Tripwellgal

Life. Culture. Travel. Dedicated gypsy, freelance travel writer/blogger/author off to see the world.

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Burning Man Art Installation - Do the desert from a distance

Burning Man Art Installation – Do the desert from a distance

The desert, the crowds, the art, and fire – the annual Festival draws me like a magnet, yet I’ve never gone. Building in scope and power since 1986, over 70,000 people trek into the desert each year to breathe life into a temporary utopian ideal. Many more of us harbor the same spark of rebellion and creativity but have never attended or ever will. The Renwick Gallery, No Spectators exhibit, a…

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Retro revival! Don't miss downtown Spokane Washington

Retro revival! Don’t miss downtown Spokane Washington

Long before Lewis and Clark and railroad and timber barons discovered Spokane Washington, Native Americans hunted freely across the Pacific Northwest. They dipped spears into the teaming waters of Spokane Falls and hunted moose through forests along river cliffs. Today with the falls damned by one of the Pacific Northwest’s first water power plants, their spirit is echoed in murals, statues, and…

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Ten tips on how to pack light wherever and whenever you go

Ten tips on how to pack light wherever and whenever you go

How to pack light is a constant struggle and I know the pain too well. After decades of traveling, long trips and short, across the state or the world, I’m still refining my travel techniques and here are the best ways I’ve found to pack light wherever I go. Disclaimer: I was given a Coresport shirt to test but no other compensation. All opinions are based on my own experience.

1. Pack light…

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Tadoussac Quebec whale watching, indigenous cuisine and village life par excellence

Tadoussac Quebec whale watching, indigenous cuisine and village life par excellence

Quebec City calls visitors to its storied streets with a European vibe, while the northern village of Tadoussac lures with a cherished splash. Tadoussac whale watching is legendary worldwide and the tidy town sits at the tip of a peninsula about three hours north of the big city. The village is considered one of Canada’s most beautiful and I can’t argue.  Beluga whales surface here year-round –…

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Why visit Hawaii now? Connect with volcanoes past and present

Why visit Hawaii now? Connect with volcanoes past and present

Witnessing glowing red vents, steaming seas, and billowing volcanic clouds have to be the most thrilling reasons to visit Hawaii. Recent eruptions have caught the world’s attention but Kilauea’s lava flows have been going on continuously for over thirty years!They impact less than 15% of the Big Island of Hawaii, the southernmost and largest of the island archipelago. I once climbed over rough…

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Seven reasons for a farm vacation in Northern Quebec

Seven reasons for a farm vacation in Northern Quebec

Elaine and Jacob, the Grey Wolf

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He was irresistible! I never imagined being eye to eye with a Grey Wolf, but Jacob stood close, panting for play and ready to be ruffled. The rendezvous with the largest canine I’d ever encountered unfolded at Ferme 5 Etoile, a farm vacation resort a few hours north of Quebec where I was a guest for a few days (and hosted by Quebec Maritime.) . Looking across…

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Safe and sustainable - Best girls scuba diving in Indonesia

Safe and sustainable – Best girls scuba diving in Indonesia

Live-aboard dive boat at anchor in Lembeh Straits That’s a giant jellyfish, I thought while drifting through the warm waters of Lembeh Straits, Indonesia.Paddling closer my heart raced as I worked to keep track of my dive buddies. Most, like me, were girls scuba diving in Indonesia for the first time. My excitement was soon crushed as I discovered that the floating white mass was actually a…

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Where to find the most unique bunny encounters worldwide

Where to find the most unique bunny encounters worldwide

Inside the Bunny Museum adults-only gallery

They’re cuddly and soft and come spring, they pop up everywhere. Cottontails jump across golf courses, along creek beds and turn up in pet shops. Cotton candy and jellies sprout ears and chocolate rabbits lose their heads regularly.

