Travel Diary Archives - Page 2 of 52 - Planes Terrains & Avocados

Slow travel, Travel Diary, United States

Road Trip West: Louisiana to Idaho

October 20, 2024 No Comments

woman looking down at mountain lake in Colorado

A 45-day journey Begins

After last year’s adventure in Newfoundland, Eric and I are back on the road – this time heading west to explore Vancouver Island and British Columbia’s southwest. Our route takes us through unexplored territory: Idaho, Wyoming and South Dakota. But as with any epic journey, plans have a way of changing.

Austin: A Bittersweet Reunion

Our first stop brings us to Eric’s aunt and uncle in Austin. Jon and Trudy are those rare souls who make everyone feel at home. We haven’t seen them since Eric’s mom passed in December, and it feels healing to reconnect and laugh again. The evening brings Harry Potter at the Alamo Drafthouse (complete with toy rats and tattoos), followed by a comical run-in with local law enforcement reminding Trudy to turn on her headlights when driving at night. The Austin clan joins us for our final night of wine, stories and laughter.

Through the Desert to Santa Fe

The dusty expanse of northwest Texas and New Mexico stretches before us. While some find beauty in deserts, I’m counting the miles to our oasis: Santa Fe. Eric discovers cookbook heaven at Kitchenality, a used kitchen shop supporting meals for the homebound, and we enjoy a fabulous lunch at Clafoutis before heading to my aunt and uncle’s for the night.

A visit with my aunt reveals unexpected parallels between her and Mom. From the outside view, they seem to have nothing in common and have certainly led very different lives. But they are both fiercely independent, love music and history, have a rebellious streak lurking behind their southern charm, and have always had a global perspective. All traits they share with their mother. After an afternoon of aperitifs in the courtyard and an excellent dinner at Arroyo Vino, we talk politics until the men retreat to bed. My aunt is as sharp-witted and classy as ever, she would have made an excellent politician.

Colorado's Mountain Magic

The drive to Colorado brings wildlife encounters – a near-miss with a prairie dog and a brown bear sighting near Pagosa Springs. This spa town, with its riverside trails and hot springs, deserves a return visit in the quiet pre-ski season.

Trip Inspo: The San Juan Skyway loop through southern Colorado connects Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Dolores and Cortez. While doable in 7 hours, these towns deserve deeper exploration.

The San Juan Mountains take our breath away – literally. At 11,000 feet, Red Mountain Pass tests our altitude tolerance, but the spectacular views at Idarado Mine and Molas Pass make the headache worthwhile. Forests of aspen give way to rainbow-colored mountainsides, culminating in the stunning valley town of Ouray. Despite the crowds, it’s earned a spot on our “must return” list.

Walking the dusty roads of historic Silverton reminds us that much of America is still very much the Wild West. Silverton hosts the annual skijoring event, when horses pull skiers through the streets and insanity ensues.

We spend a night at an Airbnb room in Montrose and enjoy a wonderful visit with our host, Joey. Eric warms our dinner in her kitchen as we swap stories. Her husband is a talented landscape photographer, specializing in dark sky photography, and his artwork decorates the walls of their home. She and I are the same age and she wants to know how we’re able to travel for such a long time. So we tell her, and thus ensues a lengthy conversation about turning dreams into a reality.

Staying at an Airbnb hosted by avid hikers is always fun, especially when they provide a wall of maps and hiking guides!

Idaho Bound

Smoke from Idaho forest fires forces us to abandon our plans to hike in the Sawtooth Mountains, redirecting us through Utah, southeastern Idaho and Montana. Anticipating a long, dry, boring driving through Utah, Eric finds an oasis in the desert. We try dried watermelon and canary melons for the first time at Dunham Melons, a roadside stand in Green River.

We spend a night in the tiny town of Malad City, Idaho (excellent pizza and ice cream to be had there!).

It’s a long day of driving through smoke-filled skies, but we get glimpses of beautiful landscapes as we pass Montana’s Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. Skies clear just as we arrive into Coeur d’Alene.

Rain accompanies our entire stay in Coeur d’Alene, but we make the most of it with walks through historic neighborhoods along the lake and thrift store shopping. Eric’s cookbook collection grows suspiciously larger – perhaps it’s time to open a culinary lending library.

We like the vibe here, unpretentious and youthful. It feels like a small town but it boasts good restaurants, health food markets and plenty of outdoor activities. I’d move here just for the hand pies at Bean & Pie!

Next up: Our journey continues through British Columbia, where lakes, mountains and unexpected discoveries await.

