I’m taking a different approach to hiking to Mt. Le Conte this year because of Covid-19. Usually, I drive more than 500 miles to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, spend a few days in Gatlinburg, and then put on my hiking boots and hike to Mt. Le Conte, the third highest peak in the […]
A year ago almost to the day, friends and I hiked to Sant Jeroni – the highest peak (4,055 feet) in the Montserrat Natural Park in Catalonia, Spain. The park surrounds Montserrat Monastery, which is built into a mountain-side about an hour train ride from Barcelona. The monastery was founded in the 11th century, and […]
If you’re looking for a half marathon to run, you should consider the Naples Half Marathon. I ran the 2020 race along with about 1,700 other runners and enjoyed the experience. This was the third time I’ve run the Naples Half Marathon. Here are reasons that I think you’d enjoy the race. The course The […]
The celebration of Three Kings Day has taken on special significance for me after celebrating the event in Barcelona. Three Kings Day (or Epiphany) is celebrated January 6 — 12 days after Christmas. The celebration recognizes when three Kings (the three wise men) reached Bethlehem to bring gifts to baby Jesus. Whereas Christmas is the […]
Hiking at Mt. Hood, the highest mountain in Oregon, was an exciting adventure, with the varied beauty of hiking on a sunny blue day with the snow-capped peak visible and of hiking on another day in the clouds, when Mt. Hood couldn’t be seen. Experiencing Timberline Lodge, at the base of Mt. Hood, was intriguing, […]
If you’ve spent time involved in activities in nature, like hiking or boating, you know how the “same” nature experience can be so different from one day to the next and even from one minute to the next. The wind shifts, a storm front passes through, the day goes from sunlight to dusk to darkness. […]
The Willamette Valley Lavender Festival was a treat for the senses with fields of purples and a range of fragrances. The two-day event (the second weekend in July each year) included more than a dozen lavender farms near Portland that were open to the public. At Mountainside Lavender Farm, the fields of lavender stretched for […]
