Today everyone will be saying, “I can’t believe it is March”. Whereas I’ll be wondering if there isn’t another Olympic event I could be watching right now!
I loved the Olympics!! Two and a half weeks in February with Olympic events to watch, thanks to the extensive TV coverage. So many events, some new to me, such as the ski mountaineering! Wow! It’ll be interesting to see if that activity continues in future winter Olympics. Then there were moments I would turn on the tv and see a curling event. How many curling events are there!?!
My sketch of the Olympic rings in this post is a reminder of the meaning of the interlocking rings: the event is to unify the world. I think it did.
I hope you had an opportunity to watch the winter Olympics. Amazing athletes in a variety of sports and our chance to view them on television for a couple of weeks. I’m going to miss it …
But wait… the Paralympics are happening in Milan and Cortina, Italy now! I can still watch more events! More amazing athletes …
Then I will look forward to the summer Olympics, actually held in October 2026 in Dakar, Senegal and in 4 years the summer and winter Olympics and Paralympics again! Also mid- month it is tennis time for BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, CA! Hoping the tv coverage is good. I love watching sports!
Travel involves so much energy that at the end of the day I never seem to accomplish all I wish. Sketching happened to be one of the activities not done while on the road during this last trip. However, after each trip or major event, I like to sketch in my “events book”. So I did that for this trip. Plus I loved the look of the “boina” or “Gaucho hat” on the guys; I’ll sketch them too! At Rapa Nui, we had our trip guide and a local guide, so they are included in my sketch book too. Not the best sketches, but a way to keep memories and a final look at my Argentina and Chile trip. Now to travel on in 2026!
The one thing I know for sure, at this moment, is the only “Old 7 Wonders” wonder that still exists 4,000 years later is the Great Pyramid of Giza. Then I tried to make sense of the other “wonder” lists. I also wondered how many of the places I had actually visited in my lifetime! Why not make that a good reason for my going down this rabbit hole!
Apparently CNN’s “7 Wonders of Nature” includes the following:
Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, Mount Everest, Northern Lights, Parícutin Volcano and Victoria Falls.
Not bad, I have seen 4 of 7.
Now there is a “New 7 Wonders of Nature” list which includes:
Iguazú Falls, Amazon rainforest, Halong Bay, Jeju Island (South Korea), Komodo Island (Indonesia), Puerto Princesa Underground River (Philippines) and Table Mountain (South Africa).
Not so good on my end, only 2 of 7.
AND there is also “New 7 Wonders of the World”. The old list was focused on the Mediterranean and only has the Great Pyramid of Giza existing. This list now includes more of the world:
Roman Colosseum (Italy), Great Wall of China (China), Taj Mahal (India), Christ the Redeemer (Brazil), Machu Picchu (Peru), Chichén Itzá (Mexico) and Petra (Jordan).
Not so good on my end, 3 of 7.
In my lifetime quest to see the world, I need to keep at it! How are you doing in seeing these “wonders of nature” and the “wonders of the world”? Hopefully better than me! Let’s get going!! My good news; I have visited 6 of 7 continents! Travel on!
Mount Everest; Himalayan Mountains, Nepal
Grand Canyon with Colorado River seen from South Rim
The mountain-lover in me was thrilled to see these mountains Torres del Paine National Park with its 3 granite peaks, “blue towers”, was fantastic! So many travelers do not see the towers because clouds stop their view. All of our days at the national parks we skirted away from rain and were so fortunate. The wind however was another story!
Torres del Paine National Park
I remember Patagonia with wind. While hiking on 3 different trails, we experienced many levels of wind in our face and at our back, pushing us every which way at times. One day we had a hike and it was beautiful scenery with wind. The next day we had a hike to Salto Grande, a glacier-blue green waterfall, and we had less wind, but still wind.
Another hike we saw Grey Glacier and the wind was a monster!! We hiked down to the beach, yes with wind. Hiked across the beach with wind at our back and pushing me sideways at times. A fellow traveler grabbed me at one moment while I was going sideways. We then hiked a rocky trail to its end. Now to hike back, the beach part was the worst! Forty-one mph winds slamming our body! Even when without those gusts, the wind was constant and at us. My body was warm and air temperature was okay, but the wind made it cooler. It was then I doubled up on my hat as the wind made the air colder on my head. My mountain windbreaker jacket was perfect and we got nice, varied views of the glacier. Between the 2 days with 3 hikes, I think we did about 12 miles total. As I sit and write this, the wind is still blowing and I think it gets stronger as the day goes on.
