* True Grit: Sandboarding in the Oregon dunes
Sandboarding, as the thumbnail definition goes, is essentially snowboarding on sand. But ask anybody who’s tried a snowboarding-style hockey stop in a dune: Once he picks himself off the ground and digs the sand out of his ears--I speak from experience here-- he’ll probably tell you that there are some important differences between the sports (story starts on p. 40).

* Gathering of the Tribes
Burning Man is so last decade. These days, Bay Area adventurers are off to Mali (pdf).

* From Georgia with Love
If an enterprising wine distributor has his way, bottles from the war-torn republic at the eastern edge of Europe will be the next grape thing.

* Pack Your Passion: Bear watching in Katmai National Park, Alaska
From a thousand feet up in the cockpit of a floatplane, southwestern Alaska feels like the edge of the world.

* The Cedar House Sport Hotel, Truckee
After a winter day spent playing in the mountains, half the fun is getting out of the snow. Truckee now gives you a cushy reason to get off the beaten path.

* Downward Momentum
Boarding in July? Snowmelt lakes in the heat of summer? Mount Shasta proves it's a place for all seasons. (pg. 7)

* Beirut, the Paris of the Middle East