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Articles by Jen Judge
What It’s Like to Dive In Palau’s Jellyfish Lake
Swim among millions of jellyfish in an isolated lagoon. I’d heard about a small island nation, Palau, in the western Pacific that made ecotourism and conservation a priority. Its “Palau Pledge” states that international arrivals must sign a promise to the country’s children that they will “tread lightly, act kindly, and explore mindfully” – that they will not harm the environment during their stay.
See What Makes Riana Campground the Perfect Homebase for RV Camping
Many Riana Campground sites, nestled among piñons and junipers, feel private while offering access to hiking and good RV living. SIX YEARS AGO my wife, Jen Judge, and I bought an Airstream trailer. Her initial plan was to use it as our winter home, escaping our permanent residence in Santa Fe and heading to Arizona before the first snowfall.
High Country Valhalla
Right: The ranch has 30 miles of trout streams. Left: Turner hosts a dinner to celebrate the reopening of Casa Grande. FLY ROD RAISED LIKE A BROADSWORD, James Reidy crashes into a thicket of head-high willows on the shore of Merrick Lake with all the subtlety of an elk chased through dry timber. Normally as light on his feet as a cat, he explains that years ago he nearly stumbled into a mountain lion in this thicket and has since always broadcast his presence with some thrashing.
An Inside Look at Our 2019 Bike Test
Photo: Jen Judge The descent on Palisade Rim Trail offered up plenty of turns and chances to carve the 25 mountain bikes we called in for the test. Photo: Jen Judge The road biking around Grand Junction is almost unmatched. Here, testers make their way through the varied landscape and S-curves of Reeder Mesa Loop. Photo: Jen Judge Kazzy Saito, mobile mechanic for Zen Bikeworks, wrenches on the All-City Gorilla Monsoon.
Grizzlyland: Bear Spotting in Alaska
A bear testing the waters. An expedition cruise through Katmai National Park proves one of the wildest rides in Alaska. A brown bear the size of a smart car strides past me, 15 yards from my quivering knees, and I hold my breath as if I’m hiding from a burglar. The bear sees me – I’m sitting on a plastic bucket in a wide-open tidal flat in the wilds of Alaska, where there’s about as much cover as in a Kansas wheat field – yet he saunters past.
Not Mexican food. Not Tex-Mex. Why New Mexican cuisine is its own thing.
Photo by Celia Raney Nothing burns our burritos like hearing people—including otherwise knowledgeable foodies—refer to New Mexico’s cuisine as “Tex-Mex” or “Mexican.” The confusion is understandable to a point.
Flight Deal: Mainland U.S. to Honolulu from $397 Round-Trip
Hawaii flight deals just keep comin'. And right now, some fall round-trip, non-stop flights to Honolulu are as low as $397 from the West Coast and $592 from the East Coast. We're used to seeing $300-ish flights with a stop or two, so these deals are solid, especially if you don't want to spend more than ten hours in transit. Seattle has the cheapest flights, with Los Angeles , San Diego , San Francisco , and Portland posting $437 round-trip deals.
The Aston Martin of Pro Tour Race Bikes
In Tucson, I chose the Factor One for Mount Lemmon, our longest day of climbing, and for a rolling 65-mile day with the stinger ascent of Gates Pass at the end. It felt like the winning choice both days. This is definitely an aggressive race bike, with a long reach, low stack, and steep head angle (73 degrees), but its road feel is also extremely refined. It is, quite possibly, one of the most sophisticated racers we’ve ever tried, and at $11,500 complete, I guess it should be.
Why We Test Bikes in Tucson, Arizona
The 2018 Outside magazine Bike Test is a wrap, and it unfolded like the nine before it that I’ve run: tons of outstanding bikes (50 to be exact), a scrum of psyched and capable testers from South Dakota to Germany; two weeks of heavy riding, spinning bike after bike on test laps; and long days marked by bracing coffee before dawn and bourbon-fueled debates over gear and politics into the wee hours. This year we returned to Tucson, Arizona, where I launched the test in 2005. It was good to be home.
First Look: Franco Grimes R1 Road Bike
Tucson is an outstanding spot for a bike like the Grimes because the desert-baked pavement is often rutted and beat, the shoulders can be hard-packed dirt and sand, and there’s tons of flat, fast, sinuous single track that’s probably more fun on this than any mountain bike.