Europe, Hiking, Slow travel, Travel Diary, Walking Holidays

Walking to Carrick & the Slieve League Cliffs

June 15, 2024 No Comments

Our 20 days in Ireland, walking the Bluestack Way and Slí Cholmcille and volunteering for a HelpX on Clare Island, is coming to an end. And while our second day on the Slí Cholmcille might be my least favorite of the entire trip, our last 2 days in Ireland make up for it with a beautiful hike to the Slieve League Cliffs and an evening with friends in Dublin.

Day 2 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Looks like another day of full sun as we head uphill out of town, offering us expansive views of the village from a different viewpoint. We stop at Byrne’s, the only food store within walking distance of our B&B. In the summer they offer pre-packaged sandwiches but we’re here in off-season so options are limited to mostly snack foods. Thankfully we’ve packed emergency beef jerky and protein bars, so we won’t starve.

We quickly see signs of active peat harvesting. We’ve been smelling the peat fires throughout town as many locals prefer to use it for heat and sentimental reasons, but now we get to see how they harvest and dry it. People have different methods, but here they are stacking it in little teepee shaped piles. Once dried, these hardened peat bricks are thrown into bags and collected as needed.

We enjoy the soft crunch of gravel and the pillowy softness of dried bog grass beneath our feet while we sweat off our breakfast. Not liking this hot sun, but grateful for an easier walk today (or so I think).

After some road walking, we leave the pavement to follow a forest through a short stretch of boggy terrain. The landscape is so barren here and it’s blazing hot with no relief from the sun. I’m not loving this route today.

But really, I shouldn’t complain, because the blue sky is gorgeous and we’re approaching a lake with mountains all around us.

A bit of open hillwalking through boggy fields that are relatively dry (thanks to the sun I keep complaining about).

But then we begin our climb up Crockunna, one of those Irish hills that feels like a mountain. There’s no clear path and it’s quite boggy, but there are waymarking posts offering a general direction up. We find a wall of raised earth and boulders, following it up as far as we can. I am sooooooo happy to reach the summit!

More open hillwalking but the descent is much easier as we walk towards Carrick. We have lovely views of the River Glen which spills out into the Atlantic Ocean and the barren terrain opens up into bright green pathways lined with yellow gorse.

Arriving into town, we stop at a small market to purchase snacks. We’re too tired and grubby to eat at the Slieve League Lodge, which boasts the only restaurant in town that’s open at the moment. We’ll come back for dinner later.

We’re staying about 1 mile south of Carrick, closer to Teelin and the Slieve League Cliffs. There’s a pretty river walk that takes us directly from town to O’Neill’s B&B, where once again we are greeted by a friendly face and a comfortable room to rest. Our room is spacious with skylights and windows facing the river.

It rains the next day, so we spend it relaxing in our room and walking more along the river walk. On the road to Teelin, just a few feet from our B&B, there’s a coffee truck called Brew In Thru where we get sandwiches and coffee.

Visiting Slieve League Cliffs

At breakfast we chat with Germaine and Mark from Wisconsin and I feel like we’re long-lost friends. We’ll see them again later today, as the skies have cleared and we’re all heading to the Slieve League Cliffs.

Besides being famous for their natural splendor, the Cliffs serve as the start of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) in Ireland. They are more than 2x higher than the Cliffs of Moher and just shy of being the highest sea cliffs in Ireland — that honor goes to the Croaghaun Cliffs on Achill Island. Our host drops us off at the official Sliabh Liag Visitor’s Centre, where we meet up again with our new friends from Wisconsin. We say a quick hello to Roisin, who works at the center, and hop on a quick shuttle up to the Bunglas Viewpoint.

As expected, there are a lot of people here, but once we hike up towards the top we lose most of them. Only daredevils attempt to walk One Man’s Pass, which traverses the tip of the cliffs and connects with the Pilgrim’s Path to return to the village of Teelin. We walk as far as we can until losing visibility in the fog.

Instead of taking the return shuttle, we walk back down to Teelin. The Wisconsin couple joins us and we swap travel stories all the way down. It’s a clear day so we have gorgeous views of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast looking south. We can also see Carrigan Head and the old signal tower, built by the British in the early 1800s to warn of French invasions.

Back in the village, we part ways with the Wisconsins who are stopping at a cafe. We’re determined to eat at The Rusty Mackerel, even though we don’t have reservations. Our hosts and our notes from Tailor-Made Tours warned us about this, but in our excitement to reach the cliffs we simply forgot. After a long wait and drinks in the pub, we eventually get a table. The atmosphere is worth the wait and the cuisine is good solid Irish comfort food.

We finish our day by walking back to our B&B on Teelin Road. It’s a busy road and there’s little room on the sides to step away from traffic, but the views are lovely and we stop again at the coffee truck.

