Still sorting through all the photos we took on our recent trip to South America. This is at the Mirador las Torres (lookout towers) of the Torres Del Paine.
Just realized that I never posted any photos taken in Namibia on our website. Below is a slideshow of our time in Namibia with ( Wild Dog Safaris.
On February 19th, we flew to Tucson for a 4 day vacation in the sun. We originally planned this back in the fall and thinking that we would like to get out of the cold weather sometime in February. Well, it wasn't really that cold this February but it was nice to be able to hike in the desert and play tennis.
The first day we drove south of Tucson to Tubac a small artists communities in the southern desert. It was fun just walking around and enjoying the local art. What we did not realize was how long it would take to drive back through Tucson to our lodging north in Oro Valley. I-10 near Tucson is under major rework and all on & off ramps were closed. Traffic lights on the major north-south street are not synchronized and we had to stop at each for about 18 miles. We finally got off on a side street and were able to catch the sunset before we continued on.
This photo is of Saguaro Cactus.
On Friday, we drove to the Saguaro National Park and took a wonderful hike for about 6 miles through the desert. We were too early for the catus to bloom but it was still very pretty. I did not realize that Saguaro Cactus are wood inside.
After our hike we went to the Saguaro Desert Museum and hiked another 2 miles taking in all the areas of the outside museum. Driving back to our place was once again very slow but we did make it and found a nice spot near by to watch the sunset. This photo is the sunset from that spot.
Saturday, we drove up to Mt. Lemmon which is about 28 miles north of Tucson. You start at about 2000' and drive up to about 9000'. It had snowed the week before and there was still snow in the trees and along the road above 50000' . At the end of the road they have a very small Ski area called Ski Valley. There must have been a local bike rally to ride up to the Summerhaven near the top of the mountain. We must have passed well over 100 riders on our way up. This would be a very hard ride since you start at 2000' and gain over 7000' in 25 miles.
On Sunday, we hiked up Pima Canyon for 3.5 miles (7 round trip). Luckily for us, there was a slight cloud cover that kept the temperature down. This was a really interesting hike as you started with Sagauro Catus and ended up in scrub oak.
On Monday, we drove to the San Xavier del Bac Mission which was built in 1790's. It was really hot (90) . We flew home around 6:30PM and by the time we drove up the mountain to our house we were in a snow storm. It had not snowed since we left but started on Monday afternoon.
These are photos from our trip to Tennessee to visit Helen's mother Lois in Tullahoma. We then drove over to Knoxville to visit her brothers, David, Carl, and Families. We were able to do a house tour and see Emily's, Natalie and Matt's, and Alan and Cristina's new homes.
While visiting Bret & Jeri in Minnesota, we drove to downtown Minneapolis for the after noon. We visited the Forshay Tower, which was the tallest building in Minneapolis when Jeri grew up, and were able to go to the top of the building where the view of the city was spectacular. I am always looking for photo op's of reflections and Minneapolis was a perfect spot.
These are a few of my favorite images of the spectacular grasses of South Dakota. To view a larger image, just click on the image. 
On Tuesday, Sept 23, we drove to Ft. Collins to visit Craig, Sarah, and Zoe. We got up early on the 24th, and headed to Custer, South Dakota on our way to visit Bret, Jeri, and grandkids (Evan & Paige) in Minnesota. We first stopped by the Crazy Horse Monument, then drove through Custer State Park on our way to Mt. Rushmore. We then headed east to the Badlands arriving just before sunset. After the sunset, we decided to sleep in our car at a nearby campsite. We slept well until about 4AM and we both got cold. We started the engine several times to heat the car and then at about 5:30AM, we started driving through the Badlands to catch them in the sunrise. A herd of bison were along the rode as we departed our car-camp spot. The Badlands at the break of day is really nice. We did a couple hikes before the temp got to 93 and then headed to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD where we spent the night.
Sept 7, 2007. After a wonderful nights sleep in our warm accomodations, we decided to go hiking on the opposite of the valley we were staying in. Driving over we spotted farmers cutting and stacking the hay to dry. They use these wooden rakes like devices to wrap their harvest and then let it dry out. We had seen these wooden devices on the side of barns earlier but did not know how they were used until today. Click here to see more photos of our hike.
