VIE Magazine August 2017

THE SPIRIT of

LIVING WATER Bringing HOPE to NICAR AGUA

ALL ABOARD

HIKING THE

GRAND CANYON THE GIFT of ADVENTURE

LUXURY TRAIN TOURS

around the WORLD

WALL of COUR AGE from the DR CONGO

THE

ADVENTURE

HEATHER HAYNES ARTIST and HUMANITARIAN

ISSUE

INTO THE HEART of the

August 2017

AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

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CREATING PERSONALIZED, MODERN INTERIORS FOR 24 YEARS.

In this issue On the Cover

Artist Heather Haynes never expected to find a new career direction when she visited the Democratic Republic of Congo on a mission trip. The people there,

106

ADVENTURE IS GRAND

JOURNEY WITH TRAVEL WRITER AND PHOTOGRAPHER STEVE LARESE AS HE TRAVERSES THE GRAND CANYON’S PERILOUS NANKOWEAP TRAIL.

especially the women and children who have suffered real horrors, inspired her by telling their stories, and Haynes immortalized them in her Wall of Courage

FEATURE

collection of paintings. Learn about the

58 Wall of Courage: Shining a Light on Africa’s

art installation and the work Haynes,

Forgotten Children

Shay Bell, Kizungu Hubert, and others

C’EST LA VIE CURATED COLLECTION: THE ADVENTURER 76 VOYAGER 81

are doing in “Wall of Courage: Shining a

LA VITALITÉ 27

82 Spinnin’ Your Wheels: A Record-Breaking

Light on Africa’s Forgotten Children” on

28 How to Stay Fit in the Summer

Road Trip

page 58.

32 A Day at the Beach: A Respite from the Turmoil of Childhood Cancer

INSPIRATIONAL MUSINGS 36 A Farewell to Fears: Adventure Is Yours

98 Camping Trails and Tales: A Lifelong Memory 102 The New Reality 106 The Gift of Adventure: Hiking Grand Canyon’s Most Dangerous Trail

LE MONDE 39

114 From the Mountains to the Sea: Adventure Lovers Love Slovenia

48 Travel with a Purpose: Empowering Women Worldwide

54 The Everywoman: A Tale of Unexpected Choices

SARTORIAL TheIdeaBoutique.com info@theideaboutique.com

the World

for the Taking

40 The Water of Life: Bringing Hope to the World PUBLISHED BY

92 All Aboard! Luxury Train Tours around

70 The Do-Good Lifestyle: When Passion

120 Into the Heart of the Australian Outback 126 Big Sky Country in All Its Glory: Heaven on Earth

LA SCÈNE 132 AU REVOIR! 137

Meets Purpose

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 13

CREATIVE TEAM FOUNDER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com

FOUNDER / PUBLISHER GERALD BURWELL Gerald@VIEmagazine.com

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR JORDAN STAGGS Jordan@VIEmagazine.com

CHIEF COPY EDITOR MARGARET STEVENSON CONTRIBUTING WRITERS GREG CAYEA, DARIN COLUCCI, NICHOL AS GRUNDY, STEVE L ARESE, LIZZIE LOCKER, ZOLTAN NAGY, CAROLYN O’NEIL, TORI PHELPS, NICHOL AS S. RACHEOTES, MEGHAN RYAN, CHARLES SINGLETARY, JR., SUSAN VALLEE

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY ART DIRECTOR TRACEY THOMAS Tracey@VIEmagazine.com

ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR LUCY MASHBURN FILMMAKER AMANDA CROWLEY GRAPHIC DESIGNERS RINN GARL ANGER, OLIVIA PIERCE, HANNAH VERMILLION

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS JONATHAN BONCEK, GREG CAYEA, NICK FOX, NICHOL AS GRUNDY, BRENNA KNEISS, KURKUL, STEVE L ARESE, ROMONA ROBBINS, ANDREW TOTH, THEMIS VELERIS, GW YNE GRAY PHOTOGRAPHY

ADVERTISING, SALES, AND MARKETING DIGITAL MARKETING DIRECTOR MEGHN HILL BRANCH OFFICE MANAGER – IRELAND SHARON DUANE MARKETING MANAGER AMANDA CROWLEY CREATIVE STYLIST SUVA ANG-MENDOZA BRAND AMBASSADORS LISA MARIE BURWELL Lisa@VIEmagazine.com MARY JANE KIRBY MaryJane@VIEmagazine.com

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER TIM DUTROW DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR SHANNON QUINL AN

VIE is a registered trademark. All contents herein are Copyright © 2008–2016 Cornerstone Marketing and Advertising, Incorporated (Publisher). All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without written permission from the Publisher. VIE is a lifestyle magazine and is published six times annually on a bimonthly schedule. The opinions herein are not necessarily those of the Publisher. The Publisher and its advertisers will not be held responsible for any errors found in this publication. The Publisher is not liable for the accuracy of statements made by its advertisers. Ads that appear in this publication are not intended as offers where prohibited by state law. The Publisher is not responsible for photography or artwork submitted by freelance or outside contributors. The Publisher reserves the right to publish any letter addressed to the editor or the Publisher. VIE is a paid publication. Subscription rates: Printed magazine – One-year $29.95; Two-year $54.95. Subscriptions can be purchased online at www.VIEmagazine.com.

14 | A UGU ST 2017

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Editor’s Note

THE ADVENTURE OF LIFE IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART

W

hat started as an idea to combat the effects that the 2008 economic collapse had on my branding agency soon morphed into a bigger mission.

When I first embarked on the journey to publish this magazine, I couldn’t fathom how long it would last or the places it would take me. VIE had to be different from other magazines—and from other media outlets as well. To make my point in the early years, I purposefully positioned VIE as the “antimedia.” It continues to amaze me how the media at large, including many magazines, focuses on the negative. I decided that wouldn’t be the case for VIE. I wanted it to breathe life and new ideas into whomever invested time to peruse its pages. I wanted it to give hope to a world that was—and is still—starving for it.

Along this journey, doors have opened for me that would never have been possible if it were not for the magazine, and for that I am forever grateful. For our second biannual issue of 2008, we were blessed to have ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons on the cover—the photo taken at the first-ever BamaJam Music and Arts Festival in Enterprise, Alabama. Headliners Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. joined ZZ Top and others to benefit the small town after a 2007 tornado had tragically killed eight high school students and destroyed countless homes and businesses, causing $307 million in damages (“Stars Fell on Alabama”; Fall/Winter 2008). I was also honored to meet Robert Redford and his son James at the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness (JRI) fund-raiser “Share the Beat” at the Tabernacle in Atlanta. James had been the recipient of a liver transplant sixteen years prior, and he founded JRI to educate people on a topic not many are willing to discuss. Robert Redford graced the cover of VIE’s first quarterly publication (Spring 2009) in which we gratefully shared the news of his son’s philanthropic endeavors.

In the formative years of VIE, these stories about good people doing good things would set the tone and cadence of the magazine. If there is anything I’ve learned during the last decade, it’s that there are many decent and generous people in the world, and it’s an honor to share stories that might otherwise be left untold.

Other more recent covers have featured numerous celebrities—all with stories about their respective efforts to give back to communities around the world. And VIE’s stories are not only about celebrities turned philanthropists. Its pages often highlight everyday people around the world creating charities and foundations to help others—and their humanity shines bright!

VIE started as an idea to bring the talents of our full-service boutique marketing agency into the publishing arena during the Great Recession. And we did the unimaginable. We survived! VIE became the flagship for a small publishing

Founder/Editor-in-chief, Lisa Burwell Photo by Romona Robbins

house—The Idea Boutique®—that has published several other magazines and three books: Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters by Sister Schubert; Facade: Musings on Living Life and Coping with Death by William E. Wade; and most recently, Everything I Never Learned in School: A Guide to Success by Darin Colucci, which is chock-full of wisdom about living a happy and successful life. We still have a successful marketing boutique, and through a new sales hybrid called the Brand Alliance Partnership, we’ve merged its assets with VIE, allowing us to offer clients branding and marketing accoutrements alongside advertisements in the magazine and online.

The road has been challenging. It’s been the fight of my career to go against the tide and not forsake quality in pursuit of the financial bottom line—all while hoping and believing that excellence is always the victor. I’m a craftsman at heart, as is everyone who helps to publish VIE, and I thank the entire creative team for doing an amazing job with every issue.

What I am most proud of is that we’ve created a vehicle for good news and hope!

This issue has so many honest and heartfelt stories, it is hard to tout just one, but I must say that meeting Heather Haynes has inspired me, and her moving art utterly captivates me! Please read her story in “Wall of Courage: Shining a Light on Africa’s Forgotten Children” by Tori Phelps.

Courageously Yours,

—Lisa Marie Burwell Founder/Editor-In-Chief

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 17

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C A L I Z A R E S T A U R A N T . C O M

Managing Editor’s Note

UNEXPECTED

JOURNEYS It’s hard for many people to nail down one favorite book, but I settled on mine several years ago and have stuck to it—J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Unlike its successors in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, at its core, is a lighthearted tale of adventure and friendship in which a band of unlikely heroes follow a wizard’s advice to recover a lost treasure from a mighty—and very narcissistic—dragon. The protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is a small, homely hobbit who never wanted anything to do with adventures, thank you very much. Of course, he is dragged into the journey anyway and learns along the way that he’s capable of more than he ever thought possible. We can all learn from that.

Merriam-Webster defines adventure as “an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks.” What I’ve learned while we created this issue of VIE and through witnessing people embarking on different journeys throughout life is that adventure doesn’t always mean going on a grand voyage to faraway lands.

Adventure doesn’t mean doing something that no one has ever done before.

Adventure is defined differently for each and every person. If an undertaking involving risk for someone means taking on a new job, making new friends, or even just successfully navigating through a single day in our tumultuous society, who are we to say otherwise?

Whether you are hiking the Grand Canyon’s most dangerous trail like writer Steve Larese in “The Gift of Adventure” or giving up a comfortable yet unsatisfying life to move across the country and work on farm or in the far reaches of Alaska like the young women in “The Everywoman” by Lizzie Locker, adventure is out there and it can take many forms. Perhaps the most courageous adventurers in this issue are artist Heather Haynes, philanthropist Shay Bell, and the rest of the team working to provide relief to people in Central and East Africa through the projects in “Wall of Courage: Shining a Light on Africa’s Forgotten Children,” the teams bringing clean water to impoverished areas of Nicaragua through Filter of Hope in “The Water of Life,” and the people at Sandcastle Kids in Northwest Florida providing vacations for families with children enduring cancer treatments in “A Day at the Beach.” Even braver and more incredible are the children, women,

Managing Editor, Jordan Staggs Photo by Romona Robbins

and men in these stories who, no matter what hardships they have gone through, have not lost hope or their enthusiasm and love for life.

As you read, I hope you take a little adventure of your own through the voices and lenses of the storytellers, photographers, and other creatives who make each issue of VIE a brand-new and exciting journey. Their stories and passion inspire and help us see that no matter how small we might feel or what form our adventure takes, there will be a few dragons along the way; but courage, kindness, and willingness to affect change can vanquish them all.

—Jordan Staggs Managing Editor V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 19

A

BOHEME

DESIGN

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2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED A BOHEME DESIGN, LLC/ JACK GARDNER PHOTOGRAPHY

The Creatives We collaborate with talented photographers, writers, and other Creatives on a regular basis, and we’re continually inspired by how they pour their hearts and souls into their crafts. Follow these Creatives on social media and don’t forget to check out our account, @viemagazine.

STEVE LARESE

TORI PHELPS

Writer, “The Gift of Adventure”

Writer, “Wall of Courage”

@stevelarese

FOR THIS ISSUE, WE ASKED THE CREATIVES, “DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR SURVIVING THIS JOURNEY CALLED LIFE?”

When hiking in desert wilderness areas, sometimes the rocky trail isn’t defined and is easily lost. Cairns left by others mark the route. The gratitude of finding the next cairn ahead and being reassured that I’m on the right path is something I can recall wherever I am, even safe at home. And if I figure out a confusing area on the trail, I’ll leave a cairn to help others who come after me. If I were to give any advice for surviving the journey of life, I’d say be sure of where you’ve come from and know where you want to go using whatever moral compass you trust, be kind to everyone you meet on your path, and help others when you can.

Growing up, I had much more freedom than my friends did. In a rare moment of adolescent awareness, I asked my mom why she granted me permission so often. She shrugged and replied, “I say ‘yes’ unless there’s a reason to say ‘no.’” It’s a philosophy that has stayed with me as I’ve charted my adult life. Mom was right (of course); the journey is much more interesting when my default is “yes.”

NICHOLAS GRUNDY CAROLYN O’NEIL Writer and photographer, “Adventure Lovers Love Slovenia” and “Into the Heart of the Australian Outback” Facebook.com/NicholasGrundyPhotography

For our ancestors, survival meant food, water, shelter, and security. Today some of us struggle to fit into our modern, desk-job society. Personally, I require regular time in nature, physical exertion, exploration, and adventure. My work as a photographer provides this; however, there are still prolonged bouts in the office.

I therefore always have an upcoming photography trip to look forward to in the great outdoors, either alone or as a family adventure with my faithful assistants (my wife and daughter). I also take vitamin D tablets during the long Irish winters, consume omega-3 fish oil, and get plenty of exercise and social interaction. Finally—don’t suffer from perfectionism.

Take it easy on yourself and always remember that life is an incredible journey—one big, long adventure.

Writer, “Big Sky Country in All Its Glory” @carolynoneil

DARIN COLUCCI Writer, “A Farewell to Fears” @darincolucci

Sadly, those people who float through life leaving their future to fate are usually the ones looking to “survive” the journey. Those who find the most enjoyment out of life choose what their destiny will look like and then persevere to make that vision a reality. If it’s true (and it is) that fortune favors the bold, it is equally true that complacency is never rewarded. When people finally realize this, it’s often at a point in their lives where they consider themselves too old to do anything about it. Never ever let that be you.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. My tip for surviving the journey of life is to look for the humor in situations and know that everything’s going to be OK. Growing up in a family with Scottish and Irish roots was a laugh a minute. Even when things “go wrong,” we find a way to laugh about it, even if it’s afterward. When I’m traveling and meeting strangers, whether it’s at the check-in desk of an airline or the front desk of a hotel, I smile and try to imagine what that person is experiencing that day and give some sort of compliment. It’s amazing how doors open and friendships develop when you’re cheerful and help other people laugh at life. It’s a journey; let’s enjoy the ride.

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 21

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La conversation

TAG, YOU’RE IT! WE LOVE TO COMMUNICATE AND INTERACT WITH OUR READERS! AND WE LOVE IT EVEN MORE WHEN THEY PROUDLY SHARE THEIR STORIES AND POSE WITH VIE FOR A CLOSE-UP! THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT: SHARING, LOVING, AND BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. WE THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AND WE APPRECIATE YOU!

@idmi_design @theideaboutique Thank you for posting! @viemagazine is looking great with our sleek clean lines.

@evgeniamodel Omg a new VIE magazine issue!!! So colorful.

@csiriano On this rainy Saturday I’m dreaming back to this fabulous day of floating chiffon at #alysbeach with @viemagazine and @jasminerazz

@dgalysbeach @viemagazine has turned @fonvillepress into an art gallery this evening with a 10-year retrospective on our festival! Stay tuned for the announcement of this year’s winners.

@laurie.h.hood So grateful that Lisa Burwell and VIE magazine covered one of my favorite people, Wayne Pacelle, and all of the incredible work that he does for animals! If you love animals, please take a moment to read this article and better yet, grab a copy of The Humane Economy to understand the movement that is happening now. #TheHumaneEconomy #VIEMagazine

LET’S TALK! Send VIE your comments and photos on our social media channels or by e-mailing us at info@viemagazine. We’d love to hear your thoughts. They could end up in the next La conversation!

@issuu Add this Beyoncé vase to your house and get ready for a shower of compliments. Can you find it in VIE magazine?

@okolifestyle Our tassel earrings are spring’s most fun accessory! And how cute do they look next to the newest issue of VIE magazine? Call or DM us to order!

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V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 23

#YOLO Time flies, and there’s no better moment to make it count than right now. Inspired by our friends at YOLO Board, this issue’s line-up of luxury properties invites you to take the next step towards a more adventurous lifestyle. Whether paddling the Emerald Coast’s diverse waters, casually cycling its scenic paths or attacking its forest trails, once we’ve found the home that connects you with your passion, YOLO Board has what you need to meet your adventure head on!

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La vitalité

La vitalité A ZEST FOR LIFE

Power Through!

This power bowl recipe from Chef Amalia Scatena of Cannon Green in Charleston, South Carolina, is sure to be an excellent start to your day. Packed with nutritious and delicious superfoods, it makes the perfect healthy breakfast, lunch, or snack.

Amalia’s Power Bowl 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 cups boiling water, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 tablespoon agave, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 cup air-dried coconut, 1/4 cup chia seeds, 1/4 cup whole marcona almonds, 1/2 cup assorted berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries) Bring water to a boil. Add the steel-cut oats, stir just to submerge oats, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Keep at a low simmer for about 25

minutes without stirring. Add almond milk and coconut milk, as well as agave, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir gently and let simmer for an additional ten minutes. Spoon into serving bowl and top with air-dried coconut, chia seeds, almonds, and assorted berries. Enjoy!

CannonGreenCharleston.com Photo by Jonathan Boncek.

V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 27

La vitalité

HOW TO STAY FIT in the SUMMER

BY ZOLTAN NAGY PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROMONA ROBBINS

DURING THE SUMMER, WHEN WE WANT TO LOOK OUR BEST, IT CAN SOMETIMES SEEM THE HARDEST THING TO DO. BEAUTIFUL WEATHER AND SUNNY DAYS PULL PEOPLE OUT OF THE GYM, AND THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS REPLACING INDOOR WORKOUTS WITH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. The nicer weather makes it easier to stay out late, putting us in some kind of “vacation mode.” As tempting as a vacation sounds, it has its setbacks, like fewer hours of sleep, which offsets our biological clocks, and increased alcohol consumption and bad eating habits, which make it easier for us to get dehydrated, malnourished, and unfit.

There is nothing more rewarding than looking and feeling your best in a fit summer body. Fortunately, the season brings many advantages as well. All you need to do is follow some simple rules to stay fit and look your best. Capitalize on the season and embrace all it has to offer.

“

Don’t forget that your body and mind crave a routine to perform at their best, so keep that gym membership!

”

1. IF YOU SKIP THE GYM, REPLACE IT WITH AT LEAST ONE HOUR OF OUTDOOR ACTIVITY. Don’t abandon your gym altogether. Keep at least two days of gym workouts on your schedule while incorporating some outdoor activities. Whether you’re a runner or a game player, get out and get it. Maximize the results of your workout by doing them in the sand. Running on the beach at sunset, playing a few games of beach volley, or swimming a few laps will keep you perfectly fit, all while you 28 | A UGU ST 2017

work on that golden tan. Don’t forget that your body and mind crave a routine to perform at their best, so keep that gym membership!

