Tag: Hike
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Hawaii, Part 8 (Big Island: South Point)
We had one more corner of the “Big Island” of Hawaii left to explore before moving on to Oahu. It was a late addition to the schedule. The younger kid who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in geology wanted to see an unusual formation. However, this request didn’t materialize until we were actually in Hawaii.…
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Hawaii, Part 3 (Maui: Haleakala)
Eventually I tired of beach life and I wandered into interior Maui, a place they call Upcountry. The elevation rises slowly but steadily at the base of Haleakala, a massive shield volcano dominating the larger eastern portion of the island. Beaches give way to farmland and the climate starts to moderate as the road climbs.…
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Skyline Drive – North District
Skyline Drive hugs the crest of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles (169 kilometres), down the length of Shenandoah National Park. I’ve traveled every section of it, in whole or in part several times, as recently as 2022. So it felt like I rejoined an old friend as we undertook a day-trip from our…
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Interior Alaska, Part 3 (Greater Fairbanks)
Eventually we ventured away from downtown Fairbanks and started venturing towards the edges of town. Now, to be certain, Fairbanks isn’t a huge town so the “edges” were pretty close. However, I didn’t have enough room to cover everything in the last article so I had to draw a line somewhere. For this purpose I…
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Ontario, Day 5 (Lake and Caves)
As I planned the trip, I tried to intersperse mellow days with active days and most of the time I followed those guidelines. Originally Day 5 was designed as something low-key in Collingwood without any driving. However, plans shifted a tiny bit and we did more than we anticipated. Hen and Chicken Island I ducked…
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Inland Northwest, Day 5 (University Loop)
This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need to drive very far anymore now that we’d settled into our temporary home in Lewiston, Idaho for four nights in a row. The Washington Race Sunrise came quickly and we soon found ourselves running another half-marathon. Thankfully…
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England, Day 2 (Jurassic Coast)
We were firmly based in Swanage after the long day of travel and ready to explore our new surroundings. However, we were still pretty tired so we stuck close to home and made it an easy day. Swanage sits near the eastern end of the 96 mile (154 km) Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO World Heritage…
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Costa Rica, Part 2 (In the Shadow of the Volcano)
We landed at Juan Santamaría airport in San José on a Friday afternoon, clearing Immigration and Customs nearly effortlessly. Then we got a taste of rush hour traffic riding on the shuttle to retrieve our rental car. Driving conditions became a lot more difficult later in the trip although I didn’t know it at the…
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Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 6 (Mackinaw City)
We drew ever closer to our ultimate target. Only a fifteen minute ferry ride separated us from Mackinac Island today, a place we could see quite clearly from the mainland shore. However, we focused on Mackinaw City and its immediate surroundings so the island had to wait. Mackinaw City is nothing like Mackinac Island despite…
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Mackinac’s Orbit, Part 4 (Petoskey)
One day we decided to explore Emmet County, at the northwestern tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula. Prior to that, my only exposure to this place happened along a brief segment of I-75 barely clipping the county line before crossing the Straights of Mackinac. My entire elapsed time in Emmet lasted mere seconds. However I’d completely…