The Cafe du Monde in New Orleans' French Quarter

This month we pay tribute to the people of New Orleans with an article by Janis Turk about their struggle to rebuild one of the world's most wonderful cities. The city is open for business, she reports, and it's a great vacation destination. The French Quarter was virtually untouched by the storm, and the city dearly needs revenue from tourism.

At the same time -- in true GoNOMAD fashion -- she goes behind the curtain to explore the hardship and heartache that followed the devastation, the "ceiling of despair" that threatened to entrap the people of New Orleans, and, at last, a ray of hope for the future, born of their indomitable spirit. Janis Turk's first article for GoNOMAD had us searching for superlatives.

We also take a whirlwind tour of Atlanta on the city's rapid transit system, known as MARTA. "MARTA doesn’t mind if you call her easy," writes longtime contributor Jaclyn Stevenson. "In fact, it’s what she’s aiming for. This lady is a gracious host. She gets you where you want to go, and places you hadn’t considered, with both speed and style."

Carly Blatt tries out an awesome array of summer adventures in Colorado including mountain boarding, mountain biking, whitewater sledging, whitewater rafting, hot-air ballooning, horseback riding, alpine sliding, caving, paragliding and zip-lining. Talk about an action-packed vacation!

Editor Max Hartshorne takes the longest scheduled flight in the world to Malaysia, to report on the melange of cultures there; and Senior Travel Editor Kent St. John cries, "Eureka!" upon discovering the perfect summer rental in Cozy Harbor, Maine. Kent's son Chance St. John describes the beauty of the Dominican Republic, dubbed by Christopher Columbus, "the fairest land under heaven."

Jennifer Wattam Klit explains that Monaco, the capital of glitz and glamor, actually holds many attractions for "the average joe," and Marie Javins offers an excerpt from her book about her overland trip across Africa.

And this month we introduce another great blog to our list of regulars. Bill Karz writes about travel from Los Angeles and provides his unique point of view about life on the West Coast. Find budget hotels in Los Angeles.

Just another batch of talented travel writers brought to you by GoNOMAD.