Suzie Dundas is a Lake Tahoe-based writer and outdoor enthusiast. Originally from the East Coast, she's embraced the California lifestyle and is always up for new, unique adventures.
Rent a Safari Vehicle for an Animal-Filled Rwanda Road Trip
Rwanda is a country of varied landscapes, offering up mountains, savannas, and jungles for eager tourists with an eye for beauty. For many westerners, a mention of the East/Central African country brings to mind its violent past, but it's been 30 years since Rwanda's civil war, and the country has since put a lot of effort into recovery, making it a welcoming place to visit.
A Trek to the Edge of the World
In Chilean Patagonia, Dientes de Navarino is a trek of superlatives. It starts from the southernmost town in the world—Puerto Williams, on the 55th parallel. Because it’s so close to the Antarctic tectonic plate, cold air and ferocious weather blow up from the frozen continent below. No other landmasses extend this far south, so winds from the east race uninterrupted around the globe bef...
A First-Timer’s Guide to the Marquesas Islands
There are 12 islands in the largely off-the-traveler-radar Marquesas archipelago.
Tourism is relatively new to the Marquesas Islands, making it an ideal place for thoughtful travelers to explore.
Nearly 900 miles west of mainland Tahiti is an archipelago relatively unknown to Western tourists, at least so far as South Pacific island destinations go. It’s the Marquesas archipelago—one of five island groups in French Polynesia—and includes 12 islands, onl...
Plan the Perfect Honeymoon for Two in Big Sur, California
You've probably seen images of Big Sur, whether you know it or not. Highway 1—the stunning coastal drive that runs through the entire length of Big Sur—is a frequent filming location for Hollywood, and has been since the days of Alfred Hitchcock and Elizabeth Taylor.
A Big Sur honeymoon is perfect for couples looking to celebrate their nuptials in a region known for its coastal bluffs and vistas, hidden beaches and lush, old-growth redwood trees. It's hard not to feel the romance as you sit o...
A Tahoe ghost town held the lost secret to a 150-year-old beer
'There's nothing to hide behind with lagers. If you f—k something up in the brewing process, you're going to taste it.'
One hundred and fifty years ago, a tiny town sprang up near Lake Tahoe along the Truckee River — but not Truckee. The town, called Boca, was established as a camp for men building the Central Pacific Railroad. But after the transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, the town didn’t go bust. Instead, it leaned on a natural resource the town had in spades: ice — and lots ...
Say Hello to Hells Bells, the World’s Largest Collection of Living Stalactites
In Quintana Roo, an hour from Playa del Carmen and just a mile off the highway, the jungle becomes lush, dense and inaccessible on foot. But plunge 100 feet straight down into one of the region's many cenotes and the view changes quite a bit. Instead of riotous greenery, you’ll be staring at a spectral haze where the saltwater meets freshwater. Called the halocline, it’s high in salt, low in oxygen and impenetrable to most organic matter that falls into the cenotes. As leaves and everything e...
The best local bar in Tahoe is inside a bougie grocery store
Around 12:15 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, I walked into what may be north Lake Tahoe's best-kept-secret, at least when it comes to avoiding tourists. Considering the time and the season, I expected to be the only person there.
How wrong I was.
After heading to the front left of the Raley's O-N-E Market in Truckee, going up the stairs behind the gas shut-off and promotional display of Tejava iced tea, and taking a left in front of the bathrooms, I reached my goal: the bar and lounge called McKi...
Great Basin National Park: The Complete Guide
Nevada is so much more than just Las Vegas, even though around 75 percent of the population lives in Las Vegas’ Clark County. Fortunately, that means the rest of the state is nearly empty, and that’s doubly true for Great Basin National Park, one of the least-visited parks in the entire US national park system.
Of the country's 63 national parks, Great Basin ranks 52 in terms of visitation, which leaves the park’s trails through bristlecone pine forests, cave systems, summits, and lakes relat...
Missing in the Alaska Triangle
Most of the Alaska Triangle is wilderness, dotted with glaciers and crevasses, massive lakes and rivers with unimaginably strong year-round currents, and remote towns linked by rough, winding roads through steep mountain passes. Given the dramatic terrain and Alaska's reputation for extreme weather (and more than 300,000 grizzlies, among other predatory species), it's perhaps not surprising that more than a few people have gone missing in this space since the 1980s.
Except that it's not a few...
8 of the Best Hotels in Cabo San Lucas for a Luxurious Beach Trip
Cabo San Lucas is a city in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. It’s on the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula and is a center for eco-tourism, scuba diving, and sport fishing.
But in the last decade or so, it’s also become a hot spot for high-end travelers, with a smattering of luxury hotels that exemplify an encouraging blend of five-star luxury, sustainability, and cultural offerings. Many of the best hotels in Cabo San Lucas offer travelers chances to learn about the surr...
The Best Places to See the Northern Lights on Your Honeymoon
Whether it's your honeymoon or an anniversary trip, witnessing the Aurora Borealis is an undeniably romantic experience.
Almost any place in the world can be a romantic destination for a honeymoon or celebratory getaway. If you're looking for something that will always be romantic, regardless of where you stay or what city you're in, there's an easy solution: book a trip to see the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
If you're wonderi...
The Best Dog-Friendly Vacation Tips for a Romantic Getaway or Honeymoon
As the average age of marriage in the US evolves, it's no surprise that most couples live together before getting married. And with that comes an increase in the number of engaged couples who share pets—which means more and more couples are choosing to include their pets in some capacity in the wedding celebrations.
This Tahoe dessert sounds odd, but it’s carrying on a 450-year tradition
As one of at least 15 restaurants along the roughly four-block stretch of downtown Truckee, Old Town Tap may look like any other popular restaurant. Diners usually fill its outdoor tables in the summer and gather around its outdoor heaters come October, and a step inside greets potential patrons with a cacophonous mix of lively conversation, hip music and sounds of glasses clinking and plates shuffling. An oversized David Bowie painting hangs on the wall; bartenders scurry back and forth in f...
'Sky Harbor Casino': The history of Tahoe's deadly defunct airport
Lake Tahoe’s Rabe Meadows is a popular place for tourists year-round. It offers flat snowshoeing trails with lake views in the winter and easy beach access and hiking in the summer and fall. But what most visitors don’t know is that it was also the site of more than half a dozen deadly aviation disasters between the mid-1940s and 1950 — a time when air travel to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco was still very, very dangerous.
In the early 1900s, getting to Lake Tahoe was a lengthy and arduous pr...
Developers debut new plan to revamp one of Tahoe's oldest towns
A new project planned for North Lake Tahoe’s shoreline community of Kings Beach would bid farewell to some businesses from the 1960s — though a beloved tourist staple will likely be spared.
The proposed redevelopment project is called 39 North Lake Tahoe, built on two sites Placer County calls the “Eastern Gateway Property” and “Kings Beach Center.”
The project includes plans for a 153-room hotel with commercial space on the first floor, 36 new townhouses and 74 income-restricted rental units...