When I was nineteen, a backpacker, and in Paris, many years ago, I looked out a train window and saw the Eiffel Tower. I’d forgotten about the tower’s existence so it was as if I had not only personally discovered it, but was the first to understand its stark, industrial beauty. This is one of […]

As luck would have it, I arrived in Saguaro National Park right after a March rainy spell. The Sonoran Desert was alive and thriving, and the saguaro were extraordinary. Each seemed to be thinking its own thoughts—present but private, attendant but uninvolved. The Tohono O’odham people consider saguaro to be friends and respected members of […]

Suddenly it’s April! Summer is fast approaching. For kids, that’s the time to kick back and savor long, school-free days. For parents, it’s the time to embark on one of the year’s scariest roller-coaster rides: planning a family vacation. A successful family vacation is as good as it gets. You can encounter new places and people […]