Grey Glacier in the distance. Guide measured 41 mph wind speed.
Torres del Paine National Park was established in 1959 and is an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. We did see guanacos and on our way to the park we saw Andean condors. We stayed at Grey Hotel which has comfortable rooms, nice dining area, bar and small gift shop. WiFi is at the reception area and not consistent in rooms. But rooms do have nice hot showers!
There are hikes and the “W” and “O” were most talked about as they are multi-day hikes to huts or tenting along the way. The “O” circuit was the trail where people lost their lives. They were in backcountry and were hit with sudden snow storm and winds at 70mph at least from what I understand. It was hard enough on a good weather day for me to maneuver in 40 mph wind. I cannot imagine how disorienting it would be with higher winds and snow!
I saw a beautiful bird here. It was within an arm’s length of me.
Magellanic woodpecker
I am so happy to have finally visited this national park. We had flown from Puerto Varas to Punta Arenas and drove hours to get here, but worth it! Why have I not thought ahead and continued this trip to Antarctica? I guess it will be Mendoza, Argentina, Atacama Desert in Chile and onto Antarctica the next time I head to South America. Although a fellow traveler told be of a place to visit in Bolivia … wow! So many places to experience and people to interact with as I learn about their culture.
Next we drive from Chile to Argentina across the Patagonian steppe. I am visiting El Calafate, Argentina again. I wonder how it has changed since I was last there in 2013? Will write again in a couple of days.
I love mountains!
Update: I just heard 2 of three trails our group hiked have been closed by the national park because winds are over 60 mph. We truly are weather-fortunate!!
Two hour flight from Buenos Aires to Bariloche, Argentina was informative as my plane neighbor was arriving in the area for a 3 day, 18 mile per day run or walk, and camp each night competition. He has been training for the past year; very excited to participate in the upcoming activity! And don’t you know, a few days later when we drove to Puerto Varas, Chile we see the runners. I knew exactly what they were up to!
Bariloche I loved! It is the “Gateway to Patagonia” or the “Gateway to the Lake District” and the “Heart of the National Park”. The national park has grown around this town… all of it beautiful! It reminds me of Park City, Utah, USA with the mountains, a walkable downtown with outdoor clothing and gear shops, restaurants and breweries. The architecture though reminds me of Swiss chalets and some refer to the town as the “Switzerland of South America”. True to what I remember of my 2013 trip in Patagonia, the wind is always blowing. Locals refer to little wind as no wind. I walked the lakeshore and did see a variety of birds!
Nahuel Huapi National Park is the oldest national park in Argentina, established in 1922 and reconfigured in 1934. Our guide mentioned Teddy Roosevelt encouraged people in Argentina to protect this land. Glad they did!
Bariloche on a huge lake and mountain scenery
We met with a Mapuche tribe member. Their love of the land and nature surely reminds me of many native tribes around the world. Unfortunately too are the atrocities they persevered. His message: dependent on the political system in power, then determined if they were considered human or not. Only then could some constitutional changes be made. Their fight continues; however, they also believe all native tribes are keeping the rest of the world in balance.
Mapuche tribal member and our guide translating.
Our local guide provided a demonstration of their drinking Yerba mate. The cup with metal straw in the mate and hot, not boiling water, was a refresher for me. I wondered if I had kept my cup from my past trip. What’s also fascinating is the Argentinians easily pass it from one person to another to drink the tea. Americans could never imagine sharing a drink from one cup with another person; I’m sure!
Yerba mate to drink
What fun! We had a horseback trail ride. Thankfully my horse knew where it was to go as I watched 2 European hare run off in the distance. This activity was part of a home visit. Our “home host” family was originally from Germany in 1850 and ranched 1000’s of acres of land. They were very generous with their time as we rode the horses, asked many questions about their life, and enjoyed a BBQ of lamb, beef and sausage… and delicious German-style potato salad!
Our home host wearing a “boina”
Another activity, another day, was a hike through a forested area to a viewpoint. It was wonderful to stretch our legs each day we stayed in this area. We saw a very expensive hotel as we looked down from the top of a hill. On another mountainside we took a chairlift up and down. Everywhere one looked, it was beautiful and the weather truly cooperated for us!
