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Exploring the Newberry Crater in Central Oregon
Visiting the lava lands of Central Oregon is just about as close as one can get to setting foot on the moon. At least that is what researchers believed in the late 1960s, when they sent NASA astronauts to the Newberry Crater Volcanic Monument in order to test out spacesuits and equipment. Scientists believed the moon’s mysterious pockmarked terrain was a result of volcanic activity. So in order to prepare for what they might encounter in space, they performed extensive fieldwork at the Newberry Crater. Of all the lunar landscapes…
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Traveling the Oregon Outback Scenic Byway
Oregon often conjures images of lush rain-soaked forests and snowcapped mountains. But towering trees and dizzying shades of green only paint a small picture of the state’s beauty and intrigue. What if I were to tell you that Oregon is two thirds desert? Or that, in the Oregon Outback, cowboy country is alive and well? Growing up, I didn’t give much thought to the barren eastern half of the state. Like most people, I assumed that there wasn’t much to see amongst the nothingness. However, I’ve recently begun to realize…
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Volunteering with All Hands and Hearts in the USVI
Though the media has long stopped paying attention to the damages that hurricanes Irma and Maria inflicted on the people of the Caribbean, rebuilding efforts in the region are far from over. On many islands, power lines are still down, houses are still uninhabitable and businesses are still closed. Puerto Rico received much of the media attention in the months following the deadly storms. And rightly so; the island suffered over 3,000 casualties. But the twin hurricanes also devastated the nearby United States Virgin Islands (USVI)–flattening shops and hotels and…
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Viewing the Northern Lights in Fairbanks, Alaska
In mid-December, as the Northern Hemisphere approached its shortest and darkest day of the year, Dan and I chose to travel to an unlikely Destination: Fairbanks, Alaska. The reason? To see the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. I’d always dreamed of witnessing the world’s greatest light display with my own eyes. And with the ability to fly standby on a moment’s notice due to my airline job, chasing the northern lights in Fairbanks Alaska was both feasible and fairly economical. The flexibility of flying standby allowed Dan…
