Peaks of Blue - Oct 11, 2015

“The Eighth Wonder of the World” is how our guide described it, and I won’t argue with that. Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile is a place of unique and startling beauty.

Deep South - Oct 10-11, 2015

Next time you look at a world map, notice how far the southern tip of South America extends: much further south than Africa or Tasmania in Australia. You really can’t get further south on land without being on Antarctica itself. That’s where the next leg of our tour took us, the tip of South America.

Birdland - Oct 8-10, 2015

Chiloe Island is viewed as a cultural heartland of Chile, preserving traditional beliefs and ways of life. It is also a refuge for a large variety of exotic birds.

Under the Volcano - Oct 6-8, 2015

Though a source of contention between Argentina and Chile that is still not completely settled, their mutual border is generally taken to be the continental divide along the Andes Mountains. So to get from Argentina to Chile, one must cross the Andes, and we did this by bus on a day that provided particularly spectacular scenery. Settling in Puerto Varas on Chilean side, we found a land of lakes, volcanos, and enchanting people.

Lake District - Oct 3-5, 2015

Bariloche is not a name familiar to most U.S. tourists; in fact few of the stops on our tour of Patagonia would be, but it is a place of stunning beauty and fascinating culture. Looking back, it’s hard to believe the variety of experiences we had there.

Good Air - Oct 1-2, 2015

After a fascinating visit to Easter Island, our tour group arrived back in Santiago, Chile, just to spend the night, before flying on to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Easter Island had been an optional pre-trip; Buenos Aires was our staging area for the main tour covering Patagonia. While Buenos Aires is not in Patagonia, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to experience this bustling city and urban Argentine culture.

Go On, Get a Big Head - Sept 27-30, 2015

It’s said to be the most isolated place in the world - further from the next civilized place than anywhere else in the world. It’s a five hour flight due west from Santiago, Chile. Locals call it Rapa Nui, but most Westerners know it as Easter Island.

September Spring - Sept. 25 - 26, 2015

In February of 2015, I got an invitation from my cousin Tom to join him, his wife Kathy, and a few other of their traveling friends on a trip to South America. I leaped at the chance, and after a lot of planning and anticipation, on September 25th, I got on a flight headed for Santiago, Chile.

Oh The Places I've Been

I know, I know, there hasn’t been a new entry here since last August, and even then I was blogging about things that had happened in March. I hope this post marks a new beginning and a rededication of my time to keeping this blog current. It seems the further I got behind, the weaker the motivation was to reach back to events several months old. So, beginning with the next post, I’ll catch up on a relatively recent trip, and I have the best intentions not to get more than a couple weeks behind - at most - after that. My actual goal is to blog on the day or the day after I’ve visited each interesting sight. But fear not, I still want to share the great adventures I’ve had since last March, and intend to fill in those posts as time permits. (One thing that finally gave me the impetus to make this leap forward is that I learned how to post entries in the order they happened, rather that the order I write them.)

As I write this, the previous entry is about the Builtmore Mansion, but over time you should see entries fill in the gap between then and now, as well as new contemporary entries proceed forward from here. Just to give you a taste, here’s a list of highlights from my travels since March 2015: Blue Ridge Parkway, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Cape Cod, Boston, Lake Placid, Mt. Washington, Portland Maine, The Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Niagra Falls, Colonal Williamsburg and Jamestown, the South Dakota Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Devils Tower, the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Mesa Verde, and Canyon de Chelly. After that, I returned to my home base in San Diego in early August of 2015, but soon took off on another loop to the northwest that included: the California and Oregon coasts, Victoria B.C., Flaming Gorge, Dinosaur National Park, Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Bryce, North Rim of the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park. When I returned to San Diego in mid-September, I’d put over 35,000 miles on my RV in less than a year. Yes, I know it sounds like a staggering number of places to visit in a year, but it’s been fantastic, and I’ve got photos to document it all.

But I wasn’t done. In late September, I took off on perhaps the greatest adventure of the year. That will occupy the next few posts of this rejuvenated blog.

Among the Clouds - April 1-3, 2015

I’d heard from many sources over the years that the Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most beautiful drives one can take. Thus, I started out along that route with great anticipation, heading north from Asheville.

Build More - March 30, 2015

There were so many highlights of my trip to Asheville, it’s hard to single out one, but the Biltmore Estate is the attraction for which Asheville is best known. I spent most of a day taking it all in, and it is indeed impressive.

Mountain Home - March 28-31, 2015

Many friends had recommended that I make Asheville, NC, one of my stops, and since driving the Blue Ridge Parkway had long been one of my goals, it fit right into my plans. I also had some new friends in town, which ended up adding immensely to my enjoyment.

Taking Flight - March 22-25, 2015

After a lengthy layover in Atlanta, it felt good to hit the road again. I headed to Charlotte, NC to visit a former student, then to the Rayleigh-Durham area to visit relatives, and on to North Carolina’s Outer Banks to see the Wright Brothers Memorial, something I’d always wanted to visit. These stops were just the beginning of a busy campaign I had planned to travel up the East Coast. I didn’t realize a nagging health issue would curtail those plans for weeks to come.

Second Home - Feb 24-Mar 19, 2015

The day I left Charleston, I passed through a cold front on my way to Augusta, and the rain began. I spent a surprisingly cold night at a barebones RV park in Augusta, then headed on to Atlanta, or to be more precise, Milton, about an hour north of central Atlanta. I had friends in Atlanta to visit, and as it turned out, my RV spent a lot more time there than I did.

Down on the Plantation - Feb 22, 2015

The Magnoiia Plantation lies along the Ashley River, a few miles inland from the sea. It is known not just for its plantation house, but for the gardens and wildlife it includes.

Southern Charm - Feb 21, 2015

After a couple days in Savannah too cold to enjoy touring, I was worried that I was trying to push north too early in the season. But the weather turned nice when I arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, and I was able to fully enjoy the many sights the city has to offer.

Cold Savannah - Feb 18, 2015

I went to graduate school in Atlanta, but unfortunately did little touring around. I’d heard that Savannah was a charming, historic city, but never made it over there. Now, I had a chance to correct that. As things turned out, though, Savannah remains on my “to do” list.

Jekyll to Cumberland's Hyde - Feb 16 - 17, 2015

Cumberland Island is a wild and wooly place, intentionally. Jekyll Island, next up the Georgia coast, is much more refined, but not without its wild places. I spent two days touring Jekyll Island and enjoyed an amazing variety of sights.

Into the Wild - Feb 14 - 15, 2015

Cumberland Island, southernmost of the Georgia coastal islands, is a nature preserve. There are no bridges to the island. There are no shops on the island, not even for food. The U.S. Park Service runs two ferries a day, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. They also run just one tour per day. It lasts six hours, has a ranger as the guide, and takes a maximum of twelve people; there were nine of us the day that I took it. Here’s what I found.

In a Clinch - Feb 12 - 13, 2015

Before this, all I knew about Amelia Island is that it’s where reporters like to flock when a hurricane is coming ashore. For me, the weather was great, I had a view of the ocean from my campsite, and there was an interesting but nearly deserted attraction nearby.