I’m in Haines, Alaska right now (August, 2011) to photograph grizzly bears feeding on salmon in the Chilkoot River, just outside town. In the three days I’ve been here, I’ve talked to a number of town folk, as well as with Richard Hartmier, a Yukon-based photographer who has been visiting Haines for many years now. My comments are based on those conversations as well as my own impressions and experiences.
An Overview
Haines is located on the coast, just a ferry ride from Skagway. Both towns cater to cruise ship tourists, but …

For the final blog in this travel series on Albuquerque, I’ll look at some restaurants that I recently sampled, along with two hotels I experienced. A third motel I stayed in, about 45 minutes outside of ABQ, I will not mention here, even though they left me a wonderful surprise in my bed… a bedbug! Needless to say I darted out of there as quickly as I could. I did post a (negative) review of the hotel on Trip Advisor.
RESTAURANTS
ABQ is a great city, blessed with a wide variety of …

As a travel writer and photographer, I’m often asked about tipping. Do you tip? How much in France? How much in Africa? For what services? Professionally, I divide tipping into two categories; photography and everything else.
Photography
Let’s start with photography. At my photo workshops I often instruct people not to tip to allow you to take a person’s photograph. I’m not saying this like I have the moral high ground. I know this is a difficult issue and why short-change a few shekels to someone who is making $25 a month, …

A few months ago, I was asked to be the exclusive artist for a wonderful new upscale restaurant opening in the county in which I live. I was honored to have been asked and after I agreed to do it the reality of the situation hit me. Here it was, literally weeks from opening, and I had to design the installation, choose the images, get them printed and install them before the grand opening, and that was on top of my other assignments. Stress city, here I come!
Now we’re just …

If you’re headed for a Yukon adventure, you’ll almost definitely stay in Whitehorse at some point in your travels. With a population of 25,000, Whitehorse is by far the largest city in the Yukon. In fact, if you subtract Whitehorse’s population, there are only about 8,000 additional Yukon residents occupying a territory nearly 20% larger than California (and that state has around 35 million people)!
Whitehorse, capital city of the Yukon, is really a lovely small city, the kind you can easily wrap your brain around. One of the things I …

Sydney is a walker’s city, so I’m hard pressed make a recommendation for where to stay. Anyplace you choose, within your budget, of course, would be fine as far as location goes. I highly recommend the Four Points Sheraton, located smack-dab on the shore of Darling Harbour, and linked to it by walkway. The Ibis Hotel is another great facility, located a few blocks further within the city, next to the theater district.
The centerpiece on this end of the city⎯ and there are centerpieces throughout Sydney⎯ is Darling Harbour. It’s …

Winter Fun in Boulder, Colorado
by Lester Picker
[This article originally appeared in Better Homes & Gardens. Some material may be dated. Please check beforehand.]
“This valley is so beautiful that people seeing it will never be happy anywhere else and will always return.”
- Arapaho Chief Niwot’s ‘curse’
Sitting at the foot of Colorado’s imposing Front Range mountains, the scenery around Boulder is nothing less than spectacular.  Streets radiate from the town center and quickly turn into valleys, gorges and peaks of incredible beauty.  From any point in town you can see the Flatiron …

The Inns of Boulder and Colorado Springs
by Lester Picker
[Please note: This article originally appeared in a consumer magazine. Information in this article may be dated. Always check before making reservations or traveling.]
Boulder
The Alps Boulder Canyon Inn
From the quaint painted porch of The Alps Boulder Canyon Inn, comfortably nestled in the midst of majestic Boulder Canyon in Colorado’s scenic Front Range mountains, one can be excused for smiling at Chief Niwot’s ‘curse.’ Sipping fresh-squeezed lemonade, prepared each quiet summer’s afternoon by innkeepers Jeanine and John Vanderhart, while resting peacefully on cushioned …

[This article originally appeared in Interval International Magazine. Please confirm details.]
Maui
by Lester Picker
I love Hawaii. Few destinations in the world offer as much variety, as much depth and breadth of experience, as much visual pleasure, as do the Hawaiian islands. Born of cataclysm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean a million or so years ago, the islands today offer so many options, I always threaten to stay. When my vacations there wind down, I find my To-Do list already growing for the next visit. There are the hikes near …

[This article originally appeared as a travel feature in The Baltimore Sun.]
The Outer Banks
By Lester Picker
With more than 300 miles of coastline, the Outer Banks has stretches of sand that are consistently rated among the top beaches in the world. Whether you crave an active water vacation or a spiritually recharging barefoot walk along empty beaches, the Outer Banks has it all.
The Outer Banks is just a 6- or 7-hour drive from Baltimore. The sense of place can change markedly from one milepost to another. For a family with school-age …