Travel, Explore, and Capture--Activities
Hiking Posts
Gedong Songo Temples – Semarang – Indonesia
Gedong Songo is a complex of nine Hindu temples on top of green, forested hill tops located at the foot of Mount Ungaran, above the city of Semarang in Indonesia. The complex is formally known as Candi (temple) Gedong Songo, which in English roughly means Nine Big...
Pink Beach – Lombok – Indonesia
Pink Beach (Pantai Pink) is located on the Tanjung Ringgit penisula on Lombok Island, about a 2 hour drive from the cruise port or Mataram city. Pink Beach in Lombok is one of ten beaches in the world that are pink, and Indonesia is home to two – with the other found...
Salt Creek Recreation Area – Washington
Salt Creek Recreation Area is a 196 acre county park with Washington state's premiere shore diving, some great hikes, and an amazing variety of tidal pools. Salt Creek Recreation Area is located on the Northern coast of Washington State, about 100 miles West of...
Blackbutt Nature Reserve – Newcastle Australia
Blackbutt Nature Reserve is a 450 acre (182-hectare) former coal mine near Newcastle, Australia that's been re-imagined into a scenic park with walking trails and native animal species in natural enclosures. Blackbutt was named for the Eucalyptus pilularis tree, one...
Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk – Sydney
The Bondi to Bronte Coastal Walk is one of the most iconic coastal walking trails in Sydney. It winds South, past Tamarama Beach and Mackenzies Bay, from Bondi beach to Bronte Beach. The walk has amazing panoramic lookouts over the ocean and is lined from one end to...
Snaefellsnes Peninsula, Iceland
The Snaefellsnes Peninsula is a scenic region in West Iceland, boasting a diverse landscape of glaciers, mountains, lava fields, and coastal beauty. It's also home to the Snaefellsjokull National Park, the home of the Sneafellsjokull volcano that towers over the...
Thorsmork Super Jeep Tour – Iceland
One of the highlights of my Iceland trip was the Thorsmork Super Jeep Tour. Þórsmörk (Thorsmork) is a nature reserve in the southern Icelandic highlands. It is one of Iceland's most popular hiking destinations and an amazing location for photography and sightseeing....
Rails Trails – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park Canal Trail isn't really a rail trail, it started as a towpath along the canal. But, it's so scenic and in such a great area that it had to make our list! The 184.5 mile long Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is located along...
Great hike in Redwoods – Tall Trees Grove, CA
The Tall Trees Grove trail is a great, shorter hike near Orick, California with access to some amazing Redwoods. The Tall Trees Grove is in a valley around Redwood Creek, so the trees there are surrounded by 4-5 foot tall ferns and a variety of smaller trees. The...
Incredible Oregon Scenery – Columbia River Gorge
We drove up the Columbia River Gorge to do some hiking and take photos of the amazing scenery. The Columbia River Gorge has the greatest concentration of high waterfalls in North America. We were able to visit three of them in a short day's drive, and still had time...
Biking Posts
Rails Trails – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park Canal Trail isn't really a rail trail, it started as a towpath along the canal. But, it's so scenic and in such a great area that it had to make our list! The 184.5 mile long Chesapeake & Ohio Canal is located along...
US National Whitewater Center – Charlotte NC
The US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte NC has 1,300 acres of protected land offering 40 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails; the world’s largest man made, recirculating whitewater river; a large ropes course and zip...
Rail Trails – Banks-Vernonia State Trail
Banks-Vernonia State Trail is a 21 mile easy-grade, linear rail trail from Banks, Oregon to Vernonia, Oregon. The Banks-Vernonia State Trail is the first rail trail in Oregon, and repurposes a route that was once used to haul lumber from old-growth forests to...
Incredible outdoor adventures – Zion National Park, Utah
Zion National Park is Utah's first national park. It was granted national park status in 1919, after starting out as Mukuntuweap National Monument in 1909. “Mukuntuweap” is the Paiute Indian word for “straight canyon” or “straight river” . The main focus of Zion...
Amazing trip to the Scottish Isles – Scotland Bike and Schooner
We've done four bike and barge trips now, and they just keep getting better and better! If you aren't familiar, bike and barges are trips where you live on a boat for the duration of trip but then the boat takes you to several different locations for you to bicycle...
