Getting the flavor of...

Yellowstone in winter

Cold as my toes are, “the wolf at the end of my telescope is providing an interesting diversion,” said Suzanne Morphet in The Boston Globe. I didn’t expect to see so much wildlife in Yellowstone National Park in January, but that’s one of the upsides of visiting now: For those of us who brave the chill of winter in northwest Wyoming, “it feels like we’ve got the park, the animals—and the specialists—all to ourselves.” A park biologist accompanying me informs me that the wolf is scouting for a mate from another pack, which heightens the drama. Later, we spot coyotes, trumpeter swans, and bison herds roaming against a dramatic backdrop of exploding geysers. Yellowstone is essentially one big active volcano, so geysers, fumaroles, and hot springs punctuate the landscape. Cross-country skiing one afternoon, I fail to reach Old Faithful in time for its daily eruption. But I do come within yards of a lone coyote.

Birthplace of the King

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Elvis Presley fans owe it to themselves to visit his Mississippi birthplace, said Millie Ball in the Los Angeles Times. Tupelo has four times won an All-America City Award, and it does full justice to the King’s memory. Elvis’s father built the two-room cottage where Elvis was born, in 1935, and the neat, whitewashed building still stands in its original location. Today, it’s surrounded by a 15-acre park that includes the modest church where Elvis gained his love of gospel music. A multimedia show plays when tour groups step inside, and even the park’s ladies restroom features a continuously playing video of Elvis performing “Blue Suede Shoes.” On nearby Main Street, Tupelo Hardware has an X on its floor that marks where Elvis probably stood when his mother bought him his first guitar. Lore has it that Elvis wanted a .22-caliber rifle, but Gladys wouldn’t grant his wish. Today, the store sells both guitars and guitar-shaped cast-iron pans.