Return to Dublin

It’s the end of our walking holiday in Donegal so we say goodbye to the O’Neills who have been excellent hosts. They’ve scheduled a taxi for our return to Donegal Town, a splurge since we could have taken the local bus. Our taxi driver is the youngest of 7 children. He lives in Kilcar where his 83yr old dad still runs the family pub (John Joe’s Pub) that he took over from his father. The drive along this coastline is stunning and Eric and I make a mental promise to return with a car someday to drive the entire Donegal and Northern Ireland coast.

Our packs are lighter as we arrive in Donegal Town, and that’s because Eric and I both have left our hiking boots behind. It’s fitting that we purchased our boots for our first hiking trip to Ireland in 2016. After treading paths all over the world, they finally meet their end back in Ireland.

We enjoy a luxurious brunch at the Abbey Hotel while waiting for our bus which will take us to Dublin. Sean and Michelle have graciously offered to share their home with us tonight and their daughter even gives up her bedroom. Yes, we could have stayed in a hotel near the airport, but we have WAY more fun this way!

I’ve worked with Sean for the past year but we’ve never met in person. Can’t think of a better way to end our time in Ireland than with this fun-loving family! Michelle cooks stone oven pizzas and salad while their young son Thomas roasts marshmallows to perfection and quizzes us on Irish words. We stuff our faces with homemade sticky pudding and daughter Ella shares her story of childhood trauma at airport customs when she snuck giant scissors into her luggage.

A friend pops in to drop off duck eggs and wish Michelle a happy 50th birthday. While sitting around the fire, which Thomas is gleefully building, the friend’s pup Luna entertains us with a poop fiasco all over the yard which culminates in a grand finale of a butt scoot all the way down the pavement. I laugh so hard that night that I go to bed with sore cheeks.

The morning before our flight, Sean takes us on a walk through Glasnevin Cemetery and the National Botanic Gardens. Sean and I discuss tourism and brainstorm ideas for enticing Americans to Ireland. It’s the perfect ending to a perfect trip, and it’s certainly not the last time we’ll visit Ireland. We loved our first trip to Dingle, but this time our experiences were so much richer. We spent more time connecting with people and all of our accommodations were owned by friendly innkeepers who welcomed us with open arms — that hospitality is the true beauty of Ireland.

Europe, Hiking, Travel Diary, Walking Holidays

Hiking Donegal’s Slí Cholmcille

June 3, 2024 No Comments

woman hiking Sli Cholmcille in Donegal Ireland

Having completed the Bluestack Way from Donegal to Ardara, Eric and I begin a new walk along the Slí Cholmcille. This route is part of several long-distance and heritage trails. The Slí Cholmcille is one of 4 loop trails that make up the Bealach na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Way). The International Appalachian Trail (IAT) follows a section of this route, as does a pilgrimage walk that is currently being developed and will eventually end in Scotland.

We are walking a modified version of the Slí Cholmcille, designed by Tailor-Made Tours, covering Ardara to Kilcar plus the Slieve League Cliffs. Come walk with us…

Day 1 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Total Distance: 14mi / 22km

Our first day on the Slí Cholmcille begins with a taxi to the supermarket to pick up lunch, then drop off at the Assaranca Waterfall. The first few miles are on a busy road but at least we have lovely views of an estuary and Loughros Beg Bay. Before we know it, we’re surrounded by mountains and rivers.

As our route notes suggest, we take a quick detour to explore Maghera Strand, considered to be one of the most beautiful beaches in Donegal. I wholeheartedly agree! I would travel to Ireland just to explore this long stretch of sand, surrounded by mountains, dunes, crystal clear lakes and sea caves.

Back on the road, we continue along the Slí Cholmcille, steadily climbing up into the mountains.

Passing through a picturesque valley with bleating lambs and a stream running down to the beach.

At the top, we exit the valley, walking towards an old stone cottage where we leave the roads and any semblance of civilization behind us.

This is the second most challenging part of our hiking in Donegal. Just like the Bluestack Way, Slí Cholmcille includes open hillwalking through hag bogs. The path is more defined here, with loose rock to help guide us through most of hills.

But at one point we reach a section where everything has been washed away, leaving the hags isolated far apart and separated by a thick morass of black tar-like mud. I have to slide down a hag and almost twist my ankle when I step into a sinkhole hiding underneath the reeds. In three different places we steal rocks off the trail and use them to create a pathway through the mud in order to get to the next waymarker.

The route also involves several small stream crossings, nothing difficult, but enough to keep things interesting. Stopping for lunch along a river, Eric nearly drops his sandwich in the water because his hands are shaking after a near-catastrophic fall down one of the hags. Hard not to smile when surrounded by so much beauty.

Once past the Glen River valley we pick up a road again. The countryside is beautiful, with traditional cottages and sheep being the highlight of this section.

