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Passions and Places

A travel + outdoors blog

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Anaconda, MT: An Offbeat Stop on a Montana Road Trip

April 11, 2019 By Ryan Victor 6 Comments

When we planned a road trip starting in Montana, we knew the little town of Anaconda would be one of our first stops. With some offbeat attractions and almost no other visitors, it was exactly the type of place we wanted to explore.

Filed Under: Montana, North America, Off the Beaten Path, Road Trips Tagged With: abandoned places, Anaconda, destinations, featured, ghost towns, Granite Ghost Town, Lost Creek State Park, Philipsburg, Travel Styles

Stories in Ruins: Photo Essay of a Mississippi Ghost Town

April 28, 2017 By Ryan Victor 6 Comments

What’s a road trip through the American South without a stop at a ghost town? This photo essay tells the story of Rodney, Mississippi, a formerly important port town with some interesting Civil War history. Today, it offers a unique and quiet beauty to the few visitors who head that way. But at only an hour from Natchez, a visit to Rodney is a fun thing to do if you’re in the area.

The ruins of Rodney, Mississippi, tell the story of a thriving Southern town decimated by the Civil War and the changing course of a nearby river. The churches and houses are abandoned now, and we loved experiencing their quiet beauty.

Filed Under: Educational and Experiential, Mississippi, North America, Off the Beaten Path, Road Trips, U.S. Tagged With: abandoned places, destinations, featured, ghost towns, Natchez, photo essay, Rodney, Travel Styles

Ghosts of the Wild West: A Photo Essay from Montana

December 23, 2016 By Ryan Victor 13 Comments

Montana has a number of ghost towns, several of which are popular travel destinations. This photo essay tells the history of Elkhorn, one that’s further off the beaten path.

Why spend Black Friday shopping when you could spend it exploring an old ghost town in Montana? Ryan’s photo essay depicts what we found in Elkhorn and tells some of its history, from silver mining to town dances to a tragic diphtheria outbreak.

Filed Under: Educational and Experiential, Montana, North America, Off the Beaten Path, Road Trips, U.S. Tagged With: abandoned places, destinations, Elkhorn, featured, ghost towns, photo essay, Travel Styles

Abandoned Views: A Photo Essay from the Azores

January 9, 2016 By Ryan Victor 2 Comments

We didn’t expect to find an abandoned luxury hotel during our hike in the Azores, or to be able to explore it freely. This photo essay on urban exploration tells the story of the hotel, the implications of its abandonment, and the lessons it can teach us.

Filed Under: Educational and Experiential, Europe, Off the Beaten Path, Portugal Tagged With: abandoned places, Azores, destinations, featured, photo essay, Travel Styles, urban exploration

Hi! We're Jen and Ryan, an American couple on a journey to travel the world while working from the road. We're passionate about outdoors adventure, ethical travel, and healthy living. Passions and Places is a space for us to share our stories and tips with you, but most importantly, we hope to inspire you to seek your own adventure.

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Where are we now?

passionsandplaces

A couple with a passion for travel. Often outdoors or off the beaten path. Hoping to inspire you to seek your own adventure. 🇮🇳Currently in India!

Instagram post 2191170098524765290_2202320042 Aaaand, we’re back! 👋🏼 If you haven’t seen our most recent post, we spent the last 10 days at @tushitameditationcentre, on a silent meditation retreat/intro to Buddhism course.

Not talking wasn’t a huge challenge, to be honest (and we were allowed to talk during discussion group time, so it wasn’t *totally* silent). And the chance to disconnect from news, social media, and Black Friday madness was a blessing. But it was super scheduled without much downtime (which Ryan likened to “being in prison” 😛) and it wasn’t always entirely comfortable.

We are most definitely not Buddhists, but we attended because we were curious to learn more and see what we could take from it, we were eager for the opportunity to unplug, and we wanted to try out a silent meditation retreat that’s far less intense than Vipassana. And by those measures, it was a success. ☸️
Instagram post 2181767217346285437_2202320042 See you next month, world! 👋🏼 We’re going fully offline for a silent meditation retreat in Dharamshala for the next 10 days. 🤫 Feeling equal parts anxious and excited about it (and not at all disappointed to miss the Black Friday madness). We aren’t too sure what to expect, but @tushitameditationcentre comes so highly recommended to us, and we’ve been planning on coming here since we started hearing about it years ago. And we made it just in time for the last session before they close for the winter.
Instagram post 2181468904554414561_2202320042 NEW POST! Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means Black Friday is coming up soon…but more importantly, if you ask us, is Small Business Saturday! We love to support small businesses, especially ones that make travel and outdoor gear. Every year, we publish a blog post highlighting some of our favorite products from small companies, and our 5th (!) annual edition of the post just went up (blog link in bio!).
Instagram post 2181036266123272829_2202320042 After a year mostly in the lowlands of Southeast Asia, Ryan’s been itching for a serious hike. Fortunately, the Himalayas of northern India has no shortage of them. Triund Hill is the most popular hike around Dharamshala, thanks to its well-developed trail and fantastic views of the snow-covered Dhauladar Range. The hike took around 6 hours, and it ascends almost 3,000 feet, but it’s a technically easy trail - and a reminder that slow and steady wins the race (or in this case, is rewarded with epic views). 🏔 Swipe for more pics!
Instagram post 2180230819271388840_2202320042 NEW POST! We keep talking about how amazing our @indochinajunk cruise was, but that’s only because it was! Our new blog post shares all the details of the trip, including the luxurious rooms, impeccable service, and other-worldly scenery. But one of our favorite parts of the trip was when we got off the ship to ride in these bamboo rowboats, which took us even closer to nature (blog link in bio!).
Instagram post 2175883765262593882_2202320042 NEW POST! Last weekend was the 8th annual Dharamshala International Film Festival, and we couldn’t believe our luck when we realized we’d be able to attend. We spent the whole weekend watching amazing independent films from India and around the world, and we just wrote about the experience in our latest blog post (link in bio)! 📽
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