By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Yachats (pronounced Yah-hots) is a Chinook name that means dark water. Nestled at the foot of spruce-sheathed mountains overlooking the wide mouth of a bay where the Yachats River meets the Pacific, it was the site of a thriving village. Today, squealing toddlers play in soft purling waves […]

Solutions for Solo Travelers by Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate   Boomer women make up the largest segment of the travel population. Freed from the ties of family responsibilities, and with a little extra money in their jeans, they want to explore. Often they have husbands who are not interested in travel, or they […]

Plug into Nature’s Bounty at Sacha Lodge in Ecuador’s Amazon Basin by Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate   Like Jack on the beanstalk, we climbed up a giant wooden stairwell wrapping the kapok tree. A drenching rain set in before we reached a viewing platform above the protective canopy. We stood atop what must […]

Saddle Up in Ecuador by Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate   What prompts a young Brit ensconced in the Parisian perfume industry to flee the continent in quest of creating the ultimate South American riding experience? That was the first of several burning questions I had for Sally Vergette, owner of RIDE ANDES, before […]

Winging It on the Central Coast By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert   Morro Bay is a sweet coastal town, situated nicely between spectacular hiking and birding opportunities. To the south, Montana De Oro (mountain of gold), at 8,000 acres, is one of the largest parks in the state and one of its best-kept secrets. […]

Tiritiri Mitangi – Birding Adventure Down Under By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert December is a great time to explore the other land down under. The North Island of New Zealand is easy to get around and much less pricey than neighboring Australia. Kiwis take pride in making guests feel welcome and love to […]

Purposeful Lollygagging By Linda Ballou NABBW’s Adventure Travel Expert Birding is the second fastest growing sport in America. Sixty-five million of us are rising at ungodly hours to steal through estuaries and woodlands hoping to spy the flash of a wing. Some of us spend fortunes enticing our avian friends to our back yards. Why? […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]