Month: February 2017

Salar de Uyuni is Heaven on Earth (PHOTOS)

Some people need to sow their wild oats before they ‘settle down’. This idiom typically applies to fast romances with people; I feel the same way about places. One such place I was holding hostage from adult life was Bolivia. What can I say? I had been charmed by photographs of jeeps on flooded salt flats. Absent a horizon, they seemed to float, suspended in the heavens. “Greg, I’m sorry…this is a place I need to go before family life…” Of course that was last year when we were discussing our honeymoon. One year has come and gone, and I’ve got a new fixation. (India in case you were wondering; the list never seems to end.) But back to Bolivia. It’s dangerous business wanderlusting over a beautiful Pinterest photo or dreamy Instagram post. Were the salt flats everything I hoped they would be? You bet they were. I wrote about the first half of our Bolivia experience here – We are the crazy Canadians who honeymooned in Bolivia  – and I encourage you to read it. In …

How Have I Never Heard of This Massive Washington Ice Cave Until Now?

I mean – hell – it’s literally a hop, skip and a jump over the border; basically on my doorstep and I had never heard of it until just last month. What are the Big Four Ice Caves? They’re naturally formed caves located on the north face of Big Four Mountain. Snow sloughs off the mountain in the colder months (aka an avalanche chute) and spring temperatures yield snow-melt streams which emerge from carved-out tunnels. Warm summer air further melts the ice but the shadow of the mountain prevents the caves from fully melting. So…just as soon as summer comes and the caves are accessible, let’s get in a car and go explore. Who’s with me? Images by the very talented photographer Michael Matti, via Flickr: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 How to get to Washington’s Big Four Ice Caves From Vancouver, head south across the border and continue along I-5. Then, go east on Mountain Highway Loop via Granite Falls. Drive 34-km east of Granite Falls. The trailhead is just past Silverton. At just 2.2 miles, the trail to …

If there’s only one craft brewery you visit in Darrington, make it THIS one

Okay, okay. I tricked you. Darrington, WA only has one craft brewery. But I promise, even if there was a choice, I’d still pick River Time Brewing. It’s got laid-back vibes, easy going patrons and two, two IPAs on tap. And after all, hops are happiness. The beer business in Darrington is good, but part-owner Neil shares a laugh about humbler beginnings. “I took equity instead of payment for like, the first eight months. Now, I have a hard enough time keeping up with demand in here. We normally have a really great jalapeno kolsch.” It’s a good problem to have. River Time brews were born in a garage, raised in a cabin, and perfected on the Stilly. Well, almost. “Our stout is terrible. It’s back before I really knew what I was doing. There were a lot of growing pains” Neil admits. He nods at a pair of regulars shored up at the tap room’s handsome live-edge bar. “I’m lucky I have faithful locals who will drink terrible beer no matter what!” he teases. “It’s …