Getting the flavor of ... Maine’s moose hangout, and more

Maine’s moose hangout

A weekend at Maine’s Moosehead Lake appealed to me for two reasons, said Christopher Borrelli in the Chicago Tribune. Not only did its densely forested surroundings promise me the chance to see moose in their natural habitat, it also guaranteed more moose than people. Three hours north of Portland, Moosehead Lake sits at the doorstep of Maine’s “hallowed north woods.” A “long glowing patch of flat water,” the state’s largest lake is cradled by the forested Longfellow Mountains. “‘Tranquil’ understates it.” Moosehead offers the same peace and quiet that Henry David Thoreau found and wrote about in his 1864 travel journal, The Maine Woods. As I stood at the water’s edge, “the horizon shifted from blue to the silver of the sun to the green of the forest.” Two moose, looking like “a pair of Secret Service agents,” eyed me as they patrolled the area. In a single afternoon, I had found everything I came for.

Contact: Mooseheadlake.org

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Santa Fe’s ageless allure

Though Santa Fe turned 400 this year, the picturesque New Mexico capital remains in a state of “perpetual renewal,” said Christopher Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times. The freshly redeveloped Railyard District is the city’s newest attraction. Formerly an embarrassment, the neighborhood was adopted by a nonprofit land trust in the mid-1990s and is now home to 10 galleries, several arts organizations, a handful of restaurants, and the city’s main farmers’ market. A “long shaded walkway” connects the various establishments, making it easy for visitors to pop in and out of galleries during monthly “art walks.” Thirteen acres of “landscaped open space” eventually will be linked to a citywide trail network, but the district is already well connected to the wider world. A tourist train offers sightseeing excursions, and the Rail Runner—a handy commuter train—provides quick access to Albuquerque and its airport.

Contact: Santafe.org