2. WHAT BETTER TIME TO WORK ON THAT TAN? We all look better with a little tan, especially after a gray and rainy winter. We long for that sun-kissed skin that looks so sexy. But besides looking good, did you know you’ll also feel better? Sun exposure not only stimulates the production of vitamin D, making our bones stronger, but it also supports healthy brain function and helps with mild depression by stabilizing our hormones and improving our mood. The higher temps also contribute to sweating out toxins—good for losing weight and excess fat. As always, I recommend using a good sunscreen with an SPF of at least thirty while you’re out having fun in the sun.

“

Following the Fit for Life philosophy of nutrition is the ultimate way to embrace all of nature’s fruits, perfectly combining them to maximize their values.

”

3. STAY EXTRAHYDRATED AND DON’T FORGET ELECTROLYTES. On an average day, your body produces around one hundred watts of power. An electrolyte imbalance can cause bad heart and muscle function, fatigue, and other, more severe illnesses. This charge needs to be replenished by the proper intake of fluids that rehydrate your body and replenish the electrolytes that your body needs to function properly.

Drinking plenty of artesian or spring water without BPA (at least two liters per day) and incorporating electrolyte beverages in your diet can help restabilize the minerals in the body that are lost due to excessive sweating during the hot summer months.

4. EAT IN-SEASON FOODS. Not only is it easier on the wallet to buy in-season foods, but consuming summer fruits and vegetables

is also the best way to keep your body healthy and properly nourished. I highly recommend local and organic produce when possible. Following the Fit for Life philosophy of nutrition is the ultimate way to embrace all of nature’s fruits, perfectly combining them to maximize their values. With all its abundant produce, summer is the top season to start this nutritional plan. Some of the best things to consume are watermelons and apricots. Both of these fruits are rich in fiber and filled with calcium, phosphorous, sodium, potassium, iron, and vitamins that keep the body nourished and hydrated and help with electrolyte balance. They also contain antioxidants that are vital for maintaining glowing and youthful skin. It is best to eat melon (any kind) as a separate meal—alone and not combined with any other fruit or food.

Zoltan Nagy, a former professional athlete, is a certified personal trainer and the owner of Destin Athletic Club in Destin, Florida. He creates strong bonds with his clients through personal training and is equipped to help them stay “Fit for Life” through personalized diet and exercise plans.

5. TAKE A COLD ONE …

You should take a cold shower every day, especially in the summer, as cold showers stimulate blood circulation. When outdoor temperatures rise, our blood pressure decreases. Cold water helps increase blood flow and improves cardiovascular well-being. It has reawakening advantages and is known for bettering moods and alleviating feelings of depression. It will also improve your athletic performance and shorten recovery time after a strenuous workout, giving you the mental strength needed to carry on. It is also known for improving hair and skin. With its toning effect, cold water will leave skin firmer, thus younger looking.

Feel your best and look the hottest during the season you fear the most!

DACFitness.com V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 29

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La vitalité

A RESPITE FROM THE TURMOIL OF CHILDHOOD CANCER

By Susan Vallee // Photography courtesy of Sandcastle Kids

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Childhood cancer. Two words that should not sit side by side in a sentence.

Cancer is cruel and attacks viciously. Conventional treatment is punishing and harsh, creating new avenues of pain and weakness that alternate with countless visits with doctors and nurses. In no reality is this how any child should have to spend time.

We don’t have the power to take that suffering and illness away—or do we?

Shelley Joiner, a neonatal intensive care unit registered nurse, and her husband, Casey, a realtor, had friends whose child was going through cancer treatment.

They felt frustrated and angry that they couldn’t do more to help. Then they thought about the beauty of the Gulf of Mexico and the beaches in their hometown of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and how relaxing—not to mention healing—a vacation can be.

The couple’s nonprofit, Sandcastle Kids, was founded soon after. The goal of the organization is to host young cancer patients and their families for a beach vacation on Florida’s beautiful northwest coast.

“That’s what we can do,” Shelley asserts. “We can share the beauty of our beaches. What we have seen up close with children who have cancer is the additional toll on the families around them. Families uprooting themselves for the best treatment, parents leaving jobs behind, and families living separately to try and make ends meet. Think how healing it would be to transport those families here for a week.”

Kaylin Stewart and her parents were one of the first families that Sandcastle Kids hosted. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia was the horror that had entered their lives. According to her mother, Laura, Kaylin attended 143 doctor’s appointments, spent 76 nights in the hospital, and endured 12 spinal chemotherapies in her first year of treatment, plus three more bone marrow biopsies when fears of relapse entered. She was four years old.

learn to paddleboard, eat s’mores by a campfire on the beach, and—her absolute favorite thing—watch dolphins on a sunset cruise! She jumped into the emerald waves without a care in the world, and for the first time in a year, we felt as if her life wasn’t being ripped from our grasp.”

Kaylin was happy and living in the moment. She played and laughed and didn’t think about being sick. Her mom and dad were happy, their stress replaced by sunshine and sandy feet. Thanks to Sandcastle Kids, the entire week—including a family photo shoot on the beach—was donated, so her parents didn’t have to worry about a thing. They just loved and lived.

There are a few organizations that sponsor families, but Sandcastle Kids is different in that they only see the family once: when they bring them a key to their condo or rental home. Casey says it is important to them to give the family space and privacy. He and Shelley want the vacation to feel authentic, and they don’t want cancer or illness to take center stage at any point. A recent vacation for a terminally ill child (a first for the organization) powered this belief.

“This was the last vacation this family would ever have together,” Casey relates.

“The last family photos together. That was hard, but we felt lucky to have been able to help them in this way.”

This is how it works: Sandcastle Kids is in touch with social workers who contact the organization and recommend families for a week-long vacation. The Sandcastle

“It was on the beaches of South Walton that we realized everything was going to be okay.”

Left: Kaylin Stewart underwent countless harsh treatments at a very young age for leukemia. Her family was one of the first for which the Sandcastle Kids nonprofit organization arranged an all-expenses-paid vacation to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Right: Kaylin (right) and her younger sister, Maybre, enjoying the beach during the free family photo session arranged

by Sandcastle Kids and Gwyne Gray Photography.

It’s difficult to think about the financial burden, the emotional roller coaster, the stress, and the strain the family endured. And then Laura shares this: “It was on the beaches of South Walton that we realized everything was going to be okay. For that week, she was not a child going through chemotherapy; she was a regular kid. She got to stay up late, pick a new bunk bed to sleep in every night, ride a bike, eat around the clock, run and jump in the emerald water, build sand castles on the beautiful white sand, V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 33

La vitalité Kids board reviews the family’s information and, once approved, contacts them to establish a date for the vacation. And that’s it. The family arrives, collects the keys to their home or condo, and enjoys an all-expenses-paid week at the beach, complete with gift certificates to local restaurants, grocery stores, and area amenities.

Shelley says that Sandcastle Kids has brought sixteen families to the beach since its creation, with eight more planning their trips. The next step in making that happen is finding more partners to provide services for the vacations. Sandcastle Kids needs homes or condominiums and financial donations to sponsor families.

A family sponsorship is $1,000 and covers the stay of a family for a week. The organization recently began putting out a newsletter that spotlights donors and sponsors; currently included are the Sonder Project, 360 Blue Vacations, Rent Gear Here, and the Alys Foundation, among others. Called the Sandcastle Scoop, the newsletter also introduces the children who will be enjoying their time at the beach.

And Kaylin? This past January, she completed her treatment and is officially a cancer survivor. “I really feel the vacation gave Kaylin a big push to get her through those last eight months of treatment,” says Laura.

Here’s to many more family vacations and happy children, thanks to Sandcastle Kids and its sponsors!

Ready to help? Visit TheSandcastleKids.com to learn more or to donate. It’s an easy way to have a profound impact.

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Inspirational Musings

A FAREWELL TO FEARS Adventure Is Yours for the Taking

By Darin Colucci

I

t’s been fifty-six years since Ernest Hemingway died, yet his presence is still felt around the world. Tens of thousands of people tour his homes every year. Old men with white beards, berets, and red ascots compete in the annual Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest in Key West. Dozens upon dozens of biographies about his life exist, and you can find at least one in nearly every bookstore.

But why? I imagine most people would say that Hemingway remains relevant because of his body of work as an author, but I don’t think that’s it at all.

There are plenty of Nobel Prize–winning authors who are dead and long forgotten, and absolutely no one is shelling out fifteen bucks for a drink named after them.

Here’s my theory: Hemingway still represents adventure. He’s synonymous with it. His pursuits said, “To hell with it.” He faced danger, sought out excitement, and found the romance in moments that others ignore. In short, he understood the difference between living and merely existing. EH saw what he wanted, planned his assault on its attainment, executed the game plan with zealotry, and then toasted the conquest, doing each of these things with equal vigor.

So why are the rest of us reduced to living vicariously through Ernest Hemingway, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, or George and Amal Clooney? The answers are as varied as they are predictable: because we’re too busy; because we don’t have the money; because we have responsibilities to our families; because we can’t take a week off to chase marlin off the coast of wherever.

These are things we tell ourselves, but the real answer, of course, is that we’re too afraid to leave our comfort zones. We accept that what we want most out of life is something we aren’t capable of getting. Oh, how much we miss by letting our limiting beliefs run wild and, in many cases, ruin our lives.

There is nothing more ultimately vital to a person’s emotional health and happiness than to pursue the things about which he or she is most passionate.

Unless you are one of the blessed few who love what they do for a living and you simply can’t wait to get

36 | A UGU ST 2017

Left: Author Darin Colucci (left) with his prized catch during a sailfish tournament in Guatemala Far right: Colucci flyfishing in Little Torch Key, Florida

up in the morning, you are probably working so you and your family can survive. Don’t get me wrong; this is noble. But most people who find themselves in this situation almost invariably feel trapped at some point. Every day is the same. We get up, work all day, and make sure that at the end of the month, the numbers balance out in our favor so that everyone else can go on living their lives! (That last line is paraphrased from The Fabulous Baker Boys.) And this is precisely why we all need to work some adventure into our lives.

There is nothing more ultimately vital to a person’s emotional health and happiness than to pursue the things about which he or she is most passionate.

Whether it’s photography, scuba diving, hiking, traveling, skeet shooting, gardening, horseback riding, or falconry (yes, it still exists), finding something that interests and excites you is an absolute imperative if you want a happy life. And the pursuit need not take place on Kilimanjaro to qualify as an adventure.

Anything that speaks to your soul qualifies. For me, it’s fly-fishing.

I got into it, a whole new world opened up. I love reading about techniques and new equipment. I get up early on weekends to watch fishing shows. My brother and I have saved our money and taken trips to exotic places to pursue particular species of fish. I began to see and experience places and cultures that, as far as I was concerned, had only existed in books.

My life was filled with passion and excitement where it hadn’t previously existed.

Twenty-five years ago, my brother bought me a fly rod and reel for a graduation present. At the time, I had absolutely no interest in fishing. When something bored me, I was fond of saying, “This is about as interesting as watching two guys fish.” But once

We once entered a sailfish tournament in Guatemala.

Imagine that—two kids from New Jersey going to chase sailfish in Central America. It once seemed unthinkable but became totally doable once we

believed it was possible. We took care of each and every responsibility first, but then made a point to carve out five days for ourselves. Apart from the armed guards that escorted us in and out of the lodge (adventure isn’t always cool), it was one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. We saw and caught one of the most majestic creatures in the sea. We challenged ourselves in both a physical sense—these fish are strong—and in an emotional sense—we had never caught even a single sailfish before entering the tournament, so it was something completely outside our comfort zone.

While we sat around after a great dinner, recapping the day’s experiences, seeing where we were on the leaderboard, and scheming our plan for the next day, it hit me: moments like this are what life is all about. They’re why you work so hard. Adventure and passion are the difference between existing and living. Find your passions, plan your adventures, and start collecting experiences—not to list them, but to live them. You’ll be a happier person for it, and who knows what might happen?

Darin Colucci is an author, motivational speaker, and attorney from Duxbury, Massachusetts. His book Everything I Never Learned in School: A Guide to Success is available on Amazon.

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Le monde

Le monde GOES ROUND AND ROUND

As people around the world strive to help one another through philanthropic organizations, others have made it their mission to protect the earth’s other creatures. Visit Botswana’s Chobe National Park to experience some of the most majestic animals in the world, such as lions, African elephants, leopards, klipspringers, and more. Belmond Savute Elephant Lodge is a twelve-room paradise in the park, offering guests the chance to view wildlife, charter a safari, and enjoy a private dinner in style.

BelmondSafaris.com

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Le monde

40 | A UGU ST 2017

Bringing HOPE to the World B y M e g h a n R y a n // P h o t o g r a p h y b y B r e n n a K n e i s s

“T

here was a guy putting cow manure in water and drinking it … we are going to get on a conference call with him this afternoon.”

Those were the first words I ever heard about Filter of Hope. At the time, I was beginning a yearlong internship with a campus ministry, and my boss wanted us to talk about arranging a spring break trip to Nicaragua. The idea of a mission trip was appealing, so I halfheartedly agreed to join the group on the call. What I didn’t know at the time was that particular phone call was about to change my life.

A thick Tennessee accent came through the speaker­ phone—Davis Looney, who manages campus

partnerships, tells us about Filter of Hope, a nonprofit that specializes in clean water filtration systems. Founder and CEO Bart Smelley has a lofty vision: to eradicate the global water crisis.

Every twenty seconds, a child dies from a water­ related disease, and there are still billions of people in the world without access to clean drinking water. Smelley created point­of­use water filters that are easy to assemble, user­friendly, and low maintenance. They are also packaged in a way that makes them easy to pack into suitcases to take overseas—but there is nothing small about their impact. Each one can filter 150 gallons of water per day for ten years or longer, and they cost only about forty dollars apiece!

Left: Juan takes his first sip of clean drinking water from the filter.

Right: Sunset over Popoyo Beach in Nicaragua

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hile this amazed all of us on the receiving end of the call, it was the information he told us next that really caught my atten­ tion: the water filters are used to share the Gospel. God created the world, and when He did, everything was perfect. When man sinned, he separated himself from God. Sin looks a lot like dirty water, full of junk and unable to clean itself. Even when the water looks clear and clean, it can be full of bacteria and other things capable of making us sick. This can be likened to the way we ourselves might appear on the outside, looking shiny and happy, but on the inside, we are still broken and fallen from grace. God knew we needed a filter, so He sent His only Son, Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the grave to purify us.

When we put our faith in Christ, He acts as our filter to make us right with God. But sometimes we drink the water of sin, and eventually, we are thirsty again. In Christ, we never have to thirst again, because He provides all we need (John 4:14).

Right: Photographer Brenna Kneiss embraces one of the young girls after her family installed their water filter.

Above: The contrast between the water before it is filtered and after is staggering.

Opposite top: Clean water means better health for families.

Opposite bottom: After a rainy afternoon, this rainbow appeared on Popoyo Beach like a symbol of hope.

42 | A UGU ST 2017

I had previously taken part in mission trips—some were designed to help with physical needs and others were designed to help meet spiritual needs. But Filter of Hope beautifully combined both goals.

I learned of the organization from the phone call, and I had not even seen the filter in person, but my heart was already beating faster, and I knew I had to be a part of this. I signed up to help lead the team and a few months later, I was boarding a plane for Nicaragua with forty­five college students. There was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that some­ thing big was about to happen, but it never crossed my mind that God was about to reroute the plans I had for my life.

Fast­forward a year to this past spring: I found myself in Nicaragua again. This time, I was coming off almost a year of working full­time for Filter of Hope and I was right in the middle of three back­ to­back trips, hosting teams in Guatemala the week before and after. The team in Nicaragua this year had grown to 110 students.

Everything about organizing a group of this size is overwhelming. Finding flights, booking hotels, and coordinating a week’s worth of meals for over a hun­ dred people in a Third World country is challenging enough for one, but add up the number of people, and you have your work cut out for you. The stress of all that work vanished once the students started arriving. Over a hundred fresh­faced and eager young

adults came out of the airport, some were eighteen and had never left the United States before, some were getting ready to graduate, and some were returning after working with Filter of Hope last year. Each one of them came to introduce themselves to the trip leaders. For months, I had seen their names on spreadsheets and documents and flashing across my computer screen, so to put faces to the names was exciting and overwhelming all at once. There was a nervous energy and anticipation over the next couple of hours as we caravanned in three buses from Costa Rica to Popoyo, Nicaragua.

One student, Nicole, who had been rather quiet up until this point, decided to share the Gospel and her story with the two of them.

Each day, the students woke up early to eat breakfast and then broke into groups of five with a translator.

The buses dropped them off in nearby communities, and like ants, they scattered to go door­to­door, give out water filters, and share the Gospel with families until lunchtime. After lunch, they would go out again until sundown.

At one particular house, there was a woman, Anna, drawing water from the well in her front yard.

The group I tagged along with for the morning approached her and asked if they could assist her, then told her they had a water filter they wanted to give her. Similar to the way our groups dem­ onstrate at every house, they asked for a bucket, and two students took the lead in showing Anna how to set up her filter. There was a man, who we assumed was related to her, lingering around and acting very strangely as we walked her through the setup. Afterward, we got to know a little about her.

We learned that the man at the house, Juan, was not related to her and she was allowing him to stay with her family temporarily. One student, Nicole, who had been rather quiet up until this point, decided to share the Gospel and her story with the two of them.

Le monde

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hile Nicole was sharing what God had done in her life, Anna had tears streaming down her face. She said she wanted to trust God that way. As they turned to Juan, he began laughing. He was drunk. He told us he did not believe any of the things Nicole said. He said he would rather be drunk because life is too hard to be sober.

Nicole mustered up all the courage she had and told him how she used to abuse drugs and alcohol because she used to feel the same way until she met Jesus. She wept as she spoke to him, but he still would not listen and instead started yelling drunkenly at her in Spanish.

Our translator refused to tell us the vulgarities that Juan was saying. A couple of other students prayed with Anna, and we made our way out of the house.

What happened next is something I hope never to forget. All the other students in the group gathered around Nicole and embraced her in a big group hug.

They cried together, prayed for her, and encouraged

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It was not about the number of filters, but the quality time spent with each person they encountered. her. These students hadn’t known each other before coming on this trip, but they had become a family.

After she had collected herself, Nicole admitted that was the first time she had ever told anyone that part of her story.

Moments like this were happening all day, every day.

At any point, I could turn and see students praying for each other, crying with each other, and laughing with each other. There were a hundred of them and hundreds of families in great need. Instead of letting the amount of need overwhelm them, it compelled the students to go after the one: the one child, the one family, the one house. It was not about the number of filters, but the quality time spent with each person they encoun­ tered. They took the time to foster friendships with

each of the translators, cooks, and hotel managers.

On the last day, there were only enough filters left for each group to go to one more house. With applause and cheering as they boarded the buses, they set out expecting big things to happen for the very last house and came back with so many stories to tell! Students stood up at the last dinner to share stories, praise their new friends, and explain how they would take every­ thing they had learned back home with them.

Opposite: Magnificent Rock on Popoyo Beach Below: Filter of Hope CEO Bart Smelley shares his story with a family who received a water filter.

