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Forget Sedona where hotels cost $411 and Bisbee keeps mining tours for $15

Forget Sedona where hotels cost 1 and Bisbee keeps mining tours for

Sedona hotel parking lots fill by 8am in February. Airport Mesa vortex sites require reservations. Pink Jeep tours cost $175 per person. Cathedral Rock trailhead caps at 50 cars and reaches capacity before 9am on weekends. Meanwhile, 90 miles south in Bisbee, Victorian mining architecture climbs rust-colored hillsides where hotel rooms run $85 and you … Lire plus

8 Maine harbor towns where fog hides windjammers and lodging costs $100

8 Maine harbor towns where fog hides windjammers and lodging costs 0

February fog rolls into Camden Harbor before dawn. White masts from 20 windjammer schooners pierce the gray like ghosts. By 6am, the first lobster boats motor out past Curtis Island Light, their engines muffled by mist that clings to Mount Battie’s 800-foot ridge. This is midcoast Maine when the crowds vanish and the rocky Atlantic … Lire plus

This Oregon creek walk stays quiet when Mount Hood trails fill by 9am

This Oregon creek walk stays quiet when Mount Hood trails fill by 9am

“`html Forest Road 2639 ends at a gravel lot 50 miles east of Portland. February morning, 8am, three cars parked. The sound of rushing water reaches you before you see the trailhead sign. Most drivers continue another 10 miles to Timberline Lodge where lift lines form by 9am. This 0.75-mile path stays empty. The trail … Lire plus

This Tortola cove stays calm while winter swells pound beaches one mile east

This Tortola cove stays calm while winter swells pound beaches one mile east

The unpaved road winds through Tortola’s western tip. Potholes appear every few yards. No signs mark the turn. Then the trees open and turquoise water spreads flat as glass between rocky headlands. One mile east at Cane Garden Bay, winter swells hammer the beach. Here at Smuggler’s Cove, reef protection creates a swimming pocket that … Lire plus

Forget Dubuque where hotels cost $120 and McGregor keeps river bluffs for $80

Forget Dubuque where hotels cost 0 and McGregor keeps river bluffs for

Dubuque’s riverfront casinos pull 57,000 residents and regional crowds to a developed waterfront where hotel rates hit $120 per night in February and parking challenges persist year-round. Thirty minutes north, McGregor sits with 725 residents, the same 500-foot limestone bluffs, and rooms starting at $80 with free parking everywhere. The Mississippi flows past both towns. … Lire plus

5 volcanic experiences on this Sicilian island cost under $20 total

5 volcanic experiences on this Sicilian island cost under  total

“`html The ferry from Milazzo cuts through morning fog. Thirty minutes later, sulfur hits your nose before you see land. Black sand beaches curve against turquoise water. Steam rises from cracks in rust-colored rock. This is Vulcano, where Earth’s interior still makes itself known through five experiences that feel more Mars than Mediterranean. Population 715. … Lire plus

This Irish village glows brightest at 5:30pm when afternoon light hits painted walls

This Irish village glows brightest at 5:30pm when afternoon light hits painted walls

The N71 curves around Coulagh Bay and the houses appear. Reds, blues, yellows against gray-green mountains. Eyeries sits where 300 residents painted their village into something artists travel to see. Cork lies 62 miles east, but this feels like Europe’s forgotten edge. Afternoon light hits these facades between 4pm and 6pm in summer. The glow … Lire plus

This Caribbean island keeps 79°F water and empty coves in February

This Caribbean island keeps 79°F water and empty coves in February

The small plane drops through morning clouds and suddenly the water below turns impossible. Not turquoise like a postcard. Turquoise like someone cranked the saturation dial past believable. Canouan sits 25 miles south of St. Vincent with a population around 900 permanent residents. The Mandarin Oriental claims 1,200 acres on one end. Yet hidden coves … Lire plus