Tag Archives: travel

Wonder Valley

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On our way from Arizona to the Mojave desert in California, the Element’s tire blew out and we spent a couple of hours dealing with that (a long story for another time) so we arrived in Twentynine Palms well after dark. We turned onto a sand road and passed what looked like an abandoned home and then a collapsed garage, a couple more turns without a light in sight, all we could see was sand and occasional creosote bush illuminated by our headlights. We reached our rental house, exhausted and hungry, our only focus was unloading our stuff and eating a late dinner.

Stars in the Mojave at Night

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Hiking out of The Wave (part 4)

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In the late afternoon, after most of the other 18 hikers had cleared out of the area, we knew we had to start the 3.2 mile hike back to the car. Continue reading »

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Above The Wave (part 3)

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In my limited research before our trek out to The Wave, I found out that there was a second small wave and a bunch of neat things to see if you hike up above The Wave. Some people even hike to the top of the ridge, but we did not have optimal footwear to be hiking on sandstone. Continue reading »

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In The Wave (part 2)

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Inside The Wave

Inside The Wave

The Wave is only two acres, but it is truly awe-inspiring. It’s amazing to stand inside it and ponder the intense and violent forces and the thousands of years that it took to create something so beautiful and fragile. Continue reading »

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The Wave (part 1)

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The WaveAfter a month in California (blogs on this to come) we had to head back east for The Long Bike Back screenings and we decided to take our time and drive across the Utah/Arizona border because there are so many amazing things to see there. I have seen The Wave (in the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument) on a couple of ‘top 10 places to see in the world’ lists and since it’s right on the Utah/Arizona border we scheduled it into our meandering drive east. Continue reading »

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“They say the smog is the reason we have such beautiful sunsets”

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In the few days we spent in Los Angeles for The Long Bike Back screening at the All Sports Film Festival, we squeezed in some fun sightseeing.

Hollywood sign

We hiked the steep Hollyridge Trail.

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Breweries 5

Following an enjoyable labor-day weekend we left western New York and continued along Lake Erie.

The King in Cleveland.

The King in Cleveland.

After stopping in Cleveland for a sunset beer, “the king of beers” we spent the night on highway 90 outside of Elyria, Ohio.  Without a particular destination in mind, we heard the city of Detroit calling to us and set our compass. Being Julia’s birthday “season” I found a brewery that crafted Belgian’s named Dragonmead, which as luck would have it, was close to our hotel.

By the way, Detroit and the surrounding metro area is an awesome city, zombie land, abandoned, condemned, forgotten but beautiful in it’s dystopian, post-apocalyptic Cormack McCarthy charm, which feels like a theme for the cities we travel to these days. Continue reading »

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Breweries 4

Breweries 4

Ellicottville Brewing Company. Ellicottville, New York, is in the southern tier of western New York State, nestled in the Allegany Mountains.  Julie and I were married in a house outside of the small ski town and of course spent quite a bit of time at the brewery during our wedding weekend.  Having returned to Ellicottville a few times since, we’ve witnessed the brewery’s expansion.  EBC has outgrown the rustic ski town bar with a brew house in the back, to a large restaurant and even larger brewery operation.  This time we sat at a very modern and chic outdoor bar.  Continue reading »

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Mojave National Preserve

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We drove west through Las Vegas and further into the Mojave.

We drove west through Las Vegas and further into the Mojave.

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Breweries 3

Taps, Niagara Falls, Canada. As one of the first breweries we visited, Taps in an important milestone in my beer tasting adventures.

During our honeymoon in Niagara Falls we found Taps brewery in a converted garage not far from the picturesque town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.  At the time they had only a couple of beers, we bought a six-pack of the now retired “Premium Ale,” which was excellent.  Fast forward a few years and we’re in the new and expanded Taps brew house and restaurant in downtown Niagara Falls, Canada.  Continue reading »

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