About that Ramen
November 30, 2019
food food, japan, kyoto, raman, restaurant, tokyo, travel Leave a comment
What the Fuji
November 29, 2019
mountain, travel fuji, fujiyama, japan, mt fuji, nature, photography, shinkansen, travel, video 2 Comments
Fujiyama from the shinkansen.
Arashiyama
November 29, 2019
nature, plants, travel, trees Arashiyama, bamboo, eli, japan, kyoto, nature, photography, travel 1 Comment
Autumn in Kyoto
November 29, 2019
nature, Photography, trees autumn leaves, eli, gem, jackie, japan, kyoto, nature, photography, travel 2 Comments
Return to Fushimi Inari (Kyoto)
November 28, 2019
film, nature, Photography, travel eli, Fushimi Inari, gem, jackie, japan, kyoto, nature, photography, shinto, shinto shrine, shrine, travel, video Leave a comment
Four years is the blink of an eye for this Shinto Shrine in Kyoto since it has been here for over 1300 years. A previous visit was pre-Fall in 2015. This visit happened at the height of Fall in Japan.
WILCO C’ville Life -or- love is everywhere?!
November 12, 2019
music, Photography bill and em, charlottesville, gem, music, pavillion, photography, travel, video, wilco 1 Comment
Yep. Thank goodness. Just in the nick of time. Bill and Em to the rescue.

Wilco, cville

box of wilco

before

tiny

Hinge
fin. commencer. we die to live another day.
Katoomba Blue Mountains Hike (Australia)
September 15, 2019
hiking, mountain, travel australia, blue mountains, dardanelles pass, federal pass, furber steps, gem, giant stairway, hiking, katoomba, lilianfels, photography, three sisters, travel, video 2 Comments
In about three hours, Brian and I hiked 6.3 miles covering an elevation delta of 1600 feet. We started at Lilianfells,took the Prince Henry trail over to the Furber Steps, went down the steps (with some great views of Katoomba Falls), hiked Federal pass to Honeymoon Lookout, doubled back through the Dardanelles Pass and then climbed up the 900 steps of the Giant Stairway to the Three Sisters. Finishing with the climb up the steps was interesting.

Katoomba

Katoomba falls

Brian takes a picture

Picture in picture

Katoomba

Overlook Mt Solitary

Katoomba Falls

Spring Fiddleheads (Australia September)

Rain forest Katoomba

Turning point

View from Dardenelles
Heading up the Gianty Stairway

Only 1/2 way up. Exhausting climb.

Three sisters. Alone.
All in all, an incredible hike on a gorgeous day. Better ending up than down.
Hiking the David Joseph State Park (near Jenner, CA)
March 18, 2019
hiking, nature, ocean, Photography, trees california, california coast, David Joseph State Park, hiking, nature, pacific ocean, photography, Russian River, shell beach, sonoma, travel, video 1 Comment
On a beautiful Spring day (one of the first for months) we went to the edge of the continent with Uncle Jim and Chloe. Just south of the Russian river is Shell Beach and across Highway 1 from that is a nice set of trails traversing the coastal hills.
All told, we may have hiked 3.5 or 4 miles.

From the Pacific

Vernal mud on the trail

Spring mushrooms were everywhere (irises too)

