Blogs from United States, North America - page 4769

Alarm woke us up at 5.45am this morning so that we could get to the Grand Canyon rim early enough to see the sunrise. Great plan, except that the clouds were pretty thick on the horizon and the view again wasn't at it's best. We were however extaordinarily lucky to see what we did tho' because upon returning after breakfast the clouds had dropped lower and we had our first real rain on our holiday - excellent timing (not!). We wandered thru the various musuems and viewpoints as well as the historic Bright Angel Lodge built in the late 1800's but did not get to do any walks down into the Canyon (some things are meant to be...). The Grand Canyon is certainly everything it is reputed to be and we feel very fortunate to see ... read more

Left San Fran early in the morning to try and beat the weekend traffic, yeah right! Traffic became heavier and heavier, until it actually stopped. Cars not moving for as far as you could see. People were getting out of their cars and walking around on a 5 lane freeway. Bit by bit things got moving at a snails pace, we probably moved about 2 miles in an hour an a half. Turns out some crackhead was going to jump off an overpass and the cops had to divert both sides of a 10 lane freeway through side streets. I would have pushed him and got things moving if i could have. This part of California has not had rain for about 5 months. Guess what, it started to rain and rain and rain and rain. ... read more

I found a ride to move from the farm in Denver to Portland with Mr. Sam. We went through a bunch of parks including: Arches - full of people with cameras but has some beautiful formations that made my insides breathe deep. Slept cowboy style out on the rocks with the numerous stars above me. Watched sam fire dance here a few nights and Helena and i played in the sand during sunset Canyonlands - see what erosion looks like after so many years. Chatted about life plans with Helena while looking out on what time looks like. Bridges - great day hiking. i learned many of the uses for native plants while i was here and collected things for dyes and eating. Old cliff paintings and native homes tucked into the rocks. Gooseneck - went ... read more

It was a lovely morning. We ate breakfast in town and then walked on the beach on Lake Michigan, and then out on the pier to see the little lighthouse. Even though we felt like we were at the ocean because the lake is so huge you can't see the other side, it's much different. It smells clean. The water is clear. There are hardly any waves on a nice day. There's no kelp or other sea debris on the beach. There's no algae, seaweed on the rocks. The beach sand is very clean. The trees go almost down to the water, unlike our West Coast ocean beaches. Looking out across the lake reminded Nancy of the movie "Truman". While waiting for Nancy to give Daisy a short run, I observed a man with a ... read more

Here, in no particular order (probably!) is my Top Ten List for Japan. 10) Toilets - the most multi-tasking toi-toi's I've ever seen. They played music, had seat warmers, bidet function and even had a button for "flushing sounds." Like, don't waste water because you're bashful about being heard, just hit the flushing sound. AWESOME! Sad to say, we had fun with toilets everywhere we went! Each was a little different & some had super special functions. 9) Taxis - self-opening doors, super clean interiors, knowledgeable (but silent) cabbies & no tips! 8) Trains - I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere. By train. With EASE. 'Nuf said. 7) Shops - All over the place, all kinds of stuff. No shoes in my size & very few clothes (but there were some, dagnab it!), but they ... read more