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Bike Bridge Historical River Train Travel

A Path Down the Middle: C&O Canal

C&O Mile 0
Under the shadow of the Watergate and hidden behind a boat rental store you can find “Mile 0” of the C&O Canal. Here it drops into the Potomac which opens onto the Chesapeake and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Canal barges were pulled at four miles per hour but there was a time when people were betting they were the best option for moving goods, certainly better than those new-fangled trains. Hard to believe but in their infancy trains were slow and dangerous and didn’t have much of a hauling capacity. For a small window in history, the riverboat canal system and the railroad competed for supremacy. Seems hard to believe today.

America’s manifest destiny was to grow, to expand west. In post-colonial times this meant expand into the Ohio valley where fertile land and natural resources were bountiful. Critical to this expansion were communication and transportation and this meant connecting the east coast with the Ohio River. In the late 1700s this stirred the development of the C&O Canal along the Potomac River to link the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River. America was moving west. 

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Bridge Historical Museum River Train Travel

My Classic Farewell Embrace of London

London
The Themes runs through London where traffic runs along and across the great river. From this vantage point you really can get a feel for the character of the city and a sense that it plays a prominent role.

Tomorrow I fly home. So how do I typically spend the day before leaving London? Walking my feet off, of course! Today I covered the core of London from the Tower of London and London Bridge on the east to Buckingham Palace and Covent Gardens in the west. In addition I spent two hours in to the excellent London Transportation Museum. After 10 hours on my feet, walking and listening to audio tours, I was quite happy to collapse into a chair at a coffee shop. Ahhhhhhh …

Ever looking for interesting pictures to take I decided to take advantage of a special perspective: elevation. The Monument is a memorial of the 1666 fire that destroyed London and a celebration of London’s reconstruction. It stands 202 feet tall, the distance from it’s base to where the fire began on Pudding Street. I climbed the 311 stairs to a viewing gallery hoping that I could get some good shots and I think I did. While the subject matter isn’t novel I’m hoping you agree that the lighting, context and angles are special.

Another excellent trip to the U.K. complete!

How long till I return? 🙂

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Bridge Historical Museum River Train Travel

Two Engineering Wonders and a BritRail Pass

Falkirk Wheel
Enter below and exit above or vis versa, this amazing combination of art and engineering reunited Scotland’s canals systems east and west. Great care was paid to how it appeared and the result is a world-class mechanical sculpture.

My primary goals today were to visit two extraordinary structures: The Forth Bridge, a rail bridge inextricably linked with Scotland’s identity, and The Falkirk Wheel, a boat lift which united east and west Scottish canals for the first time in centuries. However, if I was going to be out-and-about on a BritRail pass then I could do more.

Choosing the loosely defined theme of “bridges” I looked in to  where else I could go. Perth offered three(!) bridges with pedestrian paths I could cross. Adding this to my first two choices could result in a loop … and what more could be found on the loop?

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Bridge Historical Lighthouse Museum Ocean River Train Travel

Two Loops Around Newcastle

Spire
Atop a government building was this tower but far from unique, this city expressed it's artistic character in many way.

After a day’s rest from my 84-mile walk I was feeling somewhat regenerated. My ambitions were small for this transition day. I thought a walking loop around town would be just right after which I’d hop a train to Edinburgh. I never should have talked with the hostel staff. I never should have learned about the £4.80 Daily Saver. I never should have been tempted to go on a grander Newcastle adventure.

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Bridge Falls Historical Museum River Train Travel

Smoothly Trans-Atlantic

Bath
Bath is famous for many things and probably for these cascades on the River Avon too. However, I came back to this exact spot because the view is spectacular. Bath has so very much to offer.

If not an old shoe, it felt like a familiar shoe when I completed my trip to England by pulling out my Oyster prepaid card and swiping it to enter the Underground to board a Picadilly Line train to Padington. Everything had gone smoothly right down to sleeping which I forced myself to do for several hours in transit. When I strolled off the plane to Customs it felt like the start of a great day; I wasn’t dragging and cursing life. A good first stride in to a familiar and comfortable shoe.

