Sapphire Hunting in North Carolina
For the finest finds in Franklin, North Carolina, wade into a mucky hillside and start digging dirt that might score you a gemstone at Mason’s Ruby and Sapphire Mine
Curious about George in Santorini
Yes, I've hiked across a volcano, and a historic one at that: the cinder cone in the middle of the caldera on the island of Santorini, Greece.
Poland Mining Camps
One of the most enjoyable research trips I've done - this one for Rock & Gem magazine - was a few days deep in the Maine woods at a camp for prospectors.
Frei Die Toiletten!
I've been piddling away Euros these past two weeks while piddling in Germany. In my youth, pay toilets were uncomfortably common in the USA, thankfully no more.
Ghostly Appearance at Tolomato Cemetery
St. Augustine is saturated with ghosts, and a spooky place to walk at night, especially around the old cemeteries.
Kinomagewapkong: Rocks that Teach
Hidden in deep woods in the rocky, lake-dotted landscape northeast of Toronto, a sacred treasure is etched in stone: the petroglyphs of Petroglyphs Provincial Park, Kinomagewapkong, the rocks that teach.
She-inal at Punta Gorda Dairy Queen
One of Florida's oddities is in the toilet. Really. It's a woman's urinal called a Sheinal, developed in Florida and installed in businesses around the state. This one in Punta Gorda is the only one we know of, now a virtual museum piece.
A Taste of Nepal
It’s been nearly a decade since I had a dinner of dal bhat, the Nepali national meal, so tonight's find of a Nepali restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin was a treat.
Exploring Vero Beach
A family visit to McKee Gardens for research on Exploring Florida's Botanical Wonders, paired with Pelican Island, brought back memories of our 1960s trips.
Butterfly World
Working on research for Exploring Florida's Botanical Wonders while in Broward County, I had the opportunity to visit Butterfly World for the first time.
