kevonionia

Finally we had a week off and decided to leave Denver and do a hike/wine/microbrew tour of Northwest Oregon. Four years ago we had ended in Portland an "all public transportation" trip from Chicago to Glacier National Park and on to the West Coast (mostly by train.) We were impressed by the city and knew we wanted to come back and do a more thorough tour. So we planned a loopy figure-8 driving trip after flying into Portland. Basically it was heading west to the coast, then south, then east into the Willamette wine valley, then a Saturday night in downtown Portland for a brewpub crawl before heading northeast through the Columbia River gorge and then a brief tour of southern Washington vineyards, finally heading south around Mt. Hood and back into Portland to depart. The ... read more

Hiking the Colorado Trail, Segment 12 (and a quarter), Fall of 2009 This hike across one-and-a-quarter segments of the Colorado Trail (of the 28 segments between Denver & Durango) was done on Sept. 23-26, 2009. Distance covered was about 25 miles. Making up the expedition were John (or "JJ",) Terry & Nick, and Kevon, the author here. This was the first backpack by John in almost 7 years, and was the inaugural overnight bp for Terry & Nick, father and son. This hike was "Plan B" for the group. And a back-up plan is always an essential piece in planning any backpack. Like when sailing, having that back-up has you ready with an alternative, since in the latter case you have to go where the wind blows you. In late September in Colorado, though, for hikers ... read more

This is a different type of trip report, since it covers an urban wilderness hike. And although I hiked in the midst of a couple million people (almost all on my left, with the Atlantic on my right), the hike doesn’t make me an urban explorer and the adventure isn't quite up to a feature in jinx magazine; there were neither catacombs nor sewers on this backpack. Just the beach, mostly urban (with a few liquid gaps,) heading north up the Gold Coast. Photos are by Kevon Andersen taken on this hike unless noted. The six photos that were taken during practice hikes are no... read more

Part I: Dublin to Doonbeg This is the photo travel journal of brothers Chris & Paul and their friend (from way back) Kevon, who posted this, and covers their trip to Ireland in November of 2008. The three met in Chicago for the flight to Dublin. They all "got" business class for the transcon flight, and highlights were the 2005 Murphy Good Merlot and the 1999 Warre's Vintage Port, the latter properly served in a crystral decanter. It was their last wine until the flight home; stout beckoned. Dingle waterfront, Nov. '08. Part I (of three) covers the arrival in Dublin to Doonbeg. (Note: If you want to hear a little traditional Irish music in Gaelic while reading this, click here... read more

Part II: Doonbeg to Cobh This is Part II of the journal of three travelers (Paul, Chris & Kevon) on their trip to Ireland in Nov. of '08. Part II covers Doonbeg to Cobh. Pub sign on Ireland's west coast. (Chris's pic. -- CP) _____ Doonbeg to Dingle, Wednesday, Nov. 19th ____________________ (Note: If you'd like to hear a little Uillean (Irish) bagpipe and strings music while looking at this journal, click here: and "minimize the YouTube screen to hear the music while reading the journal. There's more links to music when you get to Dingle.) Back on the road, heading out of tiny Doonbeg, they discovered that they were only about 5 kilometers away from the subs... read more

Winehiking: Sipping into a Recession. Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino & Marin, Oct. '08 Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County We had planned this winehike since last May, when we had flown out from Miami to backpack at Point Reyes National Seashore. We spent the last two days of that trip up in Sonoma Valley and had joined the Landmark Vineyards Heritage Wine Club after being plied into submission by a very good Chardonnay. At the time we promised each other we’d return for their annual Heritage Days festival in late October. But my how times changed. Fuel skyrocketed. The Stock Market, well, the Stock Market crashed and the economy took a nose dive. I found my company (an airline) wanting me to take money to go away, so they saw the back of my ... read more

Part III: Cobh back to Dublin This is the third and last part of the photo travel journal of brothers Chris & Paul and their friend Kevon (posting this), of their Ireland trip in November of '08. Part III covers their journey leaving Cobh, heading east and finally north back to Dublin. Part II concluded with a walking tour of Cobh, then heading east for Waterford. (Note: If you want to hear a little Irish music while looking at this, click here: and "minimize" the YouTube screen to hear it and continue reading.) Leaving Cobh: View down West Beach Street. Rainbow on the N25 bound for Waterford. Waterford img=http... read more