We’re very lucky in the state of New York. We have the city down state, beautiful beaches on Long Island, and vast wilderness upstate. Lake George is a large lake that’s 3 miles wide and 32 miles long. The water is pretty clear and clean too. We breathed some of the cleanest air we’ve ever smelled in NY.
Woohoo! Our first trip in 2 years! We decided to stay local and not fly because we weren’t sure how things would turn out when we planned this trip back in Feb 2021. I’ve been curious about Saratoga Springs, NY since forever (maybe 20 years) and early October 2021 was the right time. Saratoga is a quaint, cute, pretty town. It is known as “The Queen of Spas” and the oldest racetrack in America. For a lot of the 19th and 20th centuries, they were known for gambling, horse racing, and health resorts.
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Oaxaca (pronounced wa-HAH-kah) wasn’t even on our travel radar, in fact we really wanted to go hiking in Canada but decided we’ve been putting off visiting friends in Oaxaca long enough. How did we learn of Oaxaca, Mexico? My friends are retired and have been wintering there for the last few years. Not knowing how we’d like the place, we came back home LOVING Oaxaca. This was our first venture into Mexico. It is located in the southwest, bordered by Veracruz to the north, Chiapas to the east, Guerrero to the west, and Puebla to the northwest. It is one of the most indigenous areas of Mexico. We actually visited twice in 2019. The first time was in February to visit friends and the 2nd was because after watching Coco, I wanted to see Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) at the end of October. It’s a place to go if you want to experience the authentic artsy and indigenous side of Mexico. Oaxaca is known for it’s textiles, pottery, indigenous culture, mole sauce, and it’s history. Continue reading
The Bow River begins in the Rocky Mountains flowing through hills, prairies, and eventually running through Calgary, a city in the Canadian Province of Alberta. The river is an important source of water, providing drinking and irrigation. It’s water source is from the Bow Glacier. Continue reading
Grotto Canyon is located about 10-15 minutes from Canmore. We booked the Grotto Canyon Ice Walk with Discover Banff and to our delight, we had Anik as our guide again. The views are amazing while you walk on a frozen creek. You’ll be given cleats or spikes to walk. One of the coolest things about this walk is getting to see Hopi pictographs up-close. Continue reading
This was our fourth trip to Canada in two years. We visited British Columbia twice, Montreal, and now Banff. Little did we realize, our tour we booked with Discover Banff would take us back to BC to snowshoe. So technically, we’ve been to BC three times in two years. The day before we had fresh snow to our delight. Kootenay National Park is located in southeastern British Columbia. It is one of seven parks that form the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. Continue reading
Major Walter Cushing fought with the Filipino-American guerrillas in WWII. I was introduced to him while reading, The Intrepid Guerillas of North Luzon. He kept evading the Japanese by pretending to be a Spanish priest. He was mestizo; half Mexican and half Canadian and could pass for Filipino. His battles against the Japanese were fairly successful but the day came when the Ganaps (pro-Japanese Filipinos) turned him in and gave away his whereabouts. Continue reading
My Dad died this summer and I haven’t really felt up for much so I thought I’d take a break from my Banff, Canada posts and start here. I’ve been feeling better since my trip to California to visit my Aunt and cousins. In fact, my cousin, her kid, and my Aunt spent time with my Dad in NY about a month before he passed. They felt bad for not going to the funeral but we felt it was better to end on the note of their trip. The wake and funeral were very small. Only 2 other relatives live in NYC except my immediate family. Continue reading
“The nitrogen in our DNA, the calcium in our teeth, the iron in our blood, the carbon in our apple pies were made in the interiors of collapsing stars. We are made of starstuff.” – Carl Sagan.
We booked a night photo tour with Dani from Banff Photo Workshops.
Lake Minnewanka is a glacial lake that is 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Banff. Summer is the most popular time of year to enjoy this lake. We had the pleasure of visiting during a mild patch of winter and winter can be harsh but she sure is beautiful. Continue reading
Jebus Mews & Andrea 