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Travel

Even though canyoneering started in Europe during the 1970s, Utah is the capital of the sport, attracting rock climbers and mountaineers.

Canyoneering: Much More Than a Hike in the Park

The “Average Joe’s” extreme sport takes athletes high atop mountains and deep into canyons

The first microdistillery in the U.S. was California's St. George Spirits, founded in 1982.

In Texas, a Locavore’s Liquor

Microdistillers are making their mark around the Lone Star State

An actress dressed as Harriet Tubman reveals the wetlands along the Underground Railroad.

On the Trail of Harriet Tubman

Maryland’s Eastern Shore is home to many historical sites and parks devoted to the heroine of the Underground Railroad

Sticky rice is so ingrained in Laos' culinary heritage that most Laotians don't think about it in isolation.

A Taste of Sticky Rice, Laos’ National Dish

One cannot travel to the Southeast Asian country without many meals of sticky rice, the versatile staple of Laotian cuisine

With steady sunshine and cheap labor, Colombian farms yield $1 billion in exports, dominating the United States market.

The Secrets Behind Your Flowers

Chances are the bouquet you’re about to buy came from Colombia. What’s behind the blooms?

Designed by Polish-American Daniel Libeskind, the Zlota 44 building, which is under construction, may lift the city's profile.

Warsaw on the Rise

A new crop of skyscrapers symbolizes the Polish capital’s effort to rebuild its downtrodden image

"Right out the window is a kind of nature preserve all in itself," says T.C. Boyle in his Santa Barbara home.

The Wildlife of T.C. Boyle’s Santa Barbara

The author finds inspiration at the doorstep of his Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house near the central California town

In his new book, iDubai, Joel Sternfeld publishes scores of photographs from his iPhone.

Seeing Dubai Through a Cell Phone Camera

At a shopping mall in Dubai, Joel Sternfeld documents the peak of consumer culture with his iPhone

Chanterelle mushroom ragout from Chef Stephanie Kimmel of Marché in Eugene, Ore.

Delicious Wild Mushroom Recipes

From two of Oregon’s best chefs come two recipes to liven up your wild fungi

A marriage of local foods advocacy and recession-consciousness, mushroom foraging is especially hot stuff in rainy Oregon.

The Surprisingly Exciting World of Mushroom Picking

In the forests of Oregon, foragers, farmers and chefs have their eyes stuck on the ground looking for one thing: wild mushrooms

Maysville, Kentucky

Maysville, Kentucky

An important little town

Lanesboro, Minnesota

Lanesboro, Minn.

‘There are so many happenings, I cannot list them all’

Contemporary Northern Cheyenne artist Bently Spang wove together photographic negatives and prints of his family’s Montana ranch to design a variation on a traditional war shirt.

Highlights From “Infinity of Nations”

A new exhibition explores thousands of years of artwork from the Native nations of North, Central and South America

The "cemeteries were park and playground," recalls Ernest B. Furgurson, in the National Cemetery.

Danville, Virginia: Hallowed Ground

The town’s Civil War cemeteries deepened Ernest Furguson’s view of history as a young boy

The rickety platforms—"norries" to the locals—carry passengers and freight on wobbly rails left over from an abandoned transit system.

Catching the Bamboo Train

Rural Cambodians cobbled old tank parts and scrap lumber into an ingenious way to get around

These pigs are used for baying, which is how hunters train their dogs to bring the pigs down.

A Plague of Pigs in Texas

Now numbering in the millions, these shockingly destructive and invasive wild hogs wreak havoc across the southern United States

This past June, photographer Russ Juskalian made a 170-mile trip by norry and wrote about it for his first Smithsonian feature story.

Russ Juskalian on “Catching the Bamboo Train”

In 1980, Taxila was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, for not only of its architecture and statues, but also in recognition of the many different cultures that influenced its development.

A Walk Through Taxila

The ancient remains in Pakistan represent a glimpse into the history of two of India’s major religions

El Paso, Texas

El Paso, Texas

A city on the edge

Mud-brick homes dot the hillside along the road from Bamyan City to the Bamyan Family Park.

A Short Walk in the Afghan Countryside

On their way to a park built in the shadow of Bamiyan’s Buddhas, two Americans encounter remnants of war and signs of promise

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