Gayle Keck has traveled in over 35 countries and across six continents, writing for America’s leading newspapers. Here’s is a sampling of her work…
I stood naked, in a stark, tiled room, bracing myself for what was to come. Then the fire-hose blast hit me full force, stinging my bare skin and pushing me against the wall...
10:29 p.m. Time to slap on some more sunblock. Moments ago, a brisk breeze bulldozed the concrete clouds and now the sun is blazing through...
“You’re looking at what isn’t there,” I accuse my husband, as he gazes toward downtown Manhattan...
"You've watched too many subtitled movies," my husband accused. He was right. My sweet little fantasy played something like this...
“Is the pork popular?” I asked a server. “Oh, yes, it’s one of my best sellers!” he replied, not catching the amusement value of this fact...
In the castle courtyard, cobblestones slicked with rain, a Teutonic knight was sneaking a cigarette...
Alaska for the Camping-Impaired
Mike Olney is like a soccer mom on steroids. He has made sure we are all clutching sack lunches, complete with a homemade cookie…
"Apartheid made me stronger. It made me what I am today," Naomi tells me as we gaze off her balcony...
"Ngwen-YAAA-ma!" I cry, my eyes cast respectfully downward to the dusty ground. This is my first encounter with royalty, and I want to get it right...
Bang-bang! Bang-bang! Bang!
Am I going tango crazy? Somewhere in our hotel workmen hammer, and I'm convinced my husband and I could dance to the beat...
What makes the allure of an imaginary dotted line so
irresistible? I had flown through forest fire smoke in a tiny prop plane, been jostled along a gravel road by bus and battled hordes of relentless mosquitoes, just to step across the Arctic Circle...
“Roll up your window," my husband muttered, easing his camera down. A bull elephant was sauntering toward our car...
Somewhere in Memphis, a white girl stands in a recording booth belting out "I'll Take You There," accompanied by the Staple Singers. It isn't pretty...
Washington Post Column: Travel Mags
Monthly column written for the Washington Post travel section. Notes magazine stories “Worth a Trip,” “Worth a Flip” and “Worth a Gawk.” See some recent columns...
Best Travelers’ Tales 2004
I found the piece of onionskin paper in a moving box. Light as a whisper, it was folded, folded, folded, until it resembled a tiny pillow. It was the draft of a letter I had sent from Italy...
STORIES
Stories | Credits | Bio | Contact | First Story
There are few places in this country where you can sip a beer in a Colonial inn, while chatting about the new Frank Gehry building just up the road...
HudsonValleyFall
By Gayle Keck
Gayle Keck
Freelance Writer Specializing in Travel