Scotland Bike and Barge Day 6 – Tobermory to Glengorm Castle
Our last day on the bikes unfortunately started out as another wet one. Because of the weather forecast and steady morning rain, only about half of the riders made the revised ride to Glengorm Castle and back. The revised ride was only about 12 miles (19 km) round...
Scotland Bike and Barge Day 5 – Salen to Tobermory
Bike day 5 was our first rainy day of the trip. Because of the rain we waved off the side trip (10 miles round trip) to the brilliant white beach of Calgary Bay and continued directly back to Tobermory. The Flying Dutchman made the short trip in the morning to drop us...
Scotland Bike and Barge Day 4 – Mull Island: Duart Castle to Salen and to Tobermory
Our bike ride for the fourth day started with a drop off at the Inverlussa Mussel Farm in Loch Spelve on the Isle of Mull. The Mussel Farm was only one of the farming operations on the Loch with several other mussel and salmon farms apparent across the bay. This was...
Scotland Bike and Barge Day 3 – Isle of Jura to Isle of Mull
Our third biking day we cycled from the South end of Jura at Craighouse, nearly to the North end in Ardlussa, for a ride of 17 miles (27 km). The word, 'isolated' was made for Jura, it can only be reached by ferry. George Orwell, who stayed here while he wrote 1984,...
Scotland Bike and Barge Day 2 – Crinan to Island of Jura
Our second day of biking was a short circular ride from Crinan to several fascinating historical sites on the peninsula North of Crinan. We started out down the canal path and quickly passes the first of several locks we'd see along the canal. We were lucky enough to...
Skiing Posts
Sierra Nevada Ski Area – Spain
We recently spent several days snow skiing at Spain's Sierra Nevada ski area. What an incredible experience! There are at least five reasons we think Sierra Nevada is one of the ski world's best kept secrets, and wouldn't be surprised to see it experience huge growth...
Sightseeing Posts
Marina Bay Sands Skypark Observation Deck – Singapore
The Marina Bay Sands Skypark Observation Deck is located on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. The hotel was inspired by a house of cards, with three towers slightly slanted, resembling cards leaning against each other. The SkyPark, a rooftop...
Gardens by the Bay – Singapore
Gardens by the Bay is a 60 acre (105 hectares) outdoor park in central Singapore, near the Marina Reservoir. It has several interesting botanical attractions to visit, including the Supertree Grove, two large, air conditioned conservatories, and more than 200 outdoor...
Gedong Songo Temples – Semarang – Indonesia
Gedong Songo is a complex of nine Hindu temples on top of green, forested hill tops located at the foot of Mount Ungaran, above the city of Semarang in Indonesia. The complex is formally known as Candi (temple) Gedong Songo, which in English roughly means Nine Big...
Pink Beach – Lombok – Indonesia
Pink Beach (Pantai Pink) is located on the Tanjung Ringgit penisula on Lombok Island, about a 2 hour drive from the cruise port or Mataram city. Pink Beach in Lombok is one of ten beaches in the world that are pink, and Indonesia is home to two – with the other found...
Komodo National Park – Indonesia
Komodo National Park in Indonesia is a UNESCO listed park of 700 sq miles (1,817 sq km) in total area, primarily on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, and Padar. The park was established in 1980, initially to conserve the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) and its...
Salt Creek Recreation Area – Washington
Salt Creek Recreation Area is a 196 acre county park with Washington state's premiere shore diving, some great hikes, and an amazing variety of tidal pools. Salt Creek Recreation Area is located on the Northern coast of Washington State, about 100 miles West of...
Antelope Island State Park – Salt Lake City – Utah
Antelope Island State Park is a Utah State Park on an island 25 miles north of Salt Lake City. Antelope Island is more than 28,000 acres (11,340 ha) of rolling fields and hills, and is 15 miles (24 km) long and 4.5 miles (7.2 km) wide. The island is accessed by a...
Blackbutt Nature Reserve – Newcastle Australia
Blackbutt Nature Reserve is a 450 acre (182-hectare) former coal mine near Newcastle, Australia that's been re-imagined into a scenic park with walking trails and native animal species in natural enclosures. Blackbutt was named for the Eucalyptus pilularis tree, one...
Sydney Botanic Gardens
The Sydney Botanic Garden is an amazing 74 acre (30-hectare) botanical garden, event venue and public recreation area located on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district. The Sydney Botanic Garden opened in 1816, making it the oldest scientific...
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
The Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is a highly rated attraction, and considered a must-do when visiting Sydney. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the tenth-longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water...