Author: tracy
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Selma marches, Bloody Sunday mark 50th anniversaries
My latest for USA Today, and one I really enjoyed doing. The best part was interviewing two heroes of the Civil Rights movement – Vera Booker and Gwen Patton, who put their bodies on the line time after time. Sad that 50 years later, people are still having to fight for the same things. But…
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Rocky Mountain National Park celebrates 100th Anniversary
Tracy L. Barnett Special to USA Today It was January 1915, and big things were happening. Alexander Graham Bell made the first transcontinental phone call; the U.S. House of Representatives rejected an outlandish proposal to give women the vote; and the devastating Great War in Europe was making waves across the Atlantic, with the first…
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Enjoying the best, preparing for the worst
Patricia and Mark Rauch were planning a trip to Italy to celebrate a cousin’s 60th birthday, and they decided to explore a less-beaten path across the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Rochelle and Alan Jacobson have always sought out exotic, challenging destinations far from tourist zones, so Myanmar had been on their list for a long…
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Común Tierra: A journey through sustainable communities of the Americas
(All photos courtesy of Común Tierra) Editor’s note: In November of 2010, as I was winding down my journey through the Americas, documenting sustainability initiatives in the 10 countries I visited, my path crossed with that of Ryan Luckey and Leticia Rigatti, the couple who make up Común Tierra. They were doing exactly what I…
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Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians
This week Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians had its world premiere – fittingly in the remote mountain enclave of Real de Catorce, the picturesque colonial capital of Wirikuta – followed by a second showing after a rugged two-day journey into Wixarika territory in the even more remote Sierra Madre. The most important movie to date…
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National Parks: Revisiting “America’s best idea”
Arches National Park (Neal Herbert photo courtesy of National Park Service) Historian and author Wallace Stegner once called the National Park System “America’s best idea.” Nearly a century after the park service was established, most who have had the privilege of visiting a few of our national parks would be sure to agree. Nothing captures…
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What kind of traveler are you? San Antonio Trips for 5 Types of Travelers
By Tracy L. Barnett Special package for USA Today’s Experience Weekend site Remember the Alamo? Well, San Antonio has a whole lot more to offer visitors these days, almost enough to make you forget about that iconic shrine to Texas liberty. Miles and miles of newly developed spaces along the River Walk, an irresistible selection…
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Helmut, the German medicine man
Living in Teopatli Kalpulli has many advantages, and one of them is the constant stream of wise and interesting individuals who come our way. Recently we enjoyed a workshop with Helmut, a German medicine man who comes to Teopantli Kalpulli every two years to participate in the Promesa del Sol ceremony. During his stay he…