Big Bend Revisited :: Torrey Yucca

Thursday, February 28th - - As I was driving from one place to another, I kept seeing this strange looking plant. It stood anywhere from four to six feet in height. Usually the bottom half was still brown and dry looking, but on the upper portion were long green spikes and a huge flowering head. There are quite a few pull-outs along the park roads but it seemed there weren't any of these plants in those areas. I finally found a pull-out with several of them somewhat near the road, while on my way to Boquillas Canyon.




This is the Torrey Yucca... The University of Texas at Austin website has some information about the plant as well as some pretty neat photos.







Many of the specimens I saw had only one flowering clump adorning the top, but this one, as well as others, are sporting two.







What appears at first glance to be one
huge flower turns out to be a clump of many small flowers, in varying
stages of development.

Chateau in the middle of nowhere

In most of my travels, I almost never blog about the hotel I stayed in, perhaps because my passion when traveling lies on discovering the country, the culture, the local culinaire and the people, and not my hotel bedroom or the hotel lobby and restaurant. I don’t stay in the hotel most of the day anyway—well, only to sleep. I am outside exploring new places, new things, new experiences and new ideas.



For this short trip in Wallonia, I wanted some nature. I wanted so badly to be surrounded with vegetation and mountains. I saw Chateau de la Poste, a lifestyle resort in the Ardennes mountains in my favorite hotel booking site and was right away attracted to its location. What I am trying to say is—I find this hotel very relaxing and very interesting as well, maybe because it’s a castle, so I took fotos of the interior and would like to share them here.



The chateau is located in the village called Maillen in the Assesse municipality of Namur province (Wallonia, Belgium).



This is the entrance of the castle from the main road.



I did a little walk so I can commune with nature and shoot a nice postcard foto of the chateau.







There are three salons in the chateau. Design is quite eclectic - a mixture of modern, period, log cabin country style with a touch of kitsch-ness.



My bedroom and bathroom.



The very surprising and modern breakfast room.



From the breakfast room you can walk outside to a corridor and down to the massive castle yard. The chateau is featured in the 'characteristic chain of hotels' book.



The terrace of the chateau hotel. I love the furniture design, the inflatable air sofa, very ingenious and practical (material looks like pvc tarpaulin).



The interior design is a mixture of contemporary, log cabin country style and surprisingly with a touch of royalty and kitsch-ness, both blending nicely with each other. I was told by the woman in the reception that the castle previously belonged to Princess Clementine of Belgium, daughter of Leopold II and wife of Victor Napoleon, the nephew of the king. Now I know why the restaurant of the chateau is named after her, Restaurant Chez Clementine.



The food here is lovely, the wine superb, the service great, there is attention to detail and the rooms are good. But most of all I love is its location: in the middle of the countryside, in the middle of the forest, in the middle of nowhere. I thank the Dutch in laws for this B-day gift!



Travel Period:

Destination: Maillen (Assesse - Namur), Belgium

Snow Drifts on Hungry Jack Lake

Here is another shot from my afternoon along the Gunflint Trail yesterday. This was taken with my Canon 100-400mm lens from the Honeymoon Bluff overlook.

Neon signs in Samil-Daero

Samil-Daero is a sub-locality of Jung-gu (Central District) or Jung in Seoul. Dutchman and I discovered this place one evening after our Bulgogi dinner (will post this soon) while looking for a place to have coffee and tea.



The area is quite lively and is overloaded with colourful neon sign boards.





It looks like Samil-Daero is not the first choice by many because no one told us about the place. We found this place by ourselves. With popular Myeong-dong and Insa-dong nearby, I can understand that it can be overshadowed.



Nevertheless, it’s very busy here with locals, mainly the younger ones and I am really loving the neon sign boards. It reminds me of Times Street in New York City.



We finally had coffee and tea at Cafe Pascucci, with a view down to the main road.





I love Green Tea Rice! I need to buy a few packs to bring back to the Netherlands.

New England Coastal Town X

New England Coastal Town X. You know the one. Narrow streets, saltwater marshes, dog-rose bushes. Windswept rocky beaches, icy currents. The natives distinguished from the tourists by their accents, the age of their boat shoes, and their ability to go in the water (watah) without flinching. Dilapidating beachfront properties, clung to for generations before ultimately being sold because money's run out or the siblings can't decide who keeps the house.



The developers from the Cityare good guys,thank God, not at all like those soulless predators who would have entire blocks of historical properties bulldozed for condos. Worshipful of the town's character, they only want to update, to improve. They landscape with native plant life (they've researched this; it looks natural and wild yet subtly colour-coordinated).Gingerly and respectfully they extract Jesus and Mary statues from front yards. They remove asbestos, replace yellowed wallpaper, tear down drop ceilings to expose natural beams, liberate hardwood floors. They gut those claustrophobic interiors with their myriads of tiny rooms to create an open concept layout. They install granite kitchen counters, stainless steel appliances, add extra bathrooms (really, a 6-bedroom house with 1 bath?...).



