Getting the flavor of …

A Rhineland village on the Missouri

Hermann, Mo., an 1830s Missouri River town 80 miles west of St. Louis, likes to call itself “a Rhineland village,” said Kit Kiefer in The New York Times. Founded by German settlers who soon set about planting vineyards on its steep hills, Hermann quickly developed into America’s leading 19th-century wine producer. Today eight wineries remain, most notably Stone Hill. The German influence remains evident. Red-brick houses on streets with names such as Mozart and Schiller run up hills as steep as those in San Francisco. The Octoberfest “brings four weekends of wine tours, music, and food.” Hermann is home to more than 70 B&Bs and numerous antiques shops. Unlike Branson, in the state’s southwest, Hermann does not have “water parks, music theaters, casinos, or magic shows— just rambling woods” and horse farms ringed by white fences. Contact: Hermannmo.com

Hiking the Grand Canyon

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After hiking more than six hours along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in 100-degree heat, said John Deiner in The Washington Post, “death seemed like a good idea.” No wonder less than 1 percent of the 4.5 million people who visit the Grand Canyon each year ever see it “from the ground up.” In the pre-dawn hours, a group of us had set off on the Bright Angel Trail, with Phantom Ranch our ultimate destination. The descent took nine and a half hours, one kneecrunching step after another. During our stay at Phantom Ranch we relaxed, enjoyed family-style meals with other guests, and watched the moonlight flood the canyon floor “like a beacon in a prison yard.” The 14-mile return hike up the North Kaibab trail to the Northern Rim began as a pleasant stroll along a creek. Eleven hours later, it had turned into “a heart-pounding ascent up thousands of feet on narrow, unforgiving cliff sides.” Contact: Nps.gov/grca