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August 27, 2011 During our vacation in Seattle at the end of July, we rented a car and drove to Mount Rainier National Park, about 2-1/2 hours southeast of the city. Snowcapped even in summer, Mt. Rainier is the highest peak in the Cascade Range at 14,410 feet. The day ...

August 18, 2011 The Bloedel Reserve is a place of utter beauty and almost spiritual peacefulness. Rain drips quietly from mossy branches, and the color green wraps you in a soft embrace. I explored the grounds for two-and-a-half hours—not nearly enough time to see all 150 acres, but enough to ...

August 14, 2011 Crocosmia (Seattle’s signature plant during the Fling) and Helenium at the Bellevue Botanic Gardens During the last month’s Garden Bloggers Fling in Seattle I witnessed a lot of happy bloggers and a lot of beautiful views. We 70+ garden bloggers would be delighted to visit with each ...

August 11, 2011 If you’re lucky enough to live on a hilltop in Seattle, odds are you have a nice view of something, seeing as the city is surrounded by mountains and the sea. In the Epping Garden, which we visited on Day Two of the Seattle Garden Bloggers Fling, ...

June 30, 2011 Ever since my Carolina childhood, the mountains of western North Carolina have been one of my favorite weekend destinations. During a recent vacation I had the pleasure of introducing my children to some fun hikes and nature outings in the Asheville area. Pictured above is a view ...

October 21, 2010 Continuing my westward route across Austin on Saturday’s Open Days tour, I headed to the Westlake garden at the Jones residence multimillion-dollar, 11,000 square foot mansion (as per Trulia). This is the view from their elevated front terrace. What? Those buildings? Downtown Austin, of course. I was ...

June 06, 2010 I enjoyed a bird’s-eye view of Austin last Wednesday from the top of the Austonian, Austin’s newest, tallest, and surely most luxurious condominium tower. My friend Terry Mitchell, a member of the marketing and public relations team, and his wife kindly offered me and my husband and ...

March 19, 2010 Midway in our recent road trip through the Sunshine State, we spontaneously decided to visit the Florida Keys, a series of islands extending into the Gulf of Mexico for 127 miles, traversable via the Overseas Highway and ending in Key West, the southernmost point in the continental ...

October 18, 2009 Aspens, Rocky Mountain National Park, September 2006 Garden bloggers love the great outdoors and are an adventurous bunch. That’s what I learned this week while reading about visits we’ve made to national parks, national monuments, and other special places that have been set aside for the enjoyment ...

October 18, 2009 Aspens, Rocky Mountain National Park, September 2006 Garden bloggers love the great outdoors and are an adventurous bunch. That’s what I learned this week while reading about visits we’ve made to national parks, national monuments, and other special places that have been set aside for the enjoyment ...

October 16, 2009 Before I ever went on safari in Tanzania’s national parks, I traveled with my family to Yellowstone in mid-May of 2000 and saw so many large mammals that I felt as if I were on safari in the American West. Winter had only just released its grip ...

October 12, 2009 The world is full of beautiful places, and proclaiming one the most beautiful is, I’ll admit, as capricious as crowning one person the most lovely. Still, Yosemite National Park has to rank near the top. My husband and I visited in October of 1995, on a side ...

October 11, 2009 The mule doesn’t want to die either. That’s what I keep telling myself as I ride Buttermilk down Bright Angel Trail to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, 4,000 feet and 5-1/2 hours below. Her sides are broader than the trail itself, so when I lift my ...

October 11, 2009 Aspens along Alberta Falls trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Last week I invited other bloggers to post their favorite stories or pictures of a national park they’ve visited. I’d just watched Ken Burns’ series The National Parks, which illustrates how America’s attitude toward its national parks ...

October 11, 2009 Aspens along Alberta Falls trail, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Last week I invited other bloggers to post their favorite stories or pictures of a national park they’ve visited. I’d just watched Ken Burns’ series The National Parks, which illustrates how America’s attitude toward its national parks ...

March 31, 2009 Several readers expressed interest in hearing more about the green roof atop the parking garage at Palisades West office complex that I visited last Friday. Developer Tim Hendricks of Cousins Properties came out to speak to a handful of visitors who’d jumped at the chance to see ...