Every February, Traverse City, Michigan holds the Cherry Capital Winter Wow!Fest on its West Bay Shoreline. From February 17th to the 20th, the city has planned a packed schedule  filled with events and activities for all ages.  One event that is particularly fun for the whole family is the snow sculpture competition, an outdoor gallery of meltable art located in the City’s Festival Open Space Park on West Grand Traverse Bay.

Additionally, the festival includes sled racing, a snow ball softball tournament, ice sculptures on the streets, a pancake breakfast, a soup tasting competition, an ice-cream eating contest, and more. Also offered are events specifically for adults, such as the ”Winter, Wine and Wow!” event (featuring local wines, craft brews, edibles and live entertainment), and an 80s-themed party. The festival is wrapped up with its traditional fireworks display on Sunday above the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. Many of the events are free, while others require the purchase of tickets. Essentially, there’s something for everyone in Traverse City on this wintery weekend in February.

“Winter Wow!fest is all about getting out and enjoying some winter fun with friends in our beautiful area,” says Brad Van Dommelen, president of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We’ve added many new activities this year, and brought back lots of favorites from last winter.”

Be sure to check it out, And click here for more information on what else is offered in Traverse City .

If riding a mule down the Grand Canyon sounds too drastic, and river rafting is just not your thing, consider hiking part of the Canyon. Many have found hiking to be one of the most peaceful, beautiful and enjoyable ways to see the Canyon while toning up. And best of all, it’s cheap! There are many different free trails you can take on either the North Rim or the South Rim. All of them have spectacular views of the canyon.

One of the main issues involved in any hike, is safety. Be sure to bring plenty of water, sunscreen and food. Only the South Kaibab, Bright Angel, and North Kaibab trails are patrolled on a regular basis for anyone in trouble. These three trails make up the Corridor Trails, and are some of the more popular trails. They go all the way down into the canyon, to the only bridges that span the Colorado River. The Corridor Trails offer fascinating views, reliable water sources, good camping, as well as the chance to change to different trails. This set of trails is good for those who have not hiked in the canyon before, as well as for more experienced and hardcore hikers.

If taking off on your own sounds difficult and you don’t want to risk it, no worries! There are many available tours to be taken, at a small cost of course. Many of these provide lodging and food, or if the tour is not overnight, water at least. Ranger led day hikes take place daily along the Rim Trail, and are an year-round occurrence. Taking a trip with a ranger offers many advantages. For example, most of the Rangers have been working in the Grand Canyon for multiple years and are very knowledgable concerning plants and animals in the region. They will be more than glad to share their information with you.

There are so many ways to experience the Grand Canyon that doing everything is near impossible unless you spend your whole life on its rim. But out of them all, walking the gorgeous trails is one of the best ways to get in touch with the nature of the canyon, the spirit that has inspired so many writers and poets. Walk on that red dirt, smell the sage on the wind, hear the call of the condor, and fall in love all over again with the Grand Canyon!

If you have ever been to the Grand Canyon, you can understand the feeling of awe that the glorious red and orange walls inspire in even the least sentimental person. The tall majestic spires and swooping eagles that inhabit them often leave poets and writers speechless, and artists are never fully capable of portraying the grandure that the Canyon is named for.

There are many ways to enjoy yourself while visiting, including river rafting on the mighty Colorado River between the Canyon walls; wandering the rim via a hike; and riding mules down out of the wind into the shelter of the ravine, which I recently enjoyed.

There are many different types of trails to ride, depending on what you’d like to see and how much time you are willing to spend. If you only have a few hours, I would recommend taking the three hour Abyss Overlook Mule Ride. This spectacular ride will take you through a magnificent Ponderosa forest, as well as a piñon and juniper woodland. However, it does not actually enter the Grand Canyon. The mules will bring you within five minutes walking distance to the rim before you dismount and hike to a perfect location for viewing the Canyon. These excursions depart twice daily through October, and once daily through mid March from the Historic Mule Barn near Bright Angel Lodge.

It is also possible to ride down into the Canyon, but you will need to stay overnight. These overnight rides include accommodations and meals at Phantom Ranch, an enchanting lodge at the bottom of the canyon near the Colorado River. Reservations are required for almost all canyon rides, especially overnight rides. Expect to pay $400 to $500 dollars per person for a two day ride, or $40-$80 for day rides. 

