WALES
We learned much about traveling in the UK. Some of the lessons were acquired by our mistakes. Some lessons came through YouTube. Some lessons were received from advice given by other people. How ever the lessons were delivered, we survived! Barry did an exceptional job of driving in the UK. This exceptional job started at the Gatwick Airport in England after multiple attempts to figure out a travel plan from the airport to our first AirBnb in Wales! Enter our first rental car! Rules due to insurance make it difficult to rent a car for more than a month so we knew that we would be exchanging it for another car after a week or so. We also learned quickly that my skills as a navigator are in need of work!
Roundabouts, narrow lanes lined by rock fences, sheep on the roadways and small village streets parked on one side or the other added to the adventure. One of the men at a car rental agency told Barry that there were more roundabouts than roads in Wales. There were few stop lights or stop signs but many opportunities to master roundabouts! Barry never drove on the wrong side of the road though I wondered every time we got in the car if it would be possible to always make the right decision to stay to the left! Another lesson learned the first day out of the gate was that we needed to drive before dark!
We were initially staying in an AirBnb near a Welsh national park called the Brecon Beacons. Here we got to experience our first castle ruin, Castle Carreg Cennan. It was so impressive and even in ruins, had a majesty sitting atop the ridge. We did discover the secret to "waste disposal" as we wandered through the ruins. The pot dump would have had a very aromatic portion of the wall in the days when the castle was occupied. A walking trail through the surrounding country side was interesting as we wandered along gorse and hawthorn trees that that had grown up into the rock fences making it a challenge to cross unless you could find a gate or style. We watched two female shepherds and their very skilled dog move a herd of sheep to a different pasture. It was very impressive to observe the dog in action working to follow the directions it received.
Our second outing gave us a view of a fortress that had been created before the arrival of the Romans. This Iron Age fort looked like huge piles of rocks until you climbed to the knoll it sat upon. Walls had been 30 feet high and 15 feet thick when they were occupied by the peoples of the area over 2500 years ago. The amount of remaining rock was impressive. To get to the fort ruins of Garn Gock from our AirBnb, Barry drove over a well known Black Mountain Pass Road without incident though wandering sheep added to the challenge of the curving roadway.
Our third day trip took us to Pembrookshire National Park along the Welsh coast. Here we found St. David's Cathedral, a place of worship that had been used daily since the 6th century. It is an impressive place with portions of the structure showing that they might be from the original building. Other parts were much more ornate and belonged to a later renovation. The coastal area was filled with families on break from school. The crowds made driving through the streets a very challenging process. We ate at the Rectory and experienced eating 'pasties'. We had seen a shop in town that claimed to have been selling pasties for 1100 years so I wanted to give them a try. (Barry was not so adventurous.) I did wonder if they still were using the same recipe or if it had 'improved'!
Our next adventure was to climb the tallest peak in the Brecon Beacons National Park, a place called Pen Y Fan. Our hike took us up to the summit at 886 meters. The trail itself was not terribly hard but the wind was wicked as we climbed. When we arrived at the top the wind had laid down and we were able to eat our lunch in peace (after Barry acted as the temporary summit photographer for those who wanted to record their achievement). We added another nearby peak, Corn Du, to our path down so we got multiple views from multiple summits. We had conversations in passing with several people on our downward trek. It was interesting to us that so many of them had been to the US. When we got to the bottom, we were encouraged that we might be able to do Snowdon, Wales' highest peak, later in our trip.
On June 1st it was time to find the Cardiff airport and exchange cars and make our way to another AirBnb. Little did we realize the great benefit that we gained when we changed to a smaller car. Our next delightful dwelling was located in a more northern part of Wales which was actually in Snowdon National Park. The road to the sheep farm where we were staying was narrow compared to what we are used to in the US but our location was perfect for us. We alternated days traveling from the AirBnb with days hiked straight from our beautiful 'temporary home' spot.
