May 2017 – In May I decided to take a road trip up to Wyoming to visit Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks since I had never explored that part of the country. My dogs, Coco and Gigi, were my companions on the trip so I also made it a point to find dog-friendly trails along the way.

Zion National Park

I made it to Zion National Park in Utah at the end of my first day. I entered at the East entrance and drove through the park before heading to my hotel. The town of Springdale is right outside of the South entrance, but hotel costs are very high here. I stayed in the town of La Verkin, which is only 20 miles from the South entrance.

The next day I drove back into the park, starting at the South entrance visitor center, which has a nice outdoor museum that tells you all about the park. From here I walked the dog-friendly Pa’rus Trail next to the North Fork Virgin River, where we spotted a couple of mule deer on the trail. Luckily, Coco and Gigi kept their cool and didn’t bark at the deer. 🙂

One of the most interesting points of interest in the park is the mile-long tunnel  cut into the mountain along Zion-Mount Carmel Highway. But overall, this park is a little too crowded for me.

Bryce Canyon National Park

After leaving Zion I drove to Bryce Canyon National Park, which is about one and a half hours away. I enjoyed Bryce much more than Zion because it is less crowded and I had never seen anything like the unique hoodoo rock formations they are known for. The trail from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point is dog-friendly and has beautiful views of Bryce Canyon and the hoodoos.

Wyoming

I made it to Wyoming on my third day of the trip, ending up in Jackson. The drive along this part of Wyoming was beautiful, filled with mountains and ranches and meadows. For the first time in my life I saw pronghorn, which look like they belong in Africa.

I made it to Jackson at the end of the day and found the cutest, dog-friendly cabin to stay at for the next few days. They were called the Cowboy Village Resort and they have great grounds for walking the dogs, nice clean cabins and very friendly staff.

One of the things that stood out to me about Jackson is it didn’t feel too touristy and commercial, even though they have tons of tourists come through every year. There were no neon signs or ridiculous fun-houses like you see outside of the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, which I feel cheapens the experience. Jackson felt like a small town filled with locals that really care about nature and the environment, which is important to me.

Grand Teton National Park

The highlight of this trip was my time spent in Grand Teton National Park. I came on this trip in mid-May in order to avoid the crowds the occur in Grand Teton and Yellowstone in the summer months (once kids are out of school). And I truly did feel like I had the park to myself at times. I didn’t mind the cooler weather and snow, which I felt added to the experience.

There was an abundance of wildlife in Grand Teton, including bison, elk, moose and bears. On my first day in the park I was driving back in the evening when I came upon a few cars stopped in the road. It was a grizzly bear and two cubs running in a meadow next to the road! They crossed the road not too far ahead of me and ran past my car. I spoke to a ranger the next morning about the location of the sighting and he told me that is was grizzly 399. She is 21 years old and they didn’t expect her to have cubs again this year, but were very surprised when she emerged with the two babies.

The next day, Yellowstone was closed due to a snow storm, so I spent the entire day exploring Grand Teton. I was on a mission to find a moose, which I had never seen before. I spoke to a ranger and other park visitors to get tips on where I may find one. After stalking multiple water sources for hours I finally found one eating next to the river along Gros Ventre Road.

Yellowstone National Park

I wasn’t able to explore Yellowstone National Park as much as I had hoped due to snow. Some roads in the park still hadn’t been cleared from the winter. It snowed so much on the day I was in the park that the south entrance into the park was closed the next day so I couldn’t get in. However, I was able to make it to the most famous landmark in Yellowstone – Old Faithful. It erupted about 5 minutes past their predicted time. I believe visiting while snow was still on the ground made this steamy landscape even more interesting.

I only explored the West side of the park, but I saw lots of bison and elk along this route, as well as beautiful landscapes of mountains, waterfalls and geysers. On my next visit to Yellowstone I will probably use Montana as my base instead of Wyoming so I have more time to explore.

In July 2016 I traveled to the Sabah state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. I had wanted to visit Borneo for many years to see the unique wildlife and plants in person. Borneo is the only place in the world where the unusual looking proboscis monkeys live. And Borneo is one of two islands (the other being Sumatra next to Borneo) where orangutans exist. However, it is very rare to see an orangutan in the wild as they are critically endangered due to their natural habitat being destroyed to make way for palm plantations to feed the world’s demand for palm oil.

Kinabatangan River

The highlight of my trip was staying in a small village called Bilit Village next to the Kinabatangan River. Most people stay in lodges along the river. I had no accommodation plans prior to my arrival in Borneo, which worked out to my advantage in creating a much more unique and adventurous experience. I met another traveler along the way who suggested a homestay with a family in Bilit Village. She gave my travel mate, Laura, and I his email address and luckily we heard back the same night.