Simply beautiful!
We spend a good amount of time in Bariloche to enjoy meals… I did try wild boar which was tender meat, … chocolate and craft beer. We also had a speaker tell us about the Nazi war criminals caught decades later in Argentina. One was caught at the speaker’s school when she was just a young teacher. It was interesting to see the magazine and newspaper headlines as she told us the facts.
There are many universities in Bariloche. Universities provide free education for all. Brazilians come here to see the snow in winter. Argentinians go to Brazil for their beaches. Many Chilean school groups were visiting now on their summer vacation. Don’t come mid-May to mid-June as that is the rainy season. Also, look both ways when crossing the road, make eye contact with driver, as they don’t slow down otherwise!
Some of my fellow travelers floated the Limay River. I did not. My time was instead walking along the lakeshore. Many yellow-billed teal, 2 ashy-headed geese and a Patagonian tyrant were now new birds to my life list. How wonderful to also see some birds again: chimango caracara, neotropic cormorant, and black-faced ibis.
I’ll write again in a few days as we travel by land from Bariloche, Argentina over the Andes Mountains to Puerto Varas, Chile.
Travel continued; my upcoming days uneventful, thankfully. I enjoyed a night at a Harvest Host location. Alpacas are the most calming animals, so I spent time chatting with them upon my arrival. Then had a good night sleep at this location.
Informative sign.
Weather reports were for snow where I would travel through a mountain pass in a few hours in New Mexico into Colorado. I hadn’t packed my ice scraper on this trip since I was leaving weeks later than past years. Off to an auto store and luckily they had one long-handled scraper and brush. Better to have one and not need it, then to think a credit card could scrape my huge van windshield!
I drove through snow. Despite reports of low visibility, I got through the mountain pass fine. About 5 inches of snow had fallen as I drove through. The next morning I did have ice on my windshield. Fortunately I parked my van so solar energy could melt the ice by the time I ate breakfast, took a walk at the campground … observed killdeer and other birds, like a beautiful western meadowlark, at this site!
I love mountains. Seeing snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains was wonderful! So fitting also as I was listening to an audiobook: Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman, MD. It brought back my memories of travel in Tibet, China and trekking in Nepal to Everest Base Camp so many decades ago. (If you follow mountaineering expeditions, this is a good book to read.)
Snow… but it is melting, yeah!
I stopped at Fountain Creek Regional Park to take a driving break. I walked some of the trails; no snow here! This park and nearby nature center needs to be a future stop. There are plenty of trails and a nature center to visit. Another Harvest Host location for the night. Enjoyed dinner with a beer and talking with fellow travelers from Wisconsin. Great conversation! Now to enjoy 3 days and hopefully bicycle ride. If not, then to at least hike and take a break from driving!
Trail by playground and Ramadas.
Trail by creek and many trails from here. A beaver came up here from the creek?
It was a 7.5 hour bus drive, with some stops along the way, to Queenstown after our disembarking the Milford Mariner ship on the Milford Sound earlier in the day. I especially enjoyed the scenery of South Island where we drove along the shoreline of Lake Wakatipu and looked upon the mountain range, “The Remarkables”. They are snow-capped peaks, providing a final couple of days of skiing for the downhill-skiing enthusiasts. Queenstown, “adventure capital of the world”, attracts skiers, whitewater rafters and thrill seekers. Other activities: walking through gardens, bicycling through alpine forests, relaxing in hot pools, a 4-wheel drive up Skippers Canyon, zip-lining, jet-boating on the Dart River or bungee jumping, to mention a few activities.
The Remarkables … final days of skiing!
I walked so many miles in this town. When I discovered I was out of town and walked various local roads to return to the lakeshore, I finally criss-crossed the Queenstown Trail; I walked that lovely trail back to town! At the lake’s shoreline, I saw some Great crested grebes, new birds for me, and spent time in the Queenstown Gardens and city center. Plenty of touristy shops in this town. I enjoyed lunch at an Irish pub, then walked out of town in the opposite direction. Finally, time to head back to our hotel which was an uphill hike.
Great crested grebe
Others in our group enjoyed a gondola ride, some were on the Dart River jet-boating in the fog and rain. Apparently, the Dart River people got a refund as the trip was not done to completion, yet they did get the jet-boat spins in! Cool!
