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Untethered as the Birds: Zip Lining in the Smoky Mountains
The Appalachian Way Home, Tennessee Rebecca Loomis The Appalachian Way Home, Tennessee Rebecca Loomis

Untethered as the Birds: Zip Lining in the Smoky Mountains

I feel giddy as they lead us higher, higher, higher into the sky, leaving the lush green trees that once surrounded us at our feet, and at the feet of the rugged blue peaks I now spot in the distance, shrouded in wisps of fog. The most biodiverse National Park in the United States, the Smoky Mountains smell of mist, clay, and clouds. I inhale the trees’ breath and relish the tingle of minuscule rain droplets that litter my skin, no longer fighting the inevitable merging of my once-clean body with Earth’s fingerprints.

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Window To The Sky: Arches National Park

Window To The Sky: Arches National Park

The postcards do not show the smooth crater like a black hole threatening to suck the arch away into the center of the earth; nor the breathtaking and treacherous view beyond its keyhole. A rounded frame, it holds within itself the desert’s deadly beauty, which—akin to Galadriel in Lord of the Rings—bellows, “All will love me and despair!” My awe is tempered by caution as the empty deadness warns us of what we’ll become should we get lost or misstep.

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Bryce Canyon Trail Ride

Bryce Canyon Trail Ride

We descend into the spindles, gradually transforming what seemed a distant painting into walls that tower over us. At every turn, we discover new castles, monuments, windows, and valleys, all reaching their blood-orange fingertips toward the periwinkle sky. Can we really be just miles from where we started? For I feel as though I’ve been transported to Mars.

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A Mortal Among Seraphim: Hiking Angel's Landing in Zion National Park

A Mortal Among Seraphim: Hiking Angel's Landing in Zion National Park

The hot desert sun and thin mountain air have made good on their reputations long before we’ve even reached the base of the fin-like formation that juts 1,500 feet out of the canyon. I gasp for breath and wipe sweat from my brow, trying not to think about the sign we pass that warns me not to be the fourteenth fall since 2004.

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Chasing Ghosts on Skyline Drive to Shenandoah National Park
The Appalachian Way Home, Virginia Rebecca Loomis The Appalachian Way Home, Virginia Rebecca Loomis

Chasing Ghosts on Skyline Drive to Shenandoah National Park

I drive alone on black roads coiling like a snake ‘round misty blue mountains, rendered flat by haze, with nothing and no one for company but the blissful expanse of nature. I emerge from my parked vessel to stand in the middle of it and stare down a long, echoing tunnel that splits the cliff, tempting fate as the tremendous roar of an oncoming car reaches my ears. As I sprint to safety, the sound fades into the distant calls of crows and miniature waterfalls trickling down the mountain’s face.

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Fleeting, Yet Forever: Hiking Millbrook Mountain in Minnewaska State Park
Autumn in the Hudson Valley, New York Rebecca Loomis Autumn in the Hudson Valley, New York Rebecca Loomis

Fleeting, Yet Forever: Hiking Millbrook Mountain in Minnewaska State Park

By the end of today I will say to myself: “Why did I have to climb so high?” For my ambition will end in stinging blisters and aching arches as I descend this mountain; but for now, I ignore the warning voice that tells of temperance, and I rise. I rise to where the sky is wide as the sea, where birds fly below me and treetops—speckled with every shade of autumn—look like shrubbery. Here, I can see my mortality in the treacherous edge of the cliff, and my spirit in the hazy blue horizon. We are both fleeting, yet forever.

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Sea Kayaking to Playa Blanca, Costa Rica
Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis

Sea Kayaking to Playa Blanca, Costa Rica

We kayaked around a little peninsula of dry mounds that Walter said would be bright green in the rainy season. (Costa Rica only has two seasons: dry and rainy, always hot.) After so much time in the jungle, it felt good to be on the open ocean. We didn’t paddle super far, but came around to a spot called Blanco beach, where the sand was white and soft. There, we stopped to swim and see some fish hidden among the rocks. I saw a few bright blue ones that reminded me of the blue morpho butterflies, a brilliant shade that seemed impossible.

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Costa Rica Waterfall Exploration
Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis

Costa Rica Waterfall Exploration

The final waterfall fell from towering heights into a vast turquoise pool. I swam to the side and climbed into the edges of the waterfall, letting it pelt me with stinging droplets. It was a magnificent end to a magnificent adventure. The four of us gathered for a group photo, and then began our journey back down the mountain. On the way, Tucker chased poison dart frogs, and Naomi and I sat on a twisting vine commonly called “Monkey Stairs.” It was truly wild.

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Miro Mountain by Horseback
Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis

Miro Mountain by Horseback

The horse in front of me, Paola, liked to stop stubbornly for herbal snacks along the way. We saw a weird, turkey-like bird in a tree with a red neck, and a toucan flew overhead so quickly that I would have missed it if the guide hadn’t pointed it out. Our final destination was Miro’s Mountain View to watch the sun sink lower in the sky, after which we returned the way we’d come.

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An ATV Adventure Among Costa Rican Cows, Macaws, Monkeys, & Sloths
Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis

An ATV Adventure Among Costa Rican Cows, Macaws, Monkeys, & Sloths

Opening a wooden and wire gate, our tour guide announced, “Welcome to Jurassic Park!” The terrain was earthy—lots of dirt, some mud, bumps, and trudging through water. Up and down and around we went, sometimes fast, sometimes carefully down steep slopes. At one point, we came into a pasture of cows that ran out of our way as we passed, mooing adorably!

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Zip Lining Through Costa Rican Jungles
Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis Costa Rica, Costa Rica Pura Vida Rebecca Loomis

Zip Lining Through Costa Rican Jungles

After a brief training, we began the journey up the mountain via a tractor up a steep, winding path. At times, it was hard to stay in my seat as gravity pulled me toward the back of the trailer! We got off and made our way into the dark jungle to the first platform. The trees loomed tall above us, teeming with the sounds of foreign chirps. Were they frogs? Birds? Crickets? I don’t know, but it was music to my ears.

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