An Uphill Battle: Avalanche Peak

As a kid I was jealous that my brother went on a hike to summit Avalanche Peak in Yellowstone National Park.  I was too young to go at the time and by the time I was old enough the park system had stopped doing ranger led hikes.  I always looked across Yellowstone Lake at that peak wondering what the view was like from up there and thinking it was the one that got away.  Well...not so anymore!

This summer for the 100th anniversary the NPS brought back a lot of their guided hikes so I took advantage and hiked to the top of Avalanche Peak.  Located on the eastern border, Avalanche Peak is one of the highest peaks of the park at 10,568 feet and is rated as the toughest hikes in the park rising 2100 feet in just over 2 miles. And I'll say this - there aren't a lot of switchbacks!

We started the hike on a beautiful morning with a group of 8 people...with only 2 of them being from the US. I felt a little out-numbered! When in large groups you tend to move much slower than if you were on your own but this group did a decent job of walking at this high elevation.  We made it to the summit in about 2.5 hours and then descended in 1.5 hours.  The first half of the hike is in a lush wooded area with wildflowers and a stream.  You have to watch where you walk though as it is loose gravel on top of a dusty trail.  The last half of the walk is in sharp contrast to this as it is on shale above the tree line. 

 

Along the way we saw marmot and deer! 

The best reward however was the spectacular vista of the greater Yellowstone region.  It was breathtaking (in more than one way!) and I don't have to wonder what the view was like anymore.  It's definitely a great hike which I would recommend to people.

 

You can view these and additional pictures in my Public Gallery or by clicking on the Photo Gallery Tabs above. All pictures are available for purchase.

Cruisin' 80's Style - just not the music style: an Alaska Inside Passage Cruise

I love 80's music.  That and 90's are "my music".  But this type of cruising-80's style is cruising with 80 year olds (well, almost 80 year olds) on the inside passage of Alaska.  It was a trip filled with spectacular scenery and some fun adventures.   The Norwegian Pearl had some great timing of stops and plenty of food as indicated by the extra weight I'm now carrying.  Aack!

My favorite adventure was taking a helicopter ride in Juneau and getting the chance to walk around on the Mendenhall Glacier.  Not only did we walk around and learn about glaciers but I got to both drink water straight from the glacier (now that is the definition of ice cold) and also get a glacial facial (using glacial silt).  That facial was certainly colder than my Dead Sea facial! 

We also took a tour up to the Yukon Territory in Canada from Skagway.  This drive had a ton of mountains, waterfalls, lakes and even a bear!  That was a fun surprise. 

I took advantage of having my cousin's son living in Skagway to go on a hike to Dewey Lake.  It was fun to see some family, meet his adorable new wife, and get some much needed exercise.

Glacier Bay was the highlight and with the sun breaking out the glacial covered mountains were spectacular.  Throw in some whales, sea lions, sea otters and bald eagles and it was certainly a majestic experience.  We even saw some caving on the glaciers and I happened to be lucky enough to have the camera pointed right at it when it happened. 

We hit Ketchikan which was actually my favorite little town we stopped in. It has more of a feeling of the native Pacific Northwest Indians and actual town than the other cities we stopped at.  Using a free local bus we hit the local Heritage Totem park which has the oldest totems of the region!  There was no need to go clear out to Saxman village and was definitely a cheaper option. Creek Street was a fun street to walk down and then finally we hit the lumberjack show.

For our last port, we stopped at Victoria Gardens.  My mom loves flowers (I do too) and especially roses.  It was a perfect evening with sun to cap off the tour of the gardens.

It was my first cruise and I'm going to say that I had a great time and would definitely cruise again - maybe even 80's style.

You can view additional pictures in my Public Gallery or by clicking on the Photo Gallery Tabs above. All pictures are available for purchase.

Going, Going, "Ghana"

Visiting new countries always excites me.  I get to experience and learn about the country which also allows me to see things from a different perspective.  Ghana was a new country for me to visit and just this sort of experience. 

Let's face it, Ghana isn't on anyone's vacation destination list.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't go there nor that that there aren't some really fascinating things about Ghana.  Here are some take aways:

The Women Are Strong

And I don't just mean by a little bit.  Ghanaians in general are hard workers and most work is manual labor so in some regards they have to be stronger.  These women would not only carry some crazy heavy load on top of their heads but they would also simultaneously have a kid strapped to their back and another big purse or kid on an arm.  Add to the fact that they would do this for MILES and I was astounded.  I'll admit I was astounded not only because of the weight they carried but the fact that I have such crappy balance I could never carry something on my head that gracefully (okay, or at all). 

I'll note that the men are strong too :)

There May Not Be Lots of Motorized Equipment But Gas Stations are Everywhere

This was one of those funny things to me.  Not a lot of people have cars or motorbikes but you didn't have to go very far in order to find a gas station.  Sometimes gas stations were freakishly modern and nice while other times it was an old hand pump.

Roads are Crap

Very few roads are paved in Ghana.  And even if they were paved you still had to dodge major potholes.  Sometimes a dirt road was better - sometimes you just had to have faith that there was a road that way.  Here's the funny thing...Google Maps has these many of the tiny two tire track roads on their maps.  Kudos to them.

(yes, this really is a road!)

You Can Buy Anything Roadside

Unlike America or Europe you don't go to a store to get something.  At most there is a 5'x5' shed which people operate out of.  Otherwise, its either on the roadside or on their heads (see above about strong women!).  It didn't matter if you wanted a bra (I'd hate to have a fitting for that on the roadside), a TV, a sofa, a coffin, or food. 

(Their coffins are a bit on the eccentric side)

One tasty thing you can buy everywhere is FanYogo or FanChoco's.  These are frozen treats that have an incredible distribution system. You can buy these cold treats on the roadside in the middle of the jungle and they are frozen solid!

And, let's not forget that all of these places have awesome religiously toned names.

 

The Food is Chicken and Rice or Rice and Chicken

Yes, there is a difference.  One has chicken with a side of rice and the other is rice with a side of chicken.  Got it?  It doesn't matter if its lunch or dinner.

 

Menus Are For Reading, Not For Ordering

Nothing cracked me up more than going into a restaurant and seeing a big menu.  It would get exciting to see the options.  You would order and they would tell you they didn't have it.  Okay, I'll go for the local items.  You would order off of that area a few times until you realized it was better to just ask, "What do you have?"  You know the answer....Chicken and Rice.

The Jungle Is Amazing

Ghana was much prettier than I expected.  It truly is a jungle with beautiful mountains and waterfalls.

 

 

The People are What Make It Special

The real treasure are the people of Ghana.  Everyone I met was happy and helpful.  They put up with me asking them funny questions and trying to learn how to balance things on my head or staring at things I'd never seen before.  Plus, I'm jealous of how beautiful their smiles are with their straight teeth!

You can find these pictures and more from my trip posted in the NEW gallery until my next post. After that, you can find them under their respective "location" or "type" gallery. You can view additional pictures in my Public Gallery or by clicking on the Photo Gallery Tabs above. All pictures are available for purchase.