Category Archives: travel

San Francisco Part 1


San Francisco skyline

San Francisco skyline

On April 30 of this year Ursula and I did a rather enjoyable West Coast cruise that started in Los Angeles with stops in San Francisco; Astoria, Oregon; Victoria, British Columbia; and finishing up in Vancouver, Canada on May 6.  Starting today and over the next two weeks I’ll be presenting images of San Francisco, saving of course my favorite images for the next two Fun Photo Fridays.  So, sit back and enjoy, starting with our arrival into San Francisco:

Crown Princess

Crown Princess

Down the street from the cruise terminal is Pier 39, but we only stopped there long enough to capture this shot:

Pier 39

Pier 39

We hopped aboard a H-O/H-O (Hop-On, Hop-Off) bus and headed for a dim sum lunch in Chinatown:

You Know You're in Chinatown When . . .

You Know You’re in Chinatown When . . .

Chinatown

Chinatown

After lunch we continued around town:

Old vs. New

Old vs. New

Colorful Mural

Colorful Mural

A short time later we started the long trek up Telegraph Hill:

Saints Peter and Paul Church

Saints Peter and Paul Church

You know what that means.  Magnificent views from Coit Tower:

Transamerica Pyramid

Transamerica Pyramid

View from Coit Tower

View from Coit Tower

Crown Princess in port

Crown Princess in port

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Fun Photo Friday — Favorite Photos from the Catwalk


Over the Creek and Around the Bend

Over the Creek and Around the Bend

I hope you enjoyed this road trip over the past three weeks, including the extraordinary 1Zero6 Café review and the tour of Silver City, New Mexico.  Here are today’s favorites from the Catwalk:

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Filed under Automobiles and Driving, Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

The Beauty of the Catwalk — Part 2


The Canyon

The Canyon

Along the Catwalk Trail the hiker will find colorful placards explaining both the history and the geology of the area.  The area in and around the Gila National Forest is home to not one, but rather four supervolcanoes.  For more on these massive explosive calderas, see Supervolcano – Wikipedia.

A Local Geology Lesson

A Local Geology Lesson

I mentioned in previous articles in this series that the Catwalk started out as a support for a pipe carrying water for a lumber operation.  And here’s what appears to be a remnant of that operation:

Old mining infrastructure?

Old mining infrastructure?

Just inside the Catwalk Recreation Area is a nice picnic ground, a great place to have a bite to eat following your hike:

Catwalk picnic area

Catwalk picnic area

This picnic area is just a short distance from the footbridge that crosses back over Whitewater Creek after your return hike:

The footbridge back to the picnic and parking areas

The footbridge back to the picnic and parking areas

But let’s get back to the Catwalk, which I’m sure is what interests most of you:

Catwalking through the Canyon

Catwalking through the Canyon

This treasure is just an absolutely wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.

Above Whitewater Creek

Above Whitewater Creek

Now for today’s gallery:

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Filed under Automobiles and Driving, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation