Travel Diary

Wupatki National Monument, Arizona

Lomaki Ruins

Wupatki National Monument is one of my favorite parks in Arizona; I visit here at least once per year, sometimes more, but normally either later or earlier in the year, summers are hot. It's generally quiet with sparse visitation. There are several ruins in the park for visitor, but Lomaki Ruins is my favorite, and always my first stop whenever I visit. There are several sets of ruins here, perched along two small canyons. The landscape here is wide open, desert grasslands with views of the Painted Desert, with few trees and vegetation; mostly of snakeweed and saltbush and an occasional juniper tree. 3 nearby mesas overlook the ruins, with the San Francisco mountains and Sunset Volcano in the distance.

The trails here are mostly on the east side of the ruins, so when photographing, the sun will be at your back, and if you aren't careful, will throw your shadow into the composition.

Note: Wupatki and nearby Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument share a common boundary.

Cave Creek, Arizona

Trip Preparation - Fall 2018

Today, I booked into an excursion to Cesky Krumlov from Prague. Ceský Krumlov is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. I'm planning on visiting the Church of St. Vitus, the historic town center and the Cesky Krumlov Castle, dating back to 1240. I've read a lot about the town and it's architecture, which I find fascinating. Most of the architecture of the old town and castle dates from the 14th through 17th centuries; the town's structures are mostly in Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The core of the old town is within a horseshoe bend of the river, with the old Latrán neighborhood and castle on the other side of the Vltava.

Cave Creek, Arizona

Trip Preparation - Fall 2018

I've begun preparing for a return trip to Prague this fall. This year I used Hotels.com to book a room at the Old Prague Hotel. I've been happy with the services provided by them - I stayed at a beautiful boutique hotel in Heidelberg that I booked through the site last year - so, I decided to use it for a hotel for my upcoming trip to Prague. I prefer smaller hotels in the inner city, and after my trip to Prague last year, I knew I needed more time in the Altstadt (German: Old Town).

Prague's Old Town Square (Staromestské námestí) dates from the 12th century and started life as the central marketplace, and over time Romanesque, Baroque and Gothic style buildings were erected around its center. Winding lanes lead from the square into other parts of the Old Town.

Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona

Encounter with a skunk

I'm at Patagonia Lake State Park in Arizona, about 15 miles north of Nogales (on the US/Mexico border). In mid-afternoon I decided to take a walk along the bird watching trail on the eastern end of the lake. I noticed signs about mountain lions in the area, and stopped to talk a family seated on a bench, near the beginning of the trail to ask. They had seen nothing out of the ordinary. They soon left and after sitting on the bench a little while longer, I proceeded to the gate in the trail. But, as I approached the gate, a skunk came running up the hill towards me. I started throwing rocks towards the skunk, in an a attempt to scare him away, and pretty soon he disappeared the way he came. I then decided to return back to my campsite, and save the hike for another day.

As I was returning to the parking lot, where the trail begins, the skunk came running over the hill towards me and immediately started rubbing up against my feet. I pushed him away with my camera bag (which later smelled of skunk for days) and he backed off. I ran back to the car with a bit of a laugh, and concern. After reporting this to the ranger on duty, she mentioned that there were some rabid skunks in the area, and they would send someone to trap it.

It was an interesting experience, but not one I'd like to repeat.

Dresden, Germany

I arrived in Dresden by train from Prague in the early afternoon, and had a 6 hour layover before my train back to Frankfurt and the long flight to Phoenix. I stowed my luggage in the storage lockers and began looking around the station. I found an intriguing display showing the train station as it had been pre-WWII, during the communist era, and then contrasting it to the way it had been restored after the reunification of Germany. The station now is a more modern interpretation of the pre-WWII station, removing the bland and bleakness it had been during the communist era. These thoughts brought back memories of when I lived in what then was West Germany.

I wondered out of the station, walking along Reitbahnstraße before exploring the shopping area along Prager Str., passing the obligatory Starbucks. I was most curious to see if I could see anything that stood out from the former communist era. After wandering around the shopping area and looking at the architecture of the buildings in the area for a few hours, it was time to return to the train station and catch the ICE train to Frankfurt. Dresden impressed me enough to want to make a return visit one day.