Our hosts were amazingly hospitable giving us advice on the best stores to buy from, places to see from the farm and answering our questions about Wales. Our hostess was a school teacher and her husband a passionate farmer. We became familiar with Porthmadog, the largest nearby town, where we shopped. There were many small villages within just a few miles with amazing old houses evidence of the longevity of stone buildings and the continuity of the residence by multiple generations.
One of the villages in the area was built to imitate an Italian village. We wandered the streets of Portmeirion and delighted in the colors of the stylized buildings and the flowers that overflowed the beds and window boxes. This resort town is located along the Dwyryd Estuary and was built to honor the Mediterranean Riviera. Its lights were visible from our AirBnb on the Tallin Farm and we enjoyed looking down on it many evenings during our stay in the area. It was located fairly close to the town of Porthmadog where we found grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations and shops to meet our needs.
Barry had become acquainted online several years ago with a photographer and mountain guide who lived in Wales. We were blessed to get to meet he and his wife in person. They are involved with a church in Criccieth that we got to attend on a Sunday. A delightful couple offered us a special experience of Sunday lunch in a Welsh home overlooking the Criccieth Castle and beach. We later shared a meal with our online acquaintances who we now count friends. Dave and Ali gave us advice on what to see when in Wales and Dave made room in his schedule for two days of hiking while we were in the area. Delightful experiences!
Wales is a wonderfully diverse area with mountains and beaches in close proximity. We walked on several different beaches along with many other people. However, we stood out because we had on long sleeves and long pants while the natives wore shorts and sandals. Many of the locals complained of the heat with temps in the 60s while we were totally comfortable and already dreading returning to summer in Missouri!
One of our hikes from the farm took us to a 3,000 year old cairn, Bryn Cader Faner. We walked through sheep fields, along rock fences, past abandoned farm house that had stood for centuries to a knoll where stones guarded a burial spot. During the Second World War, this place had been used for bombing practice. It was one of our longest hikes being 8.5 miles with 845 feet of elevation gain. That night we realized that it was not getting dark until after 10:00 pm. and the views from the kitchen window were amazing!
After the long hike to Bryn Cader Faner, we decided the next day needed more driving time than walking time. We made our way closer to the Snowdon, a mountain we could see out of the kitchen window miles away. That area was also known for its slate mines, a product Wales had long been famous for. Buildings of any age in Wales are roofed with slate. Llanberis was a quaint tourist town that also boasted a castle ruin. In exploring this castle we climbed a winding staircase and I wondered if I had gotten Barry into a bad situation with his 'dainty' size 14 shoes. The tight steps were much smaller then his shoes so one very careful step at a time, we made it down to the ground again. From this area you could hike Snowdon or take a train up to near the summit but we did not feel the energy to try it that day. During our wandering we did locate ice cream from a 'Marshfield Dairy' which we had to try for home's sake. From our personal experience, Welsh ice cream is delightful!
One of our days of hiking with Dave took us to another Iron Age fortress and the quarry where the granite for curling stones is mined. The fortress had over 140 small shelters within the double walled fortress that have been discovered. The quarry was also the location for the filming of the prequel for 'Game of Thrones' and our presence was not welcomed. We had to bushwhack our own path down the mountain to the beach. Bushwhacking not withstanding, it was a wonderful day!
During our six week journey we found days that reading and resting took priority so every day was not filled with physical activity. After all we are not as young as we used to be (but not completely sidelined)! So a day of rest and we were on the trail again, this time hiking from the farm to the only rain forest in Wales, a temperate rain forest owned by the Woodland Trust. It was a beautiful area with waterfalls and mature trees in abundance. We met a young lady on the trail and found we had both been in the same areas of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. She had been there on a business trip and was eager to return to experience the desert environment which is not present in the UK.
A church built in the 5th century located not far from the farm drew our attention so a trip was planned. It is directly on the beach and the sand dunes would overcome it if it was not regularly cleared. It was amazing to see this small chapel where people had gathered to worship for so many years. We tagged on a walk at Barmouth that is a tourist town of long standing. The Panorama View Trail allowed for a wonderful view of the estuary nearby and was abounding in rhododendrons.