Not wanting to schlep around my suitcase all day, I made my first stop my hostel in Bristol where I checked in and stored my bag in a locker. Then, back on the train for a 10 minute ride back to Bath, a town I’ve previously visited and been blown away by. It has strong Roman influences viewable even today. However, this visit would be different. My plan was to avoid the town’s key feature (the Roman baths) and take in the rest of what was in and around the once-walled city.

My first stop was the tourist information office where they provided me with a walking tour map. With that I set off on my way to explore. So what is there to be seen? A crazy number of interesting sites, among them:

– Jane Austin’s home

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Bike Bridge Historical Road Travel

Hidden Roads of Acadia

Hidden Roads of Acadia
What a glorious structure! Rockefeller had seven world-class stone bridges build within Acadia’s Carriage Road network. They’re grand and well preserved and such a pleasure to admire.

I don’t know what makes Acadia National Park special but each time I visit it hits me anew. Perhaps it’s the clear still water of its many lakes? Maybe it’s the beautiful vistas along Park Loop Drive? Could it be the distant views from atop Cadillac Mountain? I say “Yes” to all and will add another: the majesty of its carriage roads. 

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Bridge Lake River Road Travel

Lovely Plodding through the Northeast

Lovely Plodding through the Northeast
At the end of my third bike ride, I found myself watching the sun set over Lake Champlain. Then, happy chance happened. This lady and her dog walked past and I was at-the-ready with my camera.

Highway 2 across New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine is a very different experience from Highway 2 west of Lake Superior. In the west the road was straight and wide and fast; in the east it’s curvy and narrow and slow. However, it was a beautiful green ride through the Green Mountains, the White Mountains and the Mahoosuc Mountains as I drove from Burlington to Acadia National Park. As usual, I only wish I’d had more time. 

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Bridge Lighthouse River Road Travel

Lake Superior Waterfront

Lake Superior Waterfront
A first for me, three lights in one shot! Two can be seen at the ends of the piers; the third stands tall in the foreground. These together serve to guide boats from Lake Superior into the harbor of Duluth under the bridge below.

My drive across the great middle of this country ended when I arrived at Duluth on the extreme southwest shore of Lake Superior. For a city whose average annual temperature is 37 degrees, I found the climate in mid-April to be very comfortable.

Lake Superior WaterfrontSo much did I enjoy being in the Duluth area that rather than check-in and regroup I decided instead to keep driving along the famed North Shore Drive. It was a beautiful excursion! The road shoots north from Duluth along water’s edge. I followed the road to Two Harbors where I found its namesake lighthouse. As usual at day’s end I was fighting the fading sun so I opted to take this silhouette shot of the  lovely light. Two Harbor Lighthouse now operates as a bed and breakfast and, had I only known, it could have been my home for the night! The sign which read  “Rooms Available” still burns in my brain. 

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Bridge Road Travel

Tootling Towards Seattle

Tootling Towards Seattle
For years I lived within an hour’s drive of Fort Vancouver. Never once did I visit. It’s a place rich in history of trade, military, shipping, aviation and much more. Why do we take for granted what’s near?

It was time to take a day to catch my breath. Being in Hillsboro, OR on a Sunday is a good time to do that. I’m able to attend church with my mother, see old friends from decades ago, and spend time “doing things with mom”. A great way to unwind and prepare emotionally for the next push.

My plans for a return up the Inside Passage and down the Yellowhead Highway weren’t working out. Winter ferries were few and all were fully booked as evidenced by the first available slot: May 17! Also, getting over the Rockies and having ready access to Jasper and Banff wasn’t looking likely with a winter storm en route. I needed a different plan

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Bridge Family Hike River Road Travel

Two States of the Gorge

Two States of the Gorge
Looking down the Columbia River Gorge with Washington in the foreground and Oregon mountains rising up from the river. Oh, my mother and daughter are also in this picture on the left.

Let me set the stage. Kelsey hadn’t been to Oregon since 1998 when she was six years old. She’s now 16. Most of my family lives in Oregon and after a 10-year gap they all had expectations of seeing her … in the 20 waking hours we had scheduled for Kelsey to be in the area. We had a LOT of ground to cover. Ready. Set. Go!

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