So-CAL

Central and Southern California Coast

We set out on a journey down the Calfornia coast. We took Highway 101 which bypasses Monterey and Big Sur, but is a much quicker route to the Central Coast.

San Luis Obispo

Our first major stop was San Luis Obispo which is situated almost exactly half way between the Bay Area and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Being half way in between the major metropolitan areas of the state, San Luis Obispo picks up influences from both. Nearby is Morro Bay which has a very peaceful quality, and it teams with sealife such as otters, seals, and sea lions.

Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle is a very unusual place since it is filled both with spectacular spaces, a couple of which are pictured here, and many spaces that are so gaudy as to be overwhelming. The pools are its most spectacular aspects. The interior of the main house and the guest "cottages" are plagued by a cacaphony of different styles all thrown together. We participated in the Evening Tour, which is distinguished by a living history experience of the castle in which the tour guides treat the members of the tour as if they were arriving in the 1930s as guests of Mr. Hearst. Although our overall impression of the castle was mixed, the living history aspect of the evening tour was fun and we can recommend it to others. All access to the castle is by tour group only.

The Neptune Pool

We were fortunate to arrive at the Neptune Pool just after sunset. The Neptune pool is the first stop in the evening tour.

Ancient Greek Drinking Vessels

These drinking vessels are very rare. Looking closely you can see that they can only set down upside down and thus empty. The people who crafted these must have been very serious about their drinking.

The Roman Pool

The Roman Pool is the castle's indoor pool. The castle's weekend guests would come down to the Roman Pool after dinner for late evening frolicking.

Santa Barbara

Our next stop down Highway 101 was Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara has the reputation of a seaside jewel. The Santa Barbara we found didn't live to it's reputation. Particularly distressing to both of us were the numerous offshore oil platforms.

Santa Barbara Mission

Santa Barbara is home to one of to California's most impressive missions.

Waterlilies surrounding fountain outside the mission

Santa Barbara Botanical Garden

San Diego

San Diego was the last stop on our southerly trek. Our visit to San Diego was the result of a spontaneous decision. Our original itinerary had us ending in Orange County where we planned to take in the new theme park, Disney's California Adventure. However, upon arriving in Anaheim and finding our motel to be too noisy, we decided to head further south.

Balboa Park

Balboa Park is gem. Located just minutes from downtown San Diego, the park provides a tranquil setting to just relax or explore one of its many museums.

La Jolla

La Jolla translates to "the jewel" and a jewel it is. The coastline is breathtaking. The sunset was more colorful last time but both times La Jolla was a sight to behold.

San Diego Bay

The steam ship is the Berkeley which is now part of San Diego's Maritime Museum

Hawaiin Summer

Hawaii - The Big Island

Volcano's National Park

The primary focus of our visit to the Big Island was to see the volcano, Mauna Loa, in action. We both hoped to see active lava flow. Our forays into the park were a disappointment in this area. The active lava flow is miles from the end of the road and getting to it requires hiking over hardened flow which is quite difficult and strenuous. The park service recommends against making the trek due to the dangers of slipping and falling on the hardened flow which will lacerate any exposed skin and the danger of parts of the hardend flow breaking away beneath you and dropping into the sea. I made it about half a mile before giving up. After this failed attempt, we decided to take a helicopter tour on which we did see active lava flow as it burnt down trees in its path.

In addition to lava flows and steaming calderas, the park also features petroglyphs carved between 100 to 400 years ago by native Hawaiians in the hardened lava flows.

Flowers

While visiting Volcano's National Park, we stayed in the nearby town of Volcano. The volcano side of the island of is the wet side. All the Hawaiian islands have a wet side and dry side. The wet is the side Pacific storms hit. The peaks on each of the islands shield the dry side. In the back of the cottage we stayed in, the heavy rainfall provided for some lush tropical flowers. Most of the tropical flowers that tourists assoicate with Hawaii aren't native species. Unfortunately, all these invaders tend to crowd out the native species.

Waikoloa

After Volcanos, we headed to to the west (dry side) of the island. The primary town on this side is Kailua Kona. North of Kailua Kona, is Waikoloa where all the big resorts are located. Waikoloa has the white sand beaches that most closely match the tourist vision of Hawaii. However, immediately behind the shore, there are miles and miles of really ugly old lava flows. The flows on this side of island are much older than the ones on the east side of the island and give the landscape a harsh alien look. Looking west though one sees the beaches and the ocean as expected in Hawaii.

Mauna Kea

Mauna Kea is the largest peak and an ever present sight on the Big Island. It's visible from just about everywhere on the island.

Puukohola Heiau

Puukohola Heiau is the site where King Kamehameha I defeated his last rival on the Big Island, on his way to becoming the first ruler of all of the Hawaiian Islands.

Banff

Banff has the distinction of being Canada's first national park. Though it was originally designated a national park due to the hot springs in the area, it is the spectacular mountain scenery that makes Banff a gem.

Mount Rundle

Lake Minnewanka

Vermilion Lakes

Mountains from Vermilion Lakes

Wildlife in Banff

Banff is more impressive on the scenic front than the wildlife front. At least it seemed that way after being spoiled by the abundance of the wildlife in Yellowstone. Elk are the most common large animals. Bighorn sheep are also frequently seen.

Lake Louise

The Lake Louise area, about 30 miles north of Banff townsite, contains a series of gorgeous mountain lakes among which Lake Louise is the most well known. These lakes are blessed with a brilliant blue color which results from the light filtering effect of rock flour (a powdery substance that the glaciers grind off the mountain rocks) in the glacial runoff.

In the pictures of Lake Louise, you can see the Victoria Glacier in the distance.

Peyto Lake

Peyto Lake is the most brilliant turquoise blue of the mountain lakes in the region. The color of the lake looks unreal, but these photos have not been tampered with in PhotoShop. The lake really is turquoise. The rock flour suspended in the water filters out much of the light spectrum, leaving this remarkable turquoise blue color.

Wildflowers near Peyto Lake

In this picture, milky white runoff from the glacier above is seen entering Peyto Lake. The milky white color is due to the rock flour which, when suspended in the lake, filters light to give the lake its brilliant blue color.

Moraine Lake

Moraine Lake is located in the Valley of the Ten Peaks. These peaks towering above the lake give it a sense of grandeur, yet Moraine Lake nevertheless has an intimate feel.

Bow Lake

We were fortunate to come to Bow Lake at the final stages of its thaw. The ice on the lake added to the beauty of the scene. On this particular evening, the Bow Lake vista was so overwhelmingly beautiful that it almost hurt to try to take it all in. These pictures don't quite do the scene justice, but we hope that they give a taste of that beautiful evening at Bow Lake.

On the shores of Bow Lake is the Num-Ti-Jah Lodge, a historic, octagonal inn. We enjoyed an excellent meal in the dining room which overlooks the lake.

Yoho

Yoho National Park, which adjoins Banff National Park, is only a few miles from Lake Louise.

Glaciers

In both Banff and Jasper parks, the mountains--with their enormous glaciers--fill visitors with a sense of majesty.

Jasper National Park

Jasper adjoins Banff to the North. While not as scenic as Banff, Jasper has much better wildlife viewing opportunities.

During our stay in Jasper, we stayed at the Jasper House Bungalows which is located along the peaceful Athabasca river.

Jasper Wildlife

Mountain Goats

We were very fortunate in our mountain goat viewing in Jasper. Neither of us had ever seen mountain goats before. Mountain goats are generally rather hard to see as they prefer to stay at the top of the mountains, out of reach of any predators. However, in June, they migrate down to the naturally occuring mineral licks along the river in order to find nutrients.

Moose