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Animal Hike Lake Mountain Road Travel

Six Lake Hike in the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains
These guys were easy to find and wonderful to shoot (take pictures of). Often surrounded by 10 to 20 females I wondered if I wasn’t in Perth, Australia where the male/female ratio is similarly lopsided!

Timing is key. To this point all of Rocky Mountain National Park had been open and this included Trail Ridge Road which run the length of the park along part of the Rockies’ spine. As I pulled in to Estes Park after a long day it started to rain. By morning Trail Ridge Road was closed for the season as the roads were impassible due to snow. Timing is key.

What to do?

Rocky MountainsThankfully there were still many options; snow at the lower elevations had melted. I had long planned to hike to burn off energy after so many days behind the wheel. Back home I had researched this outing and selected a 9+ mile hike which would take me to six lakes. An overview of the area can be seen here; I visited Bear, Dream, Emerald, Haiyaha, Mills and Jewel lakes and in that order. It turned out to be a simply glorious day for hiking and in the Rockies no less! Timing is key.

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Bridge Falls Hike Lake Travel

Central Park: This is NYC?

Central Park
In one morning I moved between being at an isolated waterfall deep in the forest to being practically run over by thousands of runners. Central Park is a big place with lots going on.

I enjoy hiking in National Parks and I love visiting in New York City. By spending time in Central Park I get the best of both. Since being cleaned-up and made safe, it’s a green gem in the heart of the world’s greatest city.

North to south, the park runs for over 50 blocks and it’s about a quarter the width of Manhattan. It’s huge: 843 acres accounting or 6% of Manhattan’s surface area. In its boundaries you can find many, many places of interest: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir, Central Park Zoo, the Harlem Meer, and on and on. As if this weren’t enough, it’s also the venue for a large number of events due to it being at the center of such a large city. It quite literally is a breath of fresh air in this densely occupied island. 

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Historical Lake Lighthouse Museum Road Travel

Taste of Chicago

Chicago - 0
Cloud Gate is a giant jellybean of highly polished steel. In its reflection you can see the Chicago skyline along Michigan Avenue. It’s hard not to walk around it an be amazed.

Last year while returning home via the Lincoln Highway, our nation’s first transcontinental road which ran from Manhattan to San Francisco, I stayed in Chicago just as “Taste of Chicago” was winding down. “Wow!” I thought “I’ve got to get back to see this next year!” And so I did.

“Taste of Chicago” is a nine-day food and performing arts festival which takes place in Grant Park along Chicago’s waterfront. This is a big deal! All the music concerts are free and included such acts as Hootie and the Blowfish, Barenaked Ladies, Buddy Guy, and much more. To get a sense of scale, take a look a the map below. For food alone there were 56 restaurants! 

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