Snowshoeing in Andrew Haydon Park and Stillwater creek

OK, just a quick trip back to the present to show you some photos from today.  I went out snowshoeing in the late afternoon today along the creek behind our house, into Andrew Haydon Park and along the Ottawa River.  It was cold out (-18) but snowshoeing is such good exercise that I was warm the whole time.

Shoreline of the Ottawa river:

Andrew Haydon Park:

Stillwater creek behind our house:

A swampy area along the creek that is now nicely frozen for exploring:

Our house from down at creek level.   I snowshoe right out our back gate.

Utah is still incredible

On Nov. 30 we drove from Salt Lake City to Moab, having flown in from Canada the day before.  We'd planned an 11-day trip to do day hikes in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and a few other sites around Moab.

As always in Utah, getting there is a big part of the scenic fun.  Here are just a few photos from the drive down:

Here's our first glimpse of the landscape north of Moab.  The Colorado River runs in that canyon to the right:

We got in early enough to do a couple of short trails, coming up soon ...

Ornamental Grasses

These ornamental grasses grew in the garden this year:

Dec 14: Pearl Harbour

We only had half a day left before we had to catch our flight back to LA in the afternoon.  Ed wanted to see the ship and submarine at Pearl Harbor, so we headed over there by taxi.

We started with the USS Missouri, a battleship launched in 1944 and used for only 11 years.

Looking over Pearl Harbor from the deck of the ship.  Oh look, it's raining in the distance, imagine that!

The enlisted men's mess:

The petty officer's dining room:

The enlisted men's bunks:

An officer's quarters:

Mail room:

The officer's dining room:

The captain's quarters:

An officers lounge:

One of the heads, can't remember if it was for officers or enlisted:

Looking back on the ship as we headed out:

Next up, the USS Bowfin, a submarine from 1942:

Part of the galley:

The mess hall (do they call it a hall in a submarine?)

Enlisted men's bunks:

Engine room:

Ed checks out the guns:

Looking back at the sub from a memorial garden on shore:

So, that was Hawaii.  We found the trip a bit long actually, visiting four islands (and the hassle of flights, rental cars and new hotels every few days).  We wanted to see most of the highlights though in case we didn't make it back this way, as we knew we'd be leaving LA for Ottawa within a few months, which doubles the travel distance.  No regrets though, it was a great trip, despite the rain, and we do hope to go back some day!

Dec 13: Sand cliff hike

On Dec. 13 we were going to fly to Oahu, but we had a few hours to take in a few more sights.  We'd enjoyed the beach hike so much the day before, that we decided to head back to that trail (parking in a more accessible spot this time) and do the more westerly portion of it.

Here are the photos, we had spectacular weather.  They might be a little out of order:

We then drove back to Lihu'e.  We got there early enough to see one last attraction before turning in the rental car, this is the Wailua Falls, just north of town.

Next stop was the airport, where you can go pretty much anywhere you want, as long as it's Honolulu:

Honolulu it was for us, where we have one more half day of adventure coming up before heading back to Los Angeles.

Dec 12: Coffee, blowholes, potholes, and beaches

One Dec. 12 we headed to see some sights of the south shore of Kauai.  Heading south from the main road took us through the Tree Tunnel, which was planted with Eucalyptus trees in the early 1900's.  Hurricanes in 1982 and 1992 damaged the tree canopy though, so that it doesn't quite close into a tunnel the way it used to according to the guidebook:

We took a self-guided tour of a coffee plantation:

A patch of sugar cane planted at the coffee plantation to show us tourists what it looks like up close:

Next we went to see the Sprouting Horn blowhole:

We then headed east to a secluded beach and cliff hike that was past the resorts at a place called Maha'ulepu, according to the guidebook.  It involved a longish drive down a very potholed bumpy road that this photo does not do justice to:

Here are some photos of that hike, starting from the beach and heading east:

I forget what this crop-circle-like stone pattern was about:

I'm always a sucker for a nice cloud:

Some lithified sand along the shoreline in the next 2 photos:

We hiked back to the beach and then started hiking the other way and got some photos as we went:

I love this black lava contrasted with the beige sand:

We had to wade across this little creek that was flowing out to the ocean.  It was very scenic and tropical, but also kind of smelly with some fecal agricultural runoff due to all the rain:

Eroding lava rocks in the sand:

There was a patch with these eroded marble-like rocks that looked like brains:

Back at the beach:

More beach walking coming up tomorrow ...