Le monde

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he only word that can describe the week is hopeful. There are thousands of college students sacrificing their spring breaks to serve others. They are spending hours in the hot sun, sleeping without air conditioning, and giving to people who will never be able to repay them. These students are the future; they will be par­ ents, doctors, lawyers, business owners, and movers and shakers of the world. Hundreds of Nicaraguans tasted clean water for the first time and now have hope for healthier and longer lives. More than that, they found hope in Christ and purpose for their lives.

Above: Over one hundred students and staff joined Filter of Hope for the mission trip to Nicaragua.

Right: Meghan Ryan playing with a child in one of the villages where clean water filters were installed 46 | A UGU ST 2017

Filter of Hope is about more than bringing clean water to those who need it most; it is bringing hope to those who need it most. about more than bringing clean water to those who need it most; it is bringing hope to those who need it most.

These are just some of the stories of one team in one country. This past spring break alone, six hundred college students from eighteen different campuses traveled with Filter of Hope to six countries and gave out over three thousand water filters.

Filter of Hope leads teams from colleges, high schools, churches, and other organizations on trips several times each year. While it is still a small, very new company, the demand for trips and water filters has grown rapidly worldwide. Filter of Hope is

Filter of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. To learn more about Filter of Hope and how you can get involved, visit FilterofHope.org.

Le monde

Travel with a Purpose Empowering Women Worldwide

Travel is the biggest industry in the world and has an unrivaled power: the power to bring equality across the globe. Wealthy travelers can come into direct contact with rickshaw drivers, local market sellers, and small business owners.

Meanwhile, tourism—traveling for recreation or pleasure—can provide a sustainable, life-changing source of income for people whose greatest assets include the landscape and wildlife around them.

Tourism has another power that many might not realize, and it lies in the fact that much of its workforce is female. As a diverse industry that reaches even some of the remotest corners of the earth, and with a huge range of skills needed in its workers, tourism has the potential to lift many women out of poverty by equipping them with the skills to secure sustainable employment. By learning how to manage a tourism business, many previously impoverished women around the world have created thriving businesses for themselves and are even able to employ others.

All too often, it is women who struggle when inequality restricts access to education; when maternity benefits are nonexistent; when cultural expectations of a woman’s role in society and the home take precedence; or when gender bias excludes women from reaching their potential in the workforce. These issues exist for women to a greater or lesser extent around the world. In some countries, legislation and awareness limit the impacts of inequality; in others, women face an uphill battle to feel the full benefits tourism can bring them.

Responsible Travel is a worldwide organization that helps tourists plan trips that center on doing good, whether that means volunteering or simply buying from local businesses and hospitality specialists while abroad. Responsible Travel works with the

Opposite: Responsible Travel’s collection of holidays offers many experiences led by women. The personal relationships these female hospitality leaders have with locals allow extra special experiences in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations, such as Ethiopia.

Many trips also offer volunteer opportunities for travelers.

Photo by Nick Fox.

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Le monde best specialty tour operators in the world to give its travelers safe, authentic, and unforgettable experiences. Its new collection of holidays highlights female entrepreneurs—from India to Ethiopia to Panama—who have overcome significant challenges to successfully set up and run their own tourism businesses. Here, we meet some of these inspirational ladies.

The Struggle Right: A woman sells crops in a crowded market in the city of Jimma, Ethiopia.

Photo by Nick Fox. Below: View of the Ganges river and Varanasi ghats during Kumbh Mela festival in Varanasi, India.

Photo by Kurkul.

Samrawit Moges founded Travel Ethiopia in 1994 and was the first tour operator in the country to employ female guides. She discusses the challenges she faced setting up a company in a developing country over twenty years ago: “At that time, I did not have sufficient vehicles, and the challenges I faced renting a vehicle from the male drivers were extremely discouraging,” Moges says. “At the same time, when I took my clients out, when I spoke to them in the hotels, I was perceived differently. If a man goes to any place to discuss [business] with foreign men, that’s OK. That’s OK for the man. But for me, when I went out for dinner to discuss things with my clients, I was not perceived as a business person. I was perceived as a prostitute. They assumed that my relationship with the foreigners was not a business relationship because I am a woman.”

Annie Young faced similar bias in Panama purely for being female. She describes the barriers she faced in a male-dominated society when setting up EcoCircuitos Panama, another of Responsible Travel’s member tour operators, in 1999. “I wanted to have a loan from the bank because I wanted to be able to invest in kayaks and buy my own equipment, and it was really difficult to have the loan because I was a woman,” Young recalls. “So I had to have my brother and my father—even they do not work in the company any more—sign so I could have that loan, because I had them in my company. It’s a macho country, Panama.”

Ridhi Patel, the founder of Volunteering Journeys, a small volunteering organization in India whose trips are available via the Responsible Travel website, shares her thoughts on how things have progressed, and what issues the modern female entrepreneur still faces. “It’s changing a lot in India,” Patel says.

“There are a lot more women who are independent and are starting up businesses. There’s a big entrepreneurial spirit among women, especially in India, but it’s harder in terms of longevity. The women might start something, but then there’s a higher failure rate. There’s a lot of pressure on women who have to combine work with home commitments, as well, which leads to work suffering and them suffering— and eventually they have to choose between one and the other.”

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The Benefits The wonderful thing about empowering women is the domino effect of benefits that are passed down to other women in the community. Not only is an empowered woman better able to support and educate her own family, but other local women can also be inspired to create change themselves. There is no one better able to understand the challenges faced by women in traditional, conservative, and rural communities than their peers, and many of these female entrepreneurs have gone on to address these issues, using the success of their own businesses to set up initiatives to help other women in their areas get a foothold in business, tourism, or otherwise.

“

Women are creative. With a very small amount of money, the kind of business they create is extraordinary.

Manisha Pande from Village Ways in India, whose trips also feature in Responsible Travel’s new collection, describes how her organization shifts timetables and work patterns to suit the needs of local women so they can become more involved in tourism. “In general in the hills, village life is quite tough, and the dependence of the family on the woman is much, much higher,” Pande explains. “We hold trainings at the time when they are free, maybe encourage the committee to involve them in the work they can do within a few hours so that they can come and cook, for example, then go back and do their usual work.

It’s not that if they are not available we don’t involve them—we try and involve them in some way, and give them flexibility.”

Above: A girl from the African tribe Dasanesh at a village in Omo Valley, Ethiopia.

Photo by Nick Fox. Left: Responsible Travel’s volunteer opportunities in India offer programs to work in schools, medical facilities, women’s empowerment workshops, animal rescues, and more.

Photo courtesy of Volunteering Journeys.

Moges also has a unique approach to spread the benefits of tourism to her peers in Ethiopia. “Women are creative, you know,” she says. “With a very small V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 51

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There’s a lot of pressure on women who have to combine work with home commitments, and eventually they have to choose between one and the other.

amount of money, the kind of business they create is extraordinary. And right now in Ethiopia, we have a female bank, established by women. This bank also assists many women in getting loans, getting their business proposals written, and much more. So what I can do—I give loans to a woman in collaboration with the bank. And once that woman is established, I will get back my money. So we are trying to help each other.”

And Responsible Travel believes that its collection of women-led vacations not only benefits the women who run these organizations, but that the experience for tourists is also enhanced by involving women in tourism. These ladies offer a

Left: Traveling and volunteering abroad offer the chance to expand the mind and experience new cultures.

Photo courtesy of Volunteering Journeys.

Right: The women in villages such as Kerala, India, offer volunteers a firsthand look into their culture and daily lives.

Photo courtesy of Village Ways.

new perspective on a destination. And when asked what travelers’ reactions have been to female guides in their companies, Responsible Travel’s entrepreneurs have been very positive.

“Tourists very much enjoy having a female guide,” says Moges. “It makes a difference because she is able to talk about the community, about women, about the culture.”

She explains that female guides can tell clients more about the inner workings of a home, family, or village in each destination. Tourists can get a true look into the everyday lives of the people and learn about the culture—specifically the role of women in the culture—while they are also having a memorable travel experience.

“When a female guide explains, for example, about early marriage—a negative traditional practice—as a woman, she is able to explain it better than the male,” Moges continues. “You know when they visit homes, when they visit villages, they always encounter the women.”

Traveling responsibly is not only about volunteering or making ecologically friendly choices during a trip, but also about learning to respect other people and cultures around the world. The role of women in each culture is unique, and many women have struggled to gain traction in the business world.

The tourism and hospitality industries offer women around the world a chance to build their careers, help others in their communities, and show clients a way of life they might otherwise never experience.

Story courtesy of Responsible Travel Check out all the tours run by local female entrepreneurs at ResponsibleTravel.com.

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The Everywoman A TALE OF UNEXPECTED CHOICES

BY LIZZIE LOCKER

ONCE UPON A TIME, MY SISTER JANIE WAS A BANKER. SHE WAS CERTAINLY SUITED FOR IT—A LEFT-BRAINED ARTIST WITH TALENTS FOR ALL THE THINGS I HAVE NEVER EVEN BEEN ABLE TO BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND: MATH, LOGIC, STRAIGHT LINES, REALISM. Janie has a will of granite and a razor-wire personality—she’s ruthless, fearless. She was recruited by BBVA Compass right out of college, and a year later she was asked to move from Birmingham, Alabama, to Seattle to be the commercial relationship associate at their newest loan production office.

Of course, I was proud of her, a sharp young woman working in a seventy-second-floor office full of old men, making more money than I could wrap my head around, teaching self-defense workshops in the park with her kickboxing class. She had lived up to every expectation she had ever placed on herself, a success in every way.

Success doesn’t necessarily equal happiness, though.

And Janie does not compromise.

Janie doesn’t always like to get personal, even with me. But when I ask her why she left behind the so-called good life for the one she leads now, the words flow easily.

“I was doing a job I didn’t find inspiring, and I felt like a little consuming machine.

Money wasn’t interesting enough. I wanted to do something with my hands.”

On the phone, Janie’s voice is deep, still rough from the cold that has lingered with her for weeks. “Today has been a nightmare,” she says. She tells me about her morning, spent desperately trying to haul up yet another cow who had slipped on freshly cleaned concrete and couldn’t stand up again, a convoluted and frustrating series of events involving tractors, open gates, and escaping heifers.

Our father was a cattle farmer, so I understand the kind of physical endurance and mental fortitude necessary to make it through a single day. I tell her she’s a beast, an Amazon; I can hear her making a face over the phone. “I’ve never enjoyed making myself work out,” she says. “I like being active in my job, outside around beautiful things, taking care of beautiful things that make me happy.”

“But the yaks,” she continues, “they’re the mischievous ones.”

So my sister did a thing both brave and dangerous: she hit the reset button.

Rebecca Hicks is another little sister of mine, a soror of a sort. We met in college in Mississippi, where she majored in culinary arts. I was one of the lucky few who got to enjoy her class work—caramel cheesecake to curl your toes, slap-yo-mama-good biscuits and gravy—hand-delivered to the study room where my bosom heaved over the Romantics section of my Norton Anthology.

Rebecca had grown up in our college town, and at the first opportunity she was gone like a shot. She took an internship as far from Mississippi as she could manage, at a dude ranch in California. There she was introduced to a very different lifestyle—seasonal work in remote locations. She found that she thrived in small, close-quartered communities. That she had the fortitude to work twelve-hour shifts every day for weeks without a break. That she was tough enough to tangle with the meanest bosses and the skeeviest coworkers, and tough enough to win.

This sister, too, did a thing brave and dangerous: she moved to the edge of the world.

It’s been almost a year since Janie quit her job and her life in Seattle to pursue a hands-on education in farming, and her year has been almost nothing but winter.

In June, she left behind the Northern Hemisphere’s summertime to complete a volunteer work-stay program on a farm in Chile, where her primary job was to help care for nine hundred laying hens. She fed and watered the animals, collected and washed the eggs, and carried hundreds of eggs at a time half a mile uphill.

SUCCESS DOESN'T NECESSARILY EQUAL HAPPINESS, THOUGH. AND JANIE DOES NOT COMPROMISE. SO MY SISTER DID A THING BOTH BRAVE AND DANGEROUS: SHE HIT THE RESET BUTTON.

Most work-stay programs don’t require quite as much effort from their volunteers, but Janie has always been one to push her own limits. “I chose that farm because they had such high expectations of their volunteers. I wanted to learn as much as I could.”

As Janie’s work-stay drew to a close, her hosts put her in touch with Sandra Matheson, a cow and yak farmer in Bellingham, Washington, who was in need of an intern for the following November.

“We talked once on the phone and that was it,” Janie says.

Opposite: Coldfoot, Alaska, lies along the Dalton Highway in the Arctic Circle, an isolated camp that offers a harsh environment but rewarding work for employees like Rebecca Hicks.

The highway, built as a supply road to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, has been the subject of episodes of America’s Toughest Jobs and World’s Most Dangerous Roads.

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Le monde Matheson Farms is a humane, environmentally conscious, farm-to-table beef operation that sells whole cows and yaks as well as specific cuts of beef directly to the consumer. It’s a model that appeals to Janie, who has always been deeply conscientious of the ethics of her interests.

At heart, it’s not entirely dissimilar from the farm where we grew up; but winter in Washington is a very different beast from winter in Alabama. For a few weeks, Janie’s entire existence was simply focused on keeping the animals alive through a bitter freeze. Her days were backbreaking, spent hacking through iced-over water troughs and moving fallen, ice-encrusted branches from electric fence lines.

“That’s basically all I did those weeks,” she says, “feed them and keep the water flowing and get back inside to the fire.”

When Janie’s voice cracks over the phone, I think of ice cracking as it thaws. In the photos she sends me, of herself holding a newborn calf or standing next to the tractor, she is smiling in a way she has never smiled in photos before. She is smiling from genuine happiness, not posing for the camera. She is herself, overalls and boots and flyaway hairs escaping from her ponytail, and for the first time in a long time, she seems like she has everything she wants.

Rebecca moved to Coldfoot, Alaska, a few years ago on a whim. “I didn’t even know what Coldfoot was; I just applied to it along with a handful of other seasonal jobs I found online. But after the interview process and everything, I just thought, why not?”

Coldfoot isn’t a town. It isn’t even a village. It’s a camp, a way station along Alaska’s Dalton Highway in the Arctic Circle. The camp includes a small café and gift shop, a modest motel for pipeline workers and travelers, and a gas pump.

Coldfoot Camp is one of the loneliest outposts of civilization in our most gargantuan state, located 260 miles north of the nearest traffic light (in Fairbanks) and 240 miles south of Prudhoe Bay. But until you’ve visited, which I

This page: Janie Locker pursued happiness by giving up life in the banking industry and taking a job on a farm and then a cattle and yak ranch near Seattle.

Opposite: Lake Ann and Mount Shuksan, Washington

did last April, the gravity of that isolation doesn’t really register.

Imagine a place surrounded by mountains, drifted in snow that disguises pathways and befuddles your sense of direction. Imagine a gray sky so bright that your eyes feel like they’ll burst despite the cloud cover, and a sun so close to the earth that it seems like you can feel the radiation before you feel the heat, a sun that seems never to fully set. Imagine that walking a hundred yards could deliver you out of the protective arms of humanity—that a hundred yards down the path you might find yourself face-to-face with a mother bear or a bull moose ready to charge. If you were to take so much as a single step off the hardpacked snow path and become stuck in a snowbank, a hundred yards away from home, in that primeval place, might as well be a hundred miles.

Rebecca works as a line cook in the café, one of a couple dozen seasonal workers employed in a variety of odd jobs around the camp: cleaning, giving tours, maintaining the camp, et cetera. Rebecca downplays the job itself —she could be a line cook anywhere, she says. But to me, she’s an angel of mercy, ministering to forgotten souls on the edge of the world. She told me a story once, of how a pair of big-game hunters who’d been camping for weeks had walked into the restaurant at four in the morning, long before breakfast would be served. They were desperate for a hot meal after weeks of jerky and campfire food, and Rebecca had kindly made them a couple of sandwiches to tide them over until the restaurant opened. She said the two men had seemed ready to cry when she brought them their plates.

That’s just one example of how basic amenities become luxuries. During the summertime, Rebecca lives in a three-season tent with no electricity or solid walls, but during the bitter winters, when the sun goes away for months, she moves into a dormitory-style building. Satellite Wi-Fi is available, but it’s shoddy and expensive and not worth bothering with unless absolutely necessary. There is no cell service of any kind, and heat sources are not always consistent or reliable. All electricity comes from generators, which can overheat or give out. “I’ve definitely finished a couple of order tickets in the dark or with a headlamp,” Rebecca says.

It’s not a comfortable life, to be sure, when the temperature falls to -55°F and you still have to get out of bed and go outside. And the distance from civilization—the distance from home—can be taxing. “I have two nieces and a nephew,” Rebecca says, “all under ten years old, and I worry about them forgetting me. I’ve lost a couple of family members while I was up here, which was hard. Then there’s everything that’s been going on politically and wanting to stand up for what I believe in.”

But it’s not without its rewards, either. Her job pays well, her housing is covered, and in a few short years, she’ll have paid off her student loans. “This place is

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fulfilling It’s so peaceful. We can lie out on a frozen pond and see the whole Milky Way, not to mention the Aurora Borealis! That’s enough to keep me coming back.”

Both my sister and my sort-of sister are living the life unexpected, and while it’s hard to watch them struggle and suffer, it’s worth it to see them both fulfilling the missions they have set for themselves: learning, adventuring, blazing trails for themselves and other women like them.

As Janie says her good-byes to me on the phone, she seems to be speaking for herself and Rebecca both: “The people I meet who do this, it’s like they’re doing all the hard work so that others don’t have to. And I’m gonna make sure it’s done right.”

One woman alone cannot be everywhere. We get only one lifetime, so they say, and we are all born with too many dreams to fit into it. But Woman is everywhere, in the heartland and in the wasteland. Where you least expect to find us, there we will be, doing the work that needs doing.

Lizzie Locker is a writer, instructor, and costume designer in San Francisco. She received her MFA in writing from the University of San Francisco, where she was also awarded a teaching fellowship. Lizzie is currently at work on her first novel.

Le monde

Wall of

COURAGE Shining a Light on Africa’s Forgotten Children

By T o r i Ph el p s Photography courtesy of HE AT HER HAY NES

Canadian painter Heather Haynes needs only one word—courage—to tell the stories of millions of women and children.

The thirteen-year-old girl had walked for five days, without food or water, to reach a medical clinic in the Congo. One of her arms had been held in a fire by a band of rebels, leaving her with a charred stump.

When Heather Haynes found her outside the clinic, heartbeats away from death and her rotting flesh covered in flies, she didn’t look away. For hours, Haynes patiently fed the girl small bites of food as she fanned the flies away.

Haynes wasn’t a medical professional or even a clinic volunteer. She was a painter whose eyes had been opened to the horrors taking place in the Congo— and who had refused to close them again. Of her decision to stay beside the girl, whose image will forever be etched in her mind, she simply says, “Who was I to walk away?”

