Sunday evening we walked up the Sarka Valley, that valley with such steep sides and cliffs facing it and paths running up the hills that you feel like you are walking in the mountains, that lies within the Prague city limits. It is almost like a wilderness. Hiking the valley is one of our favorite activities whenever we are here. There had been a lot of rain but the trail was not as muddy as we anticipated. Knowing there is one section that can very muddy we walked only to the foot bridge that is about 1 1/2 miles from IBTS and just before the wettest portion of the trail. Mushrooms and toad stools were growing in profusion. Call us cowards if you want, but we never want to take the chance of touching the European ... read more

Our next stop after getting our lifetime Prague transit passes was the Alien Police Station. Nancy and I had no idea where it was located, but D knew. D took us under her wing and off we went on the subway to the Flora station. Exiting the Flora station we climbed on board a bus that we rode for five or six blocks. Once off the bus it was a short walk to the offices of the Alien Police. We entered the building and walked up a flight of stairs. I had noticed there was a crowd of people standing and sitting outside the open door. The hallway was full of people. I am not sure why the large number of people waiting surprised me, but it did. After all Prague is the capital and this ... read more

Our second hike of the day was the Black Rock trail. This is another easy trail of only about a mile round trip. The trail begins with a gradual ascent but soon becomes level and remains level for the rest of the loop. The mountain drops sharply away on the right and is heavily wooded until the peak. Here the view opens up. Other than lichen nothing grows on the rocks both above and below the trail. On the far side of the loop there are a few gnarled, stunted trees. Because of these gnarled shapes they are beautiful to see. Several birds were whirling, dashing and diving through the air. Nancy thought they were Kestrels. Their speed was amazing as was their maneuverability. I tried not to be jealous. It must be wonderful to be ... read more

As I was lying in bed this morning I thought about what we could do today. We both had haircut appointments. This meant driving to the Skyline Drive and hiking was out of the question. Then inspiration struck, I thought of Reddish Knob. We had not visited Reddish Knob for over 40 years. About all I could remember were the beautiful vistas from the top of the mountain. At breakfast Nancy agreed, Reddish Knob was a good idea. It is a beautiful drive through the rolling hills and farm land of the Shenandoah Valley. The mountains are always in view. The narrow two lane roads are well maintained and there was little traffic. It was a very enjoyable morning. Rising to 4,397 feet, Reddish Knob is the highest peak in the Northern Shenandoah Mountains. I had ... read more

Royal Oak, Maryland We have been very busy this summer and have not taken much time to have fun or to just sit and relax. Our friends Ann and Lu invited us to be with them over Labor Day Weekend at their beautiful home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, near Royal Oak, Maryland. Tradition says the name comes from a huge Oak tree that was hit by two cannon balls fired by the British Navy in the war of 1812. No one seems to know if this story is really true or not. Certainly it could be as the British Navy sailed up the Chesapeake Bay after burning to attack Baltimore and Ft. McHenry. We have known Ann and Lu since 1988 when they were rather newly wed graduate students. We met while waiting at ... read more