John

“`html Forest Road 2639 ends at a gravel lot 50 miles east of Portland. February morning, 8am, three cars parked. The sound of rushing water reaches you before you see the trailhead sign. Most drivers continue another 10 miles to Timberline Lodge where lift lines form by 9am. This 0.75-mile path stays empty. The trail … Lire plus

The unpaved road winds through Tortola’s western tip. Potholes appear every few yards. No signs mark the turn. Then the trees open and turquoise water spreads flat as glass between rocky headlands. One mile east at Cane Garden Bay, winter swells hammer the beach. Here at Smuggler’s Cove, reef protection creates a swimming pocket that … Lire plus

Dubuque’s riverfront casinos pull 57,000 residents and regional crowds to a developed waterfront where hotel rates hit $120 per night in February and parking challenges persist year-round. Thirty minutes north, McGregor sits with 725 residents, the same 500-foot limestone bluffs, and rooms starting at $80 with free parking everywhere. The Mississippi flows past both towns. … Lire plus

“`html Hapuna Beach charges $10 parking plus $5 per person and fills its treeless sand with resort crowds by 10am. Beach 69 sits 2 miles south with the same $10 parking, ancient Kiawe trees creating all-day shade, and a 35-acre Marine Life Conservation District that Hapuna can’t match. The utility pole marked “69” at the … Lire plus

“`html The ferry from Milazzo cuts through morning fog. Thirty minutes later, sulfur hits your nose before you see land. Black sand beaches curve against turquoise water. Steam rises from cracks in rust-colored rock. This is Vulcano, where Earth’s interior still makes itself known through five experiences that feel more Mars than Mediterranean. Population 715. … Lire plus

The N71 curves around Coulagh Bay and the houses appear. Reds, blues, yellows against gray-green mountains. Eyeries sits where 300 residents painted their village into something artists travel to see. Cork lies 62 miles east, but this feels like Europe’s forgotten edge. Afternoon light hits these facades between 4pm and 6pm in summer. The glow … Lire plus

St. Moritz charges $345 per night for a basic hotel room in February 2026. Guarda sits 25 miles away and costs $138. Same Alps. Same snow. Zero crowds. The train from St. Moritz takes 69 minutes and costs $24. You arrive in a village of 400 people where Romansh is the first language and sgraffito … Lire plus

The small plane drops through morning clouds and suddenly the water below turns impossible. Not turquoise like a postcard. Turquoise like someone cranked the saturation dial past believable. Canouan sits 25 miles south of St. Vincent with a population around 900 permanent residents. The Mandarin Oriental claims 1,200 acres on one end. Yet hidden coves … Lire plus

Summer Crater Lake draws 720,000 visitors between June and September. Parking at Rim Village overflows by 9am. The North Entrance Road stays closed until late June or early July 2026. Rim Drive remains inaccessible through spring. February delivers the opposite experience: Discovery Point Trail accessible on snowshoes, zero crowds, the same volcanic panorama, profound silence … Lire plus

The ferry from Corfu cuts through morning fog, and suddenly there it is: a stone castle perched 200 meters above turquoise coves, white churches dotting olive-green hillsides like scattered dice. Himara sits on Albania’s Ionian coast, population 2,800, where 70% identify as Orthodox Christian and the architecture tells a story older than the tourists who … Lire plus