The updated properties are resold at prices that reflect the quality of labour, the professionalism of the interior design and the local sourcing of materials. They are bought by urban escapees. Eager to live in the quaint town for a fraction of the cost of their cramped city apartment, they long to improve their quality of life with fresh air and natural beauty and a sense of community. But the economy is terrible, and their ideas of local employment opportunities prove over-optimistic. Two years later they return to the City, keeping the property as a summer house and income-generating vacation rental.



A tiny commercial street runs through a narrow peninsula. It is home to 6 ice cream shops and 5 seafood restaurants, every single one of them with water views. The seafood is freshly caught, the ice cream home made. "There's a line, but it's worth it." A woman wearing a white beach dress and straw hat asks the high school girl behind the counter if the scallops are good. Unthinkingly the girl answers that she hates seafood, then laughs apologetically and promises they are excellent. The woman asks the girl where she is from. She replies that she lives down the road, pointing in the direction. The woman is ecstatic as she carries her food away to the outdoor seating area. She tells her husband about the exchange. "You know they're locals if they hate seafood!"



Around the corner is a string of cozy little shops selling locally made jewelry, fair trade clothing from South America, organic hand lotions, antique furniture, used books. The local Art Association operates a Co-Op. Paintings, ceramics, woodblock prints. A hand-holding couple discusses purchasing an abstract seascape. "I want the lighthouse to be recognisable without the whole thing being cheesy, you know?" They study several pieces that meet these criteria, tilting their heads.



There is a yoga studio, a book club, a historical society, a concert hall, a market stall selling fresh produce thrice a week on the Green. Artist residencies are held on a bi-monthly basis. There is a mannerism and style of dress that distinguishes the seasonals from the more casual vacationers and day trippers, establishing a hierarchy of sorts.



And then there are the locals, that elusive species. They work the counters, staff the hotels, rent out the boats. But mostly, those who remain are like ghosts. Sometimes you hear the accents at the beach, or a voice calling a child in "for suppah" from an open window.



New England Coastal Town X. I've lived in one and I've visited many, and now here I am again. Memories blend with images glimpsed from afar as I ride my bike past the rocky beaches, charming shops and impeccably renovated properties.

Mono Lake

Mono Lake near the town of Lee Vining in east-central California.October 11, ..

Hollow Rock Ice Cave

Remember my shot "Into the Ice Cave" from yesterday? That shot was taken from outside the cave, looking into it. Well, here is what it looked like once I crawled into it! It was a fascinating wonderland of ice! I had to lay on my back on the ice and stick my arms (holding the camera) through and around the icicles you see on the right of this photo in order to get this shot. I couldn't look through the viewfinder because my arms were outstretched to reach around the icicles, so it took several attempts to get the shot I wanted. It wasn't an easy shot to get, but I sure do like what I ended up with, so to me it was definitely worth the effort!

The Great Climb

The mighty Sron Ulladale, Isle of HarrisIt’s great to be able to talk about this now…Nearly three years ago, the BBC attempted to run the ambitious live ‘Great Climb’ live broadcast on Cairngorm, with myself and a team of climbers from all over the world. We planned, rigged and trained for the big day. And then it rained. The washout was a huge disappointment, partially avenged by my ascent of my project on Hell’s Lum cliff a few days later which became the film ‘To Hell and Back’.Ever since, Triple Echo Productions who were behind the Great Climb project have been planning to make another attempt at a big live climbing event for the BBC. This year, the necessary components have aligned and we have a plan:

On 28th August, myself and Tim Emmett are planning to attempt a hard new route on Sron Ulladale, the biggest overhanging piece of rock in the UK (700 feet high, overhanging it’s base by 150 feet or so). As you might imagine, the prospect of this brings feelings of massive excitement, together with a fair dose of intimidation, pressure and anticipation. The correct ingredients for a fine adventure.





Harris landscapeI’d love to tell you exactly which part of the mighty Sron we will try to climb, but last week on our recce, close inspection of the cliff was out of the question due to the golden eagles, nesting on the main part of the face once again. If the eagles hatch chicks (best of luck to them!) we won’t be able to look closely at the lines until August. So until then, it’s training and waiting. Naturally, our plan is to climb the hardest possible route that imagination and finger strength allows.





Colin Wells standing at the foot of Sron Ulladale. The rock in shot above him is roughly the first fifth of the cliff height (!).However, we have something else up our sleeves for the meantime. We’ll be doing another challenge to feature in the 6 hour live broadcast. We’ll try a triple five challenge of five new climbs on five hebridean islands in five days. Last week Donald took us around many a far flung corner of the Western Isles, showing us many a gobsmacking unclimbed cliff, geo or stack. After serial protracted deliberations in Hotel Hebrides we shortlisted the many amazing cliffs into five objectives, which we will travel between by boat, sleeping below deck, in camps or under boulders.