Despite the high price, many have found the experience well worth the money. The adventure involved in riding a mule 2,300 feet down into America’s largest canyon is unsurpassable.

The excitement that thrums through the air in every market, no matter where in the world we find it, the scents of the spices and fruits, the different sounds accompanying each location! Everywhere it is the same, but yet no two markets are ever very similar. Three of my favorite markets are found in Italy (of course) Mexico, and Tunisia.

La Mercad in Mexico City is the largest traditional food market in the entire city. It has been active since the early colonial period when traders first arrived from Spain. It is a permanent market, with protection from the elements. Everything Mexican is sold here. Tall stacks of freshly grown vegetables fall over each other on tables crammed tightly together. Traditional candies are on hand, as well as fresh meat. Don’t know what kind of meat it is? Look for the head of the animal it came from, gruesomely displayed on the counter, often without it’s skin. I would not recommend visiting the meat section if you happen to be vegetarian. You can also find handmade toys, of various quality, in another section. Hungry? Don’t worry! Some of the cheerful Mexican women own small food stands, serving traditional homemade dishes of pollo pibil, with rice and vegetables. Anything you can see being cooked is safe, but do not eat the veggies unless they’re cooked. They might have been washed in the city water, which will make you very sick and uncomfortable for a few days.

Tunisia

There are multiple markets in Tunisia, but the one I love the most is in the relatively large town of Hammam Sus. I was able to live there for three months, and spent Christmas there. This market is filled with the bleating of goats, the squacks of chickens, and the patter of feet as small Arab children chase each other around. Tall, beak-nosed Arab men hawk their wares, and women pick along the large baskets of spices. Safron is sold extremely cheaply here, a few cents for a bag. In secluded corners, clouds of aromatic smoke pour from the noses and mouths of men who’s glittering eyes peer out at us, the outsiders. Heavily veiled women walk past with baskets of live chickens and turkeys precariously balanced on their heads. It is here that you can find the largest and most delicious carrots I have found anywhere. They are sweet and juicy, but the thing I love the most about them is their color. They are a bright, beautiful, purple!

 Italy

Italy has so many wonderful markets, I have not been able to chose a favorite, but I love them all. These markets are immaculately clean. Well-tempered Italian men and women shout at each-other, laughing and humming bits of music as they sell a delightful variety of cheeses, fruits, pastries, breads, and vegetables. I remember one time when my dad met an Italian woman and her husband who were selling truffles. These mushrooms are extremely expensive, and the only way to find them is to train pigs to locate them and dig them up. They have never been successfully farmed. The woman was so generous that when my Dad told her he’d never had any she immediately gave him part of one! Most of the Italians at the markets I’ve been to have been just as kind and generous as this lady, and every Italian market is sure to be a ton of fun!

What is your favorite market, and where is it?

Happy Trails!

In my last article concerning the process of making coffee, I discussed how I learned how to make coffee myself. However, there’s more to the procedure than simply the bare facts of how to manufacture it. What about the people who pick the Guatemalan mountainsides daily, struggling to earn a living?

Most indigenous Guatemalans make much less than the minimum wage of U.S standards. They also tend to have very little affordable healthcare, poor educational systems and most to all of them struggle constantly to scrape together enough money for a simple meal and shelter. Many of them work from before daybreak until the sun sets each day, but still earn much less than they ought.

This is the current situation for many of the coffee harvesters that pick the mountainsides of the Guatemalan highlands. Some begin as early as fifteen, and will work until they are too old to climb the steep incline of the volcanoes, or too sick or infirm to continue. They spend long hours in the broiling heat of the tropics, laboriously picking each red berry one by one. The berries topple down over each other into the canvas sacks as the pickers’ brown fingers fly through the coffee plants, carefully extracting each and every berry from the leafy jungle of plants for hours at a time.

Then, even after picking the berries and hauling pounds of them by foot down the mountain a few miles, the job is not done. Workers must go through the entire process described in Guatemalan Coffee: Part 1. And all this done under the sweltering heat of a Guatemalan day. Could you do it? I couldn’t willingly.