The truth is that Haynes had made up her mind not to walk away years before. A life-changing trip to Africa in 2008 had spurred the Canadian to find solutions

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for some of its most vulnerable people. And when she and American Shay Bell joined forces in 2013, those solutions began to multiply. Through Worlds Collide Africa (Haynes’s Canadian-based branch) and One Ndoto (Bell’s U.S.-based branch), women and children who’ve survived the unthinkable are creating a better future for themselves and their communities.

One of the ways Haynes is bringing awareness to the atrocities in the Congo is through her art. With Wall of Courage, a heart-stopping installation of eighty portraits depicting African orphans, she has put faces to the statistics while daring viewers to remain apathetic.

It’s safe to say that no one walked away unaffected during the installation’s month-long tenure at the Seaside Institute along Florida’s Gulf Coast. She hopes the stop is just one leg of a worldwide tour that educates and inspires audiences to adjust their mind-set. “I want people to see that we are one world,” Haynes says, “and we need a global consciousness.”

Many of Heather Haynes’s Wall of Courage paintings include tragic stories about the children depicted, some of whom have been maimed, seen their parents die, and had other horrors befall them. Still, they have not lost hope.

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t was slipping away, Haynes knew. She had achieved the near impossible by becoming a successful painter, but just a few years after the money started rolling in, her creativity was rolling out. The Ontario native felt like she was making the same painting over and over, and she needed a big dose of inspiration stat. Based on nothing but a gut feeling, she believed she would find it in Africa.

And she did.

“These WOMEN—the only thing they had left was their stories. We asked them what they wanted, and they all said ‘peace.’”

Uganda was a master class in authentic living, and the trip showed her exactly what had been missing in her life and work. “The connection the African people allow with others just captivated me,” Haynes confesses.

“In Western culture, we’re not comfortable with it. They have such open hearts and are a very present people. It brings out the reflection in you, and I was able to realign myself.”

After the visit, she was on fire artistically. She knew she had to make room for what she had discovered, so Haynes and her husband sold their home to allow her to paint what she wanted—rather than what sold. They traveled the world with their two boys for a year and then moved the family into a small cabin.

Her next trip to Africa took Haynes to Tanzania and the Congo, where she met two women who shared stories of surviving the brutal rapes that are almost systemic in the Congo. Haynes’s heart broke for the women and for the millions who had found themselves in this unwelcome sisterhood. She turned to her paintbrush, as she always did when her emotions overflowed, and discovered that the women’s portraits not only captivated audiences back home, but started conversations about a vicious epidemic.

Her focus broadened after a chance meeting with a Congolese man named Kizungu Hubert. Over a casual conversation in an African café, she learned that Hubert had dedicated his life to caring for orphans.

The two e-mailed frequently when Haynes returned home, and Hubert began sharing more about the sixteen orphans he’d rescued from life (and death) on the streets. Though he, too, felt great compassion for what 60 | A UGU ST 2017

The answers had to create permanent change, rather than temporary relief.

During a trip to the orphanage with her friend, Cathy Cleary, ten local women poured out their stories to the two visitors. Even after years of being intimately involved in the realities of the Congo, Haynes wasn’t prepared for what she heard. “These women—the only thing they had left was their stories,” Haynes says. “We asked them what they wanted, and they all said ‘peace.’

They didn’t say a new house or money. Just peace. It was really powerful.”

Out of that meeting evolved Tchukudu Women’s Training Center, a place where women learn new skills to support themselves and their children. Many women in Goma had lived as rural farmers all their lives, Haynes explains, but when they were forced to flee their villages for the city, they no longer had a way to feed their families.

The only option was to become a coal carrier—essentially a human mule loaded down with tremendously heavy bags of coal, forced to walk many miles every day to earn just one dollar.

his countrywomen were suffering, Hubert pointed out that their stories became their children’s stories. “The fallout of what was happening to the women was that millions of children no longer had homes or anyone to look after them,” Haynes explains.

Resolving to fund an orphanage for Hubert’s kids, Haynes shared the idea with family members and a few friends one day. By the end of that day, she had enough money to build an orphanage: the Tchukudu Kids Home in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. It opened exactly one year after her initial encounter with Hubert in the café, by which time the number of kids under his care had swelled from sixteen to eighty.

Haynes didn’t stop there. She secured sponsorship for the Tchukudu orphans and partnered with similarly minded friends to empower local survivors through grassroots initiatives. Her first inclination, Haynes admits, was just to send money. But Hubert reminded her that giving a man a fish feeds him for one day, whereas teaching a man to fish feeds him for a lifetime.

The Tchukudu Women’s Training Center, however, offers them a chance to reclaim their lives.

Once primarily dedicated to skills such as sewing and weaving, the Center has expanded its activities to avoid flooding the market. One recent idea: using the endless supply of lava in Goma to make trendy lava jewelry. A company that specializes in essential oils, doTERRA, is even evaluating the feasibility of partnering with the Center to make lava oil diffusers.

If the women and children Haynes met stimulated her altruistic side, they also spurred her creative side. Early on, her mind was filled with the faces of the original sixteen orphans, and Haynes knew she wanted to capture them on canvas. As she was painting, she was consumed with thoughts of what it would feel like to be these children or their mothers. “All of a sudden, the word ‘courage’ was in all the paintings,” she says. “I don’t even know how it happened, but it was a great big wall of courage in my mind.”

Soon, it was a wall in real life, too.

When fifteen of the paintings had been completed, she laid the canvases in a grid and stood back. At that moment, she realized it was one big painting and that she had to paint all eighty children. The past twenty years of her career swirled together in a single vision, overwhelming Haynes with the intensity of it, but also giving her clarity and energy she’d never experienced.

Wall of Courage, as it was officially dubbed upon completion last year, covers 480 square feet. Breathtaking in its scope and visual impact, the Wall is a powerful tool in highlighting a crisis that’s being largely ignored by the Western world. And when Haynes’s partner, Shay Bell, and Dr. Heather Glenn—both longtime Emerald Coast residents—heard about the Wall, they knew it had to come to Seaside.

“All of a sudden, the word ‘COURAGE’ was in all the paintings.

I don’t even know how it happened, but it was a great big wall of courage in my mind.”

Tanzania full-time. That meant resigning her position, selling everything she could, and splitting with her fiancé (who, happily, remains a good friend).

What compels a person to give up everything they love, move halfway around the world, and embrace regular heartbreak? For Bell, it was kids like the ones on Haynes’s Wall of Courage.

In Tanzania, Bell connected with a group of former street kids who were investing in their community through their own art, as well as providing free art lessons. Haynes was one of the group mentors, and soon the two women were friends as well as partners in their nongovernmental agencies, Worlds Collide Africa and One Ndoto.

Familiar to many as an executive at the iconic WaterColor Inn and Resort, Bell had it all: a lucrative career, a loving fiancé—“a beautiful life,” she admits. When the resort closed briefly for renovations in January 2011, she used the downtime to teach English in Tanzania. She’d been to Africa once before and had enjoyed it, but this time was different. She returned a woman on a mission, founding One Ndoto (“one dream”) from Florida but soon realizing she needed to be in

In 2013, Bell helped launch the Pamoja Tunaweza Boys and Girls Club, whose purpose is to empower “street kids” to reach their full potential and become positive members of society. It’s easier said than done.

In Tanzania, the stigma of being a street kid is often enough to derail that child for life.

Above left: Most of the children in Haynes’s paintings had never had their pictures taken before and were excited to be part of the art project to tell their stories.

Above right: Shay Bell and Kizungu Hubert

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F

rom the beginning, Bell recognized that her role wouldn’t be— couldn’t be—boss. “As a white woman from America who’s been relatively privileged her whole life, I can’t relate to a kid who’s been on the streets since he was five,” she says. “I don’t pretend to. I’m just a conduit.”

Instead, the leaders of the organization, former street kids themselves, make all the decisions. Bell’s task is to help guide them toward growth and ensure complete financial transparency. Perhaps most importantly, she showers the kids with unconditional love—something of which they have precious little experience.

Transforming lives takes money, though, which is why Bell is always assessing new ways to support the kids. Recently, she harnessed knowledge from her previous life to create the Worlds Collide Africa House, an upscale guesthouse and home base for tourists on safari, Kilimanjaro climbs, or art and yoga retreats. As a high-end hospitality industry veteran, she saw potential in an abandoned building and guided its transformation into a fourteen-bedroom residence that has become a job source for locals, as well as a revenue stream for One Ndoto/Worlds Collide Africa projects.

The former atheist-turned-believer sees a heavenly hand at work in everything that’s going right for One Ndoto/Worlds Collide Africa. And she sees a staggering depth of faith in the people for whom things have gone very wrong—like the woman whose husband and eight children were slaughtered by a rebel group in the middle of the night. She had escaped the same fate only because she was using the latrine behind their mud hut. “She looked at me and said, ‘I don’t want to live, but I know that’s not God’s plan for me,” Bell shares.

Through a sponsorship program of fifty dollars per month, the Tchukudu Kids Home in the Congolese town of Goma is presently supporting about 120 children.

Bell has learned to be resilient; it’s a necessity when the day might bring the death of a child or a survivor’s gut-wrenching tale. But “resilient” doesn’t mean “unaffected.”

She marvels that, as different as the individual stories are, they’re consistent in their horror. And no one seems to be paying attention. “This is happening today,” she says.

“The fact that it’s not out there—that people aren’t outraged—is stunning to me.”

A twenty-year war in the Congo has taken six million lives and left untold millions of others plagued by memories of unspeakable tragedy. Many of the survivors are children, like the ones at Tchukudu Kids Home. And when Bell learned that Haynes had completed her Wall of Courage featuring some of “their” kids, she knew it was meant to be exhibited back home in Florida. Thankfully, her friend Hillary Glenn stepped in.

Bell has learned to be resilient; it’s a necessity when the day might bring the DEATH of a child or a survivor’s gut-wrenching tale.

But “resilient” doesn’t mean “unaffected.”

Sitting on the balcony of the Worlds Collide Africa House and surveying the beauty of the Tanzanian landscape, Glenn came to an easy decision: she would help bring Haynes’s Wall of Courage to her privileged pocket of Florida. Back home she was a nurse practitioner at a Miramar Beach urgent care center. Today, however, Glenn was in Tanzania for a charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to benefit Bell’s One Ndoto.

She had been friendly with Bell on the Gulf Coast, but it wasn’t until her trip to Africa that she understood the purpose of Bell’s new life. “Shay looks at these children—young adults, really—and treats them as if they were her family,” Glenn says. “She’s not tossing aid at them. She’s giving them life skills and tools and really caring for them.”

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Patrons are able to purchase a Wall of Courage painting, which will continue to tour and inspire viewers as part of the full installation before being bestowed upon its new owner.

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t took zero convincing for Glenn to pledge her support, and she began her hunt for exhibit space as soon as her plane touched down in Florida. When she approached Seaside gallery owner Anne Hunter about hosting Wall of Courage, Hunter agreed, not only signing on as a partner but also developing an artistin-residence program for Haynes’s visit. Anne Hunter Galleries then joined forces with the Seaside Institute to serve as the venue for the installation.

The steady stream of visitors, many referred by others who’d experienced the Wall’s unique power, created a buzz throughout the Emerald Coast last April that still hasn’t died down. People approach Glenn daily to discuss its impact, and that response, she says, has made her fall more deeply in love with her community.

Glenn was especially gratified to see young visitors’ kinship with their African peers, reacting with love rather than fear. She credits Haynes’s masterful ability

to capture a lightness about the children while not shying away from the weighty subject matter.

“Putting ‘courage’ on the paintings makes you really see them—not pity them,” Glenn enthuses. “You see the joy behind the child.”

Bell, who says she’s not a crier, admits she was brought to tears frequently during the installation. Even though her life and work have taken her across the globe, she still sees the residents of 30A as extended family members. Their support—and the number of people who now want to be part of this story— mean a great deal to her.

Some of that support came in the form of generating solutions that would allow Wall of Courage to continue its international tour. Haynes was particularly intrigued by the idea of attracting a sponsor for each painting who would take possession at the tour’s conclusion. Her hope is that the investors’ altruistic act will pay feel-good dividends as well as real dividends in the form of an asset whose value would increase substantially over the years.

The tour is important to Haynes—not to gratify her own ego, but to shine a light on the Congolese devastation and pay tribute to the children who make up the Wall. “At one point, those children were alone,” she says. “Now, in a sense, they’re traveling the world. And all these people are behind them, putting energy into who they are.”

“It starts with being aware of what’s going on and then stepping out of your comfort zone.

Once we became aware, we became a VOICE for people without.”

Energy is being directed toward other Worlds Collide Africa/One Ndoto projects as well. Glenn, for one, wants to expand the Kilimanjaro climb for One Ndoto and volunteer in the clinic they’re planning for the Congo. The future medical clinic on Idjwi Island, currently under construction on donated land, is intended to prevent maternal and infant death during childbirth—an all-too-common outcome that adds to the area’s man-made misery.

Whether it’s the clinic, the Agricultural Project (which produces fresh food for the Tchukudu Kids), or the Boys and Girls Club, the underlying goal is the same: self-sustenance and self-determination.

Worlds Collide Africa/One Ndoto is making progress, Haynes says, because it equips locals to make decisions, rather than trying to force Western “solutions” on them.

In the same way, Haynes and Bell don’t force anything on potential supporters. Instead, they connect the dots between those who need help and those with something positive to offer. No need to sell everything and move to Africa, Bell promises. “It starts with being aware of what’s going on and then stepping out of your comfort zone,” she says. “That’s what binds Heather and me together; once we became aware, we became a voice for people without.

Find your part within the story, even if that’s going to work and talking about it.”

Opposite: Shay Bell, Heather Haynes, Hillary Glenn, Jennifer Kuntz, and Anne Hunter in Seaside, Florida Above: Wall of Courage paintings were displayed and photographed around Seaside to raise awareness for the installation at the Seaside Institute.

Right: The Tchukudu Women’s Training Center teaches sewing and basket weaving to Congolese women who find strength in each other and in telling their stories.

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If you’d rather write a check than discuss such an unpleasant topic, you’re not alone.

And that’s why Wall of Courage is so important. Far more than just brilliant art, it’s a potent reminder of the consequences of turning a blind eye to injustice “over there” and an opportunity to feel connected to something bigger.

It’s an experience Haynes wishes for everyone. “What I find is that Africa reconnects you with your truth—who you really are,” she says. “It gave me the strength to witness when other people turned away. I feel it’s part of my calling to be that witness and then tell those stories through art.”

Visit HeatherHaynes.com, WorldsCollideAfrica.com, and OneNdoto.com to learn more.

Tori Phelps has been a writer and editor for nearly twenty years. A publishing industry veteran and longtime VIE collaborator, Phelps lives with three kids, two cats, and one husband in Charleston, South Carolina.

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THE DO-GOOD LIFESTYLE When Passion Meets Purpose

By Meghan Ryan Photography by Brenna Kneiss

W

hen Katie Steelman graduated from college, she had no idea what life had in store for her. With diploma in hand,

she had ambitions of creating jobs for women in Third

World countries. However, without a clue of where to begin, her only

option was to move back to her hometown of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

Meanwhile, Steelman’s older sister, Abbie Boatwright, was already back home juggling marriage, two toddlers, and waiting tables. Her dream was to one day open her own business. As they both grappled with life strategies, the sisters sought ways to achieve their dreams together. Their goals ultimately merged into OKO Lifestyle, a new brand equipping people to Overcome, demonstrating acts of Kindness and giving Opportunity to those who need it most.

Opposite: Sisters Katie Steelman and Abbie Boatwright, founders and owners of OKO Lifestyle 70 | A UGU ST 2017

OKO Women opened its doors in The Hub on Scenic Highway 30-A in April of 2016. One month later, OKO Kids had its grand opening right next door.

However, that wasn’t enough for Steelman and Boatwright; they next launched a clothing line, OKO Lifestyle, which employs women in the Dominican Republic to handcraft the garments.

Both in their early twenties, the sisters are living the dream: owning their own thriving business while working together. These “girl bosses” admit that the past year has been a whirlwind, and anyone who knows them will tell you they are flying by the seat of their pants. But before any of it became a reality, they had to release their white-knuckled grips of fear to an unseen God who would turn what seemed like a dead end into an open door.

When Steelman moved home after graduation, she and Boatwright would rally early in the morning to brainstorm before Boatwright’s children woke.

Starting a business during this season of life was going to require a lot of hustle—and coffee! They explored ideas of opening a store and even considered starting a catering company, but both agreed they wanted to do something bigger.

“

The sisters are living the dream: owning their own thriving business while working together.

”

T

heir father, Scott Steelman, runs a nonprofit called Global Effect, which for years has been involved in social and economic development in the Dominican Republic. A group of women approached Global Effect about getting a microloan to buy sewing machines so they could create work for themselves.

These women had no idea where they would find people to employ their skills, but there were two people in Florida praying for such an opportunity to come along.

When Scott mentioned this to his daughters, they knew it was Providence. However, as much as they wanted to pursue this opportunity, they struggled to find the financial means to make it happen. After months of disappointment, Steelman decided to take an internship with Global Effect. Though they were heartbroken over the loss of a possible business venture together, they trusted that God had bigger plans. The sisters agreed it was not the right time for the store, so Steelman hopped on a plane to the Dominican Republic for her internship.

Soon after Steelman left, the situation changed. A local boutique retail center, The Hub, was looking for a women’s clothing retailer. Within hours of meeting with Tom Brown, the center’s manager, Boatwright was offered the space, but with one catch: the store had to be open by spring break. She signed the lease. An overjoyed Steelman immediately flew from the Dominican Republic to Atlanta, where she and Boatwright blitzed AmericasMart Atlanta in search of product for the store’s first retail season. Pleased with their haul, Steelman headed back to the Dominican Republic to conclude her internship and to meet with the Dominican women about sewing their first apparel line for OKO. While she was busy readying OKO’s inaugural line, Boatwright was back in Florida overseeing the store build-out. Steelman successfully made it back in time for OKO Women to open its doors for the mandated deadline.

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Sartorial

T “

I just have this vision that one day we will walk through the doors of this factory and there will be a hundred women working.

Women who couldn’t even provide a meal for their families will now have a consistent income and an opportunity for a better life.

”

72 | A UGU ST 2017

The sisters dreamed of opening a kids store next, and although the spaces in The Hub were full, they expressed to Brown that they were interested in another space if anything became available. Two weeks later, they were offered the space adjacent to OKO Women, but not without another catch: they had to open by Memorial Day weekend.

With every penny invested into OKO Women, Steelman and Boatwright did not want to lose the opportunity. They gave a tentative acceptance and began the process of funding their next dream. They prayed and sought out every option, but without much luck. So, when Brown came looking for them to get their final decision regarding the lease, they did the only thing they knew to do: they hid under the store’s cash register to buy themselves more time!

A walk through the OKO stores reveals a range of products true to Steelman and Boatwright’s vision: anyone, at any age, can find something for nearly any occasion. And, their loyal customers do seem to vary in both style and age, mainly because the focus of the OKO brand is luxury basics featuring quality fabrics and simple, timeless designs.

Just when they had decided to admit they couldn’t do it on their own, God showed up and reminded them that He was in control: a family friend came forward and offered Boatwright and Steelman the amount they needed to open the new store.

