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Wings COVID-Clipped, Linda Ballou Shares How She’s Experiencing Jubilation in the Year of the Virus

November 7th, 2020

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate The Mexican people call retired persons “Jubilants.” I was so busy I never thought much about retirement, but suddenly, due to COVID, here it is. I am unable to sell real estate because dealing with the public is just too dangerous now. My partner, who has been loving and supportive for 35 years, is convinced he will die if he gets Covid-19. Consequently, I have not gone out to dinner, hiked with a friend, or had a haircut for eight months. The virus didn’t just clip my travel wings, it ripped them out of their sockets. I was flying... Read More

Destination: Deep Time

June 29th, 2011

Destination: Deep Time By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert Thirteen strangers piled into the waiting raft at Lee’s Ferry on the Colorado River. It would be our transportation for the next eight days. Adam, our guide, greeted us with his eight-month-old son on his hip. Three generations of river guiding make his family as much a part of the river as the canyon wren, the pink rattler that has taken on the rosy hues of the sandstone walls, and the aloe—sustenance to the Native Americans who have called the Grand Canyon home for 10,000 years. A wren’s lilt echoed through the... Read More

Marty Mathis, of Grand Canyon Expeditions, Welcomes You to Where the Grand Canyon Lives And Explains Why It\’s Best Seen by Water

April 19th, 2011

Marty Mathis, of Grand Canyon Expeditions, Welcomes You to Where the Grand Canyon Lives And Explains Why It\’s Best Seen by Water By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert The charms of the Grand Canyon have captured the imagination of those lucky enough to experience them ever since Powell did the first recorded run down the Colorado in 1869. Marty Mathis, Vice President of Grand Canyon Expeditions, is one of those people so taken by the magic of the canyon he has made sharing the canyon his life’s work. In my previous article “Not All Outfitters are Created Equal” I... Read More

Not All Outfitters are Created Equal

April 4th, 2011

Not All Outfitters are Created Equal By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert The story“Falling in the Footsteps of John Muir” in my book Lost Angel Walkabout, describes the scariest situation I’ve experienced in my travels. I tripped and fell upon a splintered log that broke two ribs. This would not have been so horrific, but I was in the heart of the High Sierras at about 10,000 feet surrounded by even taller granite spires that blocked cell phone transmissions. The total medical arsenal of my guides consisted of one sleeping tablet. I was told the assessment of my medical... Read More