Mojave RattlerPalm Desert, California
For half a century, Desert magazine was gritty and provocative and full of love for American drylands
Frontera SurBaja California, Mexico
There is no better place for a desert road trip than Baja California, Mexico
The Mystery BikeNew Bedford, Massachusetts
A photo unearthed from the deep past hints at joyful common ground
A Vocabulary of Landscape
armadillo
ar-muh-DIL-oh A New World mammal armored in bony plates set into leathery skin — the only living mammal with an external bony shell. Twenty-one species, nearly all South American.
See Etymology + Related Words
The Kinder TrespassPeak District, England
How a mass uprising led to the creation of the UK's national parks and legalized the right to roam
Ben Warner Is Sparking SoCal Adventure CultureLaguna Beach, California
Co-Founder, Coast Film and Music Festival
Who Owns the Copyright When a Monkey Takes a Selfie?Sulawesi, Indonesia
In the world of people and courts, the idea that nature has legal standing can be one slippery banana peel
Enchantment, delight, and discovery. I won’t waste your time, ever.
Kelly Herbinson Is Saving the Desert and Its CrittersJoshua Tree, California
Executive Director, Mojave Desert Land Trust
From the bookshelf
Desert Country
Edwin Corle Erskine Caldwell got the idea for a series of books about American regions after coming home from covering the German invasion of Russia, and this was the first one out, in 1941. Edwin Corle got the desert — Nevada, Arizona,…
Book · No. 0331
Andy Davis Rides a Happy WaveClub Paradise
Artist · Encinitas, California
Archery at 1, Canoeing at 3, Cocktails at 5Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Wandawega harkens back to camps of yore, reminding that even grown-ups need a summer getaway
Dolomites Mountain BikingDolomite Mountains, Italy
The World’s Deepest Powder PhilosopherAlta, Utah
She skied so magically, they called Dolores LaChapelle the Witch of the Wasatch
A Vocabulary of Landscape
shieling
SHEEL-ing A stone-built shelter used during summer grazing months on the Hebridean or Highland moor. The journey to the shieling alone was a coming-of-age moment for a child.
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Matthew RangelDinuba, California
Artist
Cassie AbelKetchum, Idaho
Founder, Wild Rye
The Abernathys Were the Original Free-Range KidsGuthrie, Oklahoma
John Fellows and the Land of Mountain FolkCrested Butte, Colorado
Artist
Surviving a Massive Earthquake and TsunamiPuerto Viejo de Talamanca, Costa Rica
Sammy’s KidsBlue Diamond, Nevada
Two gambling mountain bikers. One roulette wheel. All or nothing in Las Vegas
Julie Beeler Turns Mushrooms Into RainbowsTrout Lake, Washington
Artist, Mycophile, Educator
Cassidy Randall Climbs Back in TimeMissoula, Montana
Journalist
From the bookshelf
A Walk in the Park
Kevin Fedarko The Grand Canyon runs 277 river miles and has no trail from one end to the other, so walking it means about 750 miles of route-finding along ledges between the rim and the river, in country where water can be…
Book · No. 0293
Highlighted RouteUtah Traverse
One man’s vision to cross Utah on dirt, through the middle of America’s most rugged desert treasures
Just Don’t Call It GlampingLong Beach, Washington
A wave of new lodging properties is catering to outdoor enthusiasts—newbies and hardcores alike
Love in the BorderlandsSonora, Mexico
Ruta del Jefe is more than a bike festival. It's an attempt to improve the world, one pedal stroke at a time.
Maybe It’s No Surprise Shackleton’s Ship Sank
El Cap is Lost and Found for DirtbagsEl Capitan, Yosemite, California
Sometimes, gravity is the bringer of gifts
The Economics of VanlifeNorth Rim, Arizona
What's the cost of living the dream?
A Vocabulary of Landscape
horst
HORST A block of the earth’s crust that remains elevated between two parallel faults while the blocks on either side drop downward to form grabens.
See Etymology + Related Words
Vittorio Sella Was the First Great Mountain PhotographerBiella, Italy
The Mountains Are Calling and I Must Break Out of Prison to GoMount Kenya
During World War II, three POWs plotted an audacious escape to climb Mount Kenya
The Paper Airplane CollectorNew York, New York
When a Family Cabin Forms YouPine Grove Township, Pennsylvania
A Few Facts About PreikestolenLysefjorden, Norway