Kim and I visited Paris for the first time last September.  We took a LOT of photos, about 1000, and I eventually pared them down to this set.  We explored the City of Light for two weeks, from September 21st through October 4th, and enjoyed really nice weather on most days, and even the day and a half when it rained a bit, it was still amazing.  We stayed in the Latin Quarter at a nice hotel, and either walked or rode the Metro to many areas of the city including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, The Arc De Triomphe, Opera De Bastille (to see a performance of Don Giovanni, by Mozart) plus many parks throughout the city.  And one day, we caught the RER (train) out to the Palace of Versailles.

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Jardin Du Luxmumbourg

A busy day on the waterfront in Seattle. View of Elliott Bay, with Glacier Peak visible through the skyline, from West Seattle a couple days ago when Kim and I were taking an urban hike from Lincoln Park to Alki and back.

At the tail end of our week in Santa Fe in early September, Kim and I drove to Albuquerque and hiked the epic trail from the lower goldola parking lot to the top of Sandia Peak.  Our route hiking about a mile, mostly laterally, to join the main summit trail, and then after many scenic hours and a few thousand feet of climbing, deviating to the left to reach the actual peak.   At the “snack shack” at the summit, we purchased a couple quarts of Gatorade to enjoy out on the deck which was perched thousands of feet above the city.  Another couple miles generally downhill and through the woods along the limestone cliffs, we reached the upper tram terminal.

By the time we bought our tickets to take the tram down, we’d ascended close to 4500′ and traversed about 10.5 miles.  Spectacular views all day, perfect weather, and end-of-season hiking legs made for a memorable hike.  And a fun and easy 10-minute ride down to our car.

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Kim comtemplating the trail to Sandia Peak

While visiting Santa Fe a couple weeks ago, Kim and I drove to nearby St. John’s College, loaded up our gear (mostly water!), and hiked up the 3 3/4 mile trail to top of Atalyala Mountain (about 9140′ elevation).  The early sections winding along sandy, dry creek bottoms provided habitat for wildflowers, and a bit higher, some cottontail rabbits and a mule deer provided wildlife entertainment.  Rock overhangs at the summit afforded a great picnic location with spectacular views over Santa Fe and the high desert plateau.  The brickwork/facade we came across on the descent was an oddity probably resulting from a flash flood some time ago.

Kim looking towards St. John’s College and Santa Fe.  Click photo to view archive.

With the girls in college and busy with summer jobs at home for the summer, Kim and I had a first-ever opportunity to vacation after Labor Day since the girls could take care of the corgis while we were away.  For most of this trip, we explored two of Alberta’s beautiful national parks, Jasper National Park and Banff National Park.  In Jasper, we tented it at Wapiti Campground just a couple miles from Jasper and tried out our new, smaller tent from REI, and in Banff, we rendezvoused with my younger brother Ross and his wife Gale for a two-night stay at a nice resort above the town.  We left Banff together and drove to Ross and Gale’s place in Red Deer, Alberta where our parents have been staying for a couple months in their RV.  After the stopover, Kim and I headed south and back into the US to camp for two nights at Apgar in Glacier National Park.

Highlights in Jasper included a hike up Sulpher Mountain (starting from Miette Hot Springs) where we watched a large black bear from the hot springs before hitting the trail.  The view from the summit was extraordinary, with a 360-degree view which went for fifty to a hundred miles in one direction.  And at the end of the hike, we encountered a modest herd of big horn sheep cutting through the parking lot!

On the way to Banff, we took a detour to explore Lake Louise, a beautiful glacier blue-green lake with a backdrop of high mountains and a glacier covering the rocky ridgline between peaks high above the far end of the lake.  And when we got to our resort, Ross and Gale greeted us with a home barbequed steak dinner!

In Glacier National Park, we hiked up and down from Logan Pass into Hidden Lake with a solitary picnic along the shoreline.  When we returned to our car 500 meters down the road from the previously full parking lot at Logan Pass, we walked out on the windswept view platform where you can see many miles of the Going-to-the-Sun highway descending and winding westward, and below us and 500 meters away, we observed a large grizzly bear foraging for berries and treetops.  A perfect ending to our wildlife viewing on this trip.

View the photo archive here.