Oaxaca The Culture Center of Mexico

 

The cultural center of Mexico….Oaxaca.. a vibrant urban city.  Nine days of tranquility and beauty. The temperatures were in the low 80s.  The comida was off the charts! I loved the duck and mole. 

The people were incredibly kind and warm. Los Golondrinas hotel was a garden paradise.

Highlights of the trip…….

Shopping at markets markets markets around the Zocalo

Abundant indigenous arts and handicrafts

Fiestas Decembrinas

The restaurants and the cuisine! (Don Juanitos was our favorite)

MONTE ALBAN -Zapotec ruins

Los Arquitos (aqueducts)

Jardin - etno botanico

Climbing Cerro Del Fortin (246 stair steps)

The finest mezcal on the planet

The village of TLACOLULA and its world famous Sunday market

Negative Covid tests so we could return to Snottsdale  for Christmas

Thanks to my amigo Bob Shea for the impetus to go to Oaxaca and touring advice.

 "A River Runs through it"

Montana ROCKS!! I have always loved my/our trips there!

I knew we needed a small vacation
But it didn't look like rain

So….. we took a direct flight to Bozeman Montana. We rented a car and drove to Gardner (north entrance) and spent 6 fabulous days in Jellystone where we hooked up with my ole podnah Lou Brewer and spouse Carol from Reno. Lou goes to Jellystone every year and provided us with valuable insights and recommendations, including the guide service.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is remarkable. OLD FAITHFUL-well….BORING! We did have  a fun white  knuckled Yellowstone River raft trip. 

 We then drove over the scenic scenic scenic Bear Tooth Highway to Red Lodge to spend 3 incredible days with my ole Podnah (of 66 years) Bob Ewald and wife Sara. Their hospitality and warmth were off the charts. Teddy the bear and other bears and cubs would frequently visit their property. Fun fun fun!

It has been my dream since boy scouts of seeing a wolf in the wild. The Mexican wolf (lobo) has been reintroduced here in southeast Arizona/New Mexico.  My son and I are going to the White Mountains next week and are hopeful of a sighting.

We our waiting for our  mailed copy of our  wolves sightings video from Yellowstone Wild. We witnessed the Junction Butte Pack for well over an hour.  Our naturalist/biologist guide EMIL was first class.So I apologize for not including it. Carolyn of Yellowstone Wild was also superb. Highly recommended!

On our first day we viewed in awe, five adults and seven pups!  I still can feel the excitement rushing through me at the time. The pinnacle of wildlife sightings, nothing has topped that...wild wolves? Whoever gets to see that? The alpha mother was feeding the hungry pups by regurgitating. Nature at its finest!
Actual sightings of these predators are rare and few and far between. 

We also saw a mama grizzly and 2 playful cubs, along with moose,, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, pronghorns, elk, sandhill cranes and  thousands of bison in the Lamar Valley -the Serengeti of North America. Gerry loved the babies.

My previous favorites in the wild were enjoyable but they pale in comparison to that magical morning.

-The big 5 in Africa...African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Leopard, Lion, and Rhinoceros

-Andean Condors in Peru and California Condors in the Grand Canyon

-Wombats and Taz Devils in Tasmania

-Griz and cubs in Yellowstone, close encounter in Glacier, and the tundra in Alaska

-A herd of wild Mustangs galloping thru the northern Nevada open range

-Whale sharks in the Antarctic ocean

-A leopard on a tree limb with a dead zebra he had dragged and pulled up the tree to munch on..... In Kenya

- Jesus Christ lizards, that run across water in Costa Rica

-A sidewinder and coatamundis in Arizona

and.......so many more, I could go on and on …...

.

We have been so fortunate to live a traditional life coupled with a life of adventure. The candle of life is burning quickly my friends. I wish all of you the beauty of nature and thrill of adventure.

Today......

I pinch myself and ask did we really see wild wolves, and did I have a tear in my eye?

 11 fantastic days-just returned -jet lagged, so no trip report just photos

Highlights

Old Town Vilnius Lithuania

Old Town Riga Latvia

Old TownTallinn Estonia

Laheemaa National Park

Laju Takas-treetop walking Path

Gauja National Park

Russian Bunker

Trakai Castle

Eco Farm -organic horticulture workshop

Cider House

 The Grand Canyon is carven deep by the master hand; it is the gulf of silence, widened in the desert; it is all time inscribing the naked rock; it is the book of earth.

I worked Four days in the Canyon, as an instructor for the Grand Canyon Field Institute. Time in the canyon gives one new perspective on life as it is in 2020.

