack anything that swims near. |
Balloon enthusiasts around the world flock to Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta next week. Before you head north, follow me south--to Africa. We’re ballooning in Tanzania, on the famous Serengeti Plain! |
| Dee Wescott—Passionate About Art And Lincoln County |
|
Morning sun warms the Glencoe home on Dee and Lee Wescott’s fifty-acre Buena Tierra horse ranch in the Hondo Valley. That warmth, however, is rivaled by Dee’s exuberance for her art, Lee’s enthusiasm for his quarter horses and Thoroughbreds and their combined ardor for the valleys and mountains surrounding Ruidoso. |
| Four Fun Facts You Never Knew About Antarctica! | Two Girls, Two Poles And Lots Of Trout! | ||
|
|
||
|
OK, fellow desert dwellers, how many species of whales can you name? True or false: a whale is a fish. What is the difference between a bergie and a bit? Name the most highly regarded Antarctic explorer. |
Float tube fishing at Grindstone Lake in Ruidoso, New Mexico. |
| Swimming In The Antarctic Ocean?!? |
 |
| You’ll never forget your first glimpse of Antarctica, the White Continent, driest and coldest place on earth. |
| Seven El Paso Surprises! | Desert Diving Surprise | ||
|
|
||
|
Uncover seven of El Paso’s surprises as guests of Rudy and Kay Johnston, enthusiastic owners and operators of Border Sights Tours of El Paso. |
Say “scuba diving,” and the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas certainly doesn’t leap to mind. |
| The Ultimate Christmas Shopping Safari! |
|
| Hold onto your plastic, fellow shopping adventurers, we’re going on an even bigger shopping safari. Follow me to Albrook Mall! |
| Down The River Of No Return – Oar Else! | Caressing Curacao's Dolphins Oa A Caribbean Christmas! | ||
 |
|
||
|
Whitewater rafting —a tricky combination of unyielding gravity, fast water and lurking rocks. Surmounting rapids demands precise coordination between the rowing guide/oarsman who determines the route and the paddler team who obeys in unison. |
Kissing, singing, rubbing, spinning, leaping, even riding dolphins —yours to enjoy in Curaçao. |
| A Marine's Tears: Remembering The Battle Of Peleliu |
|
|
Tears filled the Marine’s eyes. He made no attempt to wipe them away. Instead, he stared across the white sandy beach lapped by low waves as the young guide’s voice described a bloody battle that took place here over 60 years ago. |
| Tech Diving & Deep Diving Rock at New Mexico’s Rock Lake | A Grand Hike For A Grand Presidents' Weekend! | ||
 |
|
||
|
Rock Lake--divers say it’s the best-kept secret in New Mexico. Me, I call it fun as I swim with terrapins amid its unique aquatic life, freshwater sponges and algae curtains. |
For Presidents’ Day weekend, hoist your daypack and follow me! We’re hiking the Grand Canyon’s South Rim Trail, starting at its east end, Pipe Creek Vista. |
| Howlers, Orchids, Indian Children and The Panama Canal: Eco-cruising in Central America! |
|
|
Grunting with monkeys, probing exotic flowers, adding neo-tropical birds to your Life List, getting “tattooed,” playing basketball in the jungle, transiting the Panama Canal, even eating termites-- does this sound like your average cruise? |
| Into The Deep: Scuba Diving Rocks at Rock Lake | The Reel Thing: Flyfishing In Chile's Patagonia | ||
 |
|
||
|
Imagine for a moment you’re 80 or so feet underwater staring at giant rock formations, admiring unusual aquatic life and swimming nose-to-nose with inquisitive fish and turtles. No one else is in the water except your and a few of your friends. |
Picture this: indigo blue lakes ringed by whipped cream-topped mountains, clear air, villages of chocolate-colored wood chalets. Switzerland? Guess again-- you’re standing on the shores of Lago Verde in Chile’s southernmost province, Patagonia. |
