'Fall 50'

The WSJ published their 'Fall 50' in the weekend Off Duty issue which is comprised of 50 ideas for autumn adventures, gadgets, and looks that will aid in maximizing the season. Among them? Corduroy for men, cat eyes for women, apple cider cocktails for all, a jaunt to New Orleans and a ride on the Napa Valley dinner train (above). As the article examines the renaissance of the modern day "food train", it points to a few in the U.S. that are worthy of experiencing and are up to snuff even for the most discerning foodie. The Napa Valley dinner train has always caught my eye during trips to wine country, however it didn't truly peak my interest until now. How fun! See more, here.

The Alps, You Say?

...why, yes. The WSJ Off-Duty ran a piece on the most hard to reach, enticing hotels around the world. Above, we present to you, the Monte Rosa Hütte, an architectural landmark along one of Switzerland's most notorious mountain groups and, worthy of noting, sitting pretty next to a majestic cluster of glaciers. The catch? (But of course there is a catch)! It's a four-hour climb from the local train station - via hiking trails in the summer months, or alpine touring in the winter. The article notes that a guide is recommended for the less experienced - certainly not intimidating or anything...Watch this arrival for visual proof. The hotel, a modern, energy-independent structure 2883 m. above sea level, is the result of a collaboration between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and the Swiss Alpine Club. Be sure to view the other contenders that made WSJ's selection, here. 

Photograph, via. 

Cowboy Moguls

I caught up on Friday's WSJ accompanied by an epsom salt bath and tea. I was especially drawn to the article discussing the strong demand for mega ranches in the U.S. - those with typically over 100,000 total acres (with often a substantial portion of deeded acreage) listed from roughly $10 million to $175 million. (Find your mental map of the U.S. and think about New Mexico - this is where the 'cowboy moguls' are mostly flocking to). In the fiscal year of 2014, the value of U.S. pasture land normally grazed by livestock rose 11%, making property with revenue streams highly desirable. With drought conditions slowly on the upswing, higher cattle prices, a boom in the oil & gas industry and attractive interest rates on mortgages, ranches that have been sitting on the market are starting to sell. In 2012 for instance, Billionaire Stan Kroenke, (owner of St. Louis Rams and soccer's Arsenal F.C), scooped up the 124,000-acre Broken O Ranch in Montana for a cool $132.5 million. Head due south, and D.R. Horton (founder of America's largest home building company) purchased Great Western Ranch in New Mexico for over $59.5 million, where he hopes to use the 293,000 acres as a landscape to entertain clients and made available for use by his 'key employees'. Despite the alluring qualities of entertaining and sporting on the majestically vast land, there is certainly keen interest in investing in an asset that can aid in profitability, whether it may be fracking and mineral rights, livestock operations or fees from wildlife hunting. Those billionaires might be on to something...

Read on, here. 

On the Coast: Rugged Beauty

  I've been captivated by the Oregon Coast for quite some time and it remains on my bucket list of domestic travel destinations. This home in Cloverdale, Oregon will be up for auction in two short weeks. Although there are several things I would do differently with the property, you can't ignore her rugged beauty & bliss - all 25 acres! See more here.