Category: Elevation
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Madalena
Pico, The Azores (Açores), Portugal (March 2001) Madalena, on Pico’s western coast, is the principal town on the island (map). It is also a vital transportation link to the island of Faial via ferry from the nearby municipal dock [see my Pico – Faial Ferry page]. The most impressive building in Madalena is undoubtedly the…
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Vianden Castle
Luxembourg (August 1999) A twisted route led through hills and valleys in northern Luxembourg, the last Grand Duchy. We drove through Clervaux and Vianden, and thick stands of forest. It was a fun drive with plenty of scenery. We shared the road with mobs of motorcyclists and bicyclists that were also out to enjoy the…
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Crossing Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany (August 1999) Many years ago we got an opportunity to drive from Belgium to Luxembourg to Germany. The Germany portion cut through the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, from the Luxembourg border to the Rhine River. The Marktplatz at Bernkastel-Kues We drove up from Trier along the spectacular Moselweinstraße (Mosel River wine road). The route crossed…
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Exploring the Mitten, Part 2 (Two Great Lakes)
The upper tier of the mitten sits between two of the Great Lakes: Huron and Michigan. That means the farthest someone needs to travel to hit an immense body of water is maybe 75 miles (120 kilometres). Generally, unless situated directly atop the midpoint, a given location will sit even closer than that to at…
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Sydney Skyline
As Viewed from the Taronga Zoo (October 1997) After twenty hours of flight from the east coast of the United States, we reached Australia, and arrived in Sydney with fourteen hours of jet lag to make up. We took this photograph from the north side of Port Jackson at the Taronga Zoo Sydney. From that…
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Australia’s Blue Mountains
The “Three Sisters” Rock Formation (October 1997) The Great Western Highway left Sydney and headed up through the Blue Mountains. Echo Point laid perhaps an hour and a half from Sydney near the town of Katoomba. This offered excellent views of the Blue Mountains and the “Three Sisters” rock formation (map). Every tourist who travels…
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Atop Mt. Coot-tha
Atop the Summit (October 1997) My wife and I rented a car, and drove the short distance from Brisbane to Mt. Coot-tha. An overlook provided excellent views of Brisbane. It also offered a convenient place to grab a cup of coffee. Later we drove out further to Mt. Nebo, then down through the Samford Valley,…
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Fossil Butte National Monument
Outside of Kemmerer, Wyoming, USA (July 2011) Fossil Butte National Monument may be one of the more obscure National Park Service properties but it’s worth a visit if you happen to be traveling through southwestern Wyoming. It’s particularly convenient to people driving out of Salt Lake City, Utah towards the east along Interstate 80. At…
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The House on the Rock
Spring Green, Wisconsin, USA (August 12, 2002) I am not even sure how to describe The House on the Rock near Spring Green, Wisconsin (map). Is it a house? Or is it a museum? Maybe it’s a cluttered attic on steroids? Did some ancient flea market suffer a devastating explosion and leave its detritus in…
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Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay
Accomack County, Virginia (June 2000) For many years I’d wanted to visit Tangier Island in the middle of Chesapeake Bay (map). People have inhabited Tangier for more than three hundred years, making a living from the bounty of the Bay, mostly isolated from their neighbors on the eastern and western shores. This has resulted in…