We found a wonderful hike that started at about 1600m and ended at a Rifugio at 2236m. It was a very steep hike and covered about 14km round trip. We were amazed at the number of people hiking the trail that day and also the number of older people. When we arrived at the Rifugio there were people eating and drinking. All food and supplies are delivered to these Rigugios by helicopters.
Along the trail we encountered signs about a 17.5im mountain race that was planned for the weekend. It was hard enough just hiking it.
It was a Once again it was nice to start a hike and be able to have fantastic views the entire hike.
On the way out, we drove through a little village or town called Moos. It would have to win the "Best Flower" award for Italian cities. We were there during the peak of the flowers on buildings.
Yes, that is snow. Today was our travel day. We planned to drive further north and then head across a pass into Austria but because the weather looked like a white out was going to happen, we decided to drive east to the Northern Italian Dolomites. As we started up the pass, the weather continued to deteriorate until there was a whiteout at the top of the pass. So we pulled into another Rifugio to wait out the weather and have lunch. It was really nice sitting inside have a warm meal and watching it snow.
The drive up to the pass was wonderful and clear. We would cross over a pass and then down the other side to a valley and then back up to another pass and then another valley. In Summit County the forest are dead from beetle kill but here the forest are healthy and green. Almost no dead limbs on the floor of the forest. They cleaning them out, drag them down to the road side and stack them neatly.
Many years ago when I first visited Italy, I was amazed at the litter and trash all around. This time I am amazed by the lack of trash and litter. On our entire trip, we really did not see litter along side the roads. No plastic grocery bags floating across the road nor stuck in the fences.
After lunch we continued driving up and down S-curve passes and end up finding an complex that had a room with kitchen for 3 nights. We decided to stay this area just 11km south of Dobbiaco, Italy, which is the center of the Dolomiti di Sesto National Park.
Click here to view other photos of Day 3.
We woke up on our 2nd day and drove just 11km more and we were in the Brenta Dolomites. We should have driven the extra 11km yesterday as the views from here were much better than in Pinzolo. After breakfast, we headed out for a hike in the ski area in Madona di Campiglio. We were able to drive part way up and then started hiking. We kept hearing bells ringing and then as we came around corner, we spotted cows grazing and they each had a bell.
As we were driving to our hike we spotted several people with baskets in hands and wonder what they were doing. When we started our hike we determined that they were out looking for mushrooms. September must be the season as we continued to see them out almost every day as we continued around Northern Italy.
Hiking in Northern Italy is great. You started out and almost immediately you are above tree line and have fantastic views of the mountains. Also, most hiking trails have a Refugio at the top or along the way. These Refugio's have hot food and drinks and many have rooms if you wish to stay overnight.
Today's hike we stopped at Refugio Viviani Pradalago at 2082m. We started at 1500m. After having lunch we continued up and were going to hike to a top of a peak that was 2500m but it was very windy, the trail got very narrow, and the ridge about looked steep on both sides. We had also spotted a warning sign that indicated that you could clamp onto a cable. We had travelled all this way to view the mountains and decided it might be best to start back down and continue on our trip.
Click here to view more photos of the Brenta Dolomites.
We had to get up at 4:30AM and catch the 5:15AM Gatwick Express train from London's Victoria station. We had planned to carry our bags on to the plane until we were stopped going into security and they said that our bags were too large and that we must check them. We rushed back to Easy Jet and were able to quickly check our bags and get back into the security line. We made it in plenty of time to catch our direct flight to Venice at 7:50AM.
We made a choice to sit on the right hand side of the plane with hopes of getting some photos while flying into Venice. Correct choice for Venice but missed some photos flying over Switzerland, although Helen was still able to take some amazing photos of the mountains near Mt. Blanc from the right side of the plane.
We picked up our rental car at the airport and started to drive but ran into traffic. We also noticed that the car stuttered when driving in 2nd and 3rd. We elected to return the car which appears that last person put petrol in the diesel tank. We picked up another car and started out again.
We decided to take secondary roads instead of the autostrada, and headed north east towards Trento. After a couple hours we finally left the traffic and we driving in the beautiful valleys of wine and apple orchards. Along the way, we stopped for some grocery supplies and also bought apples from a local road vendor next to his orchards.