| Mesmerized By Mexico's Magical Mantas! |
|
|
Like a blue ghost, the giant manta ray emerges from the ocean’s depth. Lazily but gracefully, it swims toward swimmers unaware of its presence. |
| Ten Surprising Things You Don't Know About . . . . | Rapids, Vodka and Banyas: Whitewater Rafting in . . . Siberia! | ||
|
 |
||
|
Which foreign capital city boasts 40% green space? Which foreign capital city has over 600 churches and cathedrals? Which foreign capital city decorates it subways with artwork - sculptures, murals and the like? Which foreign capital city displays the world’s richest diamond museum? If you didn’t answer “Moscow” to all the above, you’re in for surprises - ten of them! . . . |
Ever opened a washing machine during spin cycle? Now, picture yourself inside that spin cycle. Welcome to the sport of whitewater rafting, where you get drenched and dizzy, smacked against boulders, jerked nearly out of your boots - and you love it! . . . |
| Ski Your Valentine At Taos! |
 |
|
You’ve never felt so alive. Twelve inches of fresh powder snow fell last night and you’re the first one up the hill. Skis poised at the top of your favorite black diamond slope, you slip gently off the edge. Immediately your upper body crunches slightly forward at the waist. You place your pole ahead, rise into the turn and carve a perfect S. Your body flexes for the next turn, you reach with your pole and carve another perfect turn. And another, and another. . . . |
| Swimming with Sharks - It's No Lawyer Joke | Look, Ma, No Stings! You, Too, Can Swim With Jellies | ||
 |
|
||
|
Human buffet or aquatic petting zoo reality swims somewhere in between. |
It’s so tempting to put out a finger and poke a jelly. Pastel-colored transparent globes float ethereally past in a slow, pulsating rhythm. No eye returns your gaze; no legs or arms give it motion, only a soft, squishy-looking body tempts you to touch, just a little caress. . . . |
| Long Days of Summer Got You Dreaming of Outdoor Adventure? |
|
| EV's introductory "Follow Me!" column |
| Desert Dunking and Diving, Part One | Desert Dunking and Diving, Part Two | ||
|
|
||
|
Ever imagined breathing underwater? Facing a fish nose to nose? Tickling turtles? Exploring sunken wrecks? Let's learn how to scuba dive! |
Surprise! Scuba diving adventures in New Mexico! |
| Quest for the Most Beautiful Fall Hiking Trail in the World |
|
| Searching for the best hiking trails in Lincoln County National Forest |
| Adaptive Snow Sports Program Lets Ski Apache Bring Smiles | Ascending the High Temple of Lamanai in Belize | ||
|
|
||
|
Ski Apache Adaptive Snow Sports Association helps Chris, a seven year old disabled boy, ski. |
There it was! Emerging from the tops of trees, a tall stone pinnacle — The High Temple of Lamanai! . . . |
| Biking The Big Apple |
 |
|
While politics makes headlines in New York City this week, we outdoor adventurers are discovering the City’s canyons, waterfalls, livestock, the Yankees, Edgar Allan Poe, magnificent architecture, and lots more. . . . |
| Ski a Day with a Patroller! | Ruidoso Cross Your Heart Ski Tourney | ||
|
|
||
|
Ah, the glamorous life of a ski patroller. . . skiing first powder tracks, flirting with comely customers, looking so yummy in that uniform. . . . Nice job, right? Spend a typical day with the patrol at Ski Apache, New Mexico, the southernmost major ski area in the United States and decide for yourself. . . . |
Every February during Valentine’s Week, fun-loving skiers racing under pseudonyms such as A. T.(ypical) Housewife or Queen of Hearts blossom in outrageous costumes to vie for dubious honors and titles as Best Costume, Biggest Flirt, Best Boobs and Buns, Foxy Fifties, Sexy Sixties, Best Tootsie, Best Wipeout and yes, Fastest Racer. . . . |
