Category Archives: Travel

Rodalber Felsenwanderweg

A few days ago André and I took advantage of the sunny fall weather and spent two days hiking the Rodalber Felsenwanderweg (offizielle Homepage auf Deutsch, Flyer mit Karte), which is a 45km (28mi) loop path around the small town of Rodalben in the Palatinate Forest, about 100km (60mi) from where we live.

Despite being not very far from the town, most of the path is actually a very narrow footpath through the forest, and it passes about 130 sandstone formations that are at least 15m long and 3m tall, but can be as big as 500m long and 18m tall. Many of them reminded me of the sandstone we’ve seen on our trips to the Southwest of the USA, but instead of being in a desert, these are in the middle of a large forested area with many rocks covered by trees, bushes and smaller plants like moss.

We were very lucky with the weather on the first day (Monday 26 October), which was very sunny. On the second day the sun didn’t manage to break through the fog which rose in the morning, so our hike took on a more mysterious air. The following photos were all taken on the first day.

The Bruderfelsen (brother’s rock) is Rodalben’s landmark, with a legend of two brothers who fought over one woman to go with it.

Detail of a sandstone formation:

There were many, many different mushrooms growing from the ground or tree stumps. Here’s a fly agaric (Fliegenpilz):

Fall colors:

Per Anhalter durch Deutschland

HitchBOT – A robot exploring the world

“I am hitchBOT – a robot from Port Credit, Ontario. From July 27, 2014 to August 21, 2014, I hitchhiked over 6,000 km from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Victoria, British Columbia. In just 26 days I hitched a total of 19 rides to reach my final destination – Victoria, British Columbia. […] This February, my adventure continues as I explore Germany. My journey will begin in Munich on February 13, 2015 and conclude in Munich on February 22, 2015. […] Join me as I learn more about Germany, including the people, language, and culture.”

I’d love to give HitchBOT a ride if he visits Palatinate!

I’m a big fan of National Parks

Cool Green Science: 10 Great National Parks You’ve Never Heard Of

  1. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado
  2. Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
  3. Congaree National Park, South Carolina
  4. Great Basin National Park, Nevada
  5. Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
  6. Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
  7. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
  8. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
  9. Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
  10. Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

We’ve been to half of these parks:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado

Went there in 2005, but only on a brief visit. We had planned one or two longer hikes there, but André sprained his ankle a few days before so anything more than a few yards of hobbling around were out.

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

Visited in 2002 while traveling around Arizona and New Mexico.

[I don’t have a photo of this because back in 2002, we still used slide film instead of a digital camera.]

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

We spent a few days there in 2005 and went on a cave tour and a guided hike, among other things. We were the only two people who showed up for the guided hike, so we got a very exclusive tour. We also enjoyed the evening meetings around the campfire. Highly recommended!

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

We briefly visited during our first trip to the US in 1999 and returned for a longer stay in 2012. Recommendations: the trail through Cohab Canyon (plus two Fruita overlooks), and the freshly-baked fruit pies you can buy at the Gifford homestead.

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

We also visited this park in 2005 and loved walking around in the dunes.

“We did not free ourselves from England’s cruel yoke to have static pie.”

The Awl: A Field Guide to the True American Diner”. By John Leavitt.

“The True American Diner is a casual sit-down restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner—all three meals—all day, often for all twenty-four hours of it. Time has no meaning in the presence of eggs, steak and hash browns.
[…]
Dessert is pie, and if displayed in a glass case at the end of the counter, it must rotate. We did not free ourselves from England’s cruel yoke to have static pie.”

Reading the article made me want to fly to the US and have breakfast in a diner right this instant. I guess the next best thing would be to listen to this episode from This American Life again: 24 Hours at the Golden Apple (transcript).

Link via MetaFilter Projects.

How many of these have you done?

Adventure Journal: The 20 most beautiful day hikes in America.

André and I have done these four:

Observation Point, Zion National Park, Utah (2012)

Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona (1999, a blast from the past)

Coyote Buttes North, aka “The Wave,“ Paria Canyon/Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona (2012)

Hoh River Trail, Olympic National Park, Washington (2008)

My favorite hike ever was the one to and from “The Wave”. André and I were lucky and scored permits at the lottery for our tenth-anniversary-trip to the Southwest in 2012. The hike out to the Wave was well worth it and would even be among my personal top three hikes if The Wave wasn’t at the end of it. Here, take a look at the scenery:

The Wave is of course, famous, and only 20 people are allowed in every day, but if you hike a little further, you reach the “Second Wave”, which we had all to ourselves on our hike: