Autumn lasts about two weeks in the Alaskan interior; at least, that’s what I’m told. As he has so often, the Patron Saint of Movers turned his benevolent smile my way and landed me here in Denali National Park…

On September 11, 2017, eight people from five different countries congregated at a deserted campground behind a gas station in the small town of Healy, Alaska. Most of us had traveled by thumb from various points north or south…

Our Himalayan trek came to a close yesterday evening as we limped triumphantly  into the village of Lukla through a ghostly fog. There were high fives and glasses of Khukri rum mixed with hot mango Tang (a cocktail we have…

The night we arrived in Namche Bazaar- an ancient Nepalese center of trade with Tibet now a hub of the trekking industry- a young Buddhist monk appeared at our lodge, radiating a peace, joy, and kindness that cannot…

“One hour more, straight up,” shouted our guide, the real-life superhero known as Ang Dendi Sherpa, indicating with a straight- upwardly hand gesture the pitch of the last bit of “trail” (I use quotations because describing the route as a…

My first morning in Kathmandu looks down from a guesthouse rooftop garden on the grand opening day of Dashain, the country’s greatest and holiest festival, observed by both the Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist spiritual traditions that flourish here.

I…

For thousands of years colorful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags have beaten like birds’ wings in the lofty breezes of the high Himalayas, vivid expressions of hope that windblown blessings might flutter down over the myriad creatures and vast country below…

Foggia, Italy

The Lonely Planet Guide, which I have come to understand is written by and geared for a very different sort of traveler than I am, has this to say about Foggia, Italy: “Other than the 12th Century…

In the past few months busking my way across Europe, my performances have been shut down by permit-obsessed cops more times than I can count. I no longer wonder if it will happen, but when, and whether I will have…

Prague, Czech Republic

Howjeedo, Passerby, thanks for passing by. If not for your by-passing ilk I’d have nobody to play for, which would be a bummer.
Your bewildered look is well understood- chances are you had no idea I-…

“Beep beep BOOP bedeep bedeep BWOOP ticka Umph-chit-chit-tic beepbeep BWOOOOoooooowwww.”

They’re out there somewhere in Kreuzberg: those beepity boopity kids on the techno skids. They’re wearing skinny jeans and piercing plugs and tank tops the same way our homegrown…

It probably goes without saying: tweaked out Pennsyltuckian buskers are not the only creatures working the nighttime alleyways of Paris. The above photo shows a counterfeit 10 spot (there is no watermark, the number 10 is the wrong color, and…

-Rennes, France

On the road again, and back in Rennes, I buckled under the weight of my own vanity and paid a frivolous amount of money to a male French hairstylist in a flamboyant pink scarf to shave my head…

I’ve noticed this about travel: most of the truly knock-down incredible experiences arise when spontaneity is encouraged to take the wheel. For this to happen, a would-be adventurer has to get his or her itinerary-hugging ass out of the way…