To the fern forest
Then it was back down to the ocean.
Living Art: The Remarkable Little Paradise Art Lodge. New Zealand
November 27, 2018
art, flowers, nature, Photography, plants, travel, who knows art, flower, flowers, gardens, little paradise lodge, nature, new zealand, photography, travel Leave a comment
There are magic places in the world, created under intensity so focused that nature absorbs and reflects the power of the creator. The Little Paradise Art Lodge is one of those places.
Put together over 26 years by a Swiss artist who is both intense and incredibly human at the same time, the grounds are nothing short of remarkable.
We were not able to stay during this trip due to a birthday (paradox) conflict. But we will be back for sure. Even a short visit is highly recommended. We stayed for about an hour, enchanted the entire time.
The lodge itself is hand built in such a quirky and delightful and natural way, it is hard to describe. Primitive, and yet so very planet earth.
Though the lodge is a sight to see, the six acres of curated gardens are astonishing in their willy-nilly natural order.
Glamping in Tanzania with African Environments
October 9, 2018
animals, film, fire, hiking, Photography, travel africa, african environments, amy, arusha, denis mollel, environment, gem, glamping, hadza, maasai, nature, photography, safari, serengeti, tanzania, tents, travel, video Leave a comment
This posting is cross-posted on noplasticshowers.com
During our 15 day trip to Tanzania in September, we saw some remarkable things about as up close and personal as you could get. We hiked over 70km in four national parks. And we stayed in tents. But don’t let that last bit fool you, we were “glamping.”
So what, exactly is “glamping” anyway? That’s the subject of this posting. There are 92 pieces of media in this posting.
On the way to our first tent, we did a game drive for a few hours and saw many things. Including an albino baboon. But that’s another posting.
Without further ado, our first tent in Arusha national park.
These tents have multiple rooms, double beds, and non-plastic showers.
Of course, readers of noplasticshowers are going to want to know about the bathroom area. There was a chemical toilet. And some sinks that drained directly outside.
The shower also had no running water. It was somebody’s job to put 3.5 liters (not quite enough, that is) into the dispenser just before a “glamping shower.”
Then there was the food situation. Just great. Really. No camping food here. Fresh fruits and veggies. Great chefs. Delicious.
Of course, some lunch spots were better than others. Like, say, this one. No bees and only one land shark sighting.
The fig tree in Arusha is famous. This is a staged video.
Lots of stuff happened between camps. By the time we got to Ngorongoro crater we had seen elephants fighting, black hippos, and more. See this posting for all that nature stuff.
The roads in Tanzania vary widely. This one, recently completed by a Japanese engineering firm was all shiny and new. We stopped for gas. That’s because in Africa, the cars take gas, just like ours.
We’re here for the tents, though, and so tents it is. These tents are manufactured in Arusha. They are sturdy and must weigh several hundred pounds. Fortunately, whenever we arrived, they were already set up. Oh, and the best part about the tents? The views.
There was a lunch, this time close to some bees.
The Ngorongoro base camp was another two night thing.
More lunch is in order.
After Ngorongoro, it was off to the Serengeti for a completely different thing.
Yeah, there was lunch.
The roads in the Serengeti get some serious use. And so they also get repaired.
We arrived at sunset and were delayed when we came across a pair of mating lions less than a kilometer from camp. For more about the lions, see this posting.
The common areas in the Serengeti base camp were all hipster and very cool.
Make sure that you make up some Pele Pele for every meal. It is best if it stews in the sun for a week in some vinegar.
Base camp was great, but our plan was to do some hiking. Actually, it turned out to be mostly a walk in the park.
The scariest thing we came across on foot was this.
Camp was set up each night. Two different camps within walking distance.
Even in the field, there was wine.
Sunset was spectacular everywhere we were. This view from a Kopfe was typical in its atypical beauty.
Though the walking camps were less cushy than the base camps, they were still pretty cushy. Like, they were all set up, there was no carrying in stuff in a backpack, there were field showers with warm water, and so on. Yeah. We’ve backpacked 65 miles in Montana. This was definitely not the same thing.
Oh, and even when walking the Serengeti…there was lunch. This time buffalo.
The guys tried to surprise us with lunch, but we had binoculars and a sense of what was up.
Then it was back to base camp for a night.
And holy cow. On our way to the Hadza bushmen, there was this cheetah. In a tree. Remarkable. Cheetahs do not climb trees.
On occasion, one must stop for onions.
Our last camp in Tarangire was at a tent lodge. The lodge had power, running water, a bar, and a pool. There was net too. Talk about glamping!
Of course we were still, technically, in a tent.
Which had a view.
Though the showers were not all that, they did have LOTS of hot water that did not stop after 2 minutes. Woo hoo!
Anyway, that is pretty much what glamping in Africa is like. African Environments makes everything incredibly easy and fun. If you’re a real camper (like we are), it will seem unbelievably luxurious.