hiking | Apothecary Shed

Tree Down on the Trail

April 5, 2026

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It’s great to have a trail on the monastery. The only problem is monks don’t have chainsaws. So, time to get ours out!

Hyde Park on a Rainy Day

October 6, 2024

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We decided to walk from Marylebone to see the Market at Portabello Road. It was a long walk, but filled with real London sights. The market itself seems more suited to Hollywoood movie watchers than to us. But we’re glad we went.

Iceberg?

Or swan?

Headless at the end.

Silver Falls State Park: Oregon

May 9, 2024

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On a beautiful sunny day in Oregon, we decided to stay wet by standing under a waterfall. Silver Falls is remarkable, stunning, and a great place to visit with friends. We visited as a day trip from Portland. (Make sure to expand the videos when viewing.)

The icicles!

The refrigerator!

Slightly-belated Easter with Iulie

April 12, 2024

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The Easter bunny did make an appearance.

There were baskets to discover and eggs to find!

After the hunt, we enjoyed the beautiful weather outside and made chalk pictures of our own.

Don’t forget to count the loot!

Now who exactly is the Easter bunny again?!

We also dyed some eggies. The girls from the palace were happy to oblige.

Even the puppy was pooped!

But a good night’s sleep after several stories got us all rested up for pancakes in the morning.

The eggs became deviled.

While the angel checked on her tree. (Tiny tiny leaves.)

We also tiptoed through the bluebells. Well kinda.

Come again, little one.

Hiking Topanga

February 14, 2024

gem hiking, mountain, nature, ocean, travel hiking, LA, nora, pacific, panorama, romey, topanga, walt Leave a comment

Oh yeah, a morning hike to the top of the bluff. All told we may have hiked four miles. We started at Walt and Nora’s house and walked up to the Pacific overview. The weather was standard issue California — perfect.

Panorama

The crew (gem, nora, walt, romey)

Art?

It was a great opportunity to spend some time together.

Lets Almost Go See a Waterfall in Norway: Vettisfossen

November 11, 2022

gem hiking, mountain, nature, photography, travel hiking, mountains, nature, Norway, photography, travel, vettisfossen, video, waterfall 2 Comments

The day could not have been prettier. Light rain, but gorgeous light. And peak Fall leaves. And waterfalls everywhere you look. The funny thing is, though we hiked about 13km, we never made it to the big waterfall! Ran out of light.

I guess we’ll just have to go back

THIS is not the one! But look. Spectacular does not even begin to describe this walk.

We had some very late lunch very near the top at an old farmstead and village.

The turn around point.

The Backyard (well, mountain) in Tyinkrysset

November 11, 2022

gem hiking, travel dogs, gøran, hiking, mountains, nature, Norway, nova, photography, romey, travel, video 2 Comments

Sometimes walking out the door and around back is the best way to hike. We bushwhacked up through juniper and blueberry towards a small lake where fish are rumored to live. Tyinkrysset, Norway is beautiful.

This little stream is just up the road a few hundred meters.

Here are some pictures of our walk in the mountains.

A view of the valley.

Chilly Romey.

Panorama

Our intrepid hosts at the top. Our fearless leader Nova was dressed for the weather.

We love being in Norway.

Coffee and brown cheese? Nova says yes.

Kongevegen, Norway Hiking and the Stave Church

November 8, 2022

gem hiking, mountain, nature, travel gøran, hiking, kongevegen, Norway, nova, romey, stave church 1 Comment

The trail, built by hand with horses and carts through steep mountain passes, is incredible. Like a movie set. This is one hike in Norway not to miss. We did a few kilometers day hike to the Stave Church completed in the 1180s.

The Kings Road is what Kongevegen means, BTW. The scenery at peak Fall is stunning and magical.

Romey and the logo bench.

Just up over the pass the first view of the Stave Church.

We approached from behind (with a herd of sheep). These are not the sheep!

Our fearless leader Nova.

Don’t eat the mushrooms.

A quiet moment of conversation.

A boy and his dog!

An impressive waterfall on the drive home.

Coffee stop.

And back home for beer and a small fire. This is the only kind of smoking that I like to do.

Passeggiata al Bariosco (near Rialmosso, Italy)

July 20, 2022

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On my last day in Rialmosso (Italy) after all three performances were behind us, the hiking boots finally came out. Sadly the boots were massive overkill since the “hike” was really just a walk and the walk was really just a stroll. But, I lugged those boots all the way here from Virginia, so on they go!

Anyway, the stroll in the park was behind Rosazza on a mountain trail that was well tended and obvious in the Italian way. Gorgeous, filled with green trees, burbling creeks, and an ancient Italian village at the top.

I like listening to the woods as much as looking at them. The sounds were curative.