While driving from Denmark to Sweden, there was one place that I really wanted to stop at and visit while passing through. This place is on the very itty bitty end of Zealand Island at the edge of the Danish border. Looking across Øresund Sound is Sweden and after a very short boat ride, you are on Swedish soil. This place is Kronborg Castle, of course, located in the town of Helsingør.
We’ve been really enjoying our walks at the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, but decided to wander over to the other side of the Hudson River this week. We decided upon the Hand Hollow Conservation Area; a large conservation area with ponds, trails, and a lake. In the title I say “a glimpse” because our hike was cut short by the very strong and cold wind on the day of our visit. It was just not conducive to a small child. No worries! We shall return!
We planned our trip through Utah by stopping at all the “little green” areas that we saw on Google maps while we made our way from Canyonlands National Park down to the Grand Canyon. We pulled up to a small state park off of Utah Route 316 looking for a place to camp, not really knowing what was before us. Serendipity brought us to one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my life; the mighty San Juan River at Goosenecks State Park.
I love walking in the woods in the fall. There’s something about the smell of leaves in crisp, cool air that revitalizes my senses. We visited the Stewart Preserve on a nice fall day. Though the sun was mostly hidden behind clouds, when it did decide to peek out, the forest glowed. We will definitely be returning to this beautiful place in the early spring to see what else it has to offer.
Our little weekend adventures to the various preserves in our area have been one of the most wonderful things that we have started doing since our son was born. Our initial intent was to get our son out of the city and into the woods. Now, I see that it’s not just about getting him outside, but it’s for ourselves as well. It keeps things in perspective to get out of the daily chaos into a quieter place. This allows us to focus on the little things that matter, like the changing of the colors of the leaves, or the sound of a raven in the distance.
With that in mind, we visited the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy’s Winifred Matthews Holt Preserve in New Scotland, in upstate New York. It is my favorite Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy preserve to date, and that’s saying a lot.
We decided to try a short little hike in the Catskills that we found using our AllTrails app that promised a waterfall along Kiskatom Brook, and stumbled onto a large network of trails created and maintained by the Round Top Mountain Bike Association (R.T.M.B.A.). The R.T.M.B.A. is working on providing riders with more mountain trails, and connecting local businesses in the process.
We found this little walk along the Lower Waterfall Trail and Ale Trail to be a lot of fun. With so many interconnecting trails, you really have a lot of flexibility when choosing your path. For such a short walk, the waterfall was totally worth it. However, now knowing that the trails were created for mountain bikes, next time I return it will be with a bike.
To be honest, I had never heard of Dunn’s River Falls prior to our Jamaica trip. But when I heard about the number one tourist destination that was even featured in a James Bond film, I did my homework (watched Dr. No) and decided that it was worth a visit.
Continuing our day trip hiking adventures, we visited the Bennett Hill Preserve in upstate New York on a gorgeous crisp fall day. The leaves were just starting to change for autumn, gently padding the path, and the sun was shining brightly. It was a perfect day.
Nestled in the bustling harbor of Baltimore, lies the National Aquarium. In a city known mostly for its crime and violence à la HBO’s The Wire, this place is truly a pearl, showing visitors the other side of Baltimore.
Driving from Stockholm to Fulufjället National Park in Sweden, we were looking for a place en route to go horseback riding and grab some hiking supplies. Leksand is about three hours from Stockholm and two a half hours from Fulufjället National Park, and was pretty much the perfect place to stop along the way. We did end up horseback riding at gathered up some supplies for our upcoming hike, which included the delicious Leksandsbröd, a Swedish crisp bread that is fit for Elves!