One could not help but notice the amount of clear-cutting of trees in New Zealand. Trees are grown for a period of time, then logged and exported to China. New seedlings are planted and and process continues. The area near the gondola was clear-cut for obvious reasons, but I am unsure as to why a greater swath is being considered behind housing. I hope my information is wrong.
Gondola and clear-cut area
We had a couple of opportunities to walk through California redwood tree forests on North and South Islands. Why are the trees in New Zealand? The expectation was with the climate, rainfall and rich, volcanic soil in New Zealand, redwoods would enhance the landscape and provide timber. Unfortunately, the trees grow so fast their wood is pithy … as described by our NZ guide. Then the thought was to cut them all down. However, a good idea emerged to keep the redwoods and create recreational areas for hiking and mountain biking …. and tree walks and tree-canopy zip-lining! Great ideas!
A walk in a redwood forest; thank you to whoever in our group took this photo.
It’s a long drive from Alice Springs to Yulara in the Northern Territory of Australia where we stayed for 2 nights. Our breaks during the drive were at Stuart Wells Roadhouse, then Erlinda Roadhouse and most interesting a cattle station in Curtin Springs. The family has more than a million acres of land and Mt Conner is the giant mesa you see in the photo below. Mt Conner is one of the 3 huge rocks in this national park and it is composed of carmichael sandstone. We did not visit any closer to this mesa.
Mt Conner is the mesa
The next day, we had an hour-long drive to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Here we saw Uluru … you may remember I mentioned reading the book, Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback, in the mid-1980s, and wanting to see this monolith Uluru. It was called Ayers Rock by early European settlers, but the Anangu indigenous people, its spiritual caretakers, call it Uluru.
We took a couple of short walks as we drove around Uluru which is composed of arkose, a course grained sandstone rich in feldspar. One walk was at a waterhole, a great meditative place when no one else is around… not happening for me on this day, but a beautiful place otherwise! It’s also important to mention, various areas at the rock are closed to the public when the Anangu hold their traditional practices. This is their sacred rock and land and was handed back to them in 1985. Australians to this day as trying to unfold the history of this country. Committees and companies work with the aboriginal people to be more accurate with the history and understanding the need to recognize those people who came before the Europeans. Much more could be said; however, that in itself will prompt much discussion … another day.
Kapi Mutitjulu (Home of the Water Snake)
Another hike took us to the “kitchen” or otherwise the women’s area
The “kitchen” is huge and notice the rock’s texture here.
Then we hiked to a gorge with very high walls:
Kantju Gorge
Our goal was enjoy Uluru as the sunset; however, it was a light rain and cloudy. So we huddled under a bough (ramada with thatched roof) to have snacks and drinks. Here is Uluru:
Uluru at sunset; but there was no sun.
Next morning we were up and on our way at 5AM to see Uluru at sunrise. Now it is pouring rain, but we went anyway. Had coffee and biscuits, under a bough, and waited for the sun to rise. The water was pouring down the sides of the rock.
Uluru in the rain at sunrise. Bough at the right.
Pouring rain on Uluru!
Our guide showed us a photo of Uluru when the weather is sunny … of course that is also what I saw in the book many decades before … here it is:
Uluru on a sunny day; photo by Mark while on another tour
We returned to the hotel for breakfast; an hour later off for a hike at the third mountain in the national park: Kata Tjuṯa. This mountain has many large domes or “heads”, 36 of these formations I was told. As we walked the Walpa Gorge Walk you cannot help but notice the conglomerates in this rock: granite and basalt pebbles and cobbles held together with sand and mud. This walk was very wet, the rain was pouring. The wind almost blew a couple of people sideways and yet we kept walking! Water was flowing all over. Another woman referred to a swollen stream as a waterfall … not sure I agreed with that assessment, but everywhere you stepped it was wet!
Notice the size of just 2 of the domes in relation to the people in the photo!
Decided not to walk to the edge as everything was watery, slippery and wind-blown.
Looking at Kata Tjuta … all the domes together.
