By Susan Joy Paul

The research for my book Touring Colorado Hot Springs involved a lot of travel around the state, soaking in hot springs pools and ponds, and meeting with hot springs management and staff. In the spring of 2011, these folks were all plenty busy preparing for the big Memorial Day weekend, the traditional kick-off to hot springs season. Although most of the hot springs in Colorado are open year-round, that weekend through Labor Day is when they attract the most soakers. So I was pleased and relieved when the staff at each one made time for me, to show me around their hot springs, allow me to soak, and answer all my questions.

By Melinda Crow, www.betravelhappy.com

There is no better way to fully experience the change of seasons than to be outdoors. Fall air is cleaner, crisper, and the night sky seems at its most brilliant. Spend a few days outside in the fall and you begin to feel the changing rhythms of nature. The hot, lazy days of summer are long past and the expectation of what is to come seems to put birds and mammals on a frenzied time clock. Fall camping offers a renewal of activities that you may have put aside during the heat of summer and the cooler temperatures allow your pace to quicken along with the wildlife.

Back in late July, my girlfriend Allyson and I went to St. Thomas for a friend’s destination wedding. To make the most out of the trip, we decided to stay an extra couple of days to relax, soak up some sun (and some tasty beverages), and maybe do a little outdoor exploring to get away from the hotel. Booking a morning kayak excursion seemed like a pretty good idea.

by Jim Woodmencey

When I was 18 years old I wasn’t very weather savvy and rarely checked the forecast before I went into the mountains. I had been rock climbing for about three years, a sport I became impassioned with in high school, but I was not, at that point, very experienced.

My partner and I set out to do a Grade III climb in Yosemite, on a brilliantly sunny day in late May. Grade III is an all-day endeavor, and this particular climb was 1600 feet long and normally should take around eight hours to complete, with another two or three hours to descend back to the valley floor, via a completely different route. We were looking at a full day in the mountains.