By Joan Larsen Spring is definitely in the air . . . and, if you are like me, you avoid the packed highways of summer travel, knowing that a far less crowded season awaits either Spring or Fall– with all the hidden delights that California seems to pull out of its sleeve for the […]
April 11, 2018
By Joan Larsen Life holds the most unexpected surprises, the forever memories, to those who are open to them. Isn’t that true? But, on this day of astonishing splendor that, truly, only a few countries in our world can offer, this journey — to the edge of the world that was Norway — had been […]
April 4, 2018
By Joan Larsen My dream in life: chasing down the most remote islands on this earth. The small dots on any map are many; my determination has been great. Getting there has been an adventure. Once ashore, the fear of getting lost, falling into holes, being chased by creatures far larger than I – well, […]
March 21, 2018
By Joan Larsen The love lives of birds really hadn’t been one of my greatest interests in life. But on our expeditions to my favorite places in the southern hemisphere of our world – like Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and some pretty unknown islands that abound down there – we were guided down trails […]
March 14, 2018
By Joan Larsen So much of my life has been spent in the world’s most remote places, and often many of my fellow companions are the crème of the crop of the world’s most famous photographers – the ones vying for those National Geographic covers. They have climbed the highest peaks, photographed underwater, and been […]
February 21, 2018
by Joan Larsen First things first: nobody has fallen off this scary looking bridge. . . and it is the only way to get to the other side as you are here to climb Mt. Nimbus – that gorgeous peak rising like a point just ahead. The Canadian Rockies – in the western part of […]
February 7, 2018
By Wayne Ranney Roughly 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, and slam-bang on the equator, lie Darwin’s “Enchanted Isles”, the Galapagos — a place of beauty, of wonder around every corner — and islands that I found to be like nowhere else in this world. You find yourself face-to-face with more fearless and more […]
January 31, 2018
By Joan Larsen We were young and adventurous when this wilderness beckoned us. Crocodile Dundee walked in our footsteps sometime later… but we paved the way. For the most part, the roads in the Top End were not paved. The largest national park in Australia lies there, a “must-be-seen” wilderness called Kakadu… a journey to […]
January 17, 2018
By Joan Larsen Its name – El Caminito del Rey (in English: The King’s Little Pathway) … makes it sounds like it would be a delight for a child. But, in fact, this walkway, built in 1905 and attached to the steep walls of El Chorro gorge in southern Spain’s Malaga province, became – much […]
January 10, 2018
By Joan Larsen Wading in the Pacific Ocean – as the setting sun’s last rays lit up the skies before sunset – was magical. The last surfer was way out, paddling his board toward shore in a lazy fashion. Only the few of us on the beach saw the whale not that far behind the […]
January 3, 2018
by Joan Larsen St. Petersburg. . . Russia’s most wonderful city has drawn me back more than once. Home of the world-famous Hermitage Museum — just named the best museum in all of Europe (!) — is praise enough to have art lovers making a bee-line north. But – hidden far beneath the museum — […]
December 27, 2017
By Joan Larsen As 2017 comes to a close, and as we perch a bit precariously on the edge of this New Year – we are still filled with hope as we always have been. But with a world in turmoil as it is, stirring our minds — a small family holiday getaway has done the trick, once again bringing us back […]
December 20, 2017
By Joan Larsen At this season, as another Christmas draws near, we find there are moments when we look back — back at a lifetime of memories of Christmas past . . . many times wishing they could be the simpler times we once had I speak for all of us, longing – I […]
December 18, 2017
Happy Holidays to all, and if you’re concerned about Santa’s schedule, NORAD can help you out! NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command), a joint US-Canadian organization, has a lot of experience in this activity: they’ve been tracking Santa’s sleigh since 1955, when a Sears Roebuck store in Colorado posted an ad for children to […]
December 13, 2017
by Joan Larsen To me, there is nothing like the feeling of a much loved family gathering filled with love – with so many hugs and so much joy – each and every Christmas. My spirits have lifted for the celebration. But I don’t want to spend the remaining days of the season stretched out […]
November 22, 2017
It’s Thanksgiving at the Lake House and the gathering of family is always equated to love overflowing and the feeling of closeness . . . A warm welcome to our family Thanksgiving!! The greatest fun is coming early and working together to make decorations for the house As the children […]
November 15, 2017
By Joan Larsen The ocean off Iceland was fairly calm fifty years ago when a fishing boat spotted fire in the distance. In this empty ocean, it would have to have been another fishing boat burning to cause such color in the skies. The crew sped toward the scene, only to see a volcano arising […]
November 8, 2017
By Joan Larsen So close yet so remote. So magnificent that it beats out all comers on our planet. Until now, it has been my own secret hideaway on this earth – Iceland, the magnificent. For years, Iceland has drawn me back again and again like a magnet. And once you too have received the […]
October 25, 2017
By Wayne Ranney It is with the greatest pleasure I once again introduce you to Wayne Ranney — famed geologist – who we once again find as Guest Lecturer on one of National Geographic’s extraordinary Private Journeys this Fall. This round-the-world one-month journey finds the group uncovering treasures of our world that many of […]
October 18, 2017
by Joan Larsen This is the northern tip of Iceland at midnight. Winter there is total darkness for eight months. In summer the children of Iceland can be seen enjoying the midnight sun until all hours in bright sun – for there is no night. . . so why shouldn’t the two of us do the same? Before us — the fabled […]
April 18, 2018
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