I spent the afternoon at lunch, viewing a movie, visiting an art gallery, checking out the small shops and trying to stay dry as it has been pouring rain, thunder and lightning all day. People here are used to rain 5 days out of the year and here we are on one of the days. The good thing was no bug-nets were needed today. Some folks wore them yesterday, but I was not particularly bothered by the flies. As spring weather warms up to summer, there will be more flies. I wished to find an aboriginal artwork, but nothing struck my attention and unfortunately with the rain on this day the women were not outside selling their work. One could buy a piece or 2 for $200 total. Their art with lines, circles and dots is colorful and interesting. At the art gallery I only saw pieces for $780 plus … actually I did see a couple for $360 … again, nothing struck my fancy, so no art from Australia for me. But here is some artwork from aboriginal artists:
As we traveled further north in Tasmania, we left millions of sheep and now there are more Angus beef bulls and dairy cattle in the fields, along with pink and blue trees every so often. Old trees do not decompose quickly since there are no termites in Tasmania; termites are on mainland Australia. Anyway, you might see an old tree painted blue to remind all the importance of mens health or you’ll see some are pink to remind all about breast awareness.
At higher elevations the temperatures are getting colder; 35 degrees Fahrenheit on our arrival. Snow can be seen on the tops of mountains as this is the start of spring here in the state of Tasmania in Australia. The locals have shorts on while the rest of us, “rug up” … meaning we are layered with clothing.
Cradle Mountain National Park is part of Tasmania’s World Heritage area, best known for its national park. Mountains, lakes, and moorlands with many hiking trails all available for exploration. We took 2 short hikes: Enchanted Walk and Pencil Pine Trail. Here are some photos:
Our longer hike was about an hour on Snake Hill Trail. Beautiful mountainside. On these hikes I learned that wombats have cube-shaped scat and wallabies have a more oval scat. I’m hard-pressed to know how it comes out cube-shaped! Here’s proof:
Cube-shaped wombat scat
Wallaby scat
I liked the chicken wire on the boards we walked on. Then we went to Dove Lake with no success in seeing Cradle Mountain.
Out there is Cradle Mountain; however, on another tour, the guide had a beautiful view of it. See below!
Cradle Mountain on a clear day; photo from Mark, our guide, when he was on another tour. How I wished to have seen that beautiful view! Thanks for sharing the photo Mark!
A fall, weekday, school day, midday afternoon is the best time to visit Sabino Canyon Recreation Area! You’ll feel like the park is all yours, and it will be! Times, such as this, I imagine taking a first-time hiker to the park. The person can see saguaro cacti of all sizes, even young ones emerging from below mesquite trees. They can hear bird songs and/or calls with no interrupting noises. Other wildlife may wander past, water may flow over the dam, and we could choose from a variety of 30 miles of hiking trails.
Saguaro cactus on a sunny day in Tucson
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area is in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. As my imagined hiker looks beyond the park, he/she would see the Santa Rita Mountains to the south and the Rincon Mountains to the east. They would hear a cactus wren, a rock wren and curve-billed thrasher and see black-throated sparrows. Often a Gila woodpecker can be calling and flying overhead as would common ravens. Wildflowers may be at their peak or slowly dying off as cool air begins to descend here and on our nearby Sonoran desert. But saguaro cacti stand tall with their gangly-looking “arms”. Some birds make nests in these cacti and Native American people have multiple uses for this plant. The saguaro cacti really do have shallow roots as seen in the photo below:
Shallow roots of a saguaro cactus
Black-throated sparrow
Respect …
Respect for wildlife is important to me. I want the birds, the wildflowers, the insects and animals to find safety in this protected area. Sabino Canyon Recreation Area provides for that with “no pets or camping being allowed”. For photographers, artists, joggers, hikers or cyclists there are times and places we can use the area with respect. Despite a sign at the entrance of where I enter the area, people still do not seem to understand, dogs are not allowed. Thus, park officials erected another sign to make the point clear!
The rules seem clear.
Signage seems clear.
It seems obvious to me why dogs are not allowed. How would this funnel web wolf spider survive if a dog ran through its web? And trampled wildflowers are not what we want to see from dogs running through an area or people hiking off-trail.
Funnel web made by a wolf spider
Respect … our Sabino Canyon Recreation Area has been here many years and finally closed to vehicles since 1978. A shuttle is available within the park. Hard to imagine private vehicles ever being here, especially now with about a million park visitors per year! All the more reason for me to enjoy my quiet time …. now!
Shuttle is available.
Sabino Canyon Recreation Area is here for us to respectfully enjoy!
