Sky

March 29, 2024 I headed west to the Hill Country on Wednesday on a THIRD wildflower safari, cruising the Willow City Loop between Fredericksburg and Llano. This famously scenic, 13-mile ranch road winds through rugged canyons and over rocky hilltops offering spectacular views, with low-water crossings and free-range cattle to ...

March 15, 2024 Texas bluebonnets are coloring fields and roadsides a month early this year, and they’re already at peak in certain areas. I follow Facebook page Texas Wildflower Report each spring to learn where good fields have been spotted. And so when I found myself with a free afternoon ...

September 16, 2023 I was back in West Texas a week ago to shoot gardens for my forthcoming book (due out spring 2025). Being up at sunrise and staying in gardens until after sunset meant I got to enjoy some beautiful skies every day. Lavender and mango sunsets were a ...

September 07, 2023 I had reservations for a dip at Blue Hole swimming hole in Wimberley, Texas, just before Labor Day. But the drought has left little untouched in Texas this summer, and I soon received a cancellation notice. Blue Hole has closed for the rest of the season due ...

August 03, 2023 We reached northeastern Wyoming and Devils Tower National Monument in early May on our RV road trip through national parks. I’d had a “close encounter” with the stone monolith back in 2018, but my husband had never seen it. As we approached, it looked picture perfect, with ...

September 27, 2022 This time around, I knew to reserve tickets months in advance for a guided tour of Georgia O’Keeffe’s home and studio in Abiquiú, New Mexico, about an hour northwest of Santa Fe. I arrived at midday on August 30th, curious to know what I might learn about ...

September 22, 2022 Santa Fe tops my list as one of the most beautiful cities in America. I love the warm adobe walls that blend with the earth and glow against a bright blue sky; an abundance of public art that speaks to nature and Indigenous culture found all around ...

June 16, 2022 When it’s over 100F for days on end, the timing is excellent for a weekend getaway to a Central Texas river house. And when that house sits along the spring-fed San Marcos River, flowing at a refreshing 75 degrees, with Hometree-sized bald cypresses spreading feathery shade from ...

March 22, 2022 My big road trip last fall kicked off on September 30th in Portland, Maine. Eighteen days and 2,200 miles later, I cruised along Virginia’s Eastern Shore and across Chincoteague Bay to Chincoteague Island. Yes, the island made famous by the beloved 1947 children’s book Misty of Chincoteague ...

August 19, 2021 While nothing compares to the awe-inspiring views at Grand Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon — the 2nd-largest canyon in the U.S. — is also grand (with a little “g”). Striated bands of red and white rock color the canyon walls, which are stubbled with green trees. During the ...

August 16, 2021 Capulin Volcano, a decapitated pyramid, rises improbably over the grassy plains of northeastern New Mexico. A driver eager for a roadside distraction in the middle of nowhere might be tempted to exit Highway 87 for a closer look. Somehow, though, despite cruising past Capulin Volcano National Monument ...

July 18, 2021 A summer evening visit to Hula Hut netted us with zero tubular tacos or pu pu platters, due to an unexpected early closure. But it did provide beautiful, tropicalesque views of Pride of Barbados flowers and palm trees releafing after the February freeze. And we had sunset ...

April 01, 2021 A few years ago I hung from a tree a dish planter with a few sprigs of ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense) tucked around a variegated squid agave — each one a cutting or pup from existing plants in my garden. A bunch of leftovers. And now it’s ...

March 14, 2021 Black-bellied whistling ducks I’d planned a weekend trip to South Padre Island before the snowpocalypse hit, for a chance to walk on the beach and see migrating birds and just enjoy the outdoors (the only kind of trip I’m comfortable with during the pandemic). Once the snow ...

January 16, 2020 Is there any place more relaxing than a lakehouse? On the way to New Orleans last month, we spent two nights at my sister’s little place on Lake Livingston, about an hour north of Houston in East Texas. With feet propped up on the deck rail, I ...

December 07, 2019 Rice University is my alma mater, and if the weather’s nice when I’m in Houston I’ll often take a walk around campus. It’s not all for nostalgia’s sake, though. Rather, Rice has really upped its sculpture game in recent years, and much of it is open to ...