Travel
Wordless Wednesday 05/03
*The only path to reach East Quoddy Light is at low tide so you can walk out there, but be careful (July 2004, Campobello Island, NB, CA)*
One of my favorite Light Houses to visit mostly because the hike out to the Light House has to be timed just right and you don’t want to get stuck on one of the islands along the way.  Not to mention you can find lots of animals during that low tide that would otherwise be under sometimes 22 ft of water.
*East Quoddy Light as the locals call it or Head Harbor Light Station as found on most maps (July 2004, Campobello Island, NB, CA)*
*Starfish the size of your hand with a good sized Sea Urchin (July 2004, East Quoddy Light, Campobello Island, NB, CA)*
Wordless Wednesday 03/22
*Looking down into the valley of the Rio Colca (December 2007, Near Lari, Peru)*
Wordless Wednesday 02/08
*Traveling again above the clouds (Flying from Minneapolis, MN to Cincinnati, OH, February 2017)*
Wordless Wednesday 12/28
*Sometimes what appears to be the path less traveled still has great views from the top (July 2004, North Ridge Trail Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor, ME)*
*Views from the top of Cadillac Mountain (July 2004, Cadillac Mountain, Bar Harbor, ME)*
My Traveling Myth
I am flying back from a 3-day work trip, and thanks to the WordPress offline app I can write while at 10k feet.
One of the strange tricks my mind tells me is that when I am going to go on a work trip I will have more free time. Â It tells me I will have time to explore the city, write, read more, watch a movie at the hotel or even work out more. Â However, most of all that is a myth as what ends up happening is going to the office at my normal time but staying much later than normal. Â Then that is normally followed up by going out to dinner with consultants or co-workers which always lasts much longer than anticipated. Â Now I am not saying I don't have fun eating and chatting with others (much better than eating by myself) but it is things my mind always forgets happen when I am thinking/planning for an upcoming trip.
*Flying over Milwaukee, WI in route to Buffalo, NY (December 2016)*
In the upcoming months, I will be traveling about once per month and I am hoping it will allow me to do more of the things that I have hoped to do when traveling. Â Since I have found with most things so far this year, creating a habit or setting a goal would be a great start. Â I will make sure to keep you posted on how it goes and hopeful can share any tips/tricks I might have found helpful.
Have you ever fallen into this travel myth?
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I am on the second day of my vacation and am finally finding time to finish/publish this post I started. In case I don't write another post before Christmas, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Wordless Wednesday 09/14
*Looking down from one of the many edges at Machu Picchu to the Urubamba River below (December 2007, Machu Picchu, Peru)*
Wordless Wednesday 06/08
*Clouds rolling in over the mountains tops (December 2007, somewhere between Cusco and Machu Picchu, Peru)*
Quote of the Week - 02.12.16
“You weren’t born to just pay bills and die."
My wife sent me this quote the other day and it really made me reflect on things so I thought I would share.  I decided to put that quote on a photo I took while hiking with a good friend in Colorado a couple of years back.  In fact, my wife bought me the plane ticket to go see my friend for my birthday and looking back it was a great present as it got me to do what I had been talking about doing since I left college but kept saying to myself I was too busy.
I was more out of shape back then as I hadn’t gotten into the swing of running again but it was well worth it once we made it to the top.  It was a gorgeous day and the view from the top of Estes Cone was awesome.  Luckily, the trail we took, which started at Longs Peak Trailhead, wasn’t too strenuous and I would suggest it to anyone that finds themselves in the area.
Here are a couple other pictures I took from the peak, hiking up, and from the base of the mountain to give you a feel for how high up we were.
*Panoramic picture from the top of Estes Cone in Estes Park Colorado.*
*Picture of the other Mountains around Estes Cone as we were hiking up.*
*Estes Cone is the Mountain we hiked up to get the pictures above.*
Now you can Explore Machu Picchu
With Google Street View you can now visit Machu Picchu and walk around just as you were there in real life but from your home.  Since I have been fortunate to visit Machu Picchu two times in my life I had to check this out after finding this video published today.
Using Street View to check out the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu and it is almost just as amazing walking along looking at it on my computer as it was standing there.  Still to this day I remember walking around the site that is sitting at around 7,970 ft (2,430 meters) above sea level.
I decided to find a place on the street view map that I knew I had a photo of as it is hanging up in my house. Â Here is two pictures I took back in December 2009 when I last visited there. Â As you can see it was a wonderfully rainy/overcast day. Â However, that didn't deter us from making the most of it and wandering around the place.
*Machu Picchu December 2009 with my Wife and Parents*
*Machu Picchu December 2009*
The specific place at Machu Picchu we took those photos from is called the "House of the Guardian to the Funerary Rock."  So I used the Google Street View to find that exact spot show below (you can start there by clicking here as well).
*Machu Picchu (Google Street View)**figure>
As you can see the people at Google had great weather and clear blue sky's which makes for a great Street View to click around and see the ancient city.  Another interesting find is that you can actually take a walk on the entire Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, which I have never done before so this was definitely interesting to see what I have missed (*add to bucket list).
*Trail to Machu Picchu (Google Street View)*
Also, if you are into more history you should check out the Google Cultural Institute collection titled Wonders of Machu Picchu as they teamed up with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture for the initiative.
I have so many more stories of my time in Peru that maybe I will share pieces of it at a later date. Â However, now that I have scrolled through the Street Views and looking at old pictures again I think I am ready to go back and visit.... Â Anyone else?