Bunnies are loved around the world and through antiquity. There are holidays, celebrations and cartoons full of bunnies.…

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Women's ways - The best village food and handicrafts in Jordan

Women’s ways – The best village food and handicrafts in Jordan

 A first time visitor in the Middle East arrives with so many questions. I was curious about authentic handicrafts in Jordan, the food, and especially the women. On a Friday night in the Amman Souk, there were a few women in traditional dress with mingling with foreigners and compatriots dressed in Western styles. They were shopping in small groups or relaxing with their families. While…

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DIY Travel - A Cabo San Lucas Beach Vacation Itinerary

DIY Travel – A Cabo San Lucas Beach Vacation Itinerary

Poolside at Hacienda Cerritos – a perfect hideaway for a Cabo San Lucas Beach VacationWith it’s rich history, beckoning beaches, food traditions and intense natural beauty, the Cabo San Lucas region is a star of bucket lists and dreams. Decades of reports paint it as an out-of-control, Mexican Las Vegas but a Cabo San Lucas Beach vacation doesn’t have to be full of noisy resorts and wild…

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Looking for the best coffee? Come along on a Caffeine Crawl

Looking for the best coffee? Come along on a Caffeine Crawl

Heartsleeves Coffee owner Brandy finishing one of her signature brews. I thought drinking coffee was a caffeine delivery system and a delicious ritual. How wrong I was. My education began four years ago during a Caffeine Crawl and I just attended the fifth San Diego tour. I wasn’t jonesing for more nervous energy (I enjoy a morning brew and that’s plenty) but it sounded fun and interesting. The…

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Global Acts of Kindness, random and otherwise

Mural discovered in Budapest, Hungary.Random acts of kindness don’t have to be complicated to make a difference in the world. Kindness is about love, connection and acknowledgement. It can feel dangerous, radical, and take you out of your comfort zone. It takes gumption to approach a stranger to give them a hand out, a hand up, or some help. It’s empowering too. I write this at the traditional,…

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How to stay healthy while traveling - Let your gut guide you

How to stay healthy while traveling – Let your gut guide you

Across from me in the one room shack, huge tureens of curries and meat broths bubbled over a  rough fire. The aroma had my tummy growling, then I looked up. A rat ran along the rafters of the beach side hut where I was waiting for lunch. I considered leaving but two other tables were filled with happy diners and alternatives were limited. The cook then took a battered aluminum pan, splashed it…

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New places and the kindness of strangers

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Jordan was one of my new places in 2017 and these are just a few of the kind strangers I met there.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.”

― Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 7: 1966-1974

Have you ever traveled to a new city, state, country where you know no one? Visiting new places can be daunting but you may also feel…

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Quito's Illa Experience - Luxury hotel review

Quito’s Illa Experience – Luxury hotel review

Central lobby pool in the Illa Experience

I didn’t expect to find an innovative, luxury hotel on a quiet, traditional street in Quito’s Old Town. In the hillside neighborhood of San Marcos, there are homes and historical villas, craftsmans’ studios and bakeries. With my host from Latin Trails, I visited galleries, vintage antique shops, cafes and church plazas. We stopped in front of a simple,…

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Smell the roses when you visit Ecuador

You can’t miss roses when you visit Quito. Perfectly formed, large blooms sit on every cafe table and fill arrangements in lobbies across the city. Better yet, bouquets of long-stemmed roses cost about a dollar in the local markets.

The abundance startled me. In California terms roses are expensive extravagances reserved for special occasions. When I moved into my Southern California home I…

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Exploring Inside Petra - Are Two or Four Legs Best?

Exploring Inside Petra – Are Two or Four Legs Best?

Inside Petra, there’s a slit in the vast rock they call the Siq. Narrow, sandstone walls rise in ribbons of grey then reds, and far above, the sky is a slice of blue. Ages ago the slim passage was lined with cobblestones and the Nebeteans shuttled guests through in red-carpeted carriages. Today you can still ride horse-drawn carriages but to really savor this noble entrance, walking inside Petra…

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