Boatwright and Steelman travel to the Dominican Republic about four times each year and are enjoying relationships with the women they employ. The long-term plan for OKO is to build a dedicated factory and employ a hundred women over the next five years. While both sisters admit this objective seems impossible, they see impossible as a good thing. Steelman explains, “If the goal were realistic, then we could take credit for it. So far, everything has clearly been God, not us. Even looking at how well the OKO line has sold, it’s God reminding us to put our effort into the women in the Dominican Republic because that’s why we do what we do.”

The sisters have been amazed at how well the OKO line has been received by their clientele. “It’s like God is allowing our customers to see the vision of our brand when they look at our clothes,” Steelman says. “Most people shopping in the store for the first time have never heard of us. But still, they pick things up off the rack and fall in love.” Along with OKO’s luxury basics, the shop carries trendy pieces from other brands.

With tears in her eyes, Boatwright says, “I just have this vision that one day we will walk through the doors of this factory and there will be a hundred women working. Women who couldn’t even provide a meal for their families will now have a consistent

income and an opportunity for a better life. We’ve seen the impact on our current employees, and we know it could transform more lives.”

The sisters often ask each other, “Is this real life?” It’s easy to see that they are doing something they love and how much fun they have doing it together. At times they argue and drive each other crazy—as sisters will do—but they are quick to resolve any issues. Their family has been supportive every step of the way. They admit they’ve made mistakes, and learning to balance work and family life has presented its challenges. They are constantly aware of their dependence upon God with each step and know that He is the reason everything is working out.

The future of the OKO Lifestyle brand looks bright.

Along with the plans for the factory in the Dominican Republic, the sisters hope to offer their brand at wholesale prices to other retailers and to open more OKO stores. They want the heartbeat of everything they do to be about equipping people to Overcome,

demonstrating acts of Kindness, and giving Opportunity to those who need it most.

Whether that means the employees in their stores, the women in the Dominican Republic, or their customers, Steelman and Boatwright pray OKO Lifestyle will impact the lives of women everywhere. It’s much more than a brand; it’s a mission to help people overcome anything life throws their way.

With two stores in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and a thriving business employing women in the Dominican Republic, OKO Lifestyle’s future is bright.

OKOlifestyle.com

Consistently Delicious since 1995! www.cafethirtya.com

3899 East Scenic Hwy. 30A, Seagrove Beach · 850.231.2166 Online Reservations. Major Credit Cards. Open Daily At 5.

THE ADVENTURER

Truth or dare? Most people probably pick truth; but the truth is, with all the adventures out there in the world waiting for us, we should be more daring! Dare to backpack through Italy’s treasured scenery, bike through Japan, or take that cruise you’ve always wanted to take. You deserve it! Whether you have a long list of adventures or one ultimate bucket list item, this edition of C’est la VIE is a great place to start planning. Take an adventure with us—we dare you!

1

Take a Hike

Jeffrey Campbell + Free People Cascade Canyon Hiker Boots $178 – freepeople.com 76 | A UGU ST 2017

2

All Points North

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort kakslauttanen.com

3

5

Snow Patrol

Slip into Style

Peacock Women’s Slippers $450 – stubbsandwootton.com

Pirelli Designer Skis by Blossom pirellidesign.com

Thirst Quencher

4

Glacce Crystal Elixir Water Bottle $89 – freepeople.com

A Little Birdie Told Me ...

6

Badminton Set in Turquoise $39 – sunnylife.com

Cool Down

7

Coleman 54-Quart Steel Cooler $159.95 – crateandbarrel.com

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C’est la vie

Set Sail

8

94 Ferretti Yacht Charter to Cuba sailo.com

9

Go with the Flow

Emilio Pucci Embroidered Long Dress $6,000 – modaoperandi.com

Keep It Together

10

Malachite Acrylic Ark Bag $298 – cultgaia.com

Constellation Prize

11

Celestron Ambassador 80 AZ Brass Telescope $999.95 – celestron.com

78 | A UGU ST 2017

12

Color Me Frida

Frida Kahlo Collection Pom-Pom Necklace $595 – ranjanakhan.com

16

Embroider Me Pink

Temperley London Summer 17, Look 13 temperleylondon.com V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 79

Creative. Fresh. Local.

Located at WaterColor ÂŽ Inn | 34 Goldenrod Circle, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida | watercolorresort.com | 850.534.5050

Voyager

Voyager

SEE THE WORLD

Take a magical journey through the eternal light of Skyros, Greece’s azure getaway in the Aegean Sea. From the rugged mountaintops to the lowlying plains, this is one place where you’ll always be “blue,” but in the best way possible, as you take in the sights of the sea and the expansive sky. And don’t forget to talk to the locals; the island’s stories are as bountiful as its vistas.

Visit Skyros.blue to learn more about this incredible destination.

Photo by Themis Veleris.

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Voyager

Spinnin’ Your Wheels

A RECORD-BREAKING ROAD TRIP

STORY AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY GREG CAYEA

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It had only been a few hours and already we were driving in silence. Everything we owned was in the back of the car. We looked homeless. Well, we were homeless.

“It’ll never fit!”

“Jeez, Greg, we need it all! How am I supposed to cook?”

“You wanna move all those bags every night?”

“Ugh, I’ll move it. You can wait while I do it. I’ll move it all myself, okay?”

I was so mad about how much stuff she brought that I nearly broke up with her in Vegas outside of a Hooters. But then I looked at her, holding that Hooters bag full of all those chicken wings that we never ate, and realized I was acting like a total jerk. “I’m sorry,” I said. But she was crying. Oh man, why did I make such a big deal of it? I gave it another shot: “I love you.”

“We gotta do like . . . forty-four thousand miles, ya think? To keep it? The record?” I ask.

“Definitely,” she tells me.

“How crappy would it be to only hold the record for a week?”

“Yeah, that would suck. We gotta do a bunch more.”

And after a while she finally said, “I love you too.”

We gambled away six hundred bucks and forgot about the fight. I promised myself I wouldn’t get hung up on dumb stuff anymore, like whether or not it’s our responsibility to get in the right lane to let the faster cars pass us if we’re already doing ten over the speed limit.

What made it even harder at times was her heart of altruism, and my heart of “Let’s get this s**t done.” So, when this biker chick was throwing up in Yuma, Arizona, next to her motorcycle, dehydrated in 124-degree heat, sitting by the melting plastic of the port-a-potties at a one-pump gas station in the desert, I was thinking, “Should we let this chick die?” But my girl took the last of our water over to her and let her drink until her face went from blood red back to a human color. My girl wanted to stay with the biker chick until the two scary biker dudes that were also there took off, just to make sure she was safe, but the biker chick insisted we leave and let her be.

We left for California to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Mexico to Canada and didn’t even bother stopping off at our home turf, Los Angeles—we were done with that city.

When we drove through that big redwood tree in Big Sur, we were still trying to figure out how to use the GPS system to track our mileage and send it off to Guinness—a requirement for this record-breaking road trip. We had to beat those Indians, after all! (These Indians—in India—had the world record for the longest domestic road trip at nineteen thousand miles, and we were going to pummel them outta the record book.) We did get a bit scared when we checked a week later and their record had already been broken by four other Indians in India, and now the new record was twenty-two thousand miles.

We were only at a couple thousand miles when we ended up caving in to sleep at a motel in Eugene, Oregon—the second hotel room of the trip, since Vegas a week earlier—to make sure the mileage was tracking correctly. So I called the toll-free number on Garmin’s website: “Hello?”

“Hey, Garmin. Question: If I had to prove that I broke a world record, how would I do that?”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“We’re breakin’ a world record for the longest journey by car in a single country.”

“Is there a reason for that, sir?”

“Never mind.” I hang up.

“I think we’re doin’ it right,” I say.

The Chandelier Tree, a popular landmark in the Drive-Thru Tree Park in Northern California

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Voyager When we walked outta the room the next morning, these two stripper-looking chicks ambushed me and now my recently sated libido was all revved up again.

They were checking out of the motel, too, and living out of a pickup truck together.

Instead of staring at them for a million hours, I asked if they’d sign our witness logbook that is also required by Guinness. I had to keep my hormones under control, so I promised myself I’d maintain my meditation schedule.

We did get a bit scared when we checked a week later and their record had already been broken by four other Indians in India.

One day, I was getting ready to meditate at 6:00 a.m. at a rest area in some Canadian border town when I saw these two dreadlocked hippies asleep on the grass nearby, with a tarp over them and a dog inside their car. It had Missouri license plates. I wasn’t really able to focus on meditating, so I woke my girl up.

When the hippie chick got up to use the bathroom, my girlfriend ran after her to offer her an apple, because they looked hungry.

“Oui! Merci!” the hippie replied. Oh . . . They speak French. Right, Canada. But why do they have Missouri license plates? Did she steal the car? “D’yew smoke, uh . . .” And she did sign language for “smoke pot.” I said no, because I’m sober.

My girlfriend was a pothead—a bit of a paradox— but she said no out of respect for me, I guess. And so we drove on—gotta beat those Indians!

I came up with a brilliant idea somewhere in Nevada.

“We should take our fans on a live-streamed ghost town tour!”

Our sponsor, an app called Stream, had sent us two Samsung phones with unlimited data so we could

Still no word on why the French Canadian hippie and her pal had a Missouri license plate.

live-stream the whole road trip. We didn’t, but we did build up a nice audience on their platform.

I found a town on Google called Ravenswood that was supposed to be off Highway 50—the road we were on. We found an arrow-shaped slab of wood a little ways off in the desert that said “Ravenswood this way” and turned on our live stream. Then we lost signal. We followed the dirt road, but our GPS lost track of where we were. All it said was “Follow road.” Follow road where? It was a bit risky, but I still wanted to see the town, so we kept going. Then, the road completely disappeared, and we were without service with only a little bit of water and half a tank of gas. “Are we goin’ the right way, you think?” I asked my nervous girlfriend.

We had been driving for about thirty miles over jagged rocks that might’ve popped the tires at any moment, so we couldn’t just turn around. Then I started thinking, what the hell would we do if our tires popped? My heart started to pound. I opened the door for fresh air, but fifteen crickets landed on my face: “Ahhh!”

“Oh, look! Crickets! Cute!” (She thought everything was cute, even the cacti.)

“Get back in!”

We got back in the car in a frenzy. I put the Subaru in reverse and slammed the pedal. That’s when I realized there was an alarming scent coming from the muffler and thought, We’re dead.

Then a miracle happened. Our GPS came back to life and took us to a real road. Holy s**t. What a bad idea that nearly was.

We decided to celebrate being alive with a trip to Yellowstone. We had no plan other than waking up, looking at the atlas to see where the hell we currently were, then picking some random location to drive to that day. (We did start out with a route, but uh, we made a wrong turn somewhere.) Anyway, we decided to head to Yellowstone and camp out for a few days on our way up to Montana.

I set up my hammock at our campsite and chopped some wood as my girlfriend blew up the queen-size air mattress for the tent. All was well until the next morning at Old Faithful. At about eleven o’clock, my girl was waiting for the perfect shot of the geyser when all of a sudden . . .

Above: Old Faithful erupting at sunset in Yellowstone National Park—hold on to your cell phones, people!

Left: Ever hear the joke about the guy and the girl who tried to drive into a Nevada ghost town?

Plop. She dropped the phone twenty feet into a boiling hot geyser river.

It was over. All our thousands of photos—gone. All the required photo evidence we needed to submit to Guinness—destroyed. Everything we had.

I looked at her. I knew how bad she felt, and you know what? I just wanted to hug her.

Why make her feel worse? I looked at all the signs surrounding the river practically screaming “Death to those who touch this water,” and I thought, “Screw it. Let’s leave. We lost.” Then I regained faith. “Wait—no way are we leaving.”

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Voyager I gave her the other camera bag, wary that she might drop that too, and I walked off the bridge and over to the boiling geyser water that our phone was now laying in, and—“Noooo!”

I heard them scream, but I walked straight into the water. It wasn’t even that hot. I dunked myself in and grabbed that damn phone, then walked out of the water and—get this—the phone still worked! And to think we nearly left it there . . . If we’d lost those photos, we would’ve been disqualified and all this would’ve been for nothing.

But from that point on, I was scarred. Whenever she touched the camera, my heart would drop.

“Hold it tight!”

“I know, Greg! I know! I’m sorrryyyy!”

We hit ten thousand miles in Butte, Montana, and celebrated with a hotel, sex, cigarettes, reality TV, and some social media. But most of the celebrating was destroyed, because I still hadn’t figured out how to get the damn GPS working right. I had a million computers open and fifteen hard drives laid out, trying to also organize our video footage—we had to film two minutes every hour on the road with a clock in the frame to send to Guinness as well. By that point, it seemed like we had about a billion terabytes of footage. But we had to beat those Indians!

We stopped off at some hot springs in Ouray, Colorado, and some dude wouldn’t stop talking to us—or to my girlfriend, at least. “I’m a hobo clown,” he said. I was thinking, Okay, psycho, time to leave.

He actually made money blowing up balloons on the side of the road. So then my girlfriend got balloons and tried to make some balloon animals like dogs and giraffes, but they all looked like cats to me.

Plus, every time she popped a balloon my stomach dropped and the car tilted.

“Stop makin’ balloon animals!”

“Okay, okay!” She’s laughing. “That was it, I swear, but look! It looks like a bunny, right?”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a bunny, but stop!”

In Texas, my phone kept welcoming me to Mexico as we were riding the border, trying to make our final

map look cool. (That was pretty much our overall goal: make sure the map at the end of all this looks awesome.) We weren’t allowed to cross national borders, though, so I kept thinking that maybe we were in Mexico by accident, and that we disqualified ourselves. I freaked out about everything.

We pulled the car over at a truck stop somewhere near San Antonio at about 10:00 p.m. to sleep, and boy was it hot. Then—crunch. I looked down at my feet, and there were a billion monster-size beetles crawling all over the concrete. I couldn’t even take a step without cracking one in half. I jumped up and down, trying to avoid them, but couldn’t, so I hopped onto the back of the Subaru to save myself, but then realized they were crawling all over the back of the car trying to get in, so I screamed, “We gotta close the doors!”

We had no idea what to do, so I sat on the driver’s side and she on the passenger side, trying to figure out life.

“Can we just sleep with the AC on? Like this?”

We Googled it for an hour. Some search results said it’d be fine; others said we might die.

“Let’s just go to a hotel,” I said.

“Can we afford it?”

“Uhh . . . maybe.” I checked my bank account app on my phone.

We pulled into this cracked-out motel ten miles away, opened the car door, and crunch.

More bugs. Beetles, crickets, grasshoppers—thousands and millions, everywhere, all over the motel. I ran into the clerk’s office and shut the door behind me with my girlfriend in the car. The office reeked of moth balls—I thought I might throw up. Then I looked at the floor and realized there were beetles all over the carpet inside the clerk’s office, and the sleepy clerk that came out in his pajamas didn’t even seem to notice! We had to get the hell out of there, so in the morning, I woke up at dawn and announced, “Let’s drive north!” So, we drove to Oklahoma.

We were at a Pilot Flying J truck stop when we both climbed out of the car and—whoosh—the wind shot us from one side of the parking lot to the other.

The next night, I slept through a huge earthquake on the border of Kansas, but I didn’t even realize it till we heard it on NPR.

86 | A UGU ST 2017

we had to set up camp in the car from the inside or risk getting swept away by the million-mile-an-hour winds.

The weather just kept getting worse. After Mount Rushmore, the whitest place on earth, we went up to Williston, North Dakota, and a ruthless storm ripped into the clouds right as we pulled into town.

It was raining so far sideways that I didn’t even think it’d be safe to open the doors, so we had to set up camp in the car from the inside or risk getting swept away by the million-mile-an-hour winds. I opened my eyes in the morning, and we were in the middle of a huge mud field. Luckily, the Subaru didn’t get stuck, and we drove over the dirt and mud and past a few broken-down big rigs to get back to the road.

We hit twenty thousand miles in Fargo and celebrated at some crummy motel. There was a hooker in the hallway yelling at her pimp as we shuffled our duffle bags of dirty laundry into our room.

Left: Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota Opposite top: You meet all kinds of characters at roadside motels . . .

Opposite bottom: North Cascades National Park in northern Washington State.

Photo by Greg Cayea.

Voyager We got into another argument at some pizza joint

by Lake Michigan, but by the time we made it to the Poconos in Pennsylvania, we were back in love.

We swerved over, hopped the gate, and broke into this deserted honeymoon resort called Penn Hills.

At one point, the place was bustling with erotic shenanigans, but now it was all covered in graffiti and cracked glass, abandoned needles, and stuffing popping out of heart-shaped beds. We took a ton of photos, then ran away before we got arrested.

By the time we made it to Maine, summer was long gone. We ordered some lobster rolls, then skidded through New England, did the last bit of Midwest driving, and finally headed south. We drove to Graceland in Memphis, but they wanted like fifty bucks to see the exhibit, so we drove to a sketchy diner in Mississippi, parked by the Dumpster, and fell asleep at midnight.

I tried to open the back door to meditate the next morning, but the door had locked and there was no way to unlock it from the inside. So I crawled out of my mummy bag and over the suitcases and duffle bags, hitting my girlfriend in the face with my knee by accident: “What the f—?”

“Sorry, baby, sorry, one sec. Just lookin’ for the—ah ha!”

I opened the front door so I could go around to open the back, but then forgot the alarm was on. I frantically searched for the key while the siren went off.

“Greg!” She got so mad whenever I did this—which was quite often.

“Sorry, baby, sorry! Okay, okay, just one—” I found the key and shut the alarm off, but by then we were both up, so I didn’t get to meditate. I hated when that happened, because I couldn’t write down my morning ideas in peace, and I always had the best ideas in the morning.

Above: Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.

Photo by Greg Cayea.

Right: There’s nothing like listening to a Tony Robbins pep talk to get you in the mood for some world record breaking.

I turned thirty-two in Bemidji, Minnesota, so we found a rest area by a lake—I love lakes—and hung the handmade curtains that my girlfriend had made after an Indian reservation kicked us off their property for “ruining the ambience” because our wet towels were hanging on the windows to give us some privacy.

Anyway, we stuck our Samsung phone to the magnetic phone mount on the window, made our bed, and cuddled under the stars for my birthday. We put on Netflix and were somewhere on season six of Shameless before we left to hit Chicago the next day.

88 | A UGU ST 2017

Like when Tony Robbins had asked me through my headphones a few months before if I was satisfied with my life and if I was living up to my potential.

No, Tony, I am not!

So, what you gonna do about it?

Break a world record?!

Then go! Do it!

Anyway, that’s why we were on the trip. That, and to beat the Indians.

A security guard at a rest stop outside of Jackson, Mississippi, asked if I had any weed. “Nah, just cigarettes,” I replied. He asked me to roll him one and he followed me to the car. Something felt off, so we drove out of there like mad and didn’t stop until the white, sandy beaches in Biloxi caught our eye. We decided to book a room at the Rivage. Maybe we’ll move here, we thought as we sat at the Vegasstyle pool the next morning after gambling away more of our (my) money. I was

wondering how we were going to survive Florida. It was around November, but still mad hot in Florida.

