Bamyan Valley
Skiing Magazine, December 2011
Two Montana do-gooders teach villagers in a remote Afghan valley to ski, make ski equipment, and profit from ecotourism.
Articles: Travel
Contact Kristin Ohlson for readings, talks, writing projects, etc.
Springtime Splendor in Yosemite
Smithsonian.com, May 25, 2011
As the winter snows thaw, visitors flock to the popular national park to see frazil ice, moonbows and other seasonal sights.
Queen of the Highlands
The Smart Set, March 25, 2011
Could I find the Albania that inspired a brave British woman more than 100 years ago?
A Short Walk in the Afghan Countryside
Smithsonian.com, December 14, 2010
On their way to a park built in the shadow of Bamiyan’s Buddhas, two Americans encounter remnants of war and signs of promise.
Herby Ohio
Perceptive Travel, August 2010
A man with a mission, with the help of a few friends, turns a 2,000–acre patchwork of forest into a home for herbs—herbs different than the smoking kind raised by neighbors.
The Story of Thunder Mountain Monument
Smithsonian.com, April 10, 2010
An odd and affecting monument stands off a Nevada highway as a testament to one man’s passions.
Fashion in Kabul
Perceptive Travel, December 2009
Behind the locked–down walls of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, a designer addresses women joined in the name of fashion, combining traditional Afghan motifs with modern flair in the land of the burka.
Lives: Watching TV in Kabul
The New York Times Magazine, July 21, 2009
Turning to look in a different direction after a month in Afghanistan.
A Tour of France's Cave Homes
Smithsonian.com, May 20, 2009
In Franceís Loire Valley, domesticated cave dwellings, known as troglodyte homes, offer a history as rich as the regionís chateaus.
Afghanistan's Shangri-La
Wildlife Conservation, March/April 2008
The Wakhan is Afghanistan’s Shangri-La, far from the guns and bombs that plague much of the country - an area so starkly beautiful that people in the cities sigh with longing when they hear its name.
Feast In Kabul
Feast Magazine, Fall/Winter 2007
A gracious and venerably lined great-grandmother in a sequined gown pushed the plate of snacks at me. It was a small white dish, the only evidence of the wedding feast to come. A crowd of children eyed its passage across the table disconsolately.
Golf Is Great
Walrus Magazine, December 2007
The writer plays her first-ever round of golf at Afghanistan’s embattled country club, restored to a bit of its pre-war glory.
Kabul Nights
Gourmet, October 2007
Six years after the US invasion, dining in the Afghan capital proves equal parts delicious and sobering.
Included in Best American Travel Writing 2008. Nominated for a James Beard Award.