Category Archives: Food

The Ten Most Exotic Foods in the World

Here in the United States, fresh off a long holiday weekend, many of us are recovering from tryptophan hangovers. On paper it sounds exotic, but an overindulgence of Thanksgiving turkey is hardly anything compared to a dose of caterpillar carcass fungi, who’s viagra-like effects are apparently worth killing for. In the spirit of this gluttonous […]

What is a cultural neighborhood?- It’s short notice, but you can find out today.

In Denver, there is a cool email service called “This Week in Denver.”  It gives updates on the latest and greatest events Denver has to offer each week. The great thing about the service is that most of the events are something unusual that might be completely off the radar.  They definitely do a good […]

New Video – Tequila and the Jose Cuervo Plant

In a little town in the heart of Mexico, a long time ago a lightning bolt hit an agave plant. It cooked the plant and later the local people found that the cooked fermented plant produced a sweet juice that made them feel good. Ages later that little town was named Tequila and the drink was too. When we visited this little gem, we thought it would just be a simple fun time learning about how the world famous liquor was made at the main headquarters in Mexico, but what we did not realize is that the drink, and the town have an incredibly rich history and culture. The visit to the town turned into a truly memorable experience after we spent the day on the VIP

Valdez, Pronounced Valdeez

The Richardson Highway that we took down to Valdez, Alaska is one long, meandering curve after another. Barely a stretch of straight road created awe-inspiring vistas that seemed to just spring-up of nowhere. One second we were driving along the road with tall trees and colorful wildflowers by our sides, the next second our eyes were popping out of our heads trying to comprehend the magnificence of a stunning sight of sun beams bathing massive, jagged snow-covered peaks that somehow just appeared in front of us. That stretch of highway was made for the gods, I do believe.

Trip to Old Minto

The sense of community we all felt when we arrived at the Old Minto camp for an Athabasca Indian potlatch was incredible and inspiring. We were all very fortunate to interact with them and learned a great deal on our tour of the camp.

It began with a 30-mile boat trip up the Tanana River from Nenana, Alaska to the site that was originally settled in 1912. They have since moved their camp to a new location based on the flooding that continually caused them to flee, but still return to their old location for celebrations. It was here they were having a celebratory potlatch, as they come to the Old Minto a few times throughout the summer.

Catching up in Fairbanks

Don’t get me wrong, I cherish these unique experiences and it’s one of the main reasons that I’m on the expedition. However, after the mad dash to the Arctic Ocean and back I think I speak for all of us on the crew when saying we were happy to have a host for a couple of nights at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge upon our return to Fairbanks.

New Photos – The Jose Cuervo Distileria

Back in Mexico, there is a special town named Tequila. As you all may have guessed, that is where Tequila comes from. It is one of the most charming cities we went to on the entire expedition and the tour of the Jose Cuervo headquarters was impressive to say the least. While you might expect the tour to be just a standard corporate tour coming from the one of the largest liquor brands in the world, it actually had an intimacy that was quite welcoming.

Nels’ Notes: Nomadic Wandering Shenanigans March 29-April 4, 2009

To say this week was jam-packed would be a complete understatement. We began at a beautiful hotel in Chipinque National Park in Monterrey, Mexico, and ended the week in a hostel in Austin, Texas. Sunday and Monday night we had the pleasure of staying at Hotel Chipinque overlooking the city of Monterrey. It was a perfect place to relax, enjoy the views and prepare for our break for the US border. Our recently remodeled luxurious cabana had two living rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a master bedroom, another room with two single beds, and an outdoor patio. The service, staff, food and accommodations were first class.

Texas Hospitality: Quick Spotlight of Great Establishments

We are now back on US soil, and have been fortunate enough to work with some great companies here in Houston, Texas. These places, like many others along the way, have been crucial for the expedition, and have really made our experience in Houston an incredible one. All these places have really shown us some real Texas Hospitality after a long journey around the world.

Nels’ Notes: Nomadic Wandering Shenanigans March 15-20, 2009

The crew and our week-on-the-road-warriors (Shoppman’s sister, Katie and her husband, Nate) awoke Sunday morning in our ocean-side rustic cabana in Nexpa. Nate did some masterful mechanic tricks on the Sequoia over the weekend, so we were set to head to Barra de Navidad.