Picks and Pans – West Texas and Southern New Mexico

PICKS: McKittrick Canyon hike in Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Not only is Guadalupe Mountains National Park located conveniently close to Carlsbad Caverns, it also has some killer hikes and is strikingly beautiful in that desert kind of way. We decided on hiking McKittrick Canyon because we arrived too late for Carlsbad Caverns or the hike […]

Picks and Pans – Austin, TX

I’ve found that the places that I like the best aren’t the ones where we see the best music, or the greatest art, or even the ones with the best bookstores (although that doesn’t hurt). The places I like best are the ones where we meet people who make me think about things in a […]

Picks and Pans – Louisiana

PICKS: Lafayette Festival International de Louisiane

The lineup at this weekend long Francophile music festival could rival any day at Jazz Fest, but the kicker is that the whole thing is totally free and the crowd can barely be termed as such because it’s relatively sparse compared to what you might expect at such of […]

Picks and Pans – Mississippi

PICKS: Wall Doxey State Park

Initially we just stopped here for a picnic dinner before heading further south into Mississippi, but our plans were revised after discussion with our resident Mississippi expert, Nina. She recommended enough intriguing spots in the vicinity that we were convinced to stay the night. Thanks to Nina and our excellently […]

Picks and Pans – in and around Memphis, TN

PICKS: Billy Tripp’s Mindfield in Brownsville, TN

Billy Tripp uses his welding skills, metal scavenging abilities and and tremendous vision to create a continually evolving sculptural representation of his life. We arrived at the site during a sunny break in the torrential rains of the day. Looking at the Mindfield, I kept noticing more and […]