Category Archives: Travel

I have a Volcano On My Mind

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Old Faithful Erupts

Old Faithful

I want to see a Volcano

After all, I just visited a super volcano! Yellowstone is an amazing place to visit. Surround yourself with geysers, steam vents, boiling mud and steaming rivers. What you won’t see is lava or magma. In Yellowstone that’s still deep underground. We hope it stays there for a long time. An explosion of a super volcano would be devastating!

But I still want to see a volcano

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Back in 2007 I visited the Big Island of Hawaii. As part of my trip I spent a day in Volcano National Park. We drove through lava fields. We even saw the “VOG” in the distance. Vog is volcanic fog and its loaded with sulfuric acid. Needless to say we didn’t get close. We considered hiking over the lava field to see the glowing lava but the solid lava is like glass. Any little fall causes lots of cuts and bleeding. Right at the start one of our party tripped and fell. Lots of band aids later we all helped her limp off the lava and back to the car.

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Let’s Look from the air

After our mishap on the ground we thought we might be able to see the lava from the air. Our group didn’t want to try a helicopter but they were willing to take a small plane ride. We signed up for the tour of the island. As part of the tour the plane circled the vent with the boiling lava. It didn’t look like much from the air. We only had glimpses of the bright red. A cooler skin of black floated over the glowing lava.

Maybe another chance

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During the intervening years I heard about a boat trip along the shore. They go out at dawn and dusk when the lava flow glowed as it poured into the sea. That was way on top of my to do list. Then last week I checked the eruptions for Kilauea. It’s not flowing into the sea anymore! “Lava flow is still active on the pali and coastal plain, however the ocean entry is currently halted”. I may find my plans “foiled” again. Can’t wait to get there and find out!

A Trip of a Lifetime

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Alaska Road Trip

The last trip that was suggested was another chance to see Alaska. As you all know I took a land cruise tour in 2013. It was nice but I’m convinced it could have been so much better. “Pete” who lives in Alaska recommended a road trip that included Homer, Denali, Fairbanks, Valdez, ending in Anchorage. This immediately caught my interest. A road trip like that would take some planning so I started pouring over guidebooks, maps and Alaska Blogs. I think I have the framework laid out.

Minimum 14 days

A road trip like this would hit most of the high points but it can’t be rushed. I think it will take at least 14 days to complete. I think the best time of year will be summer. That means I can’t go this year. I can’t get 2 weeks off this summer. Maybe 2019? I can probably use the time to make lodging reservations. Here’s my rough draft of the ideal road trip.

Alaska Road Trip Itinerary

Day 1:  Anchorage… Pick up rental car, drive north on George Parks Highway. Overnight in Talkeetna

Day 2: Talkeetna to Denali. Overnight in Denali National Park

Day 3: Denali National Park. Overnight in Denali

Day 4: Denali to Fairbanks. Overnight in Fairbanks

Day 5: Take a tour to the Arctic Circle. Overnight in Fairbanks

Day 6: Leave Fairbanks on the Richardson Highway for Delta Junction. Overnight Copper Center

Day 7: Wrangell St Elias National Park – Valdez. Overnight in Valdez

Day 8: Valdez, Prince William Sound-Ferry to Whittier/Seward. Overnight Seward

Day 9: Seward, Kenai Fjords National Park Overnight Seward

Day 10: Seward to Homer. Overnight in Homer

Day 11 : Homer. Overnight in Homer

Day 12: Leave Homer for a scenic drive to Ninilchik – the oldest settlement on the Kenai Peninsula. Overnight Cooper Landing

Day 13: Leave Kenai Peninsula and drive north through the Chugach National Forest to Portage Glacier. Overnight Anchorage

Day 14: Anchorage –  Turn in the rental car and catch the flight home

Denali

 

Comments Welcome

So that’s the first draft of the trip. Any suggestions? Any recommendations for accommodations at the various stops? I considered renting an RV and camping but changed my mind. I think an SUV is more to my liking. Suggestions and comments welcome!

 

 

You’re off to Great Places!

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I Love your Great Ideas!

You had some great trips for me to consider. Thank you for sharing your suggestions. I have a lot to consider.  “Diane” suggested Glacier National Park. I must say that National Parks are always a super choice. I’ve been to many. I even have the “passport” books and collect the stamps. I thought that Glacier National Park was primarily a hiking destination and I’m not sure I’m up for much hiking. Time for me to do a little research.