I’ll have a lot more to say about this as more plans emerge in the coming weeks. Right now I have to go back to training for it. More on the BBC site here.

It's Electric! A Case of Fear and Loathing?

Every once in a while I am asked why I do not write about electric bikes, and the answer is simple: because they do not interest me. Maybe in 40 years they will, but at the moment I do not find myself longing for a sweet e-assist ride. Still, I have nothing against electric bikes and their usefulness is readily apparent to me: cargo bikes and pedicabs, upright bikes in truly hilly areas, and bikes with assistance for the elderly and others who have a hard time pedaling on their own power. What's not to like?




Yesterday I was cycling across town and a middle-aged man on an e-bike was pedaling in the bike lane just ahead of me. He was going pretty slowly, so I passed him, not giving it a second thought. Then behind me I heard another cyclist passing him, and then I heard that cyclist shout: "Get the f- out of the bike lane you retard!" There was more, and the abuse was directed toward him riding an e-bike - which the regular cyclist did not feel belonged in the bike lane. That was not the first time I'd heard this sentiment. From Interbike last year, I know that the e-bike industry is trying hard to push e-assist onto the cycling market, and I also know that there is resistance among those who see e-bikes as a threat to "real cycling." But I figured meanies will be meanies and soon forgot about the shouting incident.




Then this morning, I saw a link to this articlein the Gothamist, debating whether a $1000 fine for riding an e-bike was overkill (the previous amount was $500). I had not even known that e-bikes were illegal in NYC, but apparently they are. It is illegal to ride them and it is illegal for bike shops to sell them. And now the city is considering a serious crack-down, because the food delivery guys on their "souped up" bikes are out of control, terrorising the peaceful citizens by going as fast as 30mph.




What bothers me about the NYC situation is not specific to e-bikes. It's that instead of the government regulating public behaviour with strictly enforced laws, perfectly useful objects are criminalised. 30mph is a speed that any decent roadie can hit on their racing bike without the help of e-assist. Yet racing bikes are not outlawed in NYC as far as I know. If speed-demon delivery boys are causing problems, set and enforce a speed limit. But the blanket targeting of e-bikes is not logical. When posting a link to the Gothamist article, abicycle blogger wrote: "NYC is flat and small enough that no one needs an e-bike here. Ever." What she means of course, is that she does not feel the need for an e-bike in NYC. Neither do I in Boston. But that line of thinking can just as well be applied to us by others. "Nobody needs to be riding a bike on the road!" is something I've heard too many times. The fear and loathing of e-bikes is just as irrational.




If we're going to outlaw stuff, I personally would like to see a law for motor vehicles to be stripped of doors, since doorings are responsible for countless cyclist injuries and deaths in cities. Make car doors illegal and problem solved. Maybe NYC should get on that.

Tilton-on-the-Hill - Lowesby - South Croxton - Cold Newton - Tilton

With Barry, Eddie, Gordon, Maureen. Sunny and bright. A total of 647 feet of climbing. Not far off 11 miles.





We set off from Digby Close, a small road to the right from the road opposite Tilton garage. Ominously downhill to start with.

Ye'll tak' the low road . . .

. . .an' I'll tak' the high road


The path is easy to follow, keeping along the side of the hill above the stream, past Springfield Hall, and a path which goes off to the right, then losing height towards the old railway line and station buildings.













After we'd crossed the old railway line we went through a field of sheep

and climbed gently upwards towards the village of Lowesby.











The path was not hard to find. It leads past Lowesby Hall, magnificently situated, with a ha-ha, and avenue of trees.



This picture was taken in July - and I realise it's skew!





We went to the left of these treesand soon crossed a minor road. The path runs fairly close to the stream then goes slightly to the right, uphill above a spinney. It crosses the Midshires Way, passes Bell Dip Farm, crosses another three fields before meeting another minor road and continuing towards South Croxton, whose church spire can be seen ahead briefly and then to the right.







We walked past a pond, with ducks and water lilies, and a kayak, then through a small wooded area, and into the village. Our way was along King Street, left at the Golden Fleece pub, then downhill to a convenient seat near the bridge.



Our path was just before the bend in the road, off to the left.









We climbed gradually, with a good view of South Croxton on our left,







In a while we turned left towards the enormous Waterloo Lodge Farm buildings. The path goes to the right of the farm and joins the farm road just after the buildings. We followed this to the minor road just above Baggrave Hall and deserted mediaeval village, which we could see below us on the left.











When the road bent to the right, our path continued ahead. Some of this path was enclosed between two hedges. It eventually came out at a private road, and continued on the other side, forming part of the Midshires Way. After a short downhill section we had to turn right and walk up to the deserted mediaeval village of Cold Newton before crossing the corner of the village and walking down through fields to the disused railway line again. After the railway line the path turns diagonally left and akes its way up a final pull towards Tilton . . .



and across this field where the chickens followed us all.