Whether staying at the lodge or in a homestay next to the Kinabatangan River, you go on multiple river cruises to observe the wildlife and usually at least one jungle trek.

Along the river, we saw lots of proboscis monkeys, long tailed macaques, hornbills, storks and kingfishers. We saw one  silver leaf monkey from a distance and had hoped to see some pygmy elephants and orangutans in this area.

A herd of elephants had just moved through so we didn’t get to see them, but we did hear one on a hike and there was evidence of their recent visit along the river banks. It is quite dangerous to be out hiking when elephants are near, as they will charge. When we heard the elephant our guide and host became very alarmed and asked that we not make any noise as we rush back to the boat.

Marino said one orangutan had been spotted in the area in March, but it is very rare to see them in the wild.

Staying with a family added to the experience greatly. We had a much more personalized tour of the area since our host, Marino, would take us out on his boat and hiking. We spent much more time on the river than the packed boats from the lodges.

We also were invited to join them at a family wedding, which was quite unexpected. In order to attend, we had to dress in their traditional clothing, so Marino’s wife provided us with some clothes. However, they did not make us wear the hijab that nearly all women wear in the Malaysia.

At the wedding, Laura and I were quite a sight for the people attending. Apparently most of them have not had many close encounters with westerners. I didn’t get this feeling in the cities of Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan, but these were all people from very small villages. We were asked to take pictures with nearly everyone at the wedding. It was quite fun for them and became a little exhausting for me after a few hours. But looking back, I am so glad I was able to do this.

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre

Since we weren’t able to see any orangutans in the wild, we visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre near Sandakan. They have feeding times twice a day at feeding platforms for the rehabilitated orangutans that live there, so you are guaranteed to see an orangutan.

They also have nurseries for younger orangutans that aren’t yet allowed to roam free. It was quite fun to watch them playing on their jungle gym.

Sandakan

Sandakan is the closest city to the Kinabatangan River. We flew here from Kota Kinabalu. The city itself doesn’t offer much to do.

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu (KK) is the capital city of the Sabah state of Malaysia and was my starting and ending point for the trip. I actually came on this trip solo, but met another solo traveler (Laura) on my first day at my hostel and we decided to travel together. Laura is from North Ireland, but has been living in China for the last two years teaching English.We had an amazing time together exploring Borneo, comparing notes to other places we’ve traveled, and comparing our own countries’ cultures.

The city of Kota Kinabalu can be explored easily in one day. I think the highlight of the city was exploring the fish market, where you could pick out your fish and they would make it for you right there as you wait at a nearby table. We tried a variety of things, but the parrot fish stood out. I have never seen that on a menu and I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to eat it again.

On our last night we found an amazing European restaurant called Chilli Vanilla that had an amazing atmosphere, wine (not on the menu at most places here), and great food.

Gaya Road is a popular area with lots of restaurants and hostels nearby to choose from.

Things to do outside of Kota Kinabalu

Mt. Kinabalu

One day we caught a mini bus to Mt. Kinabalu Park to do some hiking. I knew this was an area to see pitcher plants (carnivorous plants), so finding one was my objective for the day. However, when we arrived at the park and consulted with the information desk, they said the only place to see one was in their botanical garden. If you actually climb the mountain, you are more likely to see them while hiking.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Islands

There is a group of five islands right off the shore of KK. You can catch a boat at the jetty to one or multiple islands for the day. The boat ride only takes about 30 minutes. One day we visited Manukan Island and another day we visited Sapi Island. There should be coral living off the beach and lots of tropical fish, but they have been too overrun with tourists and the coral has been destroyed. The water is clear and warm and the sand white, but there is just too much trash and destruction to the habitat to truly enjoy. They are also packed with so many people that its hard to feel like you are visiting a tropical island.

I snorkeled at Manukan Island, but there was nothing to see (no coral or fish). On Sapi Island we just chilled on the beach. I wouldn’t recommend going to these islands unless you have nothing better to do.

River Cruise

There are tons of tours to choose from in KK. My first day in Borneo I took a river cruise that highlighted viewing proboscis monkeys from the boat. This was one of my main reasons for coming here, so I was very excited. Unfortunately we did not see a single proboscis monkey on this river cruise. It kind of felt like a tourist trap type of tour, but we made the most of it. We saw some other monkeys, fiddler crabs, mudskipper fish, enjoyed dinner on the beach and the finale was a night river cruise to see fireflies.

