In the early 1980s, what others saw as a pile of rocks, developer Rusty Lyon envisioned as a world-class destination. He snapped up 13,000 acres filled with boulders and cacti in the High Sonoran Desert foothills of Arizona. Then, he tapped architect Bob Bacon to...
Best known as the setting for the long-loved film “Pretty Woman,” the iconic Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel, is a history-rich landmark. In January 1928, Beverly Hills was home to 18,000 residents, including movie stars Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and Rudolph Valentino, and the...
A couple years ago, I fell asleep in a hotel room painted with sky blue walls and puffy clouds with faces on them; a little girl in ceremonial dress sat cross-legged, and a city on a hilltop rose in the distance. Above me, the ceiling...
Years ago, I was lured to Walla Walla, Washington, by its emerging national profile as a worthy wine region. It was a fine day trekking through vineyards with visionary producers and tasting mostly reds at L’Ecole No. 41, Pepper Bridge Winery, Seven Hills Winery, Dunham...
Observing its 10th anniversary in 2019, the Allison Inn & Spa, an 85-room destination resort in Newberg, Oregon, just southwest of Portland, displays 500-plus original works by more than 100 Oregonian artists, featuring paintings in many styles, photography, ceramics, fiber art, and sculpture. The LEED...
American aristocracy stayed at Castle Hot Springs first: the Vanderbilts, Pews, Rockefellers, and then the Wrigleys. Former President Teddy Roosevelt stayed here before dedicating the nearby reclamation dam that was named for him. His cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also visited. A future president, John F....
During my first night at The Oasis at Death Valley, this city slicker was captivated by an eye-popping plethora of stars forming a hazy band of light across the black sky. This was outmatched the following morning when Mother Nature illuminated the panorama with a...
Pulling on a pair of borrowed rain boots, I hop into an ATV with Tim Soderquist, land manager of Spread Oaks Ranch. We drive off, splashing through the occasional puddle. It’s a foggy spring morning, a little moody out after last night’s thunderstorm, and there’s...
[caption id="attachment_18330" align="alignleft" width="344"] Triple Creek Ranch offers a mountain escape for guests along with traditional ranch adventures, such as horseback riding.[/caption] Tucked away among tall, lush pines in Western Montana, near the West Fork of the Bitterroot River and at the base of Trapper Peak,...
The Retreat and Links at Silvies Valley Ranch is located in a remote corner of Eastern Oregon. And one of its most revered employees, Bruce, is living his dream life. We instantly became friends when I arrived at the property’s seven-hole McVeigh Gauntlet Golf Course,...