The worst part: for all of their hard work, most coffee workers are not paid what you would expect is due them. Some coffee buyers make sure to buy from companies who are a part of the fair trade organization. This practice is becoming more and more common around the world as news of the unfair treatment of workers spreads. Workers are treated unfairly not only in Guatemala, but in multiple other countries including our own.

When you buy coffee, make sure that it is coming from a fair trade operator. This will help Guatemalans and other needy people from around the globe make a better existence for themselves. After all, for all that hard work that they do for us, I think they ought to be getting treated well. Don’t you?

Have you ever thought about how coffee is made?

Many don’t even know how it grows.  We all have the ability to go to the store and buy our coffee, drinking it within a few short hours. But who’s on the other end of the line? Who is making our coffee for us? More importantly, how is it made?

While living in Guatemala last winter I had the opportunity to learn the process hands on, as the highlands of Guatemala produce coffee for shipment around the world, and I happened to have some growing in my backyard.

When our gardener first showed me the coffee plants, I had no idea that what I was looking at was coffee. I had expected conventional coffee beans, not the bright red and green pods that hung in abundance from one of the many bushes surrounding our house. Add to that my limited understanding of the Spanish language, and I was thoroughly confused.

 Luckily, the gardener was patient.

He showed me how to pop the outer red casing (but only if it’s red) and extract the two green beans inside each one. Soon we had a major coffee production taking place on our porch, with a great pan of slimy green beans soaking in the first stage of the week long process.

After the beans soak for three to four days, they are set out in the sun to dry for another three to four days. I was worried that the birds and lizards might eat them, but Adong assured me that at this point they are not edible for any creature.

When they are finally dry there are still two steps to go before they are finished and ready to be ground and made into coffee as we know it. After being dried they are left with a white, papery shell. This will add a bitter flavor to the coffee and has to be removed.

 This is my least favorite part of the coffee making process.

We didn’t have a machine to take the husks off and so we had to do it by hand. It’s a long, boring, difficult job that tends to take hours and the efforts of the entire family.

 Luckily, after that, it gets easier.

The final step is to roast the coffee, which my Dad did in a cheap metal pan. The delicious aroma filled the entire house. After grinding it by hand with a mortar and pestle, we all gathered around as Dad tried our first attempt at coffee. He swirled it in his cup, gravely considering it, and we all held our breath as he took a sip. His face wrinkled unpleasantly and he promptly spat it into the sink.

Well, so our first try was a failure; the next was better and after a few months we were pros. We all really enjoyed the experience of learning how to make our own coffee at home.

Happy Trails!

Cheeses, olives, bread, wine and more; mealtimes are a time of gathering and communion in the family for many Italians.

My family passed through Italy on our bicycle trip around Europe, and so we got to eat Italian food for a whole month as we pedaled our way down the Adriatic Coast. Here’s some of my favorite (and least favorite) foods that we ate:

Buffalo Mozzarella

This is one of my favorite cheeses; and trust me, I have many! It is normally ball shaped, and when bought in a market comes in a plastic bag with it’s natural juices to preserve the flavor. It has a rich, milky taste, is quite chewy, and utterly delicious!

Olives, olives and more olives!

Olives were one of Italy’s main attractions for me. I’m a huge olive fan and would eat them all day long if it were possible. Many of the markets will have whole stalls dedicated entirely to the olive industry, with multiple families comparing secret family recipes passed down and modified through generations to achieve that perfect flavor.

Giant pans full of olives sit in the stalls: pepper stuffed, cheese stuffed, some with names I honestly can’t pronounce, green, purple, red, brown-green, spicy, briny, but all delicious!

Pizza (Yuck)

Everyone says that Italian pizzas are mouthwatering delicacies. There are restaurants everywhere advertising fresh authentic Italian pizza, with pictures of giant pies with perfectly crispy golden crust, soft, stringy cheese, sausages, pepperonis, you name it, they’ve got it! The only problem is… Italian pizza is really quite awful! Just for kicks, we ordered one. It came with an egg cracked raw on top, peas, carrots and frozen broccoli. The broccoli was still frozen when it came out. Italian pizza was definitely not on my list of favorites.

Pasta, plenty of it!

Pasta is one of Italy’s main foods. It comes in all shapes, sizes and colors, and is utterly delicious. Various different sauces are used in the pasta, and it is often homemade. We ate pasta practically all the time when we were riding in Italy.