Glacier National Park

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The first thing I found out when I searched Glacier National Park was Going-to-the-Sun Road. This drive connects the east and west sides of the park as it cuts through the middle. Going-to-the-Sun road is 50 miles of scenic wonder. I’ll need to plan this vacation in the summer. The road is often closed by snow in the winter. It’s wild country out there. Wildlife may be present anywhere along Going-to-the-Sun Road. As you know if you’ve read many of my posts, I’m a sucker for Wildlife. I can watch for mountain goats and Big Horn sheep.  You can even see a glacier from the road at Jackson Glacier Overlook. A bonus for me is that Glacier National Park is in Montana. I haven’t been to Montana yet!

Yosemite National Park

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Sticking with the National Park theme, my boss at work got in on the suggestions. She lobbied for Yosemite National Park. She and her family recently vacationed there and she came away quite impressed. Yosemite National Park is in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains. It’s famous for El Capitan and Half Dome, two iconic landmarks. Its also home to giant, ancient sequoia trees. When I think of Yosemite I think of waterfalls. I was concerned that this hiker’s paradise might be another place that would be beyond my skill set? I’m happy to report that many areas of the park can be reached by car and some places even have shuttle access! Sounds like a user friendly park to me!

Stay Tuned

There are more suggestions to come and they just keep getting better!

 

Oh the Places You’ll Go

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Maui flowersWhat Places need a visit?

I’ve been some great places and had some amazing adventures. But where do I want to go next. I haven’t made it to all 50 states but I’m finding that I’m not interested in seeing every state any more. I’ve developed some favorite places and I like returning. There’s Florida and Hawaii to name two. I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to visit both of those states.

Go West, Young Man, Go West

I’ll need to rephrase that famous line. How about go west old lady go west? I like Wyoming. I’m tentatively going back again to finish visiting Yellowstone. I’d prefer to get accomodations in Idaho as it’s closer to the West Entrance but if that doesn’t pan out I can go back to Jackson. That was a really good vacation.

Moulton Barn with Tetons in the background

Red Rocks of Sedona

Sedona was nice too. The red rocks are beautiful. I took my first helicopter ride there. Sedona was my base camp when I made both visits to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is truly amazing. Everyone should see it at least once. The first time it’s almost overwhelming. My mind kept telling me it wasn’t real!

Mount Rushmore

What’s in South Dakota

What’s in South Dakota was the question I got and asked when my sister and I planned our trip. Everyone knows about Mount Rushmore but it turned out that there was a lot more to see and experience. We visited a real dinosaur dig, observed wild mustangs running free, were surrounded by bison in Custer State Park. 

 

Alaska, The Great Land

We cruised to Alaska. Unfortunately we did it in the rainy, cold spring. I want to go back. I want to see the bears at Brooks Camp during the salmon run. I’d like to cruise past the glaciers again and even experience the midnight sun. Maybe I need two trips because I’d like to see the Aurora Borealis, aka the Northern lights and those are in the fall and winter. Ugh…cold.

Magarie Glacier

Any Suggestions?

So my friends, family and loyal readers, where do you want me to go? What adventure would you like me to experience and write about? The only stipulation is that it must be in the USA. I’m not ready for international travel yet. Maybe someday.

 

What Does The Future Hold?

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Hula danceTime to consider Future plans

What trips are in my future? Where should I turn my attention next? Things have been moving fast but I suddenly find myself with no stories or trip updates. That’s quite unusual. Part of the reason was that I spent my last Hawaii vacation doing exactly that, vacationing. I relaxed and unwound. I didn’t seek out adventure and my trip was short.

 

Coming up next

I have another Hawaii vacation on the books but this time to the Big Island of Hawaii. The Big Island was the first island I visited in Hawaii. That was back in 2007. Since then I’ve been to Oahu and made numerous trips to Maui. I wonder what changes have taken place since my first visit! 11 years is a long time. We stayed at Sea Mountain on our first trip. Sea Mountain is located near Volcano National Park on the wet side of the island. This trip will be at the Royal Kona Resort. Its on the dry touristy side of the island. I won’t have a condo this trip. It’s a standard hotel room.

Some things I can try on the Big Island

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I’ve been looking into some of the activities I might be able to enjoy. Top on my list is an ocean cruise around the edge of the island to see the lava from Kilauea flowing into the ocean. As much as I’ve bee researching this I seem to get different information all the time. I may have to wait until I’m there to see if they are going out.

I’ve also heard that a night snorkel with sting rays is an awesome experience. It was a tour guide on Maui that told me about that. Speaking of Snorkeling, there are quite a few snorkel trips advertised as well as Snuba.

There are also helicopter tours and shark diving. Waipio Valley is listed as a “must see” but requires some hiking. I’m not sure I’ve recovered enough for any lengthy hiking so I’ll just mark that with a question mark. Anyone have any suggestions?