The Grand Canyon draws me back year after year. With each visit I feel as though I see it in a whole new way. I also enjoy many favorite haunts that feel as familiar as an old pair of slippers. The Kolb Brothers Studio is one of these places. In 1903, ten years before the Grand Canyon was named as a National Park, Ellsworth and Emery Kolb founded a photographic studio at the Bright Angel Trailhead. They would take pictures of people heading down the trail on mules and have them developed by the time the people returned. This was no small feat considering they needed to make a nine-mile round-trip to get water each time on covering 3,360 vertical feet. Their studio still clings to the edge of the canyon today and has a shop upstairs and a studio down below. The park rangers occasionally give presentations on the studio and take visitors into the living quarters.

http://www.grandcanyon.org/kolb/

http://www.nps.gov

http://www.grandcanyon.org

I recently bought a hat. I wanted a hat that would smush into my suitcase, but not look too ridiculous and smush my hair, and would protect my ears, nose, and neck from the sun. I looked at online websites and finally picked out a hat that I liked. Then I read the specs on the hat. The site stated the hat had Insect Shield Insect Repellant protection. I had never heard of Insect Shield before and I was skeptical. The site claimed the hat would repel mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and other biting insects. I grew up in Minnesota, land of mosquitoes and ticks, and didn’t really believe that a hat could repel bugs. But I liked the hat and ordered it anyway. Before it arrived I was already having regrets. What if the hat smelled like bug repellant and my whole suitcase would smell that way? What if whatever made it repel pests also made it stiff and scratchy and itchy? When it arrive, I opened the package carefully. I sniffed it – it just smelled like new hat. I felt it – it just felt like a cotton poly blend. So I took it along. On my trip I visited beekeepers and strolled through vineyards and went kayaking and went to the beach. I don’t remember any bugs except for one night when I was dining outdoors — without my hat.

http://www.insectshield.com/

Minnesota established Itasca State Park in 1891. It includes more than 100 lakes, particularly the lake that gives birth to the Mighty Mississippi River, sending over 2500 miles of river rolling through the United States down to the Gulf of Mexico. At the spot pictured above, visitors can cross the river on foot. Certainly, this is the most popular spot in the park. However, Itasca State Park offers so much more. Bicycles are available for rent to ride the 17 miles of paved trails through old-growth pine forests and a mile-long wooden bridge through the lowlands. A swimming beach, boat and canoe rental, and plenty of picnic tables offer plenty of recreation. The historic Douglas Lodge was built in 1905, and now provides accomodations including The Itasca Suites. It’s easy to relax in one of the rocking chairs by the fireplace before or after a meal in the restaurant. If you are ever in Northern Minnesota, this 32,000-acre parcel of protected land is a rustic delight.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/narrative.html

On Long Beach Island at Brant Beach, New Jersey is an unexpected boutique hotel called Daddy O. I visited during an unusual heatwave and found this modern, yet retro 22-room hotel to be delightful. The contemporary rooms had a flat-screen TV and a wireless connection for checking in with reality. For checking out of reality, the beach is just a block in one direction, while the bay is a block in the other direction. While the rooms were fine, it was the bathroom that I will remember. Hotel bathrooms are not often memorable, but Daddy O’s bathroom was luxurious after a day out in the sun and sand. The rain shower in the marble bath soothed both body and soul. The large sink provided plenty of room for rinsing out beachwear. The shampoo, body wash and lotion were high-end offerenigs with terrific aromatherapy to fill the senses. The hotel also has a full bar and contemporary restaurant, along with a store selling liquor and packaged goods right in the building. Did I mention the rooftop deck?

Daddy O is open year-round and provides a great escape anytime. Find Daddy O at 4401 Long Beach Blvd, Brant Beach, NJ 08008. Phone: 609-361-5100. http://www.daddyohotel.com/