It was our last few thousand miles of the trip, and we were both antsy to get home, but we had no home and no idea what the hell to do when we got to wherever it was we were going. We were pretty aimless. We stayed in a king-size suite built for royalty in Myrtle Beach since it was the off-season, and my girlfriend brought up some of the beer that this truck driver gave to her at some rest area off the New Jersey Turnpike. Or was it the Pennsylvania Turnpike? Whatever, it was a few weeks back, and she drank until she puked, then the election ripped our hearts out of our chests.

If there’s one thing I know to be true, it’s this: I wasn’t sure whether the trip would be amazing or terrible, and it was a bit of both.

It was November 8, and we were depressed as all hell and decided the next day, in a dark cloud of sadness and after thirty-six thousand miles, it had to end.

We booked it to the Bronx, because ending in the Bronx sounded cool. We got lost, though, and ended up in lower Manhattan in Chinatown by accident. There we filmed our final video scene, right after the Holland Tunnel, and turned on the camera one last time to announce to the world that after 122 days and 36,680 miles, we were officially done.

We crossed the finish line stronger than ever—as people, and as a couple. Three months later, we broke up, but that’s not the point. I couldn’t have done this with anyone but her. We were brought together to love each other during this crazy adventure, and we remain dear to each other’s hearts to this day.

Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah.

Photo by Greg Cayea.

If there’s one thing I know to be true, it’s this: I wasn’t sure whether the trip would be amazing or terrible, and it was a bit of both. I was certain of one thing—that my life would be forever changed, and a new memory would be born. And boy, was I right on point. So, my advice to anyone seeking to break our record is this: Don’t do it. We’ll kill you. But if you do decide to take a stab at it, don’t plan anything, and let everything go. Any emotion you hold onto will just be dragging behind your Subaru for forty thousand miles.

Safe travels.

Greg Cayea writes offensive short stories about his life adventures, then draw cartoons to illustrate them. Stay tuned at ScrambledGregs.com for his next adventure.

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Express Yourself

Elegance with an Edge

Handcrafted couture jewelry by owner and designer Renee Launiere. One-of-a-kind pearl, 18k gold, and gemstone pieces for every occasion.

Located at City Market Bayside on Highway 98 4495 Furling Lane, Suite 170 Destin, Florida 32541 (850) 830-5465 ¡ BijouxdeMer.com

Voyager

Napa Valley Wine Train 92 | A UGU ST 2017

ALL ABOARD! LUXURY TRAIN TOURS AROUND THE WORLD

By Jordan Staggs Seeing the world doesn’t mean that you have to be part of the jet set. The classic road trip has long been a favorite way to travel, cycling tours are becoming ever more popular with fit and healthy tourists, and cruise ships offer deluxe experiences on waters across the globe. But there’s another way to travel in style that many might not consider: in a luxurious, plushcushioned train car, moving on tracks through some of the most scenic areas of the world.

Rail travel saw its biggest boom after the introduction of the first steam trains used for public transportation in the early 1800s. Today, hospitality purveyors across the globe are taking travel by rail to new heights of grandeur with tours that include wine tastings and spirits, cuisine from gourmet chefs, glass-domed rail cars for spectacular views, and more.

Take a look at some of the top luxury train tours in the world, and start planning your next adventure!

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Voyager

NORTH AMERICA Alaska Railroad’s tours are favorites among tourists wishing to see North America’s Last Frontier. The company’s flagship train, the Denali Star, travels from Anchorage, Alaska, every morning in the summer and takes passengers on a scenic jaunt through the massive state’s Southcentral and Interior regions. Sights along the 356-mile, twelve-hour journey include the Knik River, the Chugach Mountains, the backcountry Hurricane area, Denali National Park, and the Alaska Range, including views of its highest peak, Denali, on clear days. Stops along the way in Wasilla, Talkeetna, and Denali National Park offer visitors a perfect opportunity to see the land up close and personal before the train’s final stop in Fairbanks. Opt for the Denali Star’s GoldStar Service package for panoramic vistas from glass-domed ceilings and an upper-level outdoor viewing platform, a full-service dining car, a private bar, and more.

AlaskaRailroad.com Vino lovers, rejoice, for your next stop is the Napa Valley Wine Train! Noble House Hotels and Resorts has curated the ultimate railway wine-tasting experience, with several tour options embarking from the Wine Train platform, conveniently located in downtown Napa, California. The train’s interiors hark back to the glory days of rail travel with luxurious red velvets and plush seating from which passengers can take in the incredible views of Napa Valley’s rolling hills and vineyards. Executive chef Donald Young and his team prepare exquisite meals featuring local ingredients. And, of course, there’s plenty of wine to go around! The unique tasting bar offers twenty to thirty Napa Valley vintages for guests 21 and up, while bottles and glasses are available during any of the train’s lunch, dinner, and special event tours.

WineTrain.com

Passengers will have a VIP experience from the moment they step onto the platform in the city of Guadalajara.

Head south of the border and hop onto the Tequila Herradura Express, Mexico’s luxury train tour presented by Casa Herradura and Ferromex Railway System.

Passengers will have a VIP experience from the moment they step onto the platform in the city of Guadalajara. The trip begins with a light breakfast in the train’s premium, club, or first class cars—first class includes exquisite cabins with lounge chairs, flat-screen TVs, and private bar service—and appetizers and beverages are never far away during the rest of the trip. The destination is Casa Herradura, Mexico’s last true tequila-producing plantation, where a VIP distillery tour, dining, and entertainment await—along with Herradura’s famous 100 percent agave tequilas. Bottoms up!

TequilaHerraduraExpress.com

SOUTH AMERICA Synonymous with luxury, the Belmond hospitality brand includes hotels and tours around the world. Its Andean Explorer sleeper train is no exception. Be inspired by incredible views of the Peruvian Andes mountain range as you rumble through Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, Colca Canyon, and more on a one- or two-night voyage. The train features a piano bar car, an open-deck observation car, shopping, a library, and world-class dining. It’s time to finally visit the wonders of Peru—in style.

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EUROPE From April to October, the Belmond Grand Hibernian offers two-, four-, or six-night tours throughout all of Ireland. Explore the city of Dublin, head into Northern Ireland for a tour of Belfast, experience the Wild Atlantic Way in Westport and Galway, enjoy the culture in Cork, and see the green countryside, rivers, lakes, and more along the way. The observation car offers stunning views along with Irish storytelling and live music. Fine Irish whiskey and stout brews are never too far from reach, and the train includes two elegant dining cars where chef-inspired cuisine features ingredients sourced from the regions guests will see outside their windows.

Belmond.com/GrandHibernian

The train features a piano bar car, an open-deck observation car, shopping, a library, and world-class dining.

Classic style and history reign supreme on the Belmond British Pullman, with its oldest carriage dating back to 1925. Its cars—masterfully renovated for the ultimate in art deco luxury—once ran along England’s railways as part of the Brighton Belle and Golden Arrow express trains. Celebrate the glory days of 1920s rail travel when you book a tour to discover Canterbury, York, Bath, and more destinations in England. Special packages include a murder mystery lunch, a winery tour, horseracing or motor racing experiences, and much more.

Belmond.com/BritishPullman

Perhaps Belmond’s most luxurious train tour is the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which takes passengers on a cross-continent tour of Europe with many trip options, including stops in London, Verona, Paris, Venice, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, and Istanbul. Single or twin cabins are available for journeys that range from day trips to ten-night tours. Executive chef Christian Bodiguel and his team create decadent cuisine with locally sourced ingredients, while the art deco champagne bar car is a must-visit for guests seeking a pick-me-up.

Belmond.com/Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express

Above: Cabins in the Belmond Andean Explorer are a comfy home away from home for passengers traveling through Peru.

Below: The Belmond British Pullman offers a scenic escape through England’s rolling hills and beautiful countryside.

Opposite top: The bar car on the Belmond Grand Hibernian in Ireland is the picture of elegance.

Opposite middle: The Napa Valley Wine Train offers a taste of the area’s best wines and gourmet meals.

Opposite bottom: Luxury brands are renovating classic trains a-round the world to offer exclusive VIP experiences in rich environments.

The Napa Valley Wine Train’s plush opulence is a good example.

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Destinations along the trail of the Belmond Eastern and Oriental Express include Singapore, the Cameron Highlands, Bangkok, and more.

Decked out in the most sophisticated decor with an exotic flair, the train offers single or double cabins that transform from chic lounges during the day to comfortable bedrooms at night.

ASIA Journey into the heart of Southeast Asia aboard the Belmond Eastern and Oriental Express. Decked out in the most sophisticated decor with an exotic flair, the train offers single or double cabins that transform from chic lounges during the day to comfortable bedrooms at night. Dining is offered in two cars and includes Eastern and Western favorites. Passengers will enjoy views of the villages, rivers, and highlands on the six-night Fables of the Peninsula tour, which journeys from Singapore to Huay Yang with stops in Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands, and Penang.

Belmond.com/Eastern-and-Oriental-Express Bonus! East Japan Railway Company’s new Train Suite Shiki-shima luxury train takes guests on an unforgettable trip to experience the depth and wonders of Japan aboard a vessel unlike any other—and it’s sold out until 2018. Read more on our blog at VIEmagazine.com/Shiki-Shima-Luxury-Train.

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Whether you are a new visitor or returning guest, the breathtaking natural beauty of Portofino Island Resort will always welcome you. You’re invited to indulge in a selection of luxurious two and three-bedroom skyhome accommodations, relax in a setting of pristine splendor, enjoy fine dining at our newly opened, gourmet restaurant Coastal, and play along miles of unspoiled coastline. With so many experiences to choose from, your summer vacation will be more than what you’ve been dreaming of.

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CAMPING TRAILS & TALES A Lifelong Memory B Y NIC HOL AS S. RAC HEOT ES

The next time I’m tempted to heed the call of the outdoors, remind me to disconnect the phone and log off the Internet.

The year was 1969, and for those of you too young to remember or from other parts of this third rock from the sun, it was a backbreaking, harsh winter in New England. Not the least concerned with this reality, some of us neither hardy nor rightminded souls resolved to climb a few of the White Mountains.

H

Opposite: The White Mountains, part of the northern Appalachian Mountains, are the most rugged mountains in New England and cover about one-fourth of New Hampshire.

ow tough could this be? After all, those modest little peaks, sacred to the Native American tribes of New Hampshire, were not even the little sisters of Everest, McKinley, or Kilimanjaro; but they did have snow, as we soon learned. We could borrow cars, beg gear, hit the supermarket for easy-to-carry provisions, and be back in time for graduation—or so we thought.

Before you could say “Kancamagus Highway,” we were tucked into our sleeping bags at the foot of Mount Adams, though as matters turned out, I would have preferred the feet of Abigail or even John Adams.

Although it was June, the midnight cold stung like BBs on any exposed body part. Just as I finally drifted into sleep in a cocoon of damp cotton, there was an explosion of curses, the percussion of a car door slamming, and the vise-like grip of a hand on my shoulder shaking me into wakefulness. “Don’t look now,” said a voice in my ear, “but some critters just ran across the camp.”

Over the past forty very odd years, we survivors of this encounter have argued as to whether the invaders were mountain lions or merely raccoons out for a pizza run.

Morning came, and we hoisted our burdens for the climb. Being the shrimp of the party, I got to carry the bedrolls. They towered over my head on the frame and gave me the eerie feeling that, at every step, I’d fall on my back—just the sense that a firsttime climber wants to cultivate.

Left: Sabbaday Falls is a beautiful site found along the Kancamagus Highway in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire.

Before any of us collapsed from fatigue, we were enjoying the breathtaking views of various trees and the reassuring roof of the car far below, which seemed to hint at our safe return if not to civilization, at least to campus. Only once was I the least bit frightened by the sudden intake of air by the hiker walking behind me.

(I had slipped about a foot sideways on the wet path, and his gasp reminded me of the effect that dropping 1,500 feet might have on a twenty-two-year-old body.)

After crawling a few hundred yards over a snowfield— yes, snow in June—we reached the Crag Camp cabin.

What a site for sore feet and blistered shoulders it was.

The room was beautifully appointed with bunk beds, a bellows harmonium suitable for hymn playing, and us, the mountain club from the University of Massachusetts. We dined sumptuously on burned steaks cooked over gasoline-fired stoves and canned vegetables similarly prepared. Our chef gathered up

the charred edges of meat and prophetically declared that they might be useful tomorrow.

Morning came way too early. We breakfasted on some sausage and some hot liquid and headed for Madison Spring Hut. There, we were supposed to meet the other party of nitwits who had collaborated on this scheme.

They were nowhere to be found.

We lunched on the charred leftovers from supper, which remain the best steak I’ve ever eaten, and chased them down with water and candy bars. Leaving a note for our missing cohorts, we headed the three or so miles back to the car. I’ve been told that world-class marathoners run five-and-a-half-minute miles over the entire course. To this day, I swear that in our eagerness to head home, we did better. We leaped over fallen trees and dodged stumps as though pursued by mountain lions (or raccoons out for a pizza run).

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Smelly, sour, and sore, we were back in the dorm by nightfall, and there we found our erstwhile companions, showered, fed, and wondering why we didn’t have the good sense to give up the climb when we saw all that snow. I would like to have reported that our response was in the words of Edmund Hillary. We didn’t abandon the mountain “because it was there.” I’d like to report that, instead of the unprintable phrases that we did exchange.

It all ended happily. The blisters healed. The swelling in our hands and feet subsided.

Everyone attended commencement, and we’re all still very good friends. I have this story to tell over and over. And, in case you haven’t guessed, I haven’t climbed since, in any weather.

Mount Adams and Mount Madison are two peaks in the Presidential Range section of the White Mountains.

Nick Racheotes is a product of Boston public schools, Brandeis University, and Boston College, from which he holds a PhD in history. Since he retired from teaching at Framingham State University, Nick and his wife, Pat, divide their time between Boston, Cape Cod, and the Western world.

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REALIT Y

By Charles Singletary, Jr.

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ou slide your over-the-ear headphones into place, the headset already over your eyes, and the aural remnants of your real-life setting fade as you enter a new, virtual realm. Calming music accompanies a visual menu with a handful of destination choices, and you use the virtual reality (VR) headset’s touch pad to select a beach house in Destin, Florida. The scene renders, and you’re standing at the rear of a possible rental for your family’s upcoming vacation.

After you check out the back deck, you turn to face the beach, where you can hear waves crashing and gulls calling. You watch the water wash over the sand, and you know you don’t actually smell the Gulf of Mexico’s salty water and breeze, but you feel as if you can. You get lost in it all until you’re sure this is the perfect beach rental. Holding a button takes you back to the home menu; you remove your earphones and lift the headset, eyes adjusting to the itinerary on your monitor. After a few adjustments, you complete your vacation reservation with confidence.

when it might be difficult or outright impossible otherwise, and mobile VR is easily deployed in these circumstances. With such a tool at hand, creators, producers, and film crews have used VR and 360-degree video to take their audiences on trips to real-life wonders such as Mount Everest, into dangerous war zones, both past and present, and even into the wondrous realms of our favorite fictional stories.

Engineers and designers have used the concept of VR, made popular by sci-fi writers and designers, to make that technology a reality. VR adds a new wrinkle to the adventure travel industry.

Travel writer Michael Kasum once noted, “There’s a big difference between simply being a tourist and being a true world traveler.” The level of distinction between the two labels varies, and technology, over time, has continued to make travel easier. There are direct technological improvements like upgraded passenger planes, and more ambiguous improvements, like apps that tell you the best times to book your ticket to a new place. Now, engineers and designers have used the concept of VR, made popular by sci-fi writers and designers, to make that technology a reality. VR adds a new wrinkle to the adventure travel industry.

Right: Immersive technology from companies such as Google is taking virtual reality to the next level with headsets that allow users to experience faraway places (even the moon or Mars) or cultural enrichment at museums and world events.

Images courtesy of Google VR.

There are two prominent types of VR technology currently available: PC-based via the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift and mobile phone–based solutions like Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Daydream. The Vive and the Rift offer experiences that can fully immerse you into a virtual space and allow you to move around it more freely, but mobile VR experiences are the more accessible option for most audiences. Virtual replicas of destinations worldwide provide users the opportunity to travel V I E MAGAZ INE . COM | 103

Voyager VR bridges the gap between places that are thousands of miles apart, but there’s another aspect of seeing these places virtually that isn’t readily apparent: transparency. “Travelers won’t be misled by staged photos and can now see a place from all angles, see how crowded it is, and generally get a much better idea about what it is like,” says Sygic Travel CFO Barbora Nevosadova. Sygic’s website lets users pick a destination and then guides them through things to do in the area. The VR companion app enhances the guided efforts of the company. “Before this app, we could only recommend places worth visiting by means of text descriptions and photos. The VR app takes our recommendations to a whole new level.”

Above: Virtual reality allows travel for people who might not otherwise be able to experience it due to illness or financial restrictions.

Photo courtesy of Sygic Travel.

Adventures based in real-life locales serve their purpose but may not be enough for some. There are those that lust for the ethereal forests, massive castles, and otherwise fantastic settings drawn from works of fiction—and the VR ecosystem is riddled with them. The magical world of Harry Potter, the wildly imaginative land of LEGO, and many more universes have already come to the platform. You

can even experience Mars—through the lens of a VR experience made for the blockbuster film The Martian or by taking a virtual trip more grounded in reality with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who shows how we can colonize Mars in the future.

Some journeys excite simply with their unfamiliarity as you’re exposed to new sounds or architecture, and there are those that thrill with their proximity to danger as you parasail, base jump, and skydive. All of these things can be experienced via VR; meanwhile, some collectives have decided to use this opportunity

VR bridges the gap between places that are thousands of miles apart, but there’s another aspect of seeing these places virtually that isn’t readily apparent: transparency. for adventure to improve humanity. Impact Network, for example, uses VR in a philanthropic manner to share their efforts in Zambia with the rest of the world.

Impact Network saw an opportunity to help in an area where educational facilities were lacking, and there are 360-degree tours of the schools that the organization has built there. They’ve even produced a short VR film, I Am Because of You, showing viewers the area in a more narrative structure.

In the Netflix original series Black Mirror, there’s an episode called “San Junipero” that shows us a future in which elderly patients can transport themselves to a simulated reality of their choosing through VR. The beautifully spun tale explores love and heartbreak, but the most intriguing element is the opportunity afforded to those who wouldn’t normally be able to move around easily. Solis VR, a real-life program with a similar focus, brings virtual adventures to elderly care facilities across Australia. “It’s all about the emotional reaction,” says Marc Pascal, cofounder of Build VR, the developer of Solis. Pascal feels VR is the evolution of the escapist properties you find in other visual media. “Could we do the same with a TV or a magazine? Sure, but there’s just no comparison in terms of that emotional reaction.”

What is the future of such a platform when it comes to health care efforts?

“Everything you can imagine,” Pascal says. “Training, social interaction, rehabilitation, phobia treatment . . . I don’t think those of us in the industry fully grasp what the potential is yet, let alone the general public.” In the grand scope, Pascal believes VR can improve the quality of life to the point that it could lessen the need for some patients’ traditional care or hospitalization.