The waterfalls in Wales may not be of the size of the Icelandic falls but they are still beautiful. On a hike to Swallow Falls we encountered redwood trees which made us excited. They are not of the size of the California Redwoods but are the same family. On many of our walks we had chances to meet people from so many different places. As always the people part of our journey was wonderful!! While observing the waterfall, we visited with a hiker who gave us advice about Scotland and a couple from Germany who shared our delight in the Welsh countryside.
On a second day of hiking with Dave we trekked to Cregennan Lakes from the estuary near Barmouth, this time seeing it from a different angle. It was a delightful hike with beautiful views and great conversations. An opportunity to have dinner with Dave and Ali was a treat and a chance to try some exceptional Welsh cuisine. It was a wonderful experience!
The next day was our last full day in the Snowdonia National Park area and we felt we wanted to try Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. It had been on Barry's dream list for a many years! Dave had recommended a trail up the mountain that he preferred for the views so we made our way to the car park at that trailhead. It was a Saturday so we were in a large company of trekkers. The trail was labeled as 7.5 miles and the summit was 3560 feet but were bound to at least try. The views were spectacular! We were sure that if we got tired, we could just turn around and 'no shame'! Well.... we did great getting to the top. The que at the top was a very long wait for just a picture from the summit enshrouded in clouds so we opted to eat our lunch nearby before our descent. Our weariness caught up with us and the journey down took longer than the hike up! By the time we got to the car park, we were one of the only vehicles left! It was easy to find the car but a challenge to move very fast. However, Barry had accomplished his dream and he was elated (or as elated as he could feel due to his exhaustion)!
The next day was moving day and Father's Day. We bid farewell to our hosts and the place we had so enjoyed. The next leg of our journey led to the north to see a bit more of Wales. Anglesey is an island off the north coast of mainland Wales. Rain found us as we arrived but we did not want to waste time so we drove to Puffin Island and parked while it rained. The nice thing about being readers is we are content with quiet seclusion and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with a cloudy view and our digital books!
Our next morning was bright and clear as we set out to explore the island. Crossing the Menai Bridge we headed off to see as much as we could get in. A tour of an amazing lighthouse, a hike through a wooded area, and a wander on Llanddwyn Island were amazing. There was a shrine to the Welsh version of St. Valentine on this small island where the paths were paved in shells making for a crunchy walk!
Dave and Ali had recommended Conwy Castle as the best castle to tour so we caught it on our way out of Wales. This castle was amazing! The size was far greater than any other we had seen. They had restored several of the towers so there were lots of steps to get views of the city. As we were leaving we saw several tour buses with a number of school groups preparing to make their way through the castle. My sympathies to the teachers in charge of keeping track of students in the myriad of places they could find to explore in Conwy Castle!
We took time to mail postcards from here to the grandchildren knowing this was our last Welsh stop. Finding the post office was challenging! Most UK post offices are located in small shops or convenience type stores but we accomplished our errand and started on our way to Scotland by way of a bit of England. After three plus weeks in Wales, it was hard to say goodbye!
ICELAND
These two old retired people have the most amazing children and friends! When we retired two years ago (time does fly when you are having fun and adventures), our children surprised us with a savings account they had started 4.5 years before so that we could go to Wales. As we left our wonderful Marshfield Schools, the kids invited anyone at school who wished to add to our trip budget to do so. With all these kind people (children and school friends), we were set to travel but... we felt the first order of business for us was to do the National Parks in our own 48 states and so we did! 48 National Parks in less than 20 months completed in April 2023. It was time to expand our horizons!
When our family gathered to celebrate the life of our wonderful mother/grandmother in January 2023, we told our children we needed a nudge and some help. They are great at nudging and helping so together they assisted us in making a commitment as airline flights and car rentals were explored. Several of our children dream of going to Iceland some day so they dropped the idea in our heads to add a flight to Iceland from England (the least expensive way for us to pull that off in light of our other plans). Iceland became our dream as well! Truth be told, Barry had already felt a 'whimsy' to add Iceland to our bucket list! A week in Iceland gave us so many wonderful memories and experiences!
Our initial plan had been to camp in a tent since campgrounds are pretty common along the southern edge of Iceland. Fortunately we saw a YouTube video a couple of weeks before departure that convinced us to change our plan and to rent a small camper van. Weather in Iceland in May is not predictable and the reality was that we would not have had such pleasant memories sleeping in wet, cold conditions in a ground tent (we are rooftop tenters, remember).
Iceland's roads were not crazy busy in May and they are kind enough to drive on the 'right' side of the road (right being the side we were used to and great for our comfort level for first driving experience out of the US). The country of Iceland has only had a paved road all the way around their country for the last 50 years. Their total population is less than Kansas City and the size of the country is about the same as Kentucky with 11% of the island covered in glaciers. The other benefit we had with traffic was that we were there before their major tourist season started.
After a wonderful night's sleep despite the light skies until after 10:00 pm, we headed to our first camping night near Svinafell glacier. This campground, as do many of the campgrounds in Iceland, had a communal kitchen for cooking so that campers could heat food and clean up indoors. It also provided a wonderful chance for Barry to hand out pictures and for both of us to have delightful conversations while we shared hot plates, picnic tables and sinks with other campers. Meeting people from Canada, Mexico, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and several other places as well as fellow Americans was so exciting. One young couple from Portugal were on their honeymoon and have kindly emailed us of their journey and to check on our progress! Wow!
A rainbow surprised us that first camping evening as we sat in our camper reading. Barry heard car doors slamming and looked out to see a double rainbow though it was still raining a bit. Wow! Over the course of the week we saw rain, snow, sleet and very stiff winds everyday except one when the sun made a full fledged appearance. We were glad we brought winter coats as well as rain coats!
We had learned from friends of our daughter of a special boat excursion to Iceland's largest glacier and decided that was something not to be missed. It was worth the cold fingers experienced under dreary skies to ride the Zodiac boat (a rubber raft with a powerful motor) eight kilometers through icebergs to see the Vatnajokull Glacier. Dressed in water resistant suits provided by the tour company, we were not frozen but our fingers grew cold as we hung on to a rope for safety that ran along the top edge of the boat. The glacier has been covering a large area of Iceland since the last Ice Age and has produced the icebergs that populate Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon. We learned that we were lucky to arrive under cloudy skies since the color of the ice shows up so much better without direct sunlight. As we looked around we asked our guide about the gray layers visible in many of the icebergs and the glacier. These gray layers are a result of volcanic eruptions that produce ash which covers wide expanses of the icy landscape! Wow!
A land of fire and ice naturally produces waterfalls as the glaciers melt in spring and summer! Some kind soul had created a Google map with most of the waterfalls located in the southern part of the country. Though by no means all of the waterfalls, most of the large falls that are accessible from public roads were noted and we took their advice to catch as many as we could. Wow! There were times as we traveled and looked at waterfalls in the distance when the wind speeds interrupted the water flow of the falls. Getting up close and personal with one water fall that we could walk behind resulted in getting to experience the wind gusts and a subsequent drenching! Luckily, we had a bit of a drive before we wanted to get out again for the next waterfall and our clothes dried out with the help of the van heater.
Along the Ring Road on the southern portion of Iceland was also a most interesting outcrop of rock. In the volcanic rock were two man-made caves that had a small shelter built in front. The shelter in the front was added in 1915 and was a shelter for sheep or goats. The caves were probably lived in or used for storage. There are legends about the history of the caves that include possible troll habitation or home to an evil local chief. Multiple legends usually include his demise by spears. who ever he was. More recent history includes the investigation of the place by Nazi scientists who were looking for possible pagan temples. It was an interesting place to stop and wander with carved stiles to pass over a fence running along the roadside.Â
The volcanic activity of Iceland has left proof of its power but we also saw evidence of abundant geothermal activity with numerous vents releasing steam as we drove through certain areas. We caught a geyser and some hot springs at the end of one day. One of the geysers is "faithful" to erupt regularly while others were more spontaneous. Wow! We are not really "in the water" kind of people but we heard a lot about enjoying hot springs by immersion and not just sideline observation. Maybe another time if we ever make it back there!