As you know we are both into recycling and continue to be amazed that other countries are way a head of the USA. We immediately noticed recycle bins in the small towns and also at the grocery store we stopped at. This continued for the entire trip in northern Italy.
We finally ended up in Penzolo, Italy and found a small hotel for the evening.
Click here to view additional photos from day 1.
Just a quick post that we have returned safely to London from our holiday in the Italian Dolomite's . We had a fabulous time, excellent weather, food, and lots of hiking among these amazing mountains.
I am currently reviewing the photos we took and will post more photos on the web either later today or tomorrow.
On Saturday, we got up early and had breakfast at the hotel. It was less expensive than what we spotted on the street and we were able to grab some extra cheese, meat, and bread to make sandwiches for lunch.
As we headed to walk to Musee Orsay, we spotted the hotel that we stayed at in 1994. We also found the outdoor market where we had purchased some broiler chicken. They are still in business and we bought it again for the evening dinner.
Musee Orsay is a fantastic museum in a converted rail station. We arrived early and missed most of the mass of people. They were having a Cézanne to Picasso, Masterpieces from the Vollard Gallery exhibit. This was really interesting to see since Vollard was he had achieved a special place in the art market by his passionate defence of unknown or "banned" artists. In particular Vollard was the first to organise a one-man exhibition devoted to Paul Cézanne in November 1895. Also interesting to read where artist would purchase other artist painting's from Vollard.
After about 4 hrs, we headed out and found nice place in the park across the street to have lunch and then walked to Eiffel Tower. We had planned to walk up to the second level (800 steps) but since there were some many people in line for both the lift and steps, we decided to just view the tower from below. It is an amazing structure. After we got our photos, we decided to take the bus back to our hotel, get food, and enjoy another evening on the Left Bank of Seine.
Click here to view more photos of Musee Orsay and Eiffel Tower.
Last Friday, 3 Aug 2007, we (Helen, Helen's brother David, and Rick) walked over to the Waterloo rail station at 4:30AM to catch the 5:34AM Eurostar to Paris. The train goes to Dover and then through the Channel Tunnel (Chunnel) to Calais France and then to Paris. After a 3hr ride, we were in Gare Du Nord rail station. Wonderful way to travel to Paris.
We immediately, purchased transportation and entry tickets to "Palace of Versailles". While taking the metro to get to our train, David forgot (or was not aware) to retrieve his ticket when we entered the first metro station. Since he did not have his ticket, he could not go through the entry gate to the second metro stop. After Helen tried to explain that we just purchased the ticket and David accidentally left it at the prior stop, we had to purchase an additional travel ticket (5.60 euros). When we arrived about 1hr later, there were thousands of people queuing to get into the Palace. We elected to stroll around the magnificent jardin (garden) at Versailles. The flowers were in full bloom. We found a nice quite place to eat our lunch and enjoyed the view of the jardin. We then continued across the jardin to Maria-Antoinette's Estates. This area just opened to the public in June 2006 and was her private escape area on the Palace grounds. Very impressive.
After a couple hours, we then entered into the Palace, which was built for King Louie XIV in 1682. This palace is massive and every room decorated from ceiling to floor with paintings, jewels, furniture, and more portraits of the Royal Family. We lasted until about 5:30 and enjoyed every moment.
We were able to take the train back in Paris and after a short walk we arrived at our hotel for the night. We picked up some wine and food and then walked over to the Left Bank of the Seine river near Notre Dame to eat our dinner with the Parisians lining the bank.
To view more photos of our first day in Paris and Versailles, click here.
Last Saturday, we got up early to rent a car and drive to the coast in Sussex (south of London). I walked over to the car rental place at 7:30AM to be first in line to get our car. I had made a reservation online on Friday. I was the first in line and when they opened at 8AM, they could not find my reservation. I had accidentally made it for 28th of August not July. Hertz did not have any available cars. Helen and David arrived just as I found out that we did not have a car. We discussed taking the train to Brighton but then decided to check another car rental place next to Hertz. Luckily, they had a car although it was 75 gbp instead of 46 at Hertz. We took it and were on the road about 8:30AM.
