What a year it's been! Adventures in national parks, on rivers and in amazing cities in South America, Central and Western Europe, coastal Maine, and the US Rockies. Here's a few highlights, with some of my favorite shots through the year. Links for more pics and details at the end if you'd like more! PATAGONIA: The year began with a two week hiking trip in the far south of Chile and Argentina. Challenging hikes, great friends, and amazing mountains made this trip fabulous! Glacier on Mt Fitz Roy, Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina The Perito Moreno Glacier (5 km / 3 mi wide, 30 km / 20 mi long, and about 75 m (240 ft) thick) drains into Argentino Lake, in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina. The highlight of a three day hike on the "W Trek" in the Torres del Paine National Park (Chile) was the moment we got to the base of these stunning granite towers. Probably my favorite hike of the year! The Horns of the Paine are on the left in the ...
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Linda had not been to any of the national parks west of the Mississippi. So, to celebrate a special occasion (her birthday), we decided to visit a few of the best parks (my opinion) along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountain range. They included Glacier National Park in Montana, Yellowstone in Wyoming, Zion in Utah, Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped in at the Grand Teton (Wyoming), Bryce Canyon (Utah), Mesa Verde (Colorado) and Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado) National Parks. We also stopped in at a few National Parks on the way to and from the Rockies. In each of these parks, we hiked a few outstanding trails, motorcycled along scenic parkways, visited iconic locations, and stayed in park campgrounds, all in an effort to get to know what's so special about each of these amazing places. Here's a brief visual recap ...