Virtual reality is not a complete substitute for the adventure we all crave, but it’s clear the technology does open the door for those who might not be able to travel or have other experiences firsthand. It’s a cost-effective portal to other lands, an educational

tool for young students, a bridge between cultures, a safer alternative for thrill seekers, and so much more.

As the technology evolves and is presented to more and more people, the possibilities will be endless.

Charles Singletary, Jr. is a reporter for UploadVR, regularly breaking stories on virtual and augmented technology. He also writes freelance about a collection of topics, and his work has found homes on online publications such as Motherboard, Playboy, and Unwinnable.

VR equipment, such as the Google Daydream headset, is becoming more sophisticated all the time. Most VR headsets on the market are equipped to work with the user’s mobile phone.

Photo courtesy of Google VR.

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HIKING GRAND CANYON’S MOST DANGEROUS TRAIL

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BY STEVE LARESE 106 | A UGU ST 2017

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taring at a prow-shaped boulder jutting over the half-footwide trail, I feel my blood run cold despite the desert heat.

Immediately to my left is a towering Supai sandstone wall; to my right is a sheer hundred-foot-plus plunge followed by more terraced drops. I allow myself a glance at the sweeping Grand Canyon and feel a wave of vertigo. Pastel mesas fade into its depths, and March snow still blankets the North Rim. Screwing up my courage and clearing my mind, I hug the boulder as best I can with my forty-pound backpack hanging over the edge and I gently swing my right leg out over the abyss. Despite the slope and the loose gravel, the ground on the other side feels solid. My footing has to be sure enough to support my entire weight and leave enough space for my left foot to land next it.

My balance must compensate for the backpack wanting to pull me over the cliff.

Without handholds for support, a slip here is certain death.

Dewey Surbey—a friend since middle school—and I are hiking Grand Canyon National Park’s unmaintained Nankoweap Trail. It’s rated by the National Park Service as the most difficult named trail in all of the Grand Canyon, and I’m feeling that with every fiber of my being right now. For most of Nankoweap’s eleven miles, hikers skirt deadly drops on a sloped, rocky trail that’s only a boot-print wide, with no water sources, and in full exposure. Over the miles, I’ve developed a slow-but-steady rhythm and a hyperfocus on the trail not unlike walking meditation. Daydreaming is dangerous. Morbidly, I find some reassurance in that most deaths on Nankoweap are caused by running out of water, not falling.

The view from Cape Royal Amphitheater is a majestic one overlooking the Grand Canyon’s North Rim and the wooded summit known as Wotans Throne.

Taking a breath and clearing my mind, I gently shift my weight onto my right foot and bring my left around like a Tai Chi move in one of the most dangerous steps I’ve taken in my forty-five years. Safely on the other side, I exhale, take a second to center myself, and carefully move down trail to give Dewey plenty of room. A few minutes later he appears safely, shaking his head. “Man, that’ll get your heart going,” he says, carefully hiking toward me. “Yeah,” I muster. Above the impossibly vast Grand Canyon before us, a raven circles on a thermal high, seemingly impervious to gravity.

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A Bucket List Adventure

Below: Brahma Temple and the South Rim as seen from the North Rim Photo by Steve Larese.

Unmaintained, unpatrolled Nankoweap Trail in the park’s northeast quadrant slithers like a snake from the North Rim and around Marion Point and Tilted Mesa as it drops to Nankoweap Creek. From here, hikers can continue to the Colorado River for a total descent of 5,640 feet, the longest rim-to-river descent in the Grand Canyon. A side trail near the river leads to nine-hundred-year-old Native American cliff ruins perched five hundred feet above the canyon floor. Having hiked several other Grand Canyon trails, I wanted to see firsthand these ancient granaries built by the Pueblo people who eked out a living farming in the Grand Canyon—the experience had become a bucket list item for me. Nankoweap’s narrow, crumbling trail skirts miles of deadly drops, including the “scary part” just before Marion Point. Here, the six-inch-wide, gravelly trail is sloped and just a slip away from a hundred-foot-plus plunge off the cliff. This section has made Nankoweap infamous, but there are plenty of other sections just as potentially deadly. Of the thirty thousand backcountry permits issued for the Grand Canyon annually, fewer than a hundred are requested for Nankoweap. Those who have hiked it tell stories with fear, reverence, and excitement. YouTube has numerous videos of breathless hikers marveling in disbelief at the death-defying sections they’ve just completed. I had to do it.

Other deaths and rescues underscore the seriousness of undertaking Nankoweap.

Falling is a legitimate fear, but heatstroke is a proven killer on Nankoweap.

As adventure-starved kids growing up in Oklahoma, Dewey and I sought excitement wherever we could.

Hopping freight trains, night sailing during tornado season, and climbing empty buildings in downtown Tulsa substituted for the mountains and oceans we lacked. As soon as we could, Dewey moved to Oregon, and I to New Mexico. He’d be the perfect companion for hiking Nankoweap, and I knew he’d know exactly what we were getting into. A flight from Portland to Albuquerque and a seven-hour drive later, Dewey and I were at Saddle Mountain Trail 57 in the Kaibab National Forest like a couple of Labrador retrievers turned loose in the woods.

From here, a three-and-a-half-mile hike through the Saddle Mountain Wilderness climbs 1,200 feet to the Nankoweap trailhead, where the forest gives way to the immense grandeur of the Grand Canyon.

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John Wesley Powell and geologist Charles Doolittle Walcott oversaw the construction of Nankoweap during the winter expedition of 1882–83 to study the canyon’s complex geology. The trail was little used after that, but in the past several decades it’s achieved cult status among adventurers. Arizona Highways published an article in October 1996 titled “Grand Canyon’s Scariest Trail” in which the writer decided to turn back. In June of that year, a group of Boy Scouts had run out of water on Nankoweap, resulting in a death. It was listed in 2011 among the twenty best National Park hikes by National Geographic.

In 2014, a hiker died from heatstroke a mile from the trailhead. Other deaths and rescues underscore the seriousness of undertaking Nankoweap. Falling is a legitimate fear, but heatstroke is a proven killer on Nankoweap.

and the view, we pass up campsites and push for the creek three miles away. It seems tantalizingly close, as we can make out the green ribbon of cottonwoods and willows in the distance. It’s 5:00 p.m., and we figure we can be eating creek-side just before sundown. We’re fantastically mistaken.

The trail from Tilted Mesa drops 2,200 feet over three grueling miles that traverse ridiculously steep talus slopes, goat-trail switchbacks, and knife-edge ridges. Bright Angel shale slides ahead of us as we inch down a mile-long scree ridge. We probe each step with our hiking poles like insects with antennae. Poles weren’t high on our gear list but now we couldn’t imagine doing Nankoweap without them, whether we’re putting weight on them, checking trail integrity, or testing for loose rocks before stepping.

Our slow progress sees the setting sun skim across the landscape, creating a beautiful but disconcerting scene. Maybe I took a millisecond too long admiring it, or let my mind wander thinking about time, but in an instant, I’m sliding down the scree toward the valley. Plummeting shale sounds like crashing crystal as I arrest myself. Coming to a stop, all is silent. I’m only a few feet below the trail and not hurt. Then I see my pole. It takes a beat for my brain to accept what’s happened. The pole is sickeningly bent at the lowest section, and my reaction is as if I’m looking at a broken leg.

Slipping Away Safely past the trail-blocking boulder and with miles of cliff-hugging trail behind us, Dewey and I take in the beauty of the inner Grand Canyon at Marion Point, the only safe place to rest before Tilted Mesa four hours away. The vista looks like a Thomas Moran painting. We’re already a day behind schedule due to a missing sign, consumed in the 2016 Wildcat Fire in the Saddle Mountain Wilderness, and then snow flurries and howling winds that forced us to bivvy near the trailhead in an alcove covered in bear prints. We rest too long and will wish we had this time back. Three hours later we’ve traversed the ledge from Marion Point and are down-climbing eightfoot drops using juniper trees to reach Tilted Mesa.

Taking a quick break and energized by our progress

“You OK?” Dewey asks from about twenty feet behind me on the ridge. “My pole’s bent,” I call back.

Vocalizing the situation has made it real for me, and I mentally choke back a flash of panic. Shadows are turning purple with the setting sun. “I thought I was going to watch you slide down that whole thing,” Dewey says as he carefully closes our gap. “How bad is it?”

“It’s crimped,” I reply, carefully getting my feet back on the trail as rocks bound down the slope with my repositioning. The pole section easily breaks off as I bend it back. The crimped end is too wide now to slide back into the pole. “Let’s get off this before we lose all our light.”

My accident is now threatening both of us, and I want to get us off this perilous ridge and somewhere we can camp for the night. But Dewey already has his Leatherman out. “Let me see it,” he says, hand out.

“No, man, I can make it down,” I say, not sure how.

“Let’s get off this.”

“Just give me a second,” Dewey says, taking the section and sawing off the break. “OK,” I concede nervously, “but let’s get our headlamps out.”

As the last of our sun fades, Dewey has sawed off the crimp enough to jam the section into the base of the

Center: One of the safer stretches of the Nankoweap Trail between Marion Point and Tilted Mesa. For much of the elevenmile route, the trail comes within inches of sheer drop-offs.

Left: View from the Transept Trail that travels between Grand Canyon Lodge and North Rim Campground Photos by Steve Larese.

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pole. It’s solid, and I quickly adapt to the shorter length. But it’s dark now. Dewey’s low on water, having cached a bottle earlier. We’re on a dangerous talus slope, the trail is ill-defined, and we’re still far from water. I should be at home with my family, not hiking in the dark inside the Grand Canyon on an exposed ridge flashes through my mind. But as with the boulder and everything else we’ve encountered today, I swallow my fear and try to think rationally.

We’ve been looking only ten feet or so in front of our feet the whole day, and the headlamp provides plenty of light for that. We have food and water, are dressed properly, know where we are, and aren’t injured. Dewey’s thinking instills in me a shot of confidence. I pass Dewey a liter of water and we resume inching down the scree ridge. Despite the vastness of the Grand Canyon around me, in the dark I feel as if I’m in a cave as I carefully follow my headlamp’s tunnel of light over the boulder-and-cactus strewn terrain. In an hour we reach level desert, and we pause frequently to look for cairns that mark the otherwise undefined trail. They lead us to a dry wash that we’re sure leads to Nankoweap Creek.

The sand beneath our boots feels like a beach and we’re bolstered, knowing we must be getting close.

It’s the first time on Nankoweap that we feel like we 110 | A UGU ST 2017

can hike normally with a wide trail and no threat of plummeting off a cliff. In an hour, we see a wall of willows ahead in our lights.

“Is that water or the wind?” Dewey asks, listening intently.

“Water,” I confirm. Nankoweap Creek is flowing strong on the other side of this dry channel choked with grapes and willows. I stay on the trail so we don’t lose it as Dewey drops in to scout for a route through the seemingly impenetrable thicket. After a few minutes, he calls out that he’s found a path, and I head toward his light. We push through vines and branches, then spill out onto the rocky banks of Nankoweap Creek. In no time, we’re filtering water and cooking a late dinner under a billion stars at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We leave the rain fly off the tent so that we can take in the moonless night, and a bright meteor streaks across the sky before I drift off to a fitful sleep. The thought of having to repeat tomorrow everything that we’ve already done—only uphill—races through my tired mind.

A Hard Call Deep Nankoweap Canyon shields us from the sun’s first rays, but my eyes crack open at daybreak anyway. Red clouds cast a pink glow on the cliff walls that I can finally see in the daylight. But I know what those clouds mean for the day.

“Red in the morning, sailor’s warning,” I say, not knowing if Dewey is awake yet.

I feel a sense of urgency as I boil water for coffee. I know that with bad weather coming, the plan to do an out-and-back to the granaries three miles away, then hike

The canyon’s Toroweap Point at sunrise

The pole is sickeningly bent at the lowest section, and my reaction is as if I’m looking at a broken leg. back up and camp at Tilted Mesa is dangerous. As if reading my mind, Dewey stirs. “We can make the granaries, but we’re going to catch weather,” he says.

“Your call.”

We’re so close. We’ve hiked the Nankoweap Trail, but it’s seeing the granaries firsthand that I’ve dreamed of for years. There’s now only a pleasant riverside hike between me and this iconic sight. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned on Nankoweap, it’s not to push our luck. Our backcountry permit has us leaving tomorrow, and Dewey has a flight the next day. And I miss my wife and kids.

“Let’s get back up to Tilted and actually camp before dark for once this trip,” I say. Dewey nods, and we

Origin

drink our coffee knowing we’ve made the right call.

Adventure is adventure whether or not it turns out the way you plan it—and it rarely does. But we’ve given ourselves permission to finally relax and enjoy being in the depths of the Grand Canyon, with plenty of cool water and a view that relatively few people have ever seen. Water bottles filled, we break camp and retrace our boot prints from the night before. My short pole is perfect for hiking the steep screes. But in the distance we see a violent column of rain heading our way, and the wind is picking up. Dewey pulls the tent’s rainfly from his pack, and we hunker under it on the exposed slope as the wind begins to lash us. It feels like going through a car wash as the storm cell passes over, and we repeat this procedure throughout the day as the storm swirls back over and over us like a dark bird of prey. The weather has added hours to our hike as we climb onto Tilted Mesa, but shafts of sunlight start illuminating the Grand Canyon between dissipating showers. The air is crystal clear, and the mesas layering down to the Colorado glow with reds, oranges, golds, and yellows. We set up camp

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Voyager and get a hot dinner cooking, and I know we made the right call in not visiting the ruins. As a reward, Nankoweap has given us the most beautiful view I’ve ever had camping. The sky completely clears and stars begin to appear, and I find myself looking forward to revisiting the terrifying sections we passed on the way down. Tomorrow we’ll hike Nankoweap with more confidence and an earned sense of reverence like hikers before us. At home I’ll hold my family tighter and be all the more grateful for the food, clothing, and shelter we have. Drifting off to a sound sleep, I see a meteor flash across the sky. I don’t make a wish, but I am thankful for the gift of adventure Nankoweap has given us.

Evening camp on Tilted Mesa, one of the only areas flat and wide enough to camp along the Nankoweap Trail.

We found fresh cougar prints near the tent the next morning.

Albuquerque-based travel journalist Steve Larese has another backcountry permit request in with the National Park Service to hike Nankoweap Trail again in the fall. Follow him on Instagram @SteveLarese.

Photo by Steve Larese.

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Story and photography by Nicholas Grundy

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estled tightly between central Europe and its Balkan brothers, Slovenia was the first state to break away from the former Yugoslavia in the early nineties.

Unlike their neighbors to the east, Slovenes swiftly gained independence with minimal conflict. Few had even heard of the country before learning that it’s the homeland of our current First Lady. Yet this hidden gem should be included on any Eurotrip. Slovenia is a land of geographical extremes, with soaring peaks in the Julian Alps, rolling hills hiding limestone cavern systems, and its own little stretch of pristine Adriatic coast.

As avid thrill seekers, it only made sense that my wife and I should head over for an out-of-the-ordinary honeymoon. A short train journey from northeastern Italy took us to peaceful Lake Bled for a relaxing first few days. Bled is truly a picture-postcard destination. Perched on the easternmost edge of the Alps, the lake and surrounding villages are overlooked by a stunning cliff-top castle. What’s more, a tiny island near the western shore is home to what is surely Europe’s most charming church. While we sunbathed, more active visitors swam the few hundred yards out to the picturesque isle. Walking along the boardwalk back to our hotel, I spotted something below and stopped in the nick of time. Below my foot, a diligent snail was studiously stretching from plank to plank as the warm summer sun set behind us.

Slovenia is a land of geographical extremes, with soaring peaks in the Julian Alps, rolling hills hiding limestone cavern systems, and its own little stretch of pristine Adriatic coast.

Sunlight glistened on the lake’s subtle ripples as we ate breakfast on our balcony the next morning. Today it was time to rent mountain bikes and head slightly farther afield. We rolled across flat valleys as we ventured a few miles north.

Standing up out of our saddles to press uphill now, we cycled through a small hillside village and entered the woods. The road ended right as the hill crested, and from here it was down a rocky track and into Vintgar Gorge. The turquoise and green Radovna River winds through a steep canyon, complete with boardwalks and bridges that provide guests with superb views. These weren’t the only stunning vistas in the area. Back in Bled, we trekked up some of the many beautiful hilltop lookouts. However, it was the coming days that would prove more impressive still.

Traveling westward we reached Lake Bohinj—about twice the size of Lake Bled and wedged right up in the Julian Alps. After a day of diving and swimming in the refreshing waters, we treated ourselves to an ice cream from one of the local shoreside vendors. The list of flavors was rather unique: blueberry, raisin cookie,

Left: Lake Bled viewed from one of the many surrounding hilltop lookouts The dark waters of Veliko Lake in Triglav National Park

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For a moment, it almost appeared as if the legendary Zlatorog, the golden-horned guardian of Triglav, had blessed us with his presence.

A good omen for our final ascent the next day, perhaps.

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apple-cinnamon. He even had energy drink ice cream, which fueled our kayak trip across the long, thin lake.

As our vessel pierced the smooth, glassy waters, our paddles shattered glistening reflections of pine forests and steep escarpments. The air’s humidity mounted as it bore down on us until clouds suddenly rolled in and a cooling rain drifted out of the sky. Drying off back at our traditional alpine chalet, we noticed a huge assortment of adventure gear piled up next door. No surprise, as Lake Bohinj is Slovenia’s center for adrenaline junkies. Whether it’s white-water rafting, rock climbing, canyoning, or paragliding, the region has it all. We, however, were here for one thing: mountaineering.

Surrounding Lake Bohinj one finds the extensive Triglav National Park, named after Mount Triglav, the highest point in Slovenia. Just shy of ten thousand feet, the pinnacle is a strenuous yet safe and accessible climb. The craggy Triglav (which translates to “three peaks”) is synonymous with Slovenia. Its distinctive three-pronged outline is even emblazoned on the national flag. We departed our lakeside cabin with ample food and water, as well as climbing harnesses and helmets, which would come in handy later. Our three-day hike commenced with a shockingly rapid ascent. The contour lines on our map were indeed close together, but the constant elevation gain seemed never-ending. Fortunately, the dense, misty pine

The turquoise and green Radovna River winds through a steep canyon, complete with boardwalks and bridges that provide guests with superb views. forests shielded us from the sun’s heat. Trickling streams and gushing waterfalls provided romantic rest stops as we caught our breath before trekking onward and upward. Finally, the trail flattened out, and we were immediately thrust out into open alpine terrain. We were above six thousand feet, a zone in which little foliage grew to shield us from the sun’s rays.

