Surrounded by mounds of white powder and yellow Caterpillar snow graders you’d think you were in the United States’ northeast not its southwest. But these are sand dunes—blindingly white-as-snow dunes that are easily mistaken for the cold stuff, especially when you see kids sliding down on cardboard sleds and flying saucers.

Located just a few hours north of the Mexican border, this is the closest thing to snow you’ll find this far south. The dunes are composed of gypsum sand that have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and provide a strange environment for a number of plants and animals. Even if you’re not into sledding down hills of warm snow, the hiking is great and the photo opportunities amazing. more…

Start this fresh, new year right by thinking about all the trips you hope to take and exactly how you’re going to save money so that you can travel more—sooner, further and more often. Almost every aspect of travel can be done economically or expensively and everyone has their own comfort level as to how low they can go. Here are my tips to get you going:

1. Start Early: The earlier you start planning and researching your trip, the better chance you have of getting a good price for practically every part of it. We all dream of those fabulous last-minute deals but the reality is that most people panic a week or two before the trip and buy over-priced hotels and airfares and are very limited by what’s available. more…

A city with the historical complexity of Philly can’t possibly be given justice in a weekend visit nor in the brief description I provide here. But both do offer a taste that might compel a person to return for a deeper experience.

Famous events in the founding of the United States draw many American tourists to visit important sites such as where the Declaration of Independence was signed, stops on the Underground Railroad, the nation’s first hospital and its first “White House”, the Liberty Bell, and the home of poet Edgar Allan Poe as well as those of other famous persons. more…

World travelers have this peculiar sentimentality about the way things are done back home that is colored by distance and time away. After traveling and living abroad for five years my expectations of customer service in the USA are, not surprisingly, a little out of whack.

But wow! Was I surprised at the frequency and variety of blunders I encountered in just two weeks of trying to do business. These were mostly by national and international companies who should know better. more…

Read about my recent experiences with American Airlines, Hilton Hotels, Staples office supplies, T Mobile, Men’s Wearhouse and others as I spent two weeks traveling for business in the land that thinks it’s number one in customer service. Boy do we have a long way to go in fixing what’s wrong. Friday in Baby Boomers Traveling.