Gloria Maschmeyer

Boy did I get in trouble with British Airways on a recent trip from London to Seattle. I picked up the wrong bag at Seattle customs, despite the sign "many bags look alike."

The independent traveler takes a boat and navigates the Llangollen Canal from England to Wales.

I'm not a birder, but I love watching birds, especially in their native habitat. Outside of Copan, Honduras, a five-hour bus ride from Guatemala City just over the Honduran border, lies Macaw Mountain Bird Park and Nature Reserve.

The surrounding desert is ablaze in shades of ochre, red and gold as only a desert can be at sunset. Mammoth sandstone icons, named the East and West Mitten Buttes, dominate my field of vision. They are Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park's signature.

We've been driving for three hours along the Scottish coast outside of Edinburgh looking for a room. We've been stopping in every village and small town looking at bed and breakfast accommodations. They are totally full and I'm getting nervous.

It's 3:30 p.m., and I'm heading up the hill to see Delicate Arch in Arches National Park just outside of Moab, Utah. I want to be there in plenty of time to take pictures of the arch at sunset.