Here is a nice view of the Atlantic from the Hercules Cave, near Tangier, Morocco. The outline looks sort of like a reversed Africa.
When in Morocco...
You have to ride a camel on the beach. Here is Melissa doing her duty.
Gibraltar Monkeys
Gibraltar is lousy with monkeys. Here is a mom and its baby.
Inside the Cordoba Mosque
We found just one person in the mosque section of the Cordoba mosque-cathedral. A nice photo.
View of the Cordoba Mosque-Cathedral
The combined mosque and cathedral in Cordoba, as seen from a nearby Roman bridge.
Andalusian Bell Tower
This is a classic example of a bell tower as seen from a narrow city street that is choked with flower pots.
Hiking through Waterways
There are canals dug into the Andalusian peaks, which you can hike through. Here is a hiker making his way through such a tunnel, with a water reflection.
On Top of Spain
Our group made it to the top of the Iberian peninsula (highest point in Spain, if you exclude one island), at 11,421 feet.
Alhambra Text
The walls of the Alhambra in Grenada are covered with script, of which an example is noted below.
Caminito Del Ray
The Caminito Del Ray is a trail that has been bolted into the side of a cliff near Malaga, Spain. There are many significant drops, so do not look down.
Steamboat Powder
We ran into mostly poor snow conditions during two weeks of backcountry skiing near Steamboat; this was a rare patch of decent powder.
Great View, Painful Experience
View from the top of Emory Peak, in Big Bend National Park. One of the hikers in our group broke her leg during the descent and walked out three miles on a fractured fibula!
Window Trail Outlet
This is the view from the end of the Window Trail in Big Bend National Park. Water comes through the canyon behind me and shoots out through the notch and over a cliff. The water has smoothed out the rock at the bottom of the photo. So, easy to slip and go over over the edge. Not a recommended trail during rainy season.
Slot Canyon Reflection
The view from a slot canyon just outside of Big Bend National Park, Texas.
End of the Trail
Finally, the North Rim! This is the North Kaibab trailhead, after 24 miles of hiking (which took nine hours and 42 minutes from the South Rim). And actually, this is not the end of the trail - it’s another 1.7 miles to the shuttle pickup spot, and then a 4.5 hour drive back around to the South Rim lodgings. A long day.
A Few Dangerous Spots
The Grand Canyon Rim to Rim is very well-designed, but there are a few dangerous spots - such as the one shown in the following photo. A good part of the trail up to the North Kaibab trailhead has a cliff (up) on one side and another cliff (down) on the other. And there is no handrail.
Simply Glorious
The sun takes a long time to reach hikers on the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, instead working its way down the adjacent cliff face. This photo was taken not far short of the 20-mile mark on the hike - and I was still in the shadows down below.
Great use for Dynamite
There are many, many places in the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim where the path has been blasted out of a cliff face - such as in the following photo. Without this work, the trail could not possibly exist. The canyon walls are just too steep.
Entering the Slot Canyon
After passing through Phantom Ranch, the Rim to Rim track switches over to the North Kaibab Trail, which stays fairly flat for a long hike through this slot canyon - which presents a problem, because it’s hard for your GPS to pick up a signal in here. The result is GPS tracking that tends to be off by a fair amount. In my case, the GPS was eventually off by 1.7 miles.
The Colorado River ... at Last
After a long hike down from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, I reached the Colorado River and the Silver Bridge at just after 6 a.m. This video was taken after having crossed the bridge. Only about 14 miles to go!