Tag: roadtrip

El Cabo Vilán, en Camariñas (ES)

Cabo Vilán is one of the most (or many) beautiful paths along the Ruta dos Faros on the coast of Galicia. The small segment of the path I took on this trip is a genuinely easy trail. It is mostly flat until you make the climb to the lighthouse itself.

I made this trip the first day of March, so the air is still cool. It was very windy, especially along the cliffs. And… Galicia being true to herself, absolutely covered in toxos. I highly recommend a windproof jacket, good boots, and thick pants for this trip.

Walking here, you will see quickly how the Costa da Morte got its name. The way to the faro is just one stunning beach after another. The beaches are rocky and covered in debris from the fishing boats. The high winds and strong tides do not make for safe swimming.

It is more of a place to sit and listen to the sounds of the crashing waves. A place to meditate, make art, or maybe search among the rocks for treasures and driftwood. The force of the waves breaking against the boulders is just incredible.

The faro de Cabo Vilan has a special history. It is the oldest electric light house in Spain. And it was also kept by Cristina Fernández. She was the second farera (female light house keeper) and also the last woman to work as a farera in Spain.

Once you make the climb to the lighthouse, it is even windier! This is my second trip here, and both times I was nervous to make the end of the path because of the wind.

If it is not too busy, and you are lucky enough to have the lighthouse to yourself, there is a nice place to sit and take lunch that overlooks the next beach. A small ledge blocks the wind and it is mostly enclosed by boulders.

I continued the path down the coast a little ways until it circled back through the forest.

And the view from the forest.

The path circled back down to the main road, and I decided to go all the way down for the path nearest the sea to try to catch the sunset.

There was significant cloud cover, so the sunset came above the horizon line, but beautiful all the same.

All in all it was a little over 10km from the parking to the sea, to the lighthouse, to the mountaintop, to the sea, and back to the parking.

Short Stops, Galicia (ES)

This was a very rainy winter day in Galicia. The wind was a bit crazy so we made a bunch of short stops without a lot of walking.

Fervenza da Noveria

Fervenza de A Noveira is in the Comarca do Xallas, Mazaricos. This is a very short walk to an incredible view of the falls.

Ezaro

Ezaro is a beautiful pueblo in Galicia. In summer it is home to a swimming competition at the end of summer. The swimmers start in the sea and swim to the pueblo near the waterfall. There was so much wind this day, we struggled to make the boardwalk for this photo. It felt like such an accomplishment that we took a cake and a coffee in a nearby cafe to celebrate.

Hidroelectrico de Rio Tambre

This path was more enclosed and the hills to either side blocked the wind so we took a little hike at this stop.

The Hidroelectrico de Rio Tambre was built by architect Antonio Palacios and finished in 1926. Outside there are sculptures and examples of the antique machinery that were once employed here.

There is a 7-8km hiking trail that runs along the river. The first half was a pretty easy trail, but we did not finish so I don’t know for the rest. Wikiloc has the route here marked as moderate.

Are any of these edible? If you know please comment below. I do not know much about mushrooms, but Galicia has a lot. We always joke about whether it is food or deadly, but I have never been certain enough to try. The books I have bought always show a very perfect example or different stage and I can never place them with enough certainty to try.

Florida Road Trip

The ride South was spent in good company. Crocheted and listened to some fun music.  We of course had to keep occupied with terrible humor and fun conversation.

My thunderbird:This guy has been following me since Arizona
This totally made me think of the people in the movie Wall-E.
Took my Tiny Grown Up to her first waffle house experience. The food was delicious and service was amazing.

We knew we had arrived when…

We found the official Florida state welcome sign.

Vermilion Cliffs, Arizona

An unplanned stop on the roadtrip turned out to be one of my favorite finds. We saw a sign that read “cliff dwellers” and we had to go.

Cautionary camping tales…

I let my daughter wander a bit while I took some photos. Ummm… don’t do that. I found her chasing this bright orange fuzzy ant thing. Fortunately she did not touch it before I got there. Bright colors are a bad sign in nature, so I told her to stay clear. I Googled later. This GIANT insect of doom and destruction is called a “Cow Killer” ant. It is not an ant at all. It is a wingless wasp which is named after its powerful sting. So yeah. Pretty guy. Big nope.

Zion National Park, Utah

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived early enough to set up camp and aventure a little. You have to drive through a mountain tunnel to get into the park and it is so amazing. Checking in took a little longer and the drive into the park was a bit slow with traffic. But that is to be expected this time of year.

This is maybe the most beautiful place I have been in the United States.

The park is walled around, by steep cliffs and makes an oasis in the middle of the desert. I think my favorite spot was the Weeping Rock. I spent so much time sitting there in the cool, calm, alcove listening to the water dripping overhear.

For another cautionary camping tale…

When camping in the desert in summer, stay hydrated, be careful, and watch your friends for signs of strange behavior. I think my friend nearly had heat stroke during this trip. The temperature was up to 45C (113F) in the early morning. This was the direct temperature, and not the heat index. During breakfast, he started behaving a little strangely. I watched him take the rain fly off the tent and walk across it while mumbling. Ever the boyscout, always so careful with his tools, I knew this was incredibly out of character for him. Although a subtle sign to anyone unfamiliar with the person, I can say that after 20 years of friendship, this was enough of an indicator of confusion for me that I knew he needed to cool down ASAP. My Tiny Grown Up was red in the face already and acting tired. So I packed them up some bottles of water and marched them immediately down to the river.

I sat them in the shade, told them to put their feet in the water and drink the water. I returned to camp for towels and snacks and whatever else we might need to spend the day in the stream. When I returned, there were two completely different people waiting for me. Both were energized and refreshed. I told them to stay in the water anyway. We played in the water until the midday heat had passed.

HWY 70 & HWY 12, Utah

Still on a road trip… So… here are more car photos for you. You’re welcome.

This is highway 70 leaving Moab and Arches National Park headed toward Zion.

And from there we made our way onto highway 12. I attempted driving highway 12, but absolute noped. Beautiful twisting winding road… with less than a meter space between your tires and instant death.

Arches National Park, Utah

While the natural sandstone arches are absolutely stunning… the word of the day is HOT. I don’t mind the heat so much, but my traveling companions were possibly dying a little. I would take precautions making this trip with children in the middle of summer. And definitely take extra water with you.

Kremling, Colorado

We took a cross-country roadtrip from Michigan to the great “out west.” I had never been further west than Illinois or Louisianna, so I was pretty excited.

The first stop was to visit some old friends from high school that had moved out to Kremling. The first impression I had of colorado was a waterfall visible from the highway. I was absolutely thrilled.

We went hiking around a bit for some spectacular moutain views. This place was absolutely unreal. I have never seen columbines growing wild before.

And it turns out there is a place to feed the chipmunks without problem. No one camps or hikes there so it’s just a roadstop with chipmunks that eat from your hands. I guess they won’t destroy everything.

People stop here for the overlook and feeed these guys. The cuteness is overwhelming. But the view is pretty nice as well.