I was constantly amazed by the great care that Italians take with the preparation of their food. Unlike in our Western culture, food is an art and a joy to take part in. It is a way of bringing the family together and celebrating times of plenty. Italians greatly enjoy food in a way that we just don’t see in many other countries. Want to try out some Italian recipes for yourself?

Bead Beard looks at me. “So is this your first dive?” “No sir, my fourth, but this is my first time going out on the reef into deeper waters.” I reply. He nods and pulls on his wet suit. I follow his example, and soon we load up into the long speedboat. As we leave the dock my little brothers wave and scream across the crystalline water some encouragement.  “Don’t drown, Hannah!” “Yeah!” Ezra yells, “And watch out for sharks!”  You have to love younger siblings!

As we speed across the waves there is much laughter and friendly banter. When we reach the reef I look down into the water and see the reef far below. I’m nervous. I have always been fearful of deep water as well as the open ocean. Although I’ve tried to cure myself I’ve never succeeded. SCUBA diving is just another step towards conquering that fear.

Looking around, I notice it’s very calm. The waves lap gently against our boat, lifting it up and down slightly. The water is as blue as the sky, which is clear and serene. With a smile of satisfaction I realize it’s a perfect day to dive.

My gear fits perfectly. Everyone laughs as the unexpected weight of my SCUBA tank bowls me over. My flippers are clumsy and hard to use, but I know that once in the water they will make me more agile and swift.

With a splash one after another the others tip backwards into the water. I inflate my BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) and tip backwards into the ocean, joining them. A cloud of frothy bubbles surrounds me. For an exhilarating moment I don’t know which direction the surface is. Then up I pop into the salty air. The boat has already moved away. It’s time to go down. With a whoosh I let the air out of my BCD and slowly start to sink beneath the lapping waves of the ocean.

This is my favorite part of the dive. When time seems to stop and wait as you float down, deeper and deeper until you feel the bottom is unreachable. The very blueness of the water is incredible, and through it I can see schools of brightly colored fish far beneath me. This isn’t frightening at all! Rolling over onto my back I watch as the bubbles from our tanks float up, tumbling over each other to erupt at the surface.I look at my depth gauge and realize we are down 30 feet and still sinking. 40… 45… 50… We have reached the bottom. It’s like a totally different world! The fish fly around me, swirling uniformly as they participate in the ballet of the ocean reef. I float as well, weightless and free.

Suddenly I realize we are deeper. 60 feet! I have finally reached the depth limit of my license! I  do a little joy dance underwater. Eric sees me and grins as he claps silently. Giggling into a regulator is hard, but somehow I manage it!

We swim on through the water, enjoying the fish and bright coral. Suddenly Eric begins making excited gestures. I don’t understand his meaning, and shake my head to signify my confusion. Eric frowns and waving wildly, points into the distance.

Suddenly I see a huge shape swimming straight towards me through the water. I look around and see that all of the other divers are at least 10-15 ft away behind me. Even Eric is 12 feet away to my right.  My heart starts to race. I can see it clearer now. What is it? Out of the foggy blue a murky shape appears. Four fins propel it through the water. A sea turtle swims straight towards me! It’s awfully close now. That’s when I see its eyes. The result is electrifying. Suddenly a great peace fills me. It is a calm like I have never experienced before. I slowly reach my hand out. The great turtle comes so close I could touch it. Then it stops. It sits there and looks at me. For what seems like a lifetime we hover there, floating, suspended in space and time. I wish it would never end. Then, with the blink of one great, brown eye, it is over.

The great beast settles down on the bottom. I follow. I come slowly closer. Then I reach out my hand. The skin on his head is leathery and soft. I am amazed he will let me touch him. The other divers soon crowd around in amazement, petting and feeling him. Then, with a push, he is gone.

I feel like I have been honored, as if by a king. A while later we surface. In the boat Bead Beard gravely says “We have seen an old soul. What a great experience.” The others seem excited, but only Bead Beard and I are awed. Boo pipes up. “That turtle was around 150 years old!!! It’s rare to see one that big!” Once we get moving the wind drowns out most conversation. The wind whips my hair back as I look down into the bright blue water. I murmur reverently “Yes. An old soul.”

