From The Noodleheads’ we headed south through winding valleys, stopping for treats like great apple pie and free gondola rides, working our way to Mesa Verde. This was the first U.S. National Park to be dedicated to “the works of man” and the works in question are stone and mortar houses built in steep valleys [...]

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For the past few days we have had the good fortune to stay with friends near the Rocky Mountains. An amazing landscape of mind boggling size and eye-popping beauty.
 
First port of call was Boulder to visit Levi, Sarah and bunny #3 who is expected to make her appearance on Halloween. Also visiting them were Dominique [...]

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A.k.a. Internal combustion engine FTW (that’s For The Win).
In just 3 days we’ve driven from San Francisco, CA to Boulder, CO, which is a long way. It’s a good thing that I’m trying to show Tania some cool places I know otherwise I’d probably have driven faster and seen less. Our first stop was Sonora [...]

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I’ve been here many times before, and I hope I’ll return many times later because Yosemite has a very special place in my heart. We were first introduced through my father’s photos of a misty barren mountain top and a grinning father of seven in shorts and a T-shirt. Clothes more suited to this cloudless [...]

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Though I had thought of moving to Japan for many years, and I did a long distance hike last year. It wasn’t until I heard of ‘Kintaro Walks Japan’ that I thought of putting my two interests together. Kintaro, or Tyler as he’s known in real life, was inspired by Ayumi whose dad still holds [...]

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By chance we happened to be passing by Matsumoto (and thus Charles and Yuko who I saw at my half-way point two months ago) during a festival. As the rather repetitive song explained it was “bon bon Matsumoto, bon bon bon!”. Played on a loop through loud speakers it got the parade of groups ranging [...]

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Nikko has to be seen to be believed. Founded hundreds of years ago and kept active ever since, there are so many shrines and large temples that it kept fast walkers like us busy all day. We got there before the tour buses and appreciated the calm before the storm of school children that had [...]

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The man running the youth hostel in Urubandai National Park was exceptionally nice to us. We’d been planning on staying in one of the cabins there but as it was raining and as no one had booked in advance they hadn’t been cleaned and the electricity was turned off. At least I think that’s what [...]

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Sukayu onsen, in the hills north of Lake Towada, is sometimes referred to as ‘the 1000 person bath’. A slight exaggeration I think but the hotel it is part of could certainly hold that many. It’s an old building of long creaky hallways and winding staircases creating a confusing labyrinth that makes following the receptionist’s [...]

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Hakodate had the worst of the rain. Possibly the worst rain I’ve ever seen first hand. We lay on the futons expecting each lull to be the end of it only to have it pick up again with more force than before. If it wasn’t by the sea there would have been major flooding, but [...]

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