The arrival of the Vikings in 840 AD changed much about Iceland. Prior to that time there was much of the land covered in trees which is not the case today. But also the arrival of these marauders changed the political situation. In 930 AD the Vikings actually started the very first parliament! A statue of Leif Erikson donated to the people of Iceland by the US in 1930 honored the 1,000th anniversary of representative rule, the meeting of the Althing. One of Iceland's National Parks preserves the area where this parliament met for two weeks every summer when people could travel from many isolated places to participate in the government through representatives. Wow! Though Iceland did not get to maintain self rule throughout all of its history, they regained that privilege in the mid 1900's.
Animal life in Iceland was not abundant. Icelandic ponies were in several areas and we saw sheep in a few areas. Birds seem to be much more populous than land dwellers. The cliffs were often covered in arctic terns who were nesting. Realizing that these amazing birds travel an incredible distance to rest here for the summer before they fly to the Antarctic for another summer made them even more special, a 44,000 mile journey. We also learned about eider ducks that produce a rare commodity, eiderdown. We caught a pair during our journey with the camera and felt super lucky!
This land also has the distinction of lying on two tectonic plates. In multiple places you can walk from the North American plate to the Eurasian plate. There is place in Thingvellir National Park where you can scuba dive to a location where you can touch both plates. We did not scuba but we did walk from one side of a rift to the other on the Bridge between Continents.
We camped in Reykajavik's Eco-Campsite on our final night of camping. Though our camper had come with a portable propane stove to use outside, we had never tried to light it. The winds would have made it hard to keep going and the cold, rainy weather did not invite outdoor eating. This campground also had the indoor kitchen set up we had encountered on our first camping night in Iceland. Here we had a delightful visit with a young couple from Canada. The sun actually revealed its presence on our last day which was a treat after six days of rainy skies with cold winds. A trip to see one of the most visited places in Iceland, Hallgrimskirkja, also provided an opportunity to see a statue of Leif Erikson gifted to the people of Iceland by the United States. Both were very impressive creations!
On our last night in Iceland we were booked to stay in a hotel to expedite our early departure for London the next morning. We decided to try the local cuisine and found a restaurant near our hotel. Being an island country with famous fishing, we opted for fish which did not disappoint! While we waited, 70's American music played at the restaurant and we actually knew most of the words! We wandered along the beach reading info from displays and soaking up more memories of this special place that we just "happened" to add to our itinerary.
ENGLAND
We actually started our international trip by flying from Springfield, Missouri, via Atlanta, Georgia, to Heathrow in London. We did not plan to rent a car in London so our first hurdle when we got off the plane from our overnight flight was how to get us and our luggage the short distance to our hotel (in case you wonder, you CAN NOT walk anywhere from Heathrow)! A wonderful young man got us directed to the London Transit System and it was our key to adventure. We rode the bus system that had a conveniently positioned bus stop not a quarter mile from our hotel. We learned how to get on the Tube, a cross between a subway and above ground commuter train. We did use our trusty legs for transportation but the distances from one place we wanted to see to the other was more than those could take us in the time we had. Confession time, we did get on the wrong bus once going the wrong direction but it was an error quickly rectified and only cost one more bus fare.
We did discover a sweet pub not far from our hotel for our first "foreign" meal. The Three Magpies provided a wonderful first experience with UK cuisine. Beef and Ale Pie did not disappoint! Our next discovery was a local neighborhood market where we could buy tea, bread, peanut butter and jelly for lunches on the go and blood sugar rescues.