First Look: Marin Wolf Ridge 9 Mountain Bike
So is the Wolf Ridge the holy grail it promises to be? Honestly, I was pretty impressed with just how capable it is. I pedaled it on the Lemmon Drop, a ride that plunges over 6,000 feet from the summit of Mt. Lemmon back to town on some seriously rocky, ugly terrain, but also racks up about 5,000 feet climbing.
The Outside Bike Test
The troops head out on Day 1 of the 2012 Outside bike test, on the Starr Pass Trail, Tucson Mountain Park, Tucson, Arizona. Pre-testing bike line-up of full-suspension 29ers on Day 1 at the David Yetman Trailhead to Tucson Mountain Park, Tucson, Arizona. Setting up the Scott Spark 29 RC before another test lap. Shock pressure, seat height, stem length, and tire pressure all get tweaked between each lap.
My New Love Affair With Three-Wheeled Bikes
I’ve ridden and loved bikes for 35 years, raced since I was ten, and idolized the greats like Greg Lemond, Bernard Hinault, and Andy Hampston. Cycling is in my blood, and to me it always meant two wheels—until now. Sixteen months ago, I broke my arm. Everyone said it was a minor break, but the injury festered. The pain worsened, and doctors shook their heads. And then, almost a year to the day, I rebroke it trail running.
Best New Hotels for Nature Lovers: Hot List 2017
Courtesy Taylor River Lodge Taylor River Lodge, Crested Butte, CO You'll rise at dawn in your timber cabin for fly-fishing (followed by a steam in the bathhouse). Courtesy Taylor River Lodge Courtesy Taylor River Lodge/©Simon Upton ©Eduardo Santella Nekupe Sporting Resort and Retreat, Nandaime, Nicaragua In Nicaragua, you'll ride a horse past sloths and howler monkeys on Nekupe's 1,300 acres, whose owners took inspiration from the ranches of America's West.
Editors' Picks: Our Favorite Hotels in the Middle of Nowhere
hotel Alila Jabal Akhdar, Nizwa, Oman At this remote resort 90 miles southwest of Muscat, guests spend their days hiking through ancient villages, swimming in the infinity-edge pool, and generally forgetting the 21st century exists thanks to the welcome absence of any sign of modern life. Photo by Sarah-Louise and Christopher hotel Amangiri, Canyon Point, Utah “Paradise on Mars.
Artistry in the Desert: Madrid, New Mexico
On a Wednesday night at the Mine Shaft, Cactus Slim and the Goat Heads tune up on stage as Fail and her partner, Les Reasonover, 62, hold court at a big round table that, over the evening, will attract a number of Madroids, as residents call themselves. Also joining the gathering is Rebecca Nafey, 65, formerly a real estate agent at Madrid's improbably named Sea Properties, and pottery studio owner Lisa Conley, 61, who's concerned to see a journalist in town.
Best New Hotels in the World: Hot List 2017
Best New Hotels in the World: Hot List 201775 PhotosOur editors vetted hundreds of recently opened hotels and resorts, from West Africa to Miami, and found that what stands out are the properties that combine old-school extravagance and service with just the right measure of modernity. Here are the 75 best new hotels in the world.
New Mexico Magazine
It’s 4:15 on a spring Thursday afternoon at Taos Mesa Brewing. I’m admiring an ample view of looming, snowcapped mountains in the distance, framed by the Quonset hut’s wall of windows. Just outside, a couple of scruffy dudes who’re just passing through town play Americana ditties that woo the crowd with their earnest simplicity. Rat-a-tat-tat! Behind me, a beat clacks out. I whip around.
New Mexico Magazine
“Native art has always been in this small box,” says Jody Naranjo, the Santa Clara Pueblo potter who’s become one of the most successful artists of her generation. “No more. There’s a big world out there, and we have access to it. All the time and everywhere.” In years to come, perhaps that’s how this early-21st-century moment in Native art will be known.
The 50-Year-Old Women Diving for Sea Urchin in South Korea
The morning I went out with the haenyeo, the “sea women” of Jeju Island, the misty sky was light gray and the sea dark and steely. Hundreds of years ago, women in these sea villages took up diving for abalone, sea urchin, and conch as a means of making a living. Today the tradition is almost extinct, and the remaining haenyeo, most of them in their 50s or 60s, have become minor celebrities.
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