The fireflies were pretty amazing as there would be groups of them covering an entire tree and they would all light up at once. They were flying all around us too and I was able to handle one crawling on the hand. They were very tiny compared to the lightning bugs we have in the U.S.

Goodbye Borneo! I had an amazing time!

On my way back from Borneo, I had a layover in Singapore. I got to explore the city at night. After being in Malaysia for two weeks, it felt like I had entered Disneyland when I finally got to Singapore. It is very clean and modern, with shopping malls and western chains on every corner. On the train, which I used to get around town from the airport and my hotel, everyone is speaking English to each other since the residents of Singapore are so diverse.

I only stayed one night and headed back to the airport in the morning, which is just as interesting as the city. The airport has a rooftop pool, several outdoor gardens, a movie theater and interesting art installations.

As I waited in line to go back through customs, I looked down and noticed the below note on my form. The laws here are rather extreme, such as death for drug offenses and a strictly enforced ban on chewing gum. I am glad I got to see Singapore, but I think a quick layover of several hours is all that is needed. I was ready to get out of here before inadvertently breaking the law.

May 14, 2016 – It has finally reached +100 degrees in Phoenix, so some friends and I decided to get out of town for the weekend and do some camping in a cooler part of Arizona. We drove up to Woods Canyon Lake, which is only 2 hours from Phoenix and about 30 miles outside of Payson, situated on the Mogollon Rim.

This was a first time camping experience for Rachel and Marina, but they were up for the challenge (although we may have overpacked a bit for one night of camping…LOL). Luckily Marina volunteered to drive us. I don’t think we could have fit the four of us and all our gear in the MINI.

It is still early in the camping season, so we didn’t reserve a spot at the Aspen campground, but it can book up pretty quickly in the summer months. We arrived around 11:00 am Saturday morning and the very friendly campground hosts assigned us a spot after paying for the site ($20).


After setting up the tents and gathering firewood (thanks Vanessa!), we walked down to the lake to check things out. On the way to the lake, we saw a group of Albert’s squirrels playing on the rocks and trees near the campsite. I had seen pictures of these cute little guys with the tufted ears, but never in person.

There is a little store that sells supplies and rents boats right next to the lake. Here we got some details about the 5 1/2 mile hike around the lake and asked about bald eagle sightings. We were in luck because there was currently a bald eagles nest right next to the lake being watched 24/7 by the Fish and Wildlife Service. They have a scope set up for visitors to stop and observe the eagles.

The hike around the lake is beautiful and takes 2-3 hours. We definitely stopped to have some fun along the way.  The hike is a nice combination of pine woods and lake front. We encountered a few downed trees along the trail, which just make the hike a little more exciting.

Apparently we were having a little too much fun on the hike and missed the bald eagle nest lookout on the first day, so we decided to come back tomorrow. We headed back to the campsite to start a fire and cook dinner. Chef Rachel had prepared some foil packs with chicken breast, squash and zucchini. She also served as fire master and it turns out she was pretty good at it. Not bad for a first time camper!

May 15, 2016 – We woke up early the next morning and headed back to the lake after breakfast to look for the bald eagles nest. It’s not too far from the starting point so we didn’t have to hike the whole thing again. The nest watcher was a girl named Danielle who recently finished her degree in biology and she is working in the field to gain experience for graduate school. She and some other watchers alternate shifts watching the nest.

She shared some pretty interesting facts about bald eagles. They mate for life, although they may have a couple of mates during their life due to age differences in partners. Both the mother and father take care of the babies and will alternate incubating the eggs and sitting on the chick in the first few weeks of its life. The nest we observed had one chick that was about 5 weeks old. Another chick had just disappeared (probably attacked by another type of eagle) the previous day.  During the first few weeks of a chicks life, at least one parent is always in the nest. As they grow older, the parents will spend more time away from the nest (but always close). They learn to fly at around 2-3 months old. 

The chick we observed will be part of a tracking program and is going to be banded by the Fish and Wildlife Service in the next couple of weeks. In order to do that, they must climb up the tree, remove the chick from its nest, take it to the bottom of the tree, band it and do a quick medical exam before climbing up the tree again to return it to the nest.

We had an amazing time camping and hiking at Woods Canyon Lake and I’m sure I will be returning here soon.

April 2, 2016

Earlier this month I drove out to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which is about 2.5 hours from Phoenix. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is the only place in the U.S. where the organ pipe cactus naturally grows. In 2002 a park ranger was killed by  drug smugglers in the park and it was closed to the public for 11 years. It just reopened in 2014.