Who wouldn’t be? We were going to live in a beautiful lakefront cottage with an amazing property surrounding it. The best part: we would be staying for six months, our longest time in one place for over two and a half years! How could it get any better?

That was before they told me about the bugs.

There I was, floating on a cloud of anticipation and excitement. I could hardly contain myself! Then, Mom burst my bubble of joy by announcing that for the first few weeks, we could expect a few scorpions living with us, but “don’t worry, they’ll clear out quickly I imagine.”

SCORPIONS!

My expectations plummeted like a banana crepe dropped off the Eiffel Tower. Scorpions! You’ve got to be joking! And we’ll be living with them!?!

The day we arrived I kept a sharp lookout for any of our armor-plated enemies. None were found. Until that night. Mom had one on her dresser. We were all awaked by her frightened screams, the slaps of Dad’s shoe on the dresser and finally a swift crunch. The rest of us didn’t sleep very well that night.

Surprise!

The next day we found our first black widow spider in one of the school boxes. “They didn’t mention black widows!” I yelped. “Oh, Hannah!” Mom said “It’s not a black widow! Look how beautiful it is!” She then stuck her hand in the box with it as I looked on in horror. It wasn’t until Dad explained that it was in fact a black widow that she realized the truth. We found three more that week.

But I couldn’t go on for six months in agonized fear of these creepy-crawlies.

To do so would be childish and unreasonable. So I set about realizing my fears, and learning to deal with them. Every time we would find a spider or scorpion, I would smash it. There were some exceptions –of course, I still freaked out now and then. But no matter how it scared me, I would kill the spider. One of my favorite poems is this:

When facing your horrible, nervous, tense fears,

clench the emotion, don`t grab those dreadful tears.

Take a deep breath, stand straight, stay strong,

keep your head up, don`t encounter the wrong.

Face the mad, sad fear, get yourself involved,

till you overcome it…and the problems solved.”

Ricky Owen

And it is true.

Now, months later, I have no qualms about smashing a scorpion or a black widow. It is satisfying to conquer your fears and regain the ability to think rationally about what exactly you are afraid of. Some fears, although you never quite get over them, can be brought into your control and tamed to a certain point so that they don’t hinder you.

If you have decided against going somewhere with poisonous bugs, or heights, or any of your fears, think again. Conquer them and experience something new!

The sun rises above the luxurious foliage of a green jungle.

Birds scream and monkeys howl, setting the tone for the day. Long, draping vines hang down, blocking out the sunlight from the jungle floor. Flowers bloom on the trees, letting their fragrance fill the air as they nod their bright heads in the radiant sunlight. A troop of carpenter ants trails along, carrying their nutritious burdens along the jungle floor to their nest. They crawl laboriously, over twigs and dead foliage, moving steadily towards their destination. Suddenly, the trees that surround them on all sides are gone as they enter a wide clearing. A massive pyramid of stone rises above the trees, towering towards the sky to greet the sun; unchanging, immovable, ancient.

Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza is an incredible piece of history, located deep in the Mexican jungle. Home to the Mayan people from 700 A.D. until the 1300’s, it remains well preserved for visitors to wander and imagine the lives local Mayan’s lived there. But be prepared, it is a very popular attraction and is rarely near-empty. It can also be very hot, even by my standards. So come prepared, bearing waterbottle, sunshades and hats!

Chichen Itza’s ballcourt and pillars of stone are incredible. Many pillars stand, tall and even now sturdy and strong. Archeologists speculate that they must have once held up great structures, as there are many of them covering quite a large perimeter.

Sadly, the great pyramid itself can no longer be climbed as it is not permitted.

I’ve heard that this is because a tourist fell down the incline years ago. In my lifetime it has not been open to visitors. Go to Teotihuacan to climb the pyramids there!

A tropical sunrise is worth seeing!

While you are visiting, be sure to watch the sun rise over the magnificent scene of the primeval city, lasting for ages past it’s time. Soak in the first beams of warm sunlight and hear the jungle awake to greet them. Watch as the sun hits the pyramid and bathes it in a glow of oranges and reds as it climbs slowly into the 21st century day. It is the waking moments of the morning; rejoice in the ages past and in the newness of a different day!