Shortly thereafter, we reached the first mountain hut along our path. Vodnikov Dom provided running water—straight from a nearby mountain spring and more than safe to drink. Here luxury hikers can avail themselves of a freshly cooked Slovene meal and even a refreshing beer or wine while marveling at the majestic Triglav towering above. Our own destination for the night, however, was higher still. After ascending another eighteen hundred feet, we’d reached Dom Planika, situated directly beneath Triglav’s summit. Sunset treated us to spectacular bands of orange, yellow, and pink arcing across the sky, silhouetting jagged ridgelines all around. Yet this wasn’t the highlight. Moments after the sun’s last wavering crescent of light dipped beyond the distant Alps, a particular native of the area came out to put on a show. On a precipice opposite, two slender sword-like antlers appeared from behind the rocks. Then another two. A pair of sure-footed mountain goats stood proudly. For a moment, it almost appeared as if the legendary Zlatorog, the golden-horned guardian of Triglav, had blessed us with his presence. A good omen for our final ascent the next day, perhaps.

Up and out before dawn, we moved swiftly toward the very top of Slovenia.

Our pace was soon curtailed by a more treacherous section—a knife-edge ridge

Opposite: Mount Triglav soars high above the lush valleys of northwestern Slovenia.

Above: The reflective waters of Lake Bohinj on a calm late summer morning are picture perfect.

Left: Lake Bohinj shows off its vibrant colors in the summer sunlight. The lake is a popular destination for boating and kayaking.

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It was most certainly a time for celebration, for anyone who scales Triglav becomes an honorary Slovene citizen! dropping cliff-like for hundreds of yards on either side. Fortunately, a via ferrata, (literally “iron road”) offered us safe passage the rest of the way. Its long steel cables were bolted firmly to the rock, allowing us to clip our harnesses on and off as we progressed. Pushing onward, we hit the final challenge. The via ferrata shot straight up a near-vertical ridge, the summit just beyond our gaze. Our helmets provided protection from any small rocks kicked loose by climbers above. Jumping with joy after hauling ourselves up and over the summit’s edge, I took out a miniature bottle of spirits. It was most certainly a time for celebration, for anyone who scales Triglav becomes an honorary Slovene citizen! And what better place to mark this occasion than atop the entire country, with a 360-degree panoramic view of its undulating terrain.

After making our descent, we continued our loop through the national park.

Yet another via ferrata brought us across the steep southern face of Triglav and out through an immense scree patch. Scree is the name given to the loose stones forming entire sloping sides of steep, rocky mountains. Taking care on the gravelly

Left: Piran’s red rooftops contrast gloriously with the town’s deep blue surroundings.

Right: Hiking along the rushing rapids leading into Vintgar Gorge is both a thrilling and a scenic pastime.

ground, we gazed out across gorgeous alpine lakes of every color: emerald green, shimmering turquoise, deep navy, and dazzling blue. We stayed one final night at a quaint cabin tucked between the lakes before descending through a forest dotted with lush meadows. Meanwhile, paragliders took the fast way down, leaping off the cliffs on the northern edge of Lake Bohinj.

Our thighs were aching after the unforgettable experience; it was time to cap off our honeymoon by dipping our feet in the soothing waters of the Adriatic Sea. Opposite Venice, one finds the coastal town of Piran. At first, I was astounded by its similarity to the luxurious Dubrovnik, farther down the Dalmatian coast in southern Croatia. Piran, however, is even better. Here we avoided the tourist masses and blended in with the locals. Making the most of our last few days, we snorkeled past sea urchins, basked in the warm sunlight, and enjoyed the local pizza and gelato. Holding hands, we ambled down Piran’s narrow lanes and sauntered atop its town walls, already discussing future trips as a newly married couple.

Nicholas Grundy is a travel photographer and writer working for international publications such as the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine, Connemara Life, and VIE. His diverse work experience and background were discussed during his recent TEDx talk in his current hometown of Galway, Ireland. You can find more of his work at NicholasGrundy.com.

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INTO THE HEART OF THE

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY

BY NICHOLAS GRUNDY

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A

ustralia’s interior is a seemingly never-ending inhospitable desert.

Known locally as the “outback,” this arid expanse makes up nearly 80 percent of the continent, yet less than 10 percent of the population live there. The large majority of Aussies seldom leave the comfort of their cosmopolitan cities. Yes, bustling Melbourne and Sydney are more than worthy of a stopover.

However, the real beauty of “Oz” is found in the endless wilderness at its core.

As such, before leaving my southern homeland to settle in Ireland with my Irish girlfriend, the desert beckoned one more time. With only weeks to spare, we set off for what was my third—and certainly most ambitious—journey out to Central Australia.

Leaving behind the confines of our tiny Melbourne apartment and heading northwest, greener hues were gradually replaced by dusty shades of brown. Tall, leafy gum trees were succeeded by spindly desert shrubs. As the foliage transformed, so too did the earth. After only a few hundred miles, the soil became a mixture of deep crimson tones as we reached the outback’s edge at the aptly named Little Desert National Park.

The next morning my girlfriend woke refreshed for another day behind the wheel.

I was not quite so relaxed. She didn’t yet know, but I’d placed high expectations on our next stopover, a stunning pink salt lake. Its nonperennial drought–flood cycle causes bacteria to stain both the water and the salty lake bed a striking rosé tint. On my last visit, there had been a prolonged drought, and it is far more impressive full of ruby liquid. Rounding a bend my mind was immediately at ease—the dry spell had ended, and the lake looked divine! My heart pounded, and my girlfriend was beginning to wonder why. As we reached the shoreline, I quickly

I fumbled to produce a ring complete with outback sapphires I”d mined on a previous desert trip and she suddenly knew why I’ d been a bit preoccupied all morning

Opposite: The multicolored escarpment of Rainbow Valley is a majestic sight to behold.

Above: Mushroom Rock offers precious shade at Rainbow Valley.

Left: A curious desert kangaroo looks down over the valley.

dropped to one knee. I fumbled to produce a ring—complete with outback sapphires I’d mined on a previous desert trip—and she suddenly knew why I’d been a bit preoccupied all morning.

She exclaimed “Yes!” and my only concern then was helping keep her new ring sand- and dust-free! Shortly after the successful proposal, we heard a funny noise. We pulled over to discover that both back tires were unraveling to expose the steel reinforcement.

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As the sun’s rays warmed our faces<a curious kangaroo peered down from atop his rocky throne.

Requiring a very specific tire size, we scoured the entire state of South Australia looking for spares. By the time we’d left Port Augusta, we’d cleaned out the state of its last two matching tires.

Our route took us to a significantly larger—and white instead of pink—salt lake.

Lake Hart rests beside the Stuart Highway, the only sealed roadway bisecting the center of Australia. Atop its crusty surface, you start to feel the vast flatness and solitude “out back.” We continued northward to Coober Pedy. Zealous opal miners flock here from across the globe to dig and fossick for the iconic Australian gemstone. Determined locals live underground to escape the heat, so we took a leaf out of their book and settled into the only underground campsite in the world. It is here that my now-fiancée began to understand why many refer to this part of the country as the Red Center. Nearly every movie depicting the planet Mars was filmed near this desert outpost, so we went off road for the first time to make our maiden voyage to the red planet.

Above: The red and orange landscapes around Coober Pedy have hosted many film sets for movies featuring Mars.

An astounding aspect of driving across the outback is the vast distance between sights. Our next stop was well worth the four-hundred-mile trek. Parting ways with the highway once more, we halted briefly to deflate our tires. No, we hadn’t gone mad. The next stretch of track contained numerous patches of deep sand into which pressurized tires sink immediately. Drifting back and forth on scarlet waves, we eventually reached Rainbow Valley as the setting sun bathed it in golden hues—truly a sight to behold. Up at dawn, the sand was still cool from the winter’s night as we hiked the craggy, multicolored ravine.

As the sun’s rays warmed our faces, a curious kangaroo peered down from atop his rocky throne.

Top Left: A beautifully reflective pink salt lake during a period of flooding.

At our northernmost point, we reached Alice Springs, the only significant settlement in the middle of the land down under. After a quick resupply, we

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were back on the open road, rolling westward through the MacDonnell Ranges. This spiny ridgeline juts out of the earth for hundreds of miles. Here we visited rocky lookouts and deep gorges, including Ellery Creek Big Hole, where cool waters provided a refreshing swim. After an invigorating hike around Ormiston Gorge, it was time to undertake the riskiest section of our expedition. The Mereenie Loop is a shortcut that cuts the distance to Watarrka National Park by half. To achieve this, one follows a two-hundred-mile dirt trail through one of the remotest parts of the country. Only a handful of native aboriginals call the region home. With emergency water sloshing behind us, we held tight as we drove over the bumpy earth. The desert winds and loose topsoil create what’s known as road corrugations—ripples of hardened earth that can rattle a vehicle to pieces.

Having survived unscathed, we veered into Watarrka, also referred to as Kings Canyon. The chasm, carved into the plateau’s edge, boasts soaring sandstone walls and a lush oasis below. As we undertook the gorge rim walk atop the orange escarpment, luxury adventurers buzzed past in chartered helicopter tours. A series of boardwalks provide safe passage all around the massive gorge; however, the more daring explorer can scramble down into secluded water holes. Atop the plateau, we gazed out at the infinite space—nothingness as far as the eye could see. Calling it a day, the blazing red sun set on the distant horizon as tiny silhouettes of tourist choppers fluttered away.

A day’s drive to the southeast took us to our trip’s highlight. After staring at a flat horizon for hours, a small blip emerged in the distance. Driving nearer, the bump jutted ever higher until we recognized Australia’s great icon—the stone monolith of Ayers Rock, now referred to by its indigenous name, Uluru. Watching the sun rise behind the giant mound is an unforgettable experience, and the walk around its base reveals just how enormous this desert anomaly is. However, the main feature in my mind is the nearby Kata Tjuta outcrop, an inland archipelago of towering, domed rock formations.

This collection of behemoths provides stunning views of the orange land contrasted against azure skies and attracts tour buses from around the country including nearby Yulara—a traveler’s oasis complete with multiple high-end hotels and even an airport. As we walked through the Valley of the

Winds, the tour groups in the distance were completely dwarfed by this strange conglomeration of curved slopes shooting skyward.

After a couple of weeks, it was time to complete the return leg of our more than four-thousand-mile undertaking. Traveling southward, we lay under the stars one last time. Not only did the crystal clear skies show off the Milky Way in all its splendor, but we could even follow satellites as they glided in great arcs across the night sky, interspersed with bright shooting stars.

The next morning gargantuan road trains (multitrailer trucks) hurtled past us, and we sensed something was awry. Even kangaroos came bounding out of the desert at full speed. We pulled back into Lake Hart for a quick lunch stop and soon saw why. The sun disappeared behind a wall of dust and sand, and it was time to hunker down for the night. We threw everything into the car, including ourselves, and huddled until the storm passed. With a thick coating of outback dust and a lifetime of memories, we left behind the beauty of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beating heart.

Nicholas Grundy is a travel photographer and writer working for international publications such as the Aer Lingus in-flight magazine, Connemara Life, and VIE. His diverse work experience and background were discussed during his recent TEDx talk in his current hometown of Galway, Ireland. You can find more of his work at NicholasGrundy.com.

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BIG SKY

COUNTRY IN ALL ITS GLORY HEAVEN ON EARTH

BY CAROLYN O’NEIL PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE RANCH AT ROCK CREEK

Indulge your inner cowgirl or cowboy and set off to the great American West for a vacation escape in majestic Montana. Horseback riding and mountain biking trails, streams full of trout, and meadows perfect for scenic hikes await your adventurous soul. But at The Ranch at Rock Creek, the pursuit of Western life also happily includes the luxuries of gourmet grub, claw-foot tubs, and a world-class spa to soothe you into an evening of entertainment. Don’t forget your dancing boots!

Your curated Western adventure begins at the airport in Bozeman, where a “ranch ambassador” collects you and your gear for the spectacular one-and-a-half-hour drive to The Ranch.

The scenery unfolds with pristine national forests on both sides of the highway and snowcapped mountains rising in the distance. The air is clear and clean, and the sky is just as they promised—big and impossibly blue. This is Montana’s Big Sky Country.

Just before you reach The Ranch, you’ll go past Philipsburg, a nineteenth-century mining settlement named after engineer Philip Deidsheimer, who designed and supervised the ore smelter around which locals built the town. There was no gold rush here; the treasures sought in these parts were silver and sapphires. Today, you can take your chances mining for sapphires or buy them in Philipsburg’s quaint gift shops. If you prefer a tastier treasure, don’t miss the town’s old-time candy store.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .

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WILDLIFE AND CREATURE COMFORTS Set on 6,600 acres of open ranchland with flower-filled meadows, majestic mountains, and babbling streams, The Ranch at Rock Creek welcomes guests to enjoy its rustic spirit and elegant accommodations. A member of Relais & Châteaux and National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, The Ranch is named for Rock Creek, the Blue Ribbon trout stream that flows through the property.

Wild deer and moose wander The Ranch freely. (But, make sure not to get too close to a mother moose with her calf, as she can be pretty aggressive protecting her own. Now’s the best time to use your camera’s telescopic lens.) Horses, of course, are a main feature of life at The Ranch, and rides are available for all skill levels. There’s a small arena for rodeos and horse shows, too.

You can truly relax knowing that The Ranch is an all-inclusive property designed to treat guests as houseguests at home. All meals, beverages (including cocktails and wine), and outdoor adventures come with your stay. It’s recommended you choose two activities per day from a list including guided mountain hikes, fly-fishing, horseback riding, a 3-D archery course, trap and skeet shooting, and even a paintball arena. If you choose to hike the trail to the Top of the World at an elevation of 5,818 feet, the staff can deliver a picnic with chilled champagne to help you enjoy breathtaking views of the Sapphire Mountains. Not to worry if you get dusty on the trail or caught in a downpour on the creek—laundry service is included at the resort, too.

RANCH CUISINE

REFINED RANCH LIFE With twenty-nine accommodations, from one-room suites to five-bedroom log homes, The Ranch is spacious yet intimate. Each cabin, with names like “Sweet Grass” and “Bluebird,” is equipped with mountain bikes to hop on and cruise to the Buckle Barn for yoga, or to breakfast in the Granite Lodge. You can easily walk if you prefer, or call for a ranch vehicle to give you a lift—after all, this is “glamping,” not camping.

Did I mention the swimming pool and hot tub next to the Granite Spa? The spa features a full menu of services, including staff-led workshops on aromatherapy.

(The scent of wild orange rejuvenates while lavender oil induces calm.) Atlantabased Little Barn Apothecary, which sources ingredients from nature such as coconut, pear, ginger, and mint, created the spa’s lovely line of face, body, and hair care products.

Guests tucked away in Western-chic tented cabins, complete with claw-foot bathtubs, Western art, and wood-burning stoves, enjoy a backyard view of sparkling Rock Creek and the peaceful sounds of the water rushing by and the wind rustling through the cottonwood trees. Outdoor fire pits are the perfect places to gather for predinner snacks and cocktails, quietly delivered by the attentive staff, while you choose which jeans, sweater, and boots suit your mood for another evening ahead.

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They say that spending time in the great outdoors helps rustle up a healthy appetite, and The Ranch’s culinary team is ready to satisfy it. Regionally inspired cuisine stars Montana-raised beef, bison, elk, lamb, and chicken and seasonally grown organic produce—a far cry from the Old West’s chuck wagon fare of beans and bacon. Executive chef Josh Drage says, “Our ranch cuisine serves up a sense of place with big flavor inspiration from around the world.

It’s a balance of hearty fare to get you back out on a horse and lighter dishes you may crave for dinner.”

Afternoon tea and coffee are set out in the great room with perfect bites of freshly baked pastries, so enjoy a little lemon bar and petite brownie if you like!

The menus reflect The Ranch’s rustic-meets-refined charm. For dinner, how about rainbow trout with

beluga lentils and broccoli with preserved-lemon mayonnaise? Or maybe you’re in the mood for country-fried bison steak with Montana-grown farro, collard greens, and corn gravy. Chef Drage’s ranch-to-table cuisine includes creative vegetarian fare, too, including a delicious sweet potato sandwich for lunch. Vegetables play a starring role at every meal, and salad lovers will be impressed with dishes such as organic mixed lettuces with chanterelle mushrooms, celery, fingerling potatoes, and feta cheese from a local farm.

A wonderful wine cellar is at the ready to provide by-the-glass menu pairings or celebratory splurges. Beer lovers have plenty to consider with all of the Montana craft brews on offer, and local distilleries raise the bar with spirits such as the aromatic Whyte Laydie gin from Montgomery Distillery in Missoula.

After dinner, guests can lounge by the fire in the lodge for a quiet nightcap, kick up their heels at weekly Western dances in the Buckle Barn, or head over to the property’s Silver Dollar Saloon. The saloon offers the chance to watch a movie in the private theater, play some billiards, or trade cowboy boots for bowling shoes and knock down a few pins. Then, it’s lights out to rest up for another adventurous day at The Ranch. But not before you gaze up at the heavens to marvel at the millions of brilliant stars illuminating the night in Big Sky Country.

TheRanchatRockCreek.com

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SHINE BRIGHT LIKE A DIAMOND Cartier celebrated the relaunch of its Panthère de Cartier watch on May 25, 2017, with an evening hosted by Cartier International CEO Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier North America president and CEO Mercedes Abramo, and Sofia Coppola at Milk Studios in Los Angeles. Guests enjoyed special performances by Alicia Keys, Lion Babe, and DJ Mark Ronson and catering by chef Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, the landmark Napa Valley restaurant. Photography courtesy of Cartier.

Caroline Daur, Olivia Culpo, and Negin Mirsalehi

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Brooklyn Sudano

Chriselle Lim

Dita Von Teese

Sienna Miller

Poppy Delevingne

Kirsten Dunst

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La scène

Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady

Rihanna

The Met Gala, one of the most artistic nights in fashion each year, pulled out all the stops on May 1, 2017, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Celebrities arrived on the red carpet at the annual fund-raiser benefiting the Met’s Costume Institute in looks inspired by this year’s exhibition, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between. Kawakubo is only the second living fashion designer to be given a solo show at the Met; the other was Yves Saint Laurent in 1983. Photography courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

Anna Wintour

Mark Sheldon, Darius Rucker, Rendy Lovelady, and Dave Trepanier

Chris Young

Frankie Ballard

Country music came back to the coast on April 28 and 29 with the second annual Pepsi SpringJam in Panama City Beach, Florida. Visit Panama City Beach and PCB Entertainment, organizers of the Gulf Coast Jam fall music festival, came together once more to put on an amazing weekend. Headlined by Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker, the festival also included performances by Colbie Caillat, A Thousand Horses, LOCASH, Charles Esten, and more! Photography courtesy of Pepsi SpringJam. Delta Rae

Nina Agdal, Chelsea Leyland, and Chanel Iman

Churchill Downs wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only place celebrating the Kentucky Derby this year! G.H. Mumm Champagne and Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt partnered to host a stylish Toast to the Kentucky Derby in New York City. Photography by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for G.H. Mumm.

Mario Cantone

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Au revoir!

Au revoir!

THE L AST WORD

Something about a sunset gives the viewer closure and a sense of peace.

It’s the end of another day and time to reflect on the past, present, and future.

It’s even easier to reflect when you’re viewing that sunset from the luxurious pool deck at the Belmond Miraflores Park hotel in beautiful Lima, Peru.

Time for an adventure in relaxation!

Belmond.com/miraflores-park-lima

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