CASTLE DOME_CANTINA

Dead Yet Still Alive, Three Western Ghost Towns Beguile Intrepid Visitors

America, History, Travel

When gold was discovered in a frigid creek running through the Sierra Nevada foothills in January of 1848, a headlong Gold Rush began that soon would change the American West. By the following year, hardscrabble prospectors called “49ers” were discovering gold, silver, copper, lead and other valuable metals in isolated canyons bypassed by earlier pioneers. Today, many 19th-century mining communities are eerie ghost towns whose storied pasts consist of crumbling foundations, swirling dust and dangerous fissures. And yet, over the course of time, as decades become eras before turning into centuries, a few towns have survived the sun, storms and inattention.

beer drinking

Vietnam: A Hot, Humid Country that Loves Cold Beer

Asia, Business, Travel

Drinking beer is woven into the social fabric of Vietnam. At family affairs and business lunches, impromptu meetings and private karaoke parties, beer flows like water. Cartons of beer — Saigon Special and Bia Hanoi, 333 and Larue, 24 cans to a box — balance in towering store displays and on the backs of motorbikes that careen through swarming traffic en route to their final destinations. A 2022 survey reported that Vietnam’s annual per capita beer consumption is 41.6 liters (over 11 gallons), or about 125 standard-sized cans per person.

lake-powell-resorts-and-marinas-photo

Forget Crowded Highways. Enjoy Your Next Vacation on a Houseboat

America, California, Europe, North America, Travel

Houseboats lure thousands of families to rivers and lakes for unique, get-away-from-it-all vacations. The slow-moving vessels sleep up to a dozen passengers and are equipped with many modern amenities, such as ovens, refrigerators, toilets, hot showers, gourmet kitchens and bedrooms with linens. Some houseboats look downright luxurious, albeit somewhat compact. Lake Powell is billed as America’s Best Houseboating Destination because of the stunning scenery in southern Utah and neighboring Arizona. The lake is among the nation’s largest manmade reservoirs with 2,000 miles of shoreline, hundreds of private beaches and 96 side canyons where you can drop anchor and bask in the majestic solitude.