Road Trips
Nature and Camping Trips to Take From Chicago
One common knock against the Chicago area is that “real” nature seems far away. Apart from Lake Michigan — arguably the region’s best natural attribute — it’s sprawling suburbs and monotone fields of corn in every direction. I have subscribed to this idea for years. But it’s not actually true. If you’re looking for nature […]
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The Dream of the Open Road Collides With the Reality of $5-a-Gallon Gas
Gas prices have risen nearly every day since our trip began on May 12. According to AAA’s tracker, the national average hit $5 a gallon on Saturday. We had no choice but to adapt to the high prices, and in retrospect I think that was for the best. Instead of hitting museums and cool restaurants […]
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Stuckey’s Pins Revival on the Return of the Great American Road Trip
“We look for stuff you don’t see in every roadside place,” Ms. Stuckey said. Certain classics — rubber alligators and coonskin caps — remain popular, as do Mexican blankets and Baja jackets. “Jesus stuff sells,” Ms. Stuckey said. “We brought in walking sticks recently, and we blew through them.” Less popular? “License plate signs — […]
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A Woman Alone in Oman: Three Weeks Along the Arabian Coast
I could barely tell where the salt ended and the sky began. I was on my way to Masirah, Oman’s largest island, when the surrounding terrain turned into a massive salt flat. At its edge, near the road, two Bangladeshi workers were up to their ankles in the mixture of liquid and minerals, pushing the […]
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Despite High Gas Prices, Road Trips Are Still Popular
“Even with gas prices going up, it would be hard to fly somewhere and get hotels for two weeks for nearly the same price,” said Mr. Willamor, who works in information technology support. In recent weeks, Mr. Willamor has cut down on unnecessary local driving and is working from home a few days a week. […]
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A Photographer’s View of Jordan’s Many Splendors
In September 2021, after more than two years without traveling, my girlfriend and I decided to take a trip to Jordan — mainly to see the ancient city of Petra. For 10 days we traveled through the country from north to south in a rental car, tallying around 760 miles. Our itinerary took us along […]
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The Eerie, Lunar Nothingness of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast
We had been driving for four hours and had yet to see another soul. No people. No cars. Just eerie, lunar nothingness stretching south to the horizon. To the left, desert; to the right, ocean. A packed salt road sewed a tight seam between the two. Under an overcast sky, the three surfaces faded into […]
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Helping to Reveal a Still-Shuttered World
In March 2020, as lockdowns fell into place worldwide, The Times’s Travel desk launched a new visual series to help readers cope with their confinement. We called it The World Through a Lens — and, frankly, we didn’t expect it to last this long. But as the weeks turned into months, and the months into […]
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