Tag: Travel

Glacier National Park, 2019: Avalanche Lake Trail

Michael Rappa

Greetings, readers, it’s been a while, but this post is hopefully the start of my renewed dedication to this blog.

Back in September I took another trip out west, this time to Glacier National Park and then Seattle. The photos below are from my final hike on my last day in Glacier. I had almost quit the Avalanche Lake Trail before the end because it was late in the day, the woods were getting dark, and I was hiking through grizzly country with very few other hikers on the trail, but I’m glad I stuck it out because the reward at the end was more than worth it: a pristine hidden lake casting a perfect mirror image of the earth and sky above, including a pair of waterfalls in the distance.

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Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake
Avalanche Lake Trail

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: The Movie

Michael Rappa

This compilation of the videos I shot on my trip last summer features footage of Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and Zion national parks, as well as Cedar Breaks National Monument and driving footage through Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, including Route 66.

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my downtime at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, where I volunteered in Dogtown (you can also volunteer with cats, horses, pigs, bunnies, etc.). It was a rewarding experience; I would love to return one day.

When I wasn’t volunteering, I explored the Angel Canyon area, where Best Friends is located. Unfortunately it was a mostly rainy couple of days and I wasn’t able to explore the majority of the canyon as the roads were closed for flooding, but I still managed to get a few decent shots.

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The Best Friends welcome center (right).

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Virginia Trip, 2018: The Farmhouse

Michael Rappa

This past October we took a road trip down to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to try and catch the fall foliage. Unfortunately, extended warm weather and a very heavy season of rain meant that everything was still green when we got down there (not that there’s anything wrong with green, just not what we were hoping for). Despite that, it was still a nice getaway.

These photos are from the charming farmhouse we rented in the town of Luray in the Shenandoah Valley. The grounds and interior were beautiful; I could totally get used to living like that, though the location was a little too remote for my wife’s taste. I, on the other hand, loved the privacy, and we both dug the feeling of staying in a historic place while still enjoying modern amenities. I would definitely recommend the farmhouse if you’re planning a trip to the area. Just do a google search for “luray modern farmhouse.”

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Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
The cows in the farm next door to our farmhouse rental.
The cows in the farm next door to our farmhouse rental.
Our Farmhouse Rental: Ollie surfs the web with his mommy.
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Our Farmhouse Rental
Babbling brook on the grounds of our farmhouse rental.

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London Trip, 2016: Buckingham Palace and St. James Park

Michael RappaLeave a comment

Back in February of 2016, my wife Jen and I traveled to London for her sister’s wedding. Unfortunately, I fell deathly ill on the second night, forcing us to cancel a planned excursion to Bath. I had already visited Bath in 2014, but I wanted to take Jen there (since a trip to the Scottish Highlands was out of the question in the middle of February). Instead, I slept in our hotel bed on the third day while she walked around Picadilly Circus looking for medicine.

By the end of our trip Jen had caught the bug and was too sick to fly, so we had to extend our stay by a day at a hotel not far from Victoria Station. I was still recovering myself but felt well enough to do a little walking while Jen slept in the hotel.

The hotel was literally a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, so I walked around there, through St. James Park, and back along The Mall. I also visited nearby Westminster Cathedral and the Horse Guards Parade area. These photos are from that walk.

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California Trip, 2014: 17-Mile Drive

Michael Rappa

A few years ago I went on a business trip to San Francisco, where I decided to take a few extra days to myself to do some exploring. On my first day in San Francisco I met up with my cousin who lives nearby. He took me on a driving tour of the Pacific coast. These photos are from 17-Mile Drive, a scenic route along the Monterey peninsula, featuring rocky coastlines, large crashing waves; and islands of sea lions and birds.

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Upstate New York Trip, 2015: Letchworth Lower Falls and Bridge

Michael Rappa

These photos are from my September 2015 visit to Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York, covering my hikes of the trails leading to the stone footbridge across the Genesee River, the Lower Falls, and down to the floor of the gorge at the site of a lost town called St. Helena. Despite not being a national park, Letchworth is among the more beautiful American parks you’re likely to visit.

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Yellowstone’s Mud Volcano Area

Michael Rappa

The Mud Volcano Area of Yellowstone National Park is filled with hot springs and boiling pools of acid and mud, as well as the unmistakable rotten-egg odor of sulfur that bombards you as soon as you exit the car. The sulfur smell is abundant throughout the geyser basins and hot spring/caldron areas of the park. Nearly all of the pools of liquid in these photos would dissolve you instantly were you unfortunate enough to stumble into them.

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Butterfly (center). Also a bee to the upper left.
Thick, boiling mud of the Grizzly Fumarole.
Sulphur Caldron Overlook
Mud Volcano
Dragon’s Mouth Spring. It actually does look like a dragon’s mouth from this angle.
Dragon’s Mouth Spring
Mud Caldron
Mud Caldron

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American Southwest Trip, 2018: National Park Wildlife

Michael Rappa

After so many consecutive Northwest trip posts, I’ve decided to start mixing in entries from my other recent trips to add some variety to my blog feed. This is the first batch of photos from my trip to the American Southwest this past summer, featuring shots of animals from Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon.

I shot a little bit of everything on this trip: mammals, birds, and reptiles. Many of the animals showed no fear of humans—one of the elk practically let me walk right up to her. I also saw bison on my way into the North Rim of the Grand Canyon but chose not to stop for photos since I already had so many bison photos from my Yellowstone trip. I believe that I heard rattlesnakes during one of my photo stops on Route 66 in the Mojave Desert, but I did not see them, and was not about to go looking.

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A philosopher pondering the larger questions in life.
Glamour shot.
One of the only signs of life I saw during my 4-mile round trip hike of the Cape Final trail.
The town square.
Do you mind? I’m trying to eat here.
In his three-point stance and ready for some football.
You talkin’ to me?

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American Northwest Trip, 2017: Lamar Valley, Yellowstone

Michael Rappa

On my first day in Yellowstone National Park I detoured to Lamar Valley to take these photos before checking in to my hotel. Lamar Valley is supposed to be another prime wildlife viewing area, but in my case it proved to be less fruitful than Hayden Valley. Nevertheless, I did see a couple of bison herds here. On my way back out of the valley I stopped for a few shots of the Yellowstone River.

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