Local Color XC

he's a writer. she's an entrepreneur. they bought a trailer.

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Local Color: Louisiana

February 25, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

Our first stop was to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone, once a hangout for writers like Hemingway, Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams. On New Years Eve, it played host to hundreds of drunk Southerners, young and old, overdressed and hardly dressed, many of them wearing masquerade ball masks. A smooth jazz band played in the corner. 

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February 25, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
John Biguenet, Loyola, Jazz, New Orleans, NOLA, Louisiana, French Quarter, Ashton Kutcher, Audubon, NOMA, sculpture garden, architecture, Saint Bernard State Park, Parish
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Local Color: Texas

February 15, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

A gang of wild javelinas scurried past the headlights, three or four reds (baby javelinas) bringing up the rear. It set the right tone for our Christmas week in West Texas, marked by an abundance of wildlife, gluttony and a spirit of adventure. 

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February 15, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
Davis Mountains State Park, Texas, West Texas, Maine, Indian Lodge, Skyline Trail, Grasslands, Woodlands, Pine Stands, Javelinas, Deer
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Local Color: Atlanta

February 13, 2016 by Melissa Dohmen in Local Color

My mom and I agreed that she would visit while Carson was away on his trip. I could have certainly stayed by myself in Elsie for the five days he was gone. But we'd had a rough month, and when she offered to come I felt relieved. 

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February 13, 2016 /Melissa Dohmen
atlanta, atl, peach city, tourism, visiting, travel, travel guide, where i travel, passport, travel usa
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Local Color: New Mexico

January 20, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

The landscape seemed to calm itself as we drove east, heart rate settling down. The scrubby and scaly silhouettes of the Patagonia and Santa Rita mountains gave way to long, flat valleys punctuated now and then by a single hill or bluff.

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January 20, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
New Mexico, state parks, travel, white sands, NPS, mexican food, carson
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Freedom for $9/mo: The Life of a New Mexico Drifter

January 16, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

The first time we set eyes on Richard Shuman he was cursing at his dog and swatting her with an old bath towel. We nodded as we drove past. He didn't nod back. 

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January 16, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
motorcycle, trucks, minute man civil defense corp, new mexico, arizona, gunfight, Elephant Butte, state parks, fish kill, Roswell, rig watching, black powder, concealed carry, Second Amendment
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9 Comments

Tourism & Traffic Lights // A Conversation with the Mayor of Sedona, AZ

January 05, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

A lot of people who move here say they want it to stay the way it was the day they arrived. “It should just stay like this,” they say. “We don’t want any more growth. Tourists need to stop coming.” Well, wait a minute. You came here as a tourist.

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January 05, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
Sedona, Sandy Moriarty, Mayor Moriarty, tourism, Verde Valley, streetlights, traffic, noise
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Local Color: Arizona (PART II)

January 01, 2016 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

Before we'd left Nebraska, I tossed out interview requests to two of Arizona's finest writers: Jim Harrison (Legends of the Fall, Dalva, etc.) and Philip Caputo (A Rumor of War, The Longest Road, etc.). I assumed both were a longshot. A few weeks later, I found myself in Patagonia, Arizona, drinking with both of them at the Wagon Wheel Saloon.

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January 01, 2016 /Carson Vaughan
Jim Harrison, Philip Caputo, Dalva, The Longest Road, books, literature, Patagonia, Arizona, Sonoita, Santa Rita, Bisbee, Jamie Harrison
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Local Color: Arizona

December 28, 2015 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

I once had a professor who announced to class that if he were forced to wipe one city from the map, there would be no struggle. The choice was obvious: Phoenix, Arizona. I thought that was pretty funny, because I knew nothing about Phoenix, and nothing about Arizona.

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December 28, 2015 /Carson Vaughan
arizona, travel, camping, local color, travel guide
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Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2015 by Melissa Dohmen in Local Color

Merry Christmas from Local Color XC!

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December 25, 2015 /Melissa Dohmen
christmas, white sands, sledding, travel
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Photo Essay: Bessey Ranger District, Nebraska National Forest

November 03, 2015 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

At nearly 20,000 acres, the forest within the Bessey Ranger District is the largest hand-planted forest in the United States, established in 1902 by visionary botanist and professor Charles E. Bessey. Growing up, I didn't grasp the significance of a national forest in the middle of the nearly treeless Nebraska Sandhills.

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November 03, 2015 /Carson Vaughan
Halsey, Nebraska National Forest, Sandhills, Charles Bessey, Bessey Ranger District, Nursery, Forest, Scott Lookout Tower, Test Run
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On Podcasts, Hy-Vee Chinese and the Weekend Commute

August 19, 2015 by Carson Vaughan in Local Color

Fun fact: We once spent the entire drive from Lincoln to Broken Bow waiting for Terry Gross to finish her question. Turns out it wasn’t a question at all—she was just thinking.

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August 19, 2015 /Carson Vaughan
Terry Gross, NPR, Marc Maron, WTF, podcasts, Hy-Vee, Grand Island, Serial, This American Life, Radiolab, Casey's, donuts, pizza, Chinese
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Have Camper, Will Travel

May 22, 2015 by Melissa Dohmen in Local Color

Welcome! Bienvenido! Willkommen! 歡迎! Chào mừng! ترحيب! And other translations we Googled! You’ve made it to Local Color XC. We’re glad you’re here. Allow us a moment to explain ourselves.

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May 22, 2015 /Melissa Dohmen
camper, RV, travel trailer, vintage trailer, travel blog, adventure, goldendoodle
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