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 Paine Massif, in the Torres del Paine National Park
Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, still functional, is also home to a colony of Sea Lions and a large number of cormorants. In the Beagle Channel near Ushuaia, Argentina
Linda joined me for city explorations in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janiero and a chance to visit the stunning waterfalls at Iguazu. This was on the street in La Boca, an artsy part of Buenos Aires. The neighborhood was at one time a dockworkers slum.
Iguazu Falls is one of the most spectacular waterfalls I've ever seen. Located along the border of Argentina and Brazil, both countries have a national park here. This is a view along the Argentinian side
An amazing view of Rio de Janiero, from the base of the Cristo Redentor monument
FLORIDA: In March I joined a great group of paddling buddies in Florida, where we explored sub-tropical rivers around Tampa and Gainesville
Following a Manatee; Ichetucknee River, FL
In Cypress Springs, a tributary to Holmes Creek in central Florida. Vern & Judie appear to be floating on air here!
On our way back, a small group of us stopped to paddle the South Cedar Creek in Congaree National Park, near Columbia, South Carolina
EUROPE: In May and June, we explored more great cities, this time in ten countries (from Hungary to The Netherlands) through central and western Europe. We visited many wonderful places like Prague, Budapest, Vienna, and Amsterdam on our own, and we visited many medieval cities, castles, and cathedrals on a river cruise along the Danube, Main, and Rhine Rivers
The Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral from my boat hotel on the Vltava River in Czechia
This is St Stephan's Cathedral in central Vienna, Austria
We traveled from Vienna to Zurich via the ultra-scenic Arlberg Railway through the Austrian Alps
We traveled by pletna (a traditional rowboat) to the Church of the Assumption on Bled Island in Slovenia
The Soča River in Triglav National Park, Slovenia
The "Large Waterfall" at Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
We visited many medieval cities, castles, and cathedrals on a river cruise along the Danube, Main, and Rhine Rivers. This is the Buda Castle and St Matthias Church at night, Budapest, Hungary
We sailed through the scenic Wachau Valley, near Melk, Austria...
...and the Rhine Gorge, near Bacharach, Germany
This is the Cologne (Germany) skyline (St Martin's Church and the Cologne Cathedral) from the Rhine River at night
Our river cruise ended in the Netherlands. Kinderdijk, near Rotterdam, is a village that protects and preserves a system of 19 windmills built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands
The Erasmus Bridge spans the Maas River and connects the north and south sides of Rotterdam in The Netherlands
This pretty canal scene in Delft, The Netherlands features the New Church spires, first built in the 1300s. I climbed up to the top of the tower for amazing views of the neighborhood, including Rotterdam and The Hague skylines
My trip ended in Belgium, where I spent about a week in Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges (pictured here), and Ghent.
COASTAL MAINE: In July we spent a couple of weeks exploring the coast of Maine, partly with some of Linda's family and friends, and partly on our own
Quoddy Head State Park along the Maine coast, near the Canadian / US border
Rolling Island Overlook along the Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine
Cliffs along shoreline at Raven's Nest, Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine
NATIONAL PARKS ROAD TRIP: The Maine trip helped to prepare us for a longer, six week road trip through 16 states to visit 12 National Parks, mostly along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Highlights included reconnecting with a few old friends and visiting Glacier, Yellowstone, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Parks
Glacially carved U-shaped valleys in Glacier National Park, Montana
Waterfall along the Upper McDonald Creek, Glacier National Park, Montana
Lower Yellowstone Falls in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
"Old Faithful" in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The Cathedral Group, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
The Virgin River and Zion Canyon in the Zion National Park, Utah
Hoodoos in the Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Quite a view at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona
Whitewater Rafting on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Alberta Falls in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado
On the way back home, we stopped in at several interesting places, including the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia
THE CATSKILLS: Our final trip of the year was to Boston, where we celebrated Thanksgiving with Linda's family. On the way back, we made a three day stop in the Catskill Mountains near the Hudson River in New York, where, among other places, we visited Kaaterskill Falls
All in all, a pretty great year for visiting amazing places, doing fun things like hiking, biking, touring, and boating in those places, and meeting interesting, fun people along the way. So thankful for the opportunity to do this stuff! And thanks for coming along on this virtual tour!
Links to more pics and stories:
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