Gorham Mountain, Acadia National Park, ME, 6/30/14

First stop on today's hike: Pelegrin Watch. Rangers were on hand to man the telescopes pointed towards a falcon nest with two 40-day old fletchlings.  Trouble was, fletchlings fly and do not stay put.  I got to see just one by the nest for a brief moment. 

Second stop: Sand Beach, my favorite.  There is only one sandy beach along Acadia's rocky coast and the water is a frigid 50 degrees. Just warm enough to wet one's toes.

Next, we followed the Ocean Path to the Gorham Mountain trailhead. You can see Sand Beach at the horizon.

One more stop before starting our climb: Thunder Hole.  Apparently the waves go wild in this crevice but we, along with a crowd, waited in vain for the show.

Coastline views from higher up.

Almost at the top.  A friendly Canadian from Quebec took our picture.

Top of the mountain. Seagulls were hovering. I saw one flying off with a plastic food wrapper in its mouth... What we do to the earth...

Last side trip: Cadillac Cliffs, a steep, rocky and not well marked spur trail.

One more view ofthe coast: Pom-Pom seaweed balls flotting along the shore.

Bike Ride, Acadia National Park, ME, 6/29/14

We took the Express Bike shuttle from Bar Harbor to Eagle Lake to start our day's bike trip along the Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park. John Rockefeller Jr wanted motor-free roads for horse and carriage rides on Mount Desert Island. Construction lasted from1913 to 1940, including the building of 16 bridges.  The result is 45 miles of carriage roads used today by carriages, horseback riders and hikers.

Our destination for lunch was Jordan Pond House, known for its popovers, a more than 100-year old tradition.

Along the way we passed Eagle Lake, Bubble pond and Jordan Pond, a 10 to 12 mile ride round trip.

And yes, the popovers were delicious!

Sunset at Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ME

For our first Arcadia National Park hikes we decided to go watch the sunset atop the highest point in the park.  We arrive early to get some hiking in. Started with Dorr Mountain trail - too steep.  Tried Cadillac North trail - too steep also.  Retraced our steps and tried South Cadillac trail - better but ran out of time.

Acadian style Bates cairn.

Facing Western Bay towards the sunset.

10K - Osha Loop Trail, Sandias, NM, 6/7/14

We started on the 10K trail with the intention of hiking the Osha Loop trail when about 2 miles into the hike we realized that doing the loop would make it a 7-mile hike for the day. A little more than we planned. So we changed course and set out to make Osha spring our lunch and turn around point.  Only after hiking Osha Spring trail for a mile or two did we realize that Osha Spring is not on Osha Spring Trail but on Penasco Blanco Trail...

The trail is named after the medicinal Osha plant that thrives in the dry west. It is used as a decongestant and a tonic. Not sure at all that the plant above is the Osha plant... Nice flowers so I took a picture :)

Fourth of July Trail, Manzano Mountains, NM, 5/25/14

 Plan B: Fourth of July trail, ~ 5 miles, 800 feet elevation.  On Friday, we drove up to the northern NM region of the Pecos to the Santa Barbara campground with intention of camping for 3 nights and 2 days of hiking...  and, I did not even get out of the car.  Rain, hail and 45 degree temperatures welcomed us as we selected a camp site.  We decided to drive back home. 

The Fourth of July Canyon is known for its bigtooth maples and brilliant scarlet fall colors, making it a favorite fall destination.  This Memorial Day Sunday we had the trail to ourselves, however.  Probably because of the w.e. weather forecast of thunder storms.  Above, the Fourth of July spring, dripping in a trough used by cattle.

Trail 173 joins trail #79, a connecting trail to the Manzano Crest trail. Mosca Peak surprised us as we joined the Crest trail.  Our hiking instructions directed us to walk 1/4 mile to a saddle with views of Guadalupe Peak.  We did not make it to the saddle.  There it was in a turn of the trail: a large brown bear, staring at us. For just 2 seconds,  I'm sure, but it felt like an eternity. And then it ran away from us, crossing the trail.  We turned back and settled for lunch in a spot with views of Mosca Peak when we got another surprise: a bull wandering out of the oak shrubs, observing us and deciding to move on.

Kasha Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument, NM, 5/17/14

 My friends Rossi,  Ivana and I decided to to go to Tent Rock for a morning of photography. Above, entrance of the Canyon trail. This 1.1 mile spur trail leads through a slot canyon and then climbs up to a ridge with 360-degree views.  Hiking the slot canyon requires a bit of scrambling. My hiking book, 60 Hikes with 60 Miles states, "if  you can climb up on a kitchen counter, you can manage."

Entering the slot canyon. Kasha Katuwe means "white cliffs" in the language of the Cochiti people.  The numerous hoodoos and other fascinating formations were formed by volcanic explosions 6-7 million years ago, when ash and pumice accumulated over the plateau.

 Hoodoo views as we left the slot canyon and started to climb up to the ridge.

One last picture...

Appalachian Trail in Hot Springs, NC, 4/29/2014

 My dream: hiking the Appalachian trail. We hiked  0.0007th of its 2,200 miles, but that was fine with me.

 The trail runs right through the town and vears North after crossing the....

roaring French Broad River.

 For once, we had no trouble finding our way: white blazes mark the trail.

 View of Hot Springs from the first overlook and below from the second overlook.

Are there hot springs in Hot Springs, NC? Yes. And did we soaked in the hot springs? Yes.  After climbing up to the overlook (1.6-mile round trip) we had a relaxing soak.