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Yosemite in Winter
Yosemite Yosemite National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, and for good reason. The park is home to some of the most stunning scenery in the country, including towering granite cliffs, giant sequoia trees, and cascading waterfalls. But while Yosemite is a great place to visit any time of year, it’s especially beautiful in the winter. Winter in Yosemite is a time of peace and tranquility. The crowds have thinned out, and the park is blanketed in a fresh coat of snow. This makes it the perfect time to enjoy the park’s many outdoor activities, such as hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing. If you’re…
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Yosemite Road Trip
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Choosing Child Restraint – What’s after infant car seat?
So many car seat products! What are they for and when do I need them? In North America, even with living in a very walkable city, occasional travel by car is still unavoidable. Children car seats are the most popular and effective safety gear used to protect our precious cargo in an event of a collision. Outside road transportation, air travel also benefit from the use of car seat for convenience and comfort. But for urbanites like us that relied mostly on public transport and ride-share services, constantly installing and hauling these very sizeable objects around is not an easy task. Our scenario Our daughter has been travelling with her…
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Keystone, CO
Keystone Peak Three years ago I decided I’d go skiing. I’d skied in Niseko early in 2016 and was itching to get back on the board. Keystone has one of the earliest opening days in North America. I planned my trip and made my bookings for thanks giving. Turns out the 2016 season was probably one of the worst seasons they have had. I planned to do a few days at Keystone and a few days at A-Basin and bought the five day pass that no longer exists. The only run open was Schoolmarm and Last Chance. I’d recommend not going early. I did all five days at Keystone after hearing…
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Niagara Falls, ON
Horseshoe Falls and American Falls We headed to Niagara Falls for the day from Downtown Toronto. The drive is approx. 90 minutes and 132 km drive away. We parked at Skylon Tower, 5200 Robinson St, and cost $10 for the day. To get to the falls we went down a level to the arcade and towards the south west corner and down the stairs, turning left on Murray St. At the corner of Murray St and Niagara Parkway is the Niagara Parks Welcome Center. Tickets to attractions can be pre-purchased here. Cross the Niagara Parkway and you be faced with the American Falls to the left, and the impressive Horseshoe…
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Ithaca, NY
Taugannock Falls What better reason to visit the Ithaca region then a camping road trip with friends. Given it was a long weekend camp sites were hard to come across, but we managed to get a night at Newtown Battlefield State Park and the second night at Enfield Glen and Robert H Treman State Park. Day one we arrived at Ithaca and were hungry, so we soon found our way to Ithaca Saigon Kitchen. I guess, just because it’s a camping trip doesn’t mean we have to slum it. The food here was great, the pho, the vermicelli salad, everything was delicious. Full from lunch we headed out to Buttermilk…
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Vancouver Island, BC
Ucluetet Lighthouse Loop What do local Vancouvians do on the weekend? They go to Vancouver…Island. So I jumped in a car and headed to Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, only 500 m (1500 ft) north of the border with the USA, and made my way to Swartz Bay. The ferry ride is rather scenic and you’ll see plenty of sea planes, and a view of Vancouver City with a backdrop of the North Shore Mountains. Once disembarking from Swartz Bay Temrinal it’s a quick and easy 30 minute drive along Route 17 into Victoria, the capitol of British Columbia. Victoria Victoria is a bustling town, larger than I had expected. I only…
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Sea To Sky, BC
Howe Sound As an avid skier, the Sea to Sky Gondola seemed kinda corny and redundant. After all I’d been up many lifts and taken in many sights while skiing a mountain. But after visiting it turns out I was wrong. We got lucky with the blue bird day and warm weather, but have a jacket handy as 850m (2,800ft) it can get cooler. There was still snow in the shadows in May. If I had researched beforehand I would have found out that there are hiking trails at the top to explore. It’s even possible to hike up and skip the gondola fee if you are fit enough and…
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Belleayre, NY
Below Lift 7 at Overlook Lodge History The year is 1839 and Stephen Van Rensselaer III has died. Stephen was the landowner of Rensselaeswyck and collected rents in a very lenient fashion allowing rents to be in arrears when tenets were unable to pay in full. When the Van Rensselaer heirs went to collect the outstanding rents, causing a revolt that lasted until 1845. Belleayre in the Catskills was once such location where the Rent Wars occurred. Fast-forward to 2018 and I’m here to go snowboarding with some buddies. Belleayre is a smaller resort owned by New York State. Since it doesn’t have a big name it’s not very crowded…
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Sugarloaf, ME
Sugarloaf Ski Resort Absolute zero, -273.15° C (-459.67° F), how cold does this feel? I’m not 100% certain, but I got part of the way there when I rode Sugarloaf during the 2018 New Year. Negative twenty six degrees Celsius (-15° F) is the official number. The lifties kindly kept us updated during the day, -55° C (-75° F) was the coldest I saw on one of their whiteboards. Whether that included a windchill factor I’m not certain. Given the averages for that time of year is between -9° to 0° C (16° to 31° F) it was a bit unusual. The Drive This trip was a roadtrip with friends.…