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As we made our way through the Asturian countryside, our itinerary had a scheduled stop to hike Los Pico de Europa. Though we did not plan to hike the entire 24Km from Puente Poncebos to Cain and back, we did have the idea we'd attempt to hike at least 3 to 4Km to the high point at Los Collaos. Unfortunately, less than 1Km from the parking lot, a storm rolled in packing horizontal rains and wind gusts of up to 30mph. We thought it wise to turn back and save this National Park adventure for some future trip to Spain. During our short hike we did manage to take a few photographs of the spectacular views and we found a geocache.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain
2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain
2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain
2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain
2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain	2016 - Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain

Last winter Nene, Laura and I had the opportunity to hike the Lake Superior ice out to the Apostle Island Lake Shore sea caves. During a trip to Madeline Island over memorial Weekend, Nene and I were afforded the opportunity to paddle to the sea caves on the south side of the island. We skirted our way through bays filled with icebergs and made our way to do some cave exploring.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Sea Caves, La Pointe, WI

Our family has visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial several years ago when the children were very young so I decided to stop by for another look while on a recent pass through Oklahoma City, OK. There are few words that can describe this memorial and what happened here back on April 19th, 1995.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

   

2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK
2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK
2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK
2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK
2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK	2014 - Oklahoma City National Memorial, Oklahoma City, OK

It's been in the local news most of this January, the sea caves along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore are accessible by walking on the ice for the first time in five years. Located on the south shore of Lake Superior near Cornucopia, WI, the lake surface near the sea caves rarely freezes over because of wind and water currents. With the colder than normal temperatures this winter season, the ice is solid, the caves are accessible, and people are coming out in droves to explore and photograph them.

The original forecast for today was 20 degrees and sunny so plans were made to road cruise 200 miles north and hike to the sea caves. When Nene, Laura and I arrived at the lake shore parking lot, it was 3 degrees F below zero, the winds were gusting off the lake to 10-25mph, it was cold.

According to my GPS, the distance hiked from parking to the largest sea cave was 1.6 miles. My GPS took 239 samples during the hike which lasted 35 minutes 58 seconds. Our average hiking speed was 2.7mph. Unfortunately, I could not calculate the hike back as the batteries in the GPS died and I did not notice until our adventure was complete. All photographs taken with a Canon G6.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI
2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI	2014 - Apostle Island Lake Shore Sea Caves, Cornucopia, WI

On our way out west we stopped and visited Pompeys Pillar National Monument.  Pompeys Pillar is a rock formation that contains the last known physical evidence of Lewis and Clark's expedition.  Like many of the stops along our journey, this site was fascinating and well worth the visit.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT
2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT
2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT	2012 - Pompeys Pillar National Monument, Billings, MT

Located within Theodore Roosevent National Park, the Badlands of North Dakota has to be one of America's best kept secrets.  It does not have other nearby tourist attractions to draw people in like the famous Badlands of South Dakota.  But the Badlands of North Dakota are just as spectacular.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND
2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND
2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND	2012 - Badlands of North Dakota, Medora, ND

While enroute to North Carolina, we stopped for a day to visit Washington, D. C.  In addition to riding the Metro for the first time, we walked the mall from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.	2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.	2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.
2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.	2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.	2011 - A Capitol View, Washington, D.C.

On our drive to North Carolina, we decided to spend a day in Gettysburg.  One thing is for certain, one day does not do Gettysburg justice.  In order to maximize the time during our visit, we hired a bus tour service that took us to the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and to Little Round Top.  I suspect we will visit Gettysburg again at some point in the future.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA Laura on a battle cannon Laura on a battle cannon	2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA Split-rail fence along the battlefield Split-rail fence along the battlefield	2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA Eternal Light Peace Memorial Eternal Light Peace Memorial
2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA A view of Devil's Den A view of Devil's Den	2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA The Valley of Death The Valley of Death	2011 - Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA Geology atop Little Round Top Geology atop Little Round Top

Today following Minnesota's 2nd Annual BWCAW Geocaching Event near the end of the Gunflint Trail, Molly and I hiked the Magnetic Lake Trail to the earthcache Magnetic Rock (GC2EW2H).  The round trip distance was 3.3 miles and took 2 hours and 6 minutes, which included about a 30 minute break.  Average hiking speed was 2 MPH.  The elevation reading at the lowest point was 1607', the highest point was 1825', for a total elevation change of 218'.  Observations during the hike indicated that this immediate area was still recovering from a forest fire which took place back in spring of 2007.  There was no evidence from the blow down in 2000 though I am not sure if this area was spared or if the forest fire cleaned up most of the debris.  Blueberries were in full bloom and in about a month, berries will be abundant.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness	2011 - Magnetic Rock, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

During our visit to the Black Hills this June, we managed to have only one day without rain.  On that one beautiful sunny day we visited Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Enjoy the photographs (click thumbnails for larger view)..

2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial	2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial	2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial
2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial	2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial	2010 - Mount Rushmore National Memorial