By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Costa Rica, the poster child of eco-tourism, has so many fun, outdoor adventures options it’s hard to choose. Twenty-five percent of the country is preserved habitat to ensure the continuation of the unique flora and fauna found in species-rich forests.  Multiple changes in altitude and temperature create many micro-climates that are responsible for Costa Rica’s diversity. Extending and gracious people, Ticos, as locals call themselves, offer guided outdoor adventures throughout their emerald-green country. Rafting the Class III to... Read More

Title: Lost Angel Unleashed: Stories from the Heart (Lost Angel Travel Series: Book Three) Author Linda Ballou Reviewed for the NABBW by Anne Holmes Lost Angel Unleashed is the third in Linda Ballou’s Lost Angel Travel Series. The first two are Lost Angel Walkabout: One Traveler’s Tales  and Lost Angel in Paradise: Outdoor Days From L.A. to the Lost Coast of California. Walkabout covers Linda’s travel writing experiences up until about 2010 and Paradise shares 32 of her favorite day trips from Malibu to Mendocino. I have now been privileged to lose myself in all three books,... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Readers, I am working on a new book, which is very close to publication, to be called Lost Angel Unleashed: Stories From the Heart, as well as my Lost Angel Adventure Series. Today I’d like to share some of my very favorite places to visit in one of my favorite cities, Santa Barbara. I hope you will enjoy my list and will consider visiting this charming city soon. Please check out the links for more information… State Street Promenade — A Taste of Europe The heart of Downtown Santa Barbara’s entertainment and retail district... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate I’ve just returned from the Adventure Travel Show, and am delighted to report that the travel industry is roaring back with a vengeance.  Airlines are ramping up flights, training and hiring pilots, and upgrading infrastructure to keep up with the demand. Twenty-five new ships for leisure travelers will set sail this year. But, with this frenzy to meet the pent-up demand for travel experiences comes higher prices and over-burdened service workers. How do we best navigate the age of disruption? Here are a few of my best tips. Buy... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Isabella Bird was a Victorian-age explorer whose time has come again! The best-loved travel writer of her day wrote effusively about her travels in Estes Park in A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains. Three books about her were published in 2021, including my historical novel Embrace of the Wild. In April I was honored to be selected as the “Isabella Bird Expert” for the upcoming BBC documentary “Trailblazers,” a series spotlighting heroic women that have fallen through the cracks of time. I joined the film crew at Bird... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Just 34 miles up sweeping I 70 from Denver lies Evergreen, a popular stop for folks wanting to breathe deeply of crisp, pine-scented air.  Forward-thinking Denver elders forged out huge open spaces for hikers and bikers in this area. A myriad of trail networks lace the hills surrounding the rustic mountain town. I hiked in Dedisse Park on an undulating trail through a forest overlooking the Evergreen Lake. Expect to meet mountain bikers and other hikers on the trails. Evergreen is a hub of outdoor fun and connecting highways to the interior... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate I love this interview with Brett Wilson at The Rocky Mountain Channel podcast. I felt relaxed and welcome. He wanted to know what prompted me to follow in the hoofprints of the indomitable Isabella Bird from pristine Hawai’i to untamed Colorado in 1873. We talked about how Isabella and Rocky Mountain Jim were two seriously damaged people who found their salvation in nature. Isabella describes their legendary romance and the ethereal beauty of the region in her book A Lady’s Life in the Rockies. Her vivid descriptions of the region drew... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Isabella Lucy Bird was a Victorian Age adventurer who endured tremendous hardships in her explorations of the Rockies in 1873. She became the best-loved travel writer of her time, and was the first woman inducted into the Scottish Royal Geographical Society. In my book Embrace of the Wild, I share Bird’s most transformative journeys. A fierce spirit trapped in a frail body, Isabella rode through raging waters on the Hamakua Coast, up the flank of a volcano, and into the Waipio Valley in Hawai’i. Her exploratory adventures began at the... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate Each day, thousands traverse the narrow road that hugs the coast of Southeast Maui to the village of Hana, one of last remnants of old Hawai’i. It is a miracle that the over fifty one-lane bridges, many of which are over a hundred years old, don’t collapse beneath the steady stream of cars. Drivers are rubber necking to see the most beautiful waterfall, and angling to find a pullout near unmarked trailheads to take a closer look. Still, chaos can be avoided and you can enjoy a tranquil, romantic journey into this lush, unspoiled region... Read More

By Linda Ballou, NABBW’s Adventure Travel Associate As temperatures begin to soar, I dream of the rivers I have known and loved. Tension mounts as I hear the rumble of rapids roiling ahead. Sitting up straight, tucking a foot beneath the pontoon of the rubber raft, taking a secure position for the white water to come, I listen for commands. “Paddles ready!” calls the guide and then we are bouncing through rapids with cooling waves splashing overhead. Squeals of excitement fill the air as we paddle for all we are worth through the foaming rush. Next we settle back to a smooth glide down... Read More