TUCSON AND POINTS SOUTH
by Yvette Cardozo

There is no reason to avoid backcountry excursions for fear of winter weather or what Mother Nature might set in your path. If you or a member of your party become fatigued or chilled, turn back. Don’t be afraid to admit your limitations; there’s almost always another opportunity to accomplish your goal. Go prepared and use your head to maximize your margin of safety and comfort and you will have many adventurous tales to share. And if you’re prepared and come upon someone else who is in difficulty, you just might save the day (or life) of a fellow snowsports enthusiast.

The Annual McCall Idaho Winter Carnival is a feast for the eyes, especially the snow sculptures and the Mardi Gras Parade. The town of 3,000 grows to 60,000. There is a thick menu of events including the Hairy-Leg Contest, Snowshoe Golf, Snowmobile Races, and the McCall Winter Carnival Pageant. This year's carnival is January 26-February 4, 2018.

Tohono Chul park in Tucson is 49 acres of winding paths, lots and lots of cactus and, in spring (April-ish), lots of cactus flowers. Plus, there are tours that cover everything from butterflies to hawks to reptiles. We caught the reptile talk, where we got to pet (yes, harmless) snakes and learned what NOT to do if a rattler bites you. Basically, forget everything you’ve ever heard...the cutting, the sucking, the spitting, the tourniquets. Stop, sit down, have someone call for help. And wait (hopefully you are not too far in the bush).

GROWING UP IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA DURING WORLD WAR TWO by Sylvia Blishak

KAYAKING HAIDA GWAII
Exploring a Land of Fascination
by Lee Juillerat

AN ENGLISH ADVENTURE
On and Off the Beaten Track
by Brad Hathaway

My first High Adventure started at the beginning of World War II on December 7, 1941. I lived in San Luis Obispo, California. I was four years old.  An American oil tanker just off the coast was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine on the 13th. The press, unlike today, used fake news for positive headlines. Nobody wanted to hear bad news in those days!

What's the best way to experience Haidi Gwaii? Week-long guided kayak trips. We were a mixed bag - three kayakers from Sweden, four from Canada, three from the U.S., and our guides/cooks/naturalists, Jessica Roy and Grant Thompson, the owner of Tofino Expeditions. Our experience ranged from first-time paddlers to an experienced Swedish couple who effortlessly cruised far ahead.

There are good reasons to visit the York Minster, site of over half the remaining medieval stained glass in England. For one thing, if you are up for a climb of 279 steps, you can wend your way up spiral stairs to the top of the central tower, where on a windy day, you can watch the lower towers sway! On the way up, you cross from the main structure to the tower itself over an outer walkway where you can get a good look at the flying buttresses that support the outer walls.

DANTE WOULD LOVE THESE COLORADO SKI RESORTS AND SO WILL YOUR KIDS
by Christopher Elliott

For a link to the book, click here. 

Purgatory sounds like a scary anecdote from Mrs. Olson’s Sunday School class. As in, “If you sin, you will end up skiing the slopes of Purgatory for all eternity.”

My kids, ages 11, 13 and 15, ended up in a lesson with a dude named Thomas, who took them to all the awesome places children like to ski and snowboard -- those little runs with moguls, jumps and other interesting things that adults tend to avoid. I met up with friends and explored the trails I remember from long ago when the world was a simpler, saner place.

Plan to travel North Carolina's Pottery Highway. Its official name is North Carolina Highway 705 (NC 705) but it is better known as the Pottery Highway. The towns along this 26-mile stretch of road are home to about 100 potteries, many of them clustered around the hamlet of Seagrove, where eighth- and ninth-generation potters produce hand-turned or "hand-thrown" pottery. Pottery-making has flourished in the area since before the American Revolution.

Steve Giordano and Lynn Rosen just co-authored their Falcon Press, "Camping Washington," the third edition of their guide to more than 400 public campgrounds in the Pacific Northwest state. Along with vital information on location, road conditions, facilities, fees, etc, the guide provides tips on camping etiquette, camping with kids (and teenagers), bike camping and enjoying and/or avoiding wildlife.  "Camping Washington" is available in bookstores and on line. Falcon Press publishes a series of guides to public campgrounds for every state in the U.S.

Powder Mountain, Snowbasin stir memories of Olympics past -- and a few thrills, by Christopher Elliott

We'd already skied two resorts in Southern Colorado, some of which presented us with challenging terrain. But this was different. Really different. After a warm-up run on the Red Lady Express, which has a lot of mellow runs perfect for families, we headed over to the Silver Queen Express, a quad that services some of Crested Butte's steepest terrain.

They're not as close to Salt Lake City and they don't have the million-dollar marketing budgets. This lack of hype could lead you to believe you're in the middle of nowhere, when, in fact, you're somewhere really special.

Who we are: For brief bios on the writers who form this Pacific Northwest collective, please click here.