It was so nice to get away from the toxic politics and negative covid culture our country is suffering.

We had eight really great people and all went very well in spite of the heat and water challenges. Everyone made it out very happy with the experience.

The pipeline was broke again and there was limited water at Phantom. Toilets had to be flushed with buckets of water taken from Bright Angel Creek.

It was 98 at the Ranch, plenty of time in the cold Bright Angel Creek as well as a side trip to Phantom Creek.

We treated a young man that was close to heat stroke until the rangers from Phantom could come. He and his fireman brother headed down the Kaibab in the heat of the day with little water, not knowing there was NO water on the trail. When they ran out they started back went about a mile and then turned around and headed back down desperate for water. They both had vomitted twice. We found them at the river beach, one was slurring his words with a pulse going all over the place while his brother tried to get water at the ranch. This scenario is all too familiar. Young dudes that should have known better. The positive is if we had not come upon them to assist, the one would have probably died.

I slept under the thousands of stars, many bats were in the air ....it was soooo tranquil, nite sights for the soul. We had a ringtail cat sneaking around, and several deer would wander by.

At Phantom, I had take out hikers stew one night and steak the next.

This was all a big deal for me, my first since a new hip. I didn't think I would work for the field institute again but when they asked me to do this trip, I didn't hesitate. My trainng was not adequate due to the heat, a lot of cross training but nothing of industrial strength necessary to do a trip like this...but I got er done and the clients were kept safe and happy.

 Eugene is located in western Oregon, approximately 278 billion miles from anything. 

-- Dave Barry

Howaya?

I hope this report finds you happy and healthy.  We have been very fortunate to stay healthy during the pandemic while traveling to Poland, Tahoe and Oregon. We follow all protocols and would like to think that we take “prudent risk”  We are not interested in being white birds in a golden cage getting old.

We had to escape the pleasant record days of  temperatures over 110, so we decided to hit the coast of Oregon and other great locations recommended by our good friend Bob Shea from Bend. We flew into Eugene and stayed at a really nice B & B-The Campbell House. 

Our fun two weeks of  activities included  a whole lot of hiking, and enjoying the “GREEN” Oregon countryside.  We were able to share time with friends Gary and Mary Beth Elam in Eugene, and Rollie and Erica Woodcock in Newport. 

We spent a week at the small, cool, coastal town of Yachats. Temperatures were in the low 60s….only 50 degrees cooler than Scottsdale.  The hike on the Amanda trail to Cape Perpetua was outstanding! We woke up every morning to a brilliant view of the sea and observed several whales while we were there. Our favorite restaurant was “Luna Sea”  We enjoyed their fabulous scallops two nights in a row. We loved having lunch with Rollie and Erica at the Clearwater restaurant in Newport on a deck above many incessant, loud barking, growling and grunting sea lions establishing territory. 

Just outside quaint Silverton we stayed at “Oregon Garden” resort that had a fantastic happy hour. Two buck tacos and three buck margaritas. The Oregon Garden is an 80-acre  botanical garden , It is home to over 20 gardens. 

Close by is Silver Falls State Park, the “crown jewel” of Oregon state parks. We hiked the 7 mile loop that passes a series of breath taking waterfalls along a rocky canyon that descends to a winding creek at the forest floor.  We passed behind South Falls, a 177 foot waterfall.

Time was spent poking around in Silverton, a charming small town.

Gerry drove to Hood River, another charming small town on the Columbia River Gorge. Here we relaxed, hiked, and went to several wineries that had awe inspiring double views of Mt. Hood and Mount Adams. 

We tried a tray of different ciders, a new experience for both of us.

We returned to Eugene and again hooked up with Gary and Mary Beth. I have loved “TRACK TOWN” for many years.

Our boys competed for several years in the AAU on the storied old Hayward Field. It has now been replaced by a modern marvel of a stadium. I  miss the old Hayward Field. 

Gary and Beth graciously took us for the “Animal House” tour on the campus and pointed out several structures where memorable scenes were filmed. 

This was really as nice a trip as any of our many foreign travels and we hope to return next summer. We were sad to have missed Linda and Greg and Bob and Peggy in Bend due to the virus. Another good reason to return as well as the Olympic trials and world track trials.

Our activities for the remainder of the year will be mostly limited to biking, walking and hiking. We do have a trip planned for Oaxaca Mexico in December, don’t know if that one will happen.

I am working my first trip as an instructor for the Grand Canyon Field Institute  since my hip replacement in December. 

It is scheduled in October so I have 2 months to train which is a challenge in this heat. Wish me luck!

Please stay safe!