To get there you travel through Gila Bend, Ajo and Why. I would suggest getting a bite to eat in Gila Bend, as the towns of Ajo and Why are extremely small and very limited food options. I had to get a gas station sandwich for lunch (yuck!) because I waited until getting to Why before remembering I still needed to eat lunch.

The entrance to the park is not far from Why. There isn’t a turnoff into the park, it is just located along the highway which leads to a border crossing into Mexico.

I brought Coco and Gigi along for the ride too. We stopped at the visitor’s center first, where they pointed me to a short trail near the center that dog’s were allowed on so we went for a walk.

The park is very rustic and the roads are all gravel and dirt. I drove the Ajo Mountain Drive loop, which took a couple of hours.

 

 

I expected to see more organ pipe cacti throughout the area, but there weren’t as many as I expected. Even so, there were some interesting sights along the way.

 

 

 

March 26, 2016

The beginning of this year has been pretty busy, so I haven’t much opportunity to travel yet. But I have made it out of Phoenix to some cool places right here in AZ. In March I visited the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, which is near Superior, AZ. March is a great time to visit because its not too hot yet and the plants are in bloom.

Another great thing about this park is they allow dogs, so Coco and  Gigi were able to go on a little adventure.

The arboretum has a 1.5 mile main loop around and some side trails. There are different nature areas throughout the loop such as a cactus garden, palm and eucalyptus groves, an Australian exhibit, South American exhibit, aloe garden and an herb garden. The variety makes the walk a little more interesting. Coco, Gigi and I had a great time!

January 1, 2016

After being cooped up in the house with a cold for over a week, I decided it was time to get out and get some fresh air. What better day of the year than New Year’s Day. I am not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I have set some intentions for myself in the coming year. One of those is to see more of the state of Arizona. There are so many interesting sites and landscapes here that I don’t think I will ever run out of places to visit. One of the places that has been on my list for a while is Montezuma Castle National Monument, which was only an hour and a half from my house.

Montezuma Castle National Monument is comprised of some cliff dwellings built by the Sinagua people around 1100 AD. The main structure, Montezuma Castle, is a 5 story dwelling recessed in a cliff. Visitors aren’t allowed to enter, but it is still quite extraordinary to view from below.

Seeing and hearing two red-tailed hawks circling above the dwelling added to the experience. They were quite vocal, making the screeching noises you often hear in old Western movies.

After leaving the main structure, I drove a few miles down the road to Montezuma Well, which the Sinagua used to irrigate their crops. More dwellings exist around the giant reservoir.

But don’t go swimming in the water – it’s full of leeches!

More Arizona adventures to come in 2016!

November 12, 2015 – After leaving Valparaiso we drove to Santa Cruz in the Colchagua Valley wine country. We once again got lost trying to find the place due to a lack of road signs. However, we did see some interesting sights along the road.

We stayed at the Hostal Cruz del Valle in Santa Cruz, a very cute little place tucked into a neighborhood within walking distance of the town center. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to do in the town.

Earlier in the day when we were lost, we stopped at a restaurant along the road the ask for directions. The server that helped us was so nice we decided to go back for dinner that night. It was an amazing experience in part due to our in depth conversations with the chef/owner and our server. We had an amazing time talking with them and food and wine recommendations were amazing.

The next day we headed back to Santiago. There road to Santiago was surrounded by vineyards on both sides and the Andes mountains.

November 10-11, 2015 – After leaving the town of Pomaire we drove to Valparaiso. Valparaiso is a very hilly and curvy city very similar to San Francisco. The drive to the city was very beautiful.

Travel tip: If you can avoid renting a car in a foreign country, DO IT! If not, then make sure you get a GPS. Even though we had printed directions before leaving, many street signs were missing or we were directed to go the wrong way on one-way streets. Having a rental car was the most stressful part of the trip. In the future I will stick to local transportation to get me between destinations.

After finally locating our B&B in Valparaiso we were able to relax. We used AirBnB to book our stay here and it was a great experience. Our hosts, Diego and his wife, had renovated a beautiful home in the Cerro Conception neighborhood and turned it into a B&B. The house sits atop a hill in the city and had spectacular views from the rooftop patio.

After settling into our new digs, our host Diego walked us to a great restaurant he recommended call Fauna. The food was excellent and the view was amazing.

After leaving the restaurant we walked around the neighborhood, which included some great street art.

Breakfast at the B&B was excellent, in a very cute Art Deco room.

The next day we explored the city a little more before heading out of town. The most unique experience in the city are the ascensions, which are elevators that give rides up the steep hills built in the 1800’s.

Other sites in Valparaiso – more stray dogs (so sad), beautiful architecture, and David shopping for shoelaces on the street.