Kayak Night at Next Adventure, Wednesday, April

Sam Drevo presents "Adventures in the Pacific Northwest," on Wednesday April 15th at Next Adventures in Portland. Hear great stories about whitewater adventures and multi-day trips in some of the most remote areas of the Pacific Northwest. Learn more here

Board an Earthship in Taos, New Mexico

In a high mesa valley tucked into the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range you’ll find architect Michael Reynolds’ vision for sustainable living come to life: the Greater World Earthship Community. The location places the community near the outer fringes of Taos, New Mexico, where one might imagine civilization ends after crossing the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. There are no lights illuminating the night sky indicating the location of a town, neighborhood or city. This truly off-the-radar community does not produce the human imprint of most suburban households. Earthships are constructed ...

Elephant Tramples Tourist in Assam

From Radio Netherlands Worldwide came this awful news: a Dutch tourist was trampled to death by an elephant in a nature reserve in India. The Indian press agency IANS reports that the man set out early on Tuesday morning with eight other tourists to explore the 430-square-kilometre Kaziranga National Park in the eastern state of Assam. Although they were accompanied by an armed guide, they were surprised by the elephant, which went on the attack. The other tourists had what IANS describes as a "miraculous escape", but the 60-year-old Dutchman was unable to get away quickly enough. The Xola and ...

Volunteering in Alaska

By Sharon Jackson Special to the Turnagain Times For 37 years the Iditarod Dog Race has run from Anchorage to Nome. For the most part, people write about the great athletes, the dogs, and the mushers who brave impossible weather, and treacherous terrain, to compete for the coveted title, Champion. What many don’t realize is the mass of volunteers that come from all over the planet to make the race happen. Those people who scoop poop, lay hay, string fences, give medical aid to mushers, and dogs, and those who spend months in advance organizing ...

Amber Moyle: Travcoa’s Adventure Designer & Sustainable Development Champion

Being a fashion designer may have its perks - free couture and nights out with celebrities - but in our book the perks of Amber Moyle's gig at Travcoa wins hands down. Scouting your next holiday or dreaming about future career moves? Read on. In a recent conversation with Amber she shared stories of managing the logistics for escorted Travcoa groups through Jordan, Syria and Israel, as well as escorting herself tours to Albania, Macedonia and Greece. And when she was asked to design a specialized trip focused ...

Haramaki Love

Have you heard of haramaki? During her time living in Japan, Julia Aynsley discovered this must-have fashion and health accessory. Upon her return to Canada, she founded Haramaki Love specializing in local, sustainably handmade haramaki. So what is haramaki? Loosely translated, haramaki comes from the Japanese words hara, meaning the center of the body, and maki, meaning 'to wrap up', much like a maki sushi roll. Historically a piece of Samurai armor, haramaki evolved into a fashionable tubular garment that is worn around the midsection of the body. Haramaki are great worn as layering pieces and are ideal as maternity wear. ...

Salaam Garage trip to Guatemala

Salaam Garage was born from the realization that travelers and their home communities really wanted to participate in the ground-level work of NGOs around the world. Amanda Koster came up with the idea for her unique service trip-plus-community experiences in her work as a photographer: all of her friends and relations kept asking, "Can I come with you?" on her worldwide journeys to document NGOs. But Amanda realized something else that would transform the trip to a life changing experience: incorporating a project ...