Erika Bisbocci
Erika is an avid traveler and explorer of over ninety countries on six different continents. Since 2011, she has spent time studying Arabic in the Middle East, teaching English in Namibia and working as a flight attendant for a major US airline. When not traveling overseas, she loves exploring her own backyard in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
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Day Trip to Mount St Helens National Monument
Four decades ago, Mount St Helens unleashed the most destructive eruption in modern US history. The volcano’s explosion expelled 520 million tons of ash that darkened the skies above Washington State. The plumes of smoke traveled eastward nearly 2,000 miles across the country—leaving a blanket of ash in their wake. The eruption of Mount St Helens created the largest debris avalanche in recorded history. It killed 57 people in its path, and wiped away much of the mountain’s northern face. Today—forty years after the explosion forever changed the appearance of…
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Making the Most of One Day in Maui
As a flight attendant, I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the world from a birds-eye vantage point. In fact, the notion of lounging on a beach merely hours before floating through the sky is nothing really out of the ordinary. It is just part of my life. But until I drove to the top of Haleakala Volcano for aerial views of the Hawaiian island chain, I didn’t know it was possible to view the world from sea level and 10,000 feet—within the span of two hours—without setting foot on an aircraft.…
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The Palouse Scenic Byway in Eastern Washington
The Palouse is a fertile patchwork of undulating hills, located primarily in the eastern reaches of Washington State. Speckled with picturesque barns and sheep-studded pastures, the Palouse represents a nostalgic depiction of rural American life. Yet, despite its seductive charm, this large swath of Washington farmland doesn’t get much love. It is often regarded as flyover country—overlooked in favor of the mountains, ocean, and forests that define the state’s western half. In part because of its relative unknown, and in part because we wanted the opportunity to visit Palouse Falls…
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12 Incredible Things to Do in Central Oregon
Central Oregon is one of the United States’ most beguiling outdoor playgrounds. In recent years, the area has soared in popularity. It has become a mecca for nature enthusiasts and recreation lovers. The fact that there are countless things to do in Central Oregon is no longer a secret. And today, its deserts, volcanoes and ponderosa forests—once largely dismissed in favor of fertile lands to the west—-are beginning to draw adventurous tourists in droves. Dan and I have always tried to go against the grain in our travels. We’ve often…
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Exploring the Newberry Crater in Central Oregon
Visiting the lava lands of Central Oregon is just about as close as one can get to setting foot on the moon. At least that is what researchers believed in the late 1960s, when they sent NASA astronauts to the Newberry Crater Volcanic Monument in order to test out spacesuits and equipment. Scientists believed the moon’s mysterious pockmarked terrain was a result of volcanic activity. So in order to prepare for what they might encounter in space, they performed extensive fieldwork at the Newberry Crater. Of all the lunar landscapes…
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Two Days in Munich: The Capital of Bavaria
Munich is a large city with a small-town feel. Boasting compact walkable streets and easy access to nature, it is at once modest in its aesthetics and outsized in its historical and cultural influence. A land of lederhosen, dirndls, and flowing steins of beer, it lies at the heart of German culture and tradition. Until 1871, Munich was the capital of an independent Bavaria. The city’s imperial palaces and Neoclassical buildings act as a reminder of Munich’s historical and cultural relevance. Meanwhile, just down the road in the suburb of…
