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Silver Falls State Park, OR
Thanks to an internet acquaintance, we learned about the Silver Falls State Park. This park has a 9 mile hiking trail, with 10 major waterfalls along the route. Known as the Trail of Ten Falls, it was too good to pass up, especially since we’ve hiked most all the waterfall hikes along the Columbia Gorge. It was a beautiful day, so the timing was perfect.
Right away, we were impressed by the falls we saw. The falls tumble over basalt lava flows, and erode the softer ground underneath. This makes for some excellent opportunities to walk behind the falls for a truly unique perspective. We opted for the slightly shorter route (6 miles) which gave us most of the major falls. Really a beautiful park, and highly recommended (although we hear that on the weekends it gets very crowded). Here are a few highlights; more images in our Flickr album (see blog roll).
South Falls, 177 ft.
South Falls from behind
A different view of South Falls from behind
Middle North Falls, 106 ft.
Top of Middle North Falls
Bottom part of Middle North Falls
Lower South Falls, 93 ft.
Winter Falls, 134 ft.
Oregon coast, Part 2
After we left Florence we went to Lincoln City where we enjoyed the scenery and a nice waterfall hike. And we had some of the best Dungeness crab we’ve ever had at the Casino. To make up for it, we had a longish (and muddy) hike on Cape Lookout.
From Lincoln City we went to Seaside where we stayed at a Thousand Trails park. The scenery around here is just fantastic, as is the hiking. And of course, a visit to Astoria included the Maritime Museum (very interesting!) and of course Bowpickers Fish and Chips.
We hiked in Canon Beach, but the trails were too muddy so we turned back. But again the scenery made it wort its while. We did get a view of Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, also known as Terrible Tilly because of the really bad weather in this area. It was decommissioned in 1957 and is now privately owned… and used as a columbarian (place to store cremated remains).
Since we had so much rain, we went to Fort Stevens where the main trails were paved, much easier to navigate. But Fort Stevens was fascinating, first built during the Civil War and used during WWI and WWII. It was fired on by a Japanese submarine in 1942, marking the only time US soil had a direct attack.
Drift Creek Falls
Suspension Bridge over Drift Creek Falls
A bee hard at work
Looking SouthEast from Cape Lookout
Looking NorthEast from Cape Lookout
A little rough, a little muddy
Surfing near Canon City
One of the batteries at Fort Stevens
A view over the Fort Stevens bulkhead
Part of Fort Stevens, built during the Civil War
Standing by the Peter Iredale, shipwrecked in 1906
Very little left of the major cannery fire near Astoria
Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, aka “Terrible Tilly”
Posing near Canon Beach
Surf rolling in near Canon Beach
From the Acola Trail, near Canon beach
Haystack Rock, Canon Beach
Las Vegas at night
During the last week, we visited several Las Vegas areas at dusk and at night. There are so many lights here! And I wanted to take some pictures of night time Las Vegas. Below are pictures taken on Fremont Street (downtown Las Vegas) as well as the always busy Strip.
Caesar Palace shops
Ceiling in the Forum Shops
Caesar Palace
Fountains at the Bellagio
Some very large signage
Craftsman showing spray paint paintings
Point your camera, and they will pose
Inside the Fremont street LED display
Clever images on the ceiling
And, a variety of colors
Zion: Angel’s Landing
Angels Landing is one of the classic hikes in Zion and one of the most stunning viewpoints you will ever experience, but it’s not recommended for anybody with a fear of heights. Starting at the Grotto Trailhead, the hike to Angels Landing follows the longer West Rim Trail backpacking route up and out of the west side of the main canyon. Angels Landing is unique fin-like mountain formation that juts out to the center of the main canyon.
After a rather steep and winding climb from the Virgin River, you get a nice respite in Refrigerator Canyon, where it always is cooler than the rest of hike. Then, you reach Walter’s Wiggles, a steep climb with 21 switch backs. A bit of an exertion here! Then you reach Scout’s Landing, an open space with magnificent views.
Those who are braver than us finish the last 1/2 mile along a steep path with dropoffs of 1,500 feet. A final crossing of a spine with 1,500 dropoffs on both sides brings you to Angel’s Landing itself. Like many others, we passed on this last part, which is rated as one of the three most dangerous hikes in the USA.
After a the hike we managed a quick stop at the Three Patriarchs, a magnificent set of mountain peaks next to the Virgin river.
A river’s side view of Angels Landing
Entrance to “Refrigerator Canyon”
Looking up to Walter’s Wiggles
And looking down Walters Wiggles
A view back from Scout’s Landing
Looking down deom Scout’s Landing into the valley
Showing how tenuous the last 1/2 mile gets
A line of hikers starting the last 1/2 mile
A cactus flower, blooming alongside the trail
A vie of the Patriarchs
Another view of the Patriarchs
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon is unique in that visitors view the canyon from the top down, instead of from the bottom up. This provides a unique viewpoint of the distinctive geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. Bryce sits at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet.
We drove over with some of our friends of the Pikes Peak Rollers, our Colorado RV travel group. We were going to stop over at Cedar Breaks, but recent snowfall closed the road. But we still got to see some snow over the pass!
