In January 2019, my wife and I took a long-planned trip to Joshua Tree, not knowing that Trump’s idiotic government shutdown would be happening at the same time. The fear was that flights would be delayed and that Joshua Tree National Park would be a wasteland. Fortunately, neither was the case. We stayed at a… Continue reading joshua tree, january 2019 (photo essay)
Category: travel
2018 in pictures
I posted a picture per day in 2018. Sometimes more. To wrap up the year, here are some of my favorites.
New Mexico, May 2018
Chicago: 2017 in Pictures
This is the Chicago I saw in 2017. A city of stoicism, secrets, strife, sadness and surprise. All iPhone 7 for @benvanloon.jpg.
Boston
Provincetown, Cape Cod, Boston, Georges Island. No particular order. No particular need for order.
Wisconsin, the North Woods
New Mexico Road Trip
For the second time in as many months, my wife and I headed back to the high New Mexican desert to see some new sites and find ourselves at some old ones. Every time I go back to the Chihuahua, I leave part of myself behind and I take something different back with me. New… Continue reading New Mexico Road Trip
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a small town of about 5,700 people in the high desert of northern New Mexico. It’s home to artists, ranchers, naturalists, vagrants and the oldest inhabited indigenous community in the U.S.—the Taos Pueblo, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, a National Historic Landmark and thousand-year-old residence of the Tiwa-speaking Puebloan people. Not many people… Continue reading Taos, New Mexico
Travel recommendations in USA Today
A few months ago I spoke with writer Matt Alderton providing some not-for-tourist travel destinations in Chicago for USA Today. Read the full piece here and read my contributions below:
Two-week trip to the Balkans? Count me in
World Nomads is currently running a travel writing contest for a two-week trip to the Balkans. Comes with free flights, €1000 for a 10-day tour, apparel, a train pass and mentoring with travel writer Tim Neville of Outside Magazine. I’ve entered in past WM competitions, with no success…but maybe this year will be different? Either way, go here to… Continue reading Two-week trip to the Balkans? Count me in