Articles with hiking

Olympic Peninsula: Above the Clouds at Hurricane Ridge

If you are visiting the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic National Park will probably be at the top of your list. Of course going up to Hurricane Ridge is one of those must-do activities in the park. We have been to Hurricane Ridge a few times over the years, but it was time for another visit. I had looked at the weather forecast and decided that Sunday would be a good day to travel up to Hurricane Ridge. (My daughter thinks…

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Lessons Learned While Traveling With My Dad

After our Interlude in Iceland, I asked my daughter Andrea to write a blog post about traveling with me. I thought my readers might be interested in a different perspective on my travels. She agreed so below is her post about our trip. The photos are also hers with a little editing from me. Enjoy. It had been over a year since I had added a stamp to my passport, and I was itching to get away. Iceland hadn’t been…

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Iceland Interlude: Hiking Success in Landmannalaugar

We woke up Wednesday to the usual grey skies. We packed our backpacks as today we were going on a hike. Andrea had booked a hike up into the colorful mountains of Landmannalaugar. It would be an all day adventure. After my near accident yesterday, I wasn’t sure if I should be going on this hike. However, when I woke up and moved around, I didn’t really feel much pain, just some stiffness so I thought I would be OK…

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Alaska Sojourn: Hiking Success Near the Chena River

I have wanted to go to Alaska for some time, but it never happened. This spring my daughter suggested we go there for a summer vacation. When airline prices came up that were a great deal, we made the call. We would finally visit the huge state of Alaska. Our sojourn would begin in Fairbanks and end in Anchorage. Our flight arrived in Fairbanks about 9:00 PM the day after the summer solstice. The sun would set at about 12:45am…

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St. Edward State Park: A Lodge Opens in its Middle

When one thinks state parks, usually what comes to mind are parks in the mountains or at the ocean beaches. Their distance away from urban centers can make them seem difficult to get to for a day trip. However, nestled in the suburbs on the east side of Lake Washington is St. Edward State Park. One can easily take a day trip to this park, and it recently got a unique upgrade. So grab your Discover Pass and find out…

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Kauai’s Foggy Mountain High to Waimea Canyon Low

After hiking along the Kauai coastline on Sunday, we were ready on Monday to visit two of Kauai’s state parks, Waimea Canyon and Kokee State Park. I had done some research on the parks, but apparently failed to understand what I had read. When my daughter pulled out of the parking lot, I was sure she was going in the wrong direction. Of course I was wrong. It’s a good thing she was driving. I also thought the two parks…

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Exploring the North Side of Deception Pass

Deception Pass is the narrow strait between Fidalgo Island and Whidbey Island about an hour north of Seattle. It was named by George Vancouver after apparently neither he nor his crew noticed it on their first exploration to the area. Later, when they did discover it, they thought it had deceived them, thus the name. Today this strait is traversed by bridges. Between the two large islands is another small island, Pass Island, so there are actually two bridges. They…

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Discovering Sunrise at Mt. Rainier in Washington

There were thin, high clouds in the sky as we left our home to visit Mt. Rainier. It looked to be a perfect day for a return visit to Mt. Rainier National Park. It had been two years since our last visit. This time we were going to a part of the park we had never visited before, Sunrise. The Sunrise area is on the northeast side of the park. There are three main parts to the Sunrise region. First…

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Mt. Rainier Plays Peek-A-Boo For A Day

While the Space Needle is the iconic sight for Seattle, Mt. Rainier is the icon for the state of Washington. In fact, despite Washington having many mountains, locals often refer to it as simply, “the mountain.” If you can get the Space Needle and Mt. Rainier in the same picture, then you really have a classic Washington picture. Unfortunately Mt. Rainier is not always as visible as we would like. The areas infamous rainy days often hides it from view.…

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Autumn in Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park is a newer national park. It only became a national park in 2013. Perhaps because it is newer explains the reason why many people aren’t even aware of it. While it is located just 80 miles south of San Jose, it is the 13th least visited national park in the United States. Only a little over 233 thousand people visit in a year. Compare that to the 4 million who visit the popular Yosemite National Park just…

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