It starts to rain again, has been off and on all day, but Eric and I don’t mind as long as it’s a light shower. Ireland is absolutely stunning no matter the weather.

And just like that, the rain stops as we reach Kiltyfanned Lough, where we enjoy lunch and we bask in the sun like lizards.

This road leads to An Port, a deserted fishing village with some of the most impressive views we’ve seen on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Coast.

An Port is one of those “hidden gems” that many may know about but are often unwilling to hike or drive to this remote location. We meet up with an adventurous bloke who drove here. He says he likes American football, brings his boy to the NFL games when they come to London but he prefers the college games. He tells us we have to watch a game of hurling if we have a chance.

From An Port our path ascends uphill. We’re both tired at this point but the coastal views more than make up for our weary feet.

After walking up the back of Faugher Mountain, we begin a long descent into Cashel where we’re staying the next 2 nights. The hard tarmac road is brutal on our bruised feet, but again, such lovely views that it’s hard not to feel exquisite joy in this moment.

In town, we stop at the local market for food. Options are limited in this tiny convenience store but we’re too exhausted to be picky. Plenty of time for a hot meal and pub tomorrow.

When we arrive at Millstone B&B, Geraldine greets us with “oh, you must be wrecked!” It’s an apt description because I feel like a ship that’s been battered and tossed about, grateful to have reached shore. Her warm greeting is one of the things I love most about inn to inn hiking. When far from home, at the end of a long day of hiking, it’s comforting to know someone is waiting for you with a smile and hot cup of coffee or tea.

Rest Day in Glencolmcille

We have a day to rest and explore the beautiful village of Cashel. At breakfast, we visit with a young man from northern China who is traveling around Ireland by bus with no itinerary, just pottering around for a month. Says he took trains and boats to get here, no airplanes. Interesting is too simple a word for this guy. It’s a sunny day so I wash laundry and hang our clothes to dry on the lines outside before walking to town.

We walk to the Glencolmcille Folk Village, an open air museum with 7 buildings, each depicting various stages of rural life in Ireland. It’s an excellent collection of artifacts and they did a fantastic job of authentically re-creating living conditions. As we enter buildings, smelling the peat fire and old wool clothing and linens, it is easy to imagine what it would have been like to sleep in these tiny beds and live in these conditions.

The first building we enter has a life-size replica of Fr. James McDyer, who established the folk village in 1967 as a way to boost the local economy and preserve their cultural heritage. Fr. McDyer is fondly remembered as being an activist who tirelessly fought to improve living conditions in his rural parish. Sounds like someone my parents would have loved to meet.

Across the street from the folk village is a beautiful beach with the mountain that we hiked yesterday looming above. Glencolmcille is my favorite town in Donegal so far, at least for scenic beauty. Nestled at the sea between mountains and rocky outcroppings with rivers and verdant green pasture, this quiet slice of heaven calls to me on a visceral level.

As we walk back through town, visions of living the quiet life in such a beautiful place, we pass an old man in a kilt. Unfortunately it’s a windy day and my eyes just so happen to settle on him as he experiences a Marilyn Monroe moment. He’s a genuine Scotsman, that’s all I can say.

We end our nearly perfect day at John Eonin’s Pub, where we enjoy a fantastic meal and try carrageen moss pudding which is made from seaweed found off the south and west coast of Ireland. It’s delicious! Roisin joins us for drinks. Her brother owns Tailor-Made Tours and she works at the Slieve League Visitor Centre. She gives us all sorts of good advice and doesn’t seem to mind that I have tons of questions. She offers wonderful conversation and buys us a round. To my eternal shame, we forget to return the favor. Guess we’ll have to go back to Donegal and meet Roisin for another round of drinks. Oh darn. 😉

Our time in the lovely Cashel and Glencolmcille region might be over, but we still have one more day of hiking to reach Carrick on the Slí Cholmcille. Stick around for that and the Slieve League Cliffs.

Road Trip West: Louisiana to Idaho

A 45-day journey Begins

Austin: A Bittersweet Reunion

Through the Desert to Santa Fe

Colorado's Mountain Magic

Idaho Bound

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Walking to Carrick & the Slieve League Cliffs

Day 2 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Visiting Slieve League Cliffs

Return to Dublin

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Hiking Donegal’s Slí Cholmcille

Day 1 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Rest Day in Glencolmcille

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Road Trip West: Louisiana to Idaho

A 45-day journey Begins

Austin: A Bittersweet Reunion

Through the Desert to Santa Fe

Colorado's Mountain Magic

Idaho Bound

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Walking to Carrick & the Slieve League Cliffs

Day 2 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Visiting Slieve League Cliffs

Return to Dublin

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Hiking Donegal’s Slí Cholmcille

Day 1 Walking the Slí Cholmcille

Rest Day in Glencolmcille

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