Dune

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - In my teens I bought a used car because its seats smelled like suntan lotion. In college, my idea of a winter sport was driving to Daytona Beach. As some people divine water, I gravitate to beaches. On a recent trip to Long Key, my divining rod went wild at a point on St. Pete Beach where the Don CeSar Beach Resort presides like a grand dame. Here, the condos end and a historic neighborhood 31 blocks long by one block wide begins, its bungalows like vintage postcards, exuberantly gardened with ginger lilies and coconut palms.

Sand is blowing in the wind on the surface of Mars — at least in some places. NASA on Thursday released images documenting dozens of spots on the red planet where sand dunes shifted several yards. Scientists had suspected this was occurring but thought it was limited to a few locations. The latest images were taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been photographing the Martian surface since 2005. Dust is constantly being blown around on Mars, but sand grains are tougher to move.

MARGHAM DESERT — “Are you all buckled up?’’ says our driver, Marwan, an ex-military tough guy turned desert guide. A second later, he stomps on the gas of our souped-up Chevy Tahoe and charges up the side of a towering red sand dune. In the front seat, Marion Eickmann, from Berlin, shrieks and grabs for the dashboard to brace herself. With sand flying in all directions, Marwan jerks the steering wheel to keep the four-wheel-drive SUV on course. At the top of the dune, he accelerates sharply to tip the car over the crest.

Tiger Woods walked off golf course to see his name atop the leaderboard Friday in the Australian Open. Even more pleasing to him was the way he got there. With control of his shots and comfortable over the putter, Woods put together his best back-to-back rounds of the year with a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead among the early starters in the second round. If it holds up at the end of the day, it would be his first time in the lead after any round since the third day of the Chevron World Challenge last year, and the first time against a full field since his last win two years ago...

PROVINCETOWN -- There are few things more peaceful than having the whole beach to yourself in Provincetown in the middle of summer. Stop laughing. You must not know about Long Point. Most visitors consider that squat white-and-black lighthouse across Provincetown Harbor merely a picturesque view taken in amid the shopping and socializing of Commercial Street. But the narrow spit of land Long Point Light sits on makes up the very tip of the curving Cape, and offers the same blue-sky expanses, white-sand beaches, breeze-blown dune grass, and warm-water...

PACIFIC CITY, Ore. -- In off-roading, there is an almost inviolable axiom: "As slow as possible, as fast as necessary. " Not here. Not on the sands of the Oregon coast, saltwater spraying from the wheels of the 2007 Jeep Compass, gas pedal to the floor as we head toward a looming dune. Speed, not careful creep, is the sole order of the day. We have to ascend quickly because the dune will eat the Jeep to its undercarriage if it bogs and spins. It is an interesting test for this vehicle, which Jeep calls a small SUV and I think is almost a crossover.

FREEPORT, Maine - It's a bit of a shock. Sure, you have heard of the Desert of Maine, a Ripley's Believe It or Not desert in one of the leafiest states in the country. But when you pull into the dusty parking lot, the site looks like a lot of other homespun attractions. You enter a gift shop filled with a predictable assortment of T-shirts and souvenir spoons. You buy your ticket, exit the gift shop - and feel as if you have fallen into an "X-Files" episode. A shimmering expanse of sand spreads out before you - 45 acres in all. Wind-carved ledges and dunes...

WELLFLEET - It's shortly after sunrise, and my wife is lying on her back, staring at a mourning dove that is perched on the skylight above our bed and peering down at us curiously. I slumber through this game. I need to be well rested for a summertime stay at Surfside Cottages, with energy enough to loll in the cold waves, eat succulent clams, that sort of thing. Surfside is a condo association with two dozen cottages to rent, most in Wellfleet with a smattering in Eastham. While summer, sadly, is taking its leave, booking a Cape stay in the...

Tiger Woods walked off golf course to see his name atop the leaderboard Friday in the Australian Open. Even more pleasing to him was the way he got there. With control of his shots and comfortable over the putter, Woods put together his best back-to-back rounds of the year with a 5-under 67 that gave him a one-shot lead among the early starters in the second round. If it holds up at the end of the day, it would be his first time in the lead after any round since the third day of the Chevron World Challenge last year, and the first time against a...

FOR FAMILIES Parents and children visiting Martha's Vineyard flock to Joseph Sylvia State Beach. Waves are minimal and the beach slopes gradually into the water, so kids can play without getting in over their heads. The beach stretches about 2 miles between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, and there's parking along the road that connects the two — just try to arrive before 10 a.m. on a hot summer day to get a spot. Of all the swimming beaches on the Cape Cod National Seashore, Coast Guard Beach in Eastham (lot parking available)

FREEPORT, Maine - It's a bit of a shock. Sure, you have heard of the Desert of Maine, a Ripley's Believe It or Not desert in one of the leafiest states in the country. But when you pull into the dusty parking lot, the site looks like a lot of other homespun attractions. You enter a gift shop filled with a predictable assortment of T-shirts and souvenir spoons. You buy your ticket, exit the gift shop - and feel as if you have fallen into an "X-Files" episode. A shimmering expanse of sand spreads out before you - 45 acres in all. Wind-carved ledges and dunes create an undulating...

