Jim Benning

Editor | Writer

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¡Viva Bogotá's Ciclovía!

November 18, 2023 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(Westways) Throngs of cyclists take over the streets of Colombia’s capital for freewheeling Sunday rides

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November 18, 2023 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

Up in Smoke

April 23, 2022 by Jim Benning

(Westways) Wildfires are upending life in California—including our relationship with the great outdoors

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April 23, 2022 /Jim Benning

A Delicate Balance

February 12, 2022 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories, Reporting

(Westways, AAA Explorer) Arches National Park epitomizes the tension between wilderness preservation and public access

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February 12, 2022 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories, Reporting

Last Wave Before Sunset

September 08, 2021 by Jim Benning

(Westways) A father-daughter surf trip to Costa Rica sparks memories during the pandemic

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September 08, 2021 /Jim Benning
Travel

A Chile-Pepper Pilgrimage to Hatch, New Mexico

July 03, 2020 by Jim Benning

(Westways) Discovering variety (and spice) in the “Chile Capital of the World”

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July 03, 2020 /Jim Benning

Senegal's Beating Heart

May 02, 2020 by Jim Benning

(Westways) A writer searches for the soul of the West African country through its music

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May 02, 2020 /Jim Benning

Bosch's Love Letter to Los Angeles

February 27, 2020 by Jim Benning

(Westways) Scouting shooting locations for the Emmy-nominated Amazon Prime Video series based on Michael Connelly’s novels

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February 27, 2020 /Jim Benning

On the Road with Jack Kerouac

June 30, 2019 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(Westways) A cross-country journey to revisit an iconic, wanderlust-inducing novel

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June 30, 2019 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

Tour de Force: The Making of Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge

March 01, 2019 by Jim Benning in Reporting

(Westways) Behind the scenes of the epic mission to create Disney’s new Star Wars Land

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March 01, 2019 /Jim Benning
Reporting

Uncharted Territory: Mapping Indian Country

January 05, 2019 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories, Reporting

(Westways) Mapping Indian Country with a veteran AAA field cartographer

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January 05, 2019 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories, Reporting

Into Peru's Sacred Valley

November 19, 2018 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(Westways) Tap into a region steeped in Andean mystique

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November 19, 2018 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

La Vida Mariachi

May 28, 2018 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories, Reporting

(Westways) A (very busy) day in the life of a SoCal band

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May 28, 2018 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories, Reporting

Hide and Seek on the U.S.-Mexico Line

May 15, 2017 by Jim Benning in Reporting

(BBC) A day with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the world's busiest border crossing

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May 15, 2017 /Jim Benning
Reporting

James Bond for a Day

May 21, 2016 by Jim Benning

(BBC) Or how I survived ice-driving camp

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May 21, 2016 /Jim Benning

War Story

February 24, 2016 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(An Innocent Abroad) Could a trip to the battlefields of Europe with my veteran father work a little magic on our relationship?

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February 24, 2016 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

Lust in Translation

February 24, 2016 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(The Washington Post) In Xian, China, I answered my hotel room phone. This is what happened next.

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February 24, 2016 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

Smackdown in Tijuana

February 24, 2016 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(The Washington Post, Best Travel Writing 2007) While many of my fellow Americans were watching Jack Black play “Nacho Libre,” I went to Mexico to see the real thing.

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February 24, 2016 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

California Dreaming in Thailand

February 15, 2016 by Jim Benning in Travel Stories

(World Hum, Tales From Nowhere) It was hot a humid when I set out for dinner in Hat Yai — and when I was confronted with the Sizzler.

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February 15, 2016 /Jim Benning
Travel Stories

The Steward of Stoke

February 02, 2016 by Jim Benning in Reporting

(Los Angeles Times Magazine) The Surfrider Foundation’s Pierce Flynn Wants Everyone to Understand Why Waves Matter

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February 02, 2016 /Jim Benning
Reporting

This Devil's Not the Deep Blue Sea

February 01, 2016 by Jim Benning in Reporting

(Los Angeles Times) As I studied the 5-foot-tall artificial wave known as the FlowRider outside San Diego’s Wave House Athletic Club, I thought: Riding this will be too easy.

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February 01, 2016 /Jim Benning
Reporting
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