One Line Adventures: 2013 in Review and a Look to the Year Ahead

This week in One-Line Adventures, we look back at our favorite travel moments of 2013, and our plans for the year ahead.

“Before going to Istanbul for ten days in January, [Atlas Co-Founder] Dylan warned me that that city would change my life; he was right. This photo was taken right after I said aloud, without exaggerating at all, ‘This may be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’ (By ‘thing’ I meant Istanbul, in all its perfect chaos.) Next up: dispatches from Mexico City in March.” — Sarah Brumble [Tumblr Editor]

“2013 has been a banner year for travel, but my favorite trip was Washington’s Olympic National Park; mountains (Hurricane Ridge pictured), dark winding forest roads, driftwood beaches, natural hot springs, and temperate rain forests — this park has it all. Looking forward to ruins, mountains, Mediterranean beaches, and homemade alcohol in Albania in 2014!” — Michelle Enemark [Graphic Design, Video Production]

“My favorite travel adventure of 2013 involved traveling to Patzcuaro and Janitzio Isle, Mexico, where the Day of the Dead traditions originated. For 2014, my goal is to visit all five national parks in Utah, along with a couple of desert wonders in Arizona.” — Robert Hemedes [Field Agent, Los Angeles]

photograph by Seán A. O’Hara

“I spent five intense days during a full moon yoga and Tantrik teachings retreat at Ratna Ling Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center, deep in the redwoods of Sonoma, and during my time there, toured their enormous Dharma Publishing facility where 24/7 they reproduce hundreds of thousands of copies of sacred Tibetan texts and then distribute them annually for free throughout the world to Tibetan libraries and at sacred events.” — Beth Abdallah [Field Agent, San Francisco]

“When I was at the circus cemetery in Hugo, Oklahoma, on a blazing summer day — somewhere I’d long wanted to visit but hadn’t been able to make the long drive — I wasn’t expecting it to be the place that stuck most in my mind at the end of the year, but there was something so touching about all the modest graves to acrobats, animal trainers, and big top showmen resting in the red dirt beneath epitaphs like: ‘There’s nothing left but empty popcorn sacks and wagon tracks — the circus is gone.’ Now with the sprawl of 2014 ahead, I’m hoping for finally reaching other longtime wish list places like Marfa, Texas, where you can find the unexpected in the quieter corners of the States.” — Allison Meier [Editor, Articles]

“My favorite travel adventure in 2013 by far was the week in May I spent in New York City with the rest of the Atlas Team. As one of the few staff members that works remotely from a different city (Los Angeles), it was fantastic to get to know my co-workers better, and get a tour of this electric city from the most amazing tour guides one could possibly ask for. Never have I packed so many explorations, adventures, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences into so few days. Sleep No More, Night Heron, cemetery tours, Explorers Club, and nighttime trekking through Central Park and Manhattan were highlights to an endless list of awesome.

Next year, besides returning to New York to do more marathon exploring, a road trip from California to New Mexico to tour the ghost towns is on the agenda, with the final destination being the Trinity Bomb Site, only open to visitors two days out of the year.” — Rachel James [Senior Editor]

Members of the Atlas Obscura team at the Times Square Hum

One-Line Adventures are snapshots of some recent explorations from the Atlas Obscura Team. Click here to see more >