WESTPORT - Wind, angry waves, and a storm surge driven by Tropical Storm Irene wreaked widespread damage to beaches and dunes in south-facing Westport yesterday, spreading sand and debris over coastal properties and roads. Police blocked Route 88 yesterday, cutting off public access to Horseneck Beach State Reservation to deflect sightseers from the floods and massive waves. East Beach Road at the end of Route 88 was impassable. The storm had swept tons of soft sand across the road, turning the asphalt into a long sand bar embedded with...

Cape Cod conjures images of sand dunes and beach grass, bustling harbors, seafood dinners, and sunsets on the water. The area’s architecture, however, is seldom given a second thought, save for those weathered 1 1/2-story cottages — coined the Cape Cod style — that the earliest settlers built. Yet the Cape has a rich architectural heritage. The houses that line the thoroughfares and back roads are diverse and intriguing, encompassing a range of styles that represent several different eras.

MARGHAM DESERT — “Are you all buckled up?’’ says our driver, Marwan, an ex-military tough guy turned desert guide. A second later, he stomps on the gas of our souped-up Chevy Tahoe and charges up the side of a towering red sand dune. In the front seat, Marion Eickmann, from Berlin, shrieks and grabs for the dashboard to brace herself. With sand flying in all directions, Marwan jerks the steering wheel to keep the four-wheel-drive SUV on course. At the top of the dune, he accelerates sharply to tip the car over the crest.

WELLFLEET - It's shortly after sunrise, and my wife is lying on her back, staring at a mourning dove that is perched on the skylight above our bed and peering down at us curiously. I slumber through this game. I need to be well rested for a summertime stay at Surfside Cottages, with energy enough to loll in the cold waves, eat succulent clams, that sort of thing. Surfside is a condo association with two dozen cottages to rent, most in Wellfleet with a smattering in Eastham. While summer, sadly, is taking its leave, booking a Cape stay in the crimson-leaf...

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - In my teens I bought a used car because its seats smelled like suntan lotion. In college, my idea of a winter sport was driving to Daytona Beach. As some people divine water, I gravitate to beaches. On a recent trip to Long Key, my divining rod went wild at a point on St. Pete Beach where the Don CeSar Beach Resort presides like a grand dame. Here, the condos end and a historic neighborhood 31 blocks long by one block wide begins, its bungalows like vintage postcards, exuberantly gardened with ginger lilies and coconut...

From the bully pulpit of his New York Times column, Paul Krugman has been explaining why numbers matters since 1999. The unabashed liberal took the Bush administration to task, but he hasn't exactly let the Obama administration off the hook, as his new book, "End This Depression Now" makes clear. The Nobel laureate is in town Monday night for a sold-out event sponsored by the Harvard Book Store. BOOKS: What are you reading now? KRUGMAN: The thing with gadgets — I have a Kindle and an iPad — is that I tend to have several things going at once.

SOSSUSVLEI, Namibia -- Our children kicked off their sneakers at the foot of their first giant sand dune here. As soon as we stepped out of the car, they were running and laughing up the spine of the red dune. Within minutes they appeared as tiny figures against the blue African sky. We scurried behind with our guide, Cornelius "Bokkie" Mitton. Bokkie, which means "goat" in Afrikaans and is a nickname he picked up as a child, shook his head. "Are you really going to go up there?" he asked.

PROVINCETOWN -- There are few things more peaceful than having the whole beach to yourself in Provincetown in the middle of summer. Stop laughing. You must not know about Long Point. Most visitors consider that squat white-and-black lighthouse across Provincetown Harbor merely a picturesque view taken in amid the shopping and socializing of Commercial Street. But the narrow spit of land Long Point Light sits on makes up the very tip of the curving Cape, and offers the same blue-sky expanses, white-sand beaches, breeze-blown dune grass, and warm-water...

PACIFIC CITY, Ore. -- In off-roading, there is an almost inviolable axiom: "As slow as possible, as fast as necessary. " Not here. Not on the sands of the Oregon coast, saltwater spraying from the wheels of the 2007 Jeep Compass, gas pedal to the floor as we head toward a looming dune. Speed, not careful creep, is the sole order of the day. We have to ascend quickly because the dune will eat the Jeep to its undercarriage if it bogs and spins. It is an interesting test for this vehicle, which Jeep calls a small SUV and I think is almost a crossover.