Romola and I also hiked down into the canyon (Navajo Trail). It’s spectacular, looking up at the hoodoos instead of just down! Makes the tough hike back up worth it.
Rock formation at Red Canyon, on the way to Bryce
Wayne Pedersen with Romola at the summit
Yep, that’s snow!
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Steep trail back up
Twin bridges
Hiking down the canyon
Grafton, UT – ghost town
Not far from Zion NP is an old town named Grafton. It was originally started by Brigham Young grow cotton. It was a small but busy little town in the 1800, but suffered from floods, Indian reprisals, and Virgin river flooding. And, the ground was silty, making crop growths difficult. Eventually, the resident moved away, and the town was abandoned.
An attempt to revitalize the town was made in the 1930’s, especially to house road crews who were building the nearby highway. But the biggest use was in the 50’s and 60’s as a setting for Western movies. Many were made here, the most memorable being “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”. Now, it is a tourist attraction, if you don’t mind the bumpy road to get there.
We passed a sign that said “do not enter when wet” and once we were at the town rain threatened, but we didn’t have any difficulty. Nice trip!
Headstone of a family killed in Indian raids
Church
House
Old shed
Rear view
Wagon
Oops!
First hike of the year
Santa Fe, NM is high up in the mountains, about 7,000 ft. altitude. There are many opportunities for outdoor activities, so we went fo a nice hike. Took the Machisma Trail, just north of the city. First of the year…
It wasn’t a very long hike, just under 5 miles, or difficult, with about 700 ft altitude gain, so it wasn’t overly stressful. But it was our first hike of the year, and only 2 days ago we were near sea level..
Anyway, hiking is a pleasant way to spend some time while keeping in physical condition. A few pictures.
A steep stretch
Lots of pine trees
Trail map at the top
Romola working her way uphill
Our Galapagos cruise
The Galapagos are remote but if you can get there do it. There is no place like it on earth. The scenery is spectacular in its own way, but the animals steal the show. Sea lions, turtles, birds, iguanas… all are unafraid of humans and will let you get up close and personal. A photographers dream! I have shown some pictures below but the best place is my Flickr link (see side bar) and you can see all 150 or so.
Our trip started in Quito, largest city in Ecuador and at 9,000 foot elevation. We had enough time to visit some local sites and to stand on the “middle of the earth”. From there, we flew to Baltra to begin our cruise.
The ship was small: 93 passengers. Service was great, 70 person strong to take care of us! The food was excellent, the ship well maintained. Every day we had two excursions, led by certified naturalist guides. They not only showed us the best places to visit b ut provided excellent information.
A nest of iguanas
Flamingo
Blue footed booby
Swallow tailed gull
Land tortoise
Sally crab
Land iguana
Lava lizard
Mockingbird
Sea lion
Church in Quito
At the palace (Quito)
Child in backpack, Quito
Navigator cruise, February, 2014
Last November, we sailed on the Navigator of the Seas, one of the last sailings before a $80 million dry dock refurb. While we were hanging around the Houston area, we noticed the Navigator was back in action… and they had a sale! Since the friends we met on the Barcelona cruise were already booked, we decided that we’d go too. After all, the price was SOOOO low.
So on a Tuesday we booked it for a Saturday departure. Galveston is an easy 2 hour drive, boarding was quick, and the ship looked great. New carpets, furniture, paint etc. made quite a difference. For reasons still unknown (but much appreciated) we were given a Premium Drink package, meaning we could drink pretty well anything we wanted to. Wine with dinner, cocktails at the show, and margaritas in the hot tub were all terrific! In fact, the price of the drink package exceeded the price we paid for the cruise, so we are happy cruisers.
Here are a few pictures. Many more in my Flickr account as well as our photo album.
Old vs. new
Our friends Jimmy and Betty LeBlanc.
A kid on the on board wave rider
Belly flop competition!
Even an ice show on board
A local vendor in Jamaica
Mockingbird in Jamaica
Sunrise on the last day at sea
One of the on board concerts
Beach scene in Cozumel
Caribbean cruise
Since we are so close to New orleans, it seemed like a good idea to also take a cruise. Especially since they were on sale, and left right from downtown! So we had a nice, stress free, over eating cruise to Key west, Nassau, and Coco Cay.
The ship (Serenade of the Seas) was recently remodeled, and so it was clean and attractive. No sickness surprises, no problems. The food ranged from very good to excellent, and we had a few great meals (and many very good ones too!) The entertainment was superb as well, with a variety of singing, comedy and acrobatic acts.
Finished of two books, had a very relaxing time. No doubt the blood pressure will go up tomorrow when I get back on the scale.
Entering in to Key West harbor
If you don’ want a cruise, but like to sail, here’s your ticket.
Some pretty sailing vessels took to the seas
Statue in a Key West building
You know, that really is a big ship!
This “shack” was destroyed in the Thunderball James Bond movie
Atlantis, popular (and expensive) as ever
Chihuly in the entry way
Nature Trail on Coco Cay
Coco Cay beach
Jack and the Beanstalk arial act — on a ship!
More Jack and the Beanstalk act
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