Helen navigates and I drive and this seems to work the best for the two of us. We were able to get out of town without to much hassle. Brighton Beach of first destination was about 70 miles and 2 hrs away. We parked the car in a car park next to the beach. We all had to use the WC (water closet, Loo, restroom, toilet). On the entry to the Loo was a certificate for the Best Kept Loo of the 2007. Great Loo.....
We walked down to the beach which is covered with small rocks and no sands. We walked along the boardwalk towards the Pier. I spotted some art work in a shop that appeared to be from Cuba. Paintings of old chevys and other old cars. I chatted with the person in the shop and a local artist travels to Cuba often and had done the paintings. Click here to see more photos of our outing plus Cuba photos.
We walked back up into town to see the Royal Pavilion , a seaside home built in 1815 for Price Regents and later George IV. We then drove east along the coast towards Eastbourne.
We stopped at Beachy Head which has these chalky white cliffs. They wind was really blowing but we were able to find a spot on the ridge and have lunch and enjoy the views. Afterwards, we hiked up the ridge to the former Lighthouse and had some spectacular views of the cliffs. Then we walked down on the beach and by the tide pools as it was low tide.
When we left the coast area we drove around some single track roads between Wilmngton and Lewes. We were in search of the "Long Man", a chalk layout created by the Saxons. While driving David mentioned that he had read about a "White Horse" figure in the AA book and we went around a corner and we spotted a "White Horse" figure on the side of a hill. As it turned out this is not the one that he read about and I could not find any information on it but there was about several other "White Horse" figures in the UK.
We stopped in Lewes, Sussex and had some local beer after walking around the Lewes Castle.
Getting back in to London was exciting. About 60 miles from London, we hit stop and go traffic on the A23. Helen decided that we should get off and drive around it. We traveled a little longer distance but did not run into any more traffic until we were about 10 miles out of the city. With great guidance we drove across the Thames and right back to the car rental. As we were walking back to the flat, it started to rain.
On July 6th, we woke up to the "ship d' jour". Another cruise ship arrived about 7AM. It was not a large as the QE2.
Today, we decided to take a half day Fjord tour on the ferry. We left Flam and sailed through the Aurlandsfjord and into the Naeroyfjord, which is the narrowest fjord in Europe. We had wonderful weather, calm waters, and fabulous views.
It took about 2 hours each direction. Some of the villages in the Fjord, Drydal, are only accessible by boat. One person got off in Drydal and it appeared that the entire community came out to meet her. It appeared to be a "commune".
The Naeroyfjord is about 18km long and only 6km is covered by roads and on just one side.
On the return portion of our tour, the seagulls followed our ferry almost all the way back to Flam as passengers were feeding the birds. Several times we had to move or duck out of the way of seagull droppings.
After we finished our tour, we drove to Aurland and found accomodation for our final two nights. Then we continued on and took a small car ferry to Sogndal area. We had booked accomodations in Balastran but found a place in Sogndal and were able to cancel our the reservations. After being in Norway for a few days we decided that we would enjoy this area more and looked forward to the next day when we would hike to a glacier.
To view more photos of this portion of our trip, click here.
On July 5Th, we woke up and looked our window and looked directly at the Queen Elizabeth 2. It had just sailed into the dock at about 6AM after being leaving the arctic circle. This is one big ship and seem to take up the entire end of the Fjord.
Today, we drove down the Fjord to Aurland (8km) and then headed up a road above the town. We stopped a wonderful view vantage point looking over the Fjord. Even the toilet had a view.
We then parked the car and started a hike up the ridge called "Prest". Each time we get a little higher, we would stop and take more photos. After 1.5hrs and a pretty steep climb, we reached the "Prest" area. After signing the log book, we decided to hike up further to another point. This took about 45 mins.
We sat on the top and had lunch and enjoyed the views below.
After our hike, we continued on the road to Lardel. This was across the snow fields. They snow was piled up to 10-15' in some areas.
Driving back to Flam, we passed through the world's longest tunnel (24.5KM). Before they finished this tunnel the only way across the top was the long narrow road that we drove on. The tunnel really opened up the next Fjord area.
To view more photos of this portion of our trip, click here.
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