While the area around the Yarra Valley is well known for its wines there are also a number of nice nature spots in the neighboring hills too. We started out our first morning with a curvy drive to Marysville featuring lots of tall gum/eucalyptus trees and tree ferns. Steavenson Falls is a well-marked short ride from Marysville, and we were lucky to beat two bus loads of tourists by minutes. The walk from the parking lot is paved and easy, with a few vantage points to take in the … [Read more...]
Asia/Australia 2013: Yarra Valley wine tasting
February 13, 2013
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Our first winery stop was Innocent Bystander in Healesville, a bustling restaurant and shop with a wine tasting area near the front door. They offered a free tasting that was ok but not really memorable, mostly their everyday varietals that are available in the U.S. Thinking there had to be more interesting wines available, we decided to split the $10 tasting of their Giant Steps wines. "Do you mind heights?" asked the cashier. After answering "No," we were taken across the operations floor … [Read more...]
Asheville 2012: views
October 28, 2012
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Last weekend we packed up the Vue, put Riesling in the back seat, and drove out to Asheville to enjoy some hiking amongst the fall color. We hit six waterfalls between Dupont Forest, Pisgah Forest and the Blue Ridge parkway along with quite a few beautiful overlooks. Lower Triple Falls Moore Cove Falls hillside in peak color a beautiful day to be outside Second Falls NC is still one of our favorite waterfall hiking spots in the world, and this trip was a great … [Read more...]
British Columbia 2012: waterfall hiking
August 26, 2012
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In addition to the waterfalls in Strathcona Park we visited several other waterfals on our Vancouver trip. Our mileage varied... Ammonite Falls We had some time between the ferry arrival and showing up at our bed and breakfast, so we decided to make what we thought would be a fairly short hike to Ammonite Falls on the way. The printed directions Eric had were not based in reality, however, and the steep "30-40 minute hike" was closer to 4 miles RT. Add to this several criss-crossing trails … [Read more...]
British Columbia 2012: Paradise Meadows
August 25, 2012
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Following our first excursion deep into Strathcona Provincial Park we next forayed onto the western facing Paradise Meadows atop the mountain ridge. This part of the park is linked to the neighboring Mt.Washington ski resort and the road going up was very steep, with several bicyclists making what had to be a grueling climb. The gravel trailhead parking lot was large and well-signed, and from the small visitor center we decided to hike a 5 mile loop past Battleship and Helen Mackenzie … [Read more...]
British Columbia 2012: Strathcona Provincial Park
August 22, 2012
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Strathcona Provincial Park was a primary objective on our Vancouver Island itinerary, and we spent our first full day exploring and hiking around the Buttle Lake part of the park. The drive from our B&B in Comox took us through Campbell River, which is also home to Elk Falls Provincial Park where we stopped to stretch our legs and check out Elk Falls. Once we figured out the correct trail it was a quick hike out to the river and falls. Elk Falls, you can also view it from the very … [Read more...]
Chile 2012: Exploring Santiago
April 20, 2012
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We had an evening flight out of Santiago which gave us the whole day to explore the city. Our first stop was the sculpture park located just across the river from our hotel. I really enjoyed seeing the pieces from both Chilean artists and international sculptors. We continued up Pedro de Valdevia Norte through a quaint residential area to the base of San Cristobal hill. As we passed the visitors center we grabbed a map and started our climb to the top. Within minutes, we were joined … [Read more...]
Chile 2012: Daytrip from Santiago
April 17, 2012
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For our first day in Santiago we wanted to get out of the city and eventually booked a trip with AndoAndes. They had very good reviews on TripAdvisor for their main hiking excursion to the nearby San Francisco glacier. However, I didn't want to spend the whole day hiking, so we negotiated back and forth to find an outing that would give us both waterfalls and wine tasting. The original plan was for us to be picked up at the hotel at 9am but we got a reminder email two days before with a … [Read more...]
Chile 2012: Atacama Desert, Day 3
April 5, 2012
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Altiplanic Lagoons For our third day we chose an all-day excursion to the Miscanti and Meñiques Lagoons. These two lakes are at an altitude of ~13,500 feet up in the Andes close to the border with Argentina. Due to their altitude and location it is a long 2+ hour drive across much of the salt flats to reach them. gaining altitude As we wound our way up the mountains the plant life began increasing with lots of low lying grasses and shrubs. Finally we arrived at the national … [Read more...]
Chile 2012: Atacama Desert, Day 2
April 4, 2012
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Cornices As mentioned previously, we had a quick glimpse of the Valle de la Muerte on day 1 and were excited to hike into it on day 2. Once again we lucked out and had this tour to ourselves. We started with a short hike up to the top of the cliffs that ring the valley. The views from the top of the cliff were spectacular and we continued to enjoy them as we hiked around the valley. Along the way we discovered several small plants in bloom, a rare event in this part of the … [Read more...]