Our group of 10 piles into the back of a pickup truck at 8 a.m. We’re covered head-to-toe, largely to avoid ants crawling down our clothing and nipping us. I’ve got on a hat with fabric flaps, a long-sleeved shirt, a T-shirt, leggings, gum boots, and a pair of gloves. And, I’m not as coveredContinue reading “They gave me a machete: a true story of corn-cutting”
Tag Archives: blogsherpa
Travel Bloggers Give Back: The Elephant Nature Park
I will never forget the first time I reached my hand out and touched the pink-speckled trunk of an Asian elephant. Towering over me, this beautiful girl stood, flapping her large ears in the late summer heat of Thailand. She stood in front our little group of volunteers, all of us nearly speechless at ourContinue reading “Travel Bloggers Give Back: The Elephant Nature Park”
Cultural Tips for Thailand
“Chang, Chang, Chang,” we all sing, our shoulders tucked into our noses and our one arm hanging to depict an elephant trunk. It’s nighttime, and Jack and Chai have called us up to the conference room to teach us about Thai culture and the Thai language. The first thing that sticks in my head? ElephantContinue reading “Cultural Tips for Thailand”
Escape of the Week: London’s Big Ben
London’s Big Ben is recognized the world over. Located within the historic Palace of Westminster grounds, Big Ben is the name for the bell of the clock, but is also used to refer to the entire tower. Did you know it is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the worldContinue reading “Escape of the Week: London’s Big Ben”
I am thankful for …
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. It’s the time when I get to come home from wherever I am, and spend precious moments with my parents, my brother, my gorgeous little niece, and my friends from childhood and beyond. It’s the time of year when I bundle up and head East to breatheContinue reading “I am thankful for …”
I’m not full of it, I’m shoveling it
I wake up early on my first day — as soon as the light begins to sneak through the tiny cracks in the wood, and the more than 100 dogs begin to bark their “hellos” to their cat neighbors and the elephants start making their noises out my window. I’m too excited to sleep anyContinue reading “I’m not full of it, I’m shoveling it”
Escape of the Week: I amsterdam
“I amsterdam.” Travelers from all over the world, including yours truly, have made an obligatory pilgrimage to the site. After a particularly taxing day of medical scares, my friends and I made the trek to “I amsterdam.” Now known the world over, the “I amsterdam” installation was designed as more than a tourist attraction. DidContinue reading “Escape of the Week: I amsterdam”
Blessings from a shaman
It starts as a drizzle after dinner … a soft pitter patter on the roof of the main area at the Park. It’s dark, so we can’t really see the full effect. But, we can hear it. Within minutes, that light little drizzle gives way to sheets of rain, dumping from the sky. As weContinue reading “Blessings from a shaman”
Escape of the Week: Nevada’s Valley of Fire
About an hour outside of Las Vegas is the Valley of Fire. Dedicated in 1935, it is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park. And, it is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. With a background of bright blue sky, the red sandstone formations are striking. They’ve been around since the daysContinue reading “Escape of the Week: Nevada’s Valley of Fire”
A room at the (primitive) Palace
I don’t expect much when Jack hands me the key to my room, a hut in the Palace complex. On the Elephant Nature Park’s Web site, it states the toilets are squat and the showers are Thai (meaning buckets to rinse, no shower heads), so when I walk the few feet to my lodging forContinue reading “A room at the (primitive) Palace”
D Travels 'Round 