Flying straight to London was based on an economical decision but we determined we would see as much of the city as we could while on this journey. A walking tour around the center of London on our second day after our arrival (they actually have a star to mark the center of London, well, center at one point in history) with over 20 iconic stops included Buckingham Palace (outside view only), the changing of the guard ceremony, government buildings, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey. There were a number of other points of interest shared by our guide who kept his group informed and moving as well as entertained. The city was still decorated for the coronation of King Charles so banners were in abundance throughout the city. One couple in our group happened to see the Royal motorcade pass through Trafalgar Square and glimpsed the new king! (We were standing in line to pay for toilet privileges. Our timing is not always perfect!)
We loved the architecture and seeing where so much history had taken place as we walked with our guide. Statues are very common throughout the streets (as are the pigeons). Side note: pigeons are illegal in Trafalgar Square. You can not feed them or contribute to encouraging their presence there. However, I am not sure all the pigeons are aware of their eviction! One stature of Queen Victoria displays a very elaborate hat which we learned was to prevent the queen's head from becoming a pigeon roost! Oh, the concerns of the important!
Buildings along the way were either famous for who met there, who was executed there or who built it for the most part. With its very long history having been started by the Romans in 43 AD/CE, there are lots of stories that could be told. London (Londinium per the Romans) has not always been a peaceful place nor a very clean place. It was famous for a having an obnoxious smell in the early centuries and now includes the smell of fumes from a huge amount of traffic to their air quality.
We parted from our guide near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to visit the next long anticipated view of Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was a very special place even though walking among so many sepulchers felt like a tour of a cemetery. Over 3,000 bodies are buried within the walls of the Abbey. Some names we recognized because they retain a place in history while others just had enough money to buy a grave site indoors. The oldest door in Britain and walls with painted images predate the larger, more ornate parts of Westminster. Later I over heard a woman say how powerful it was for her to be near the bones of Elizabeth the First and Mary Queen of Scots. I have to admit I was on tourist overload trying to take in so much I never dreamed I would get to see!
Our next day we scheduled a 'hop on hop off' double decker bus tour. The weather was fabulous and gave us wonderful views of London which has been a center of activity for so many centuries. The bus overcame the challenge of road construction (everyone's favorite travel obstacle) and we got a great overview of the core of the city. The Tower Bridge, Tower of London, River Thames, innumerable statues, parks, buildings of significance were all covered on our route.
We chose to spend a chunk of our day at the British Museum where we grabbed lunch, watched dozens of teachers manage classes on field trips (I was in awe of their fortitude!) and tried to see as much as possible in a few short hours. We wandered past ancient bodies (mummies) from Egypt, sections of wall from Assyria, got to actually see the Rosetta Stone and passed by artifacts from the region that was once the hub of the civilized world for culture and technology (definition: anything man-made to improve life). Another case of tourist overload as we queued up to to see antiquities we had never dreamed of getting close to!
The next day was a longer "Mega bus" ride to Gatwick Airport for our Iceland flight. This time we passed through English country side on our way to a smaller London airport. Everything was impressively green and growing. By that time we felt like we had adjusted to the time change. (details of our Iceland trip are given in the above section)
What goes around comes around was true for us on this trip. We got to see more of England after three plus weeks in Wales and hit the road again on our way to our final destination of Scotland. Distances in Britain are smaller than we experienced our National Parks trips so deciding to journey all the way to northern Scotland for a bus tour of the Orkney Islands did not seem like too much to accomplish in the last week of our dream trip but there were many we talked to who looked at us like we were not wise. It was a journey of field, forest and small villages.
The countryside was still full of sheep and rock fences (though the English fences were more sophisticated than Welsh fences, in reality older, with hand hewn rock faces creating straighter sides and tops) with an abundance of green hedges, trees and fields. The central area we traversed was more populated than the Welsh countryside but we still found woods, rivers, stones and history to engage our interest.
Our hike along the River Gelt was ideal for a driving break and provided one of our dearest discoveries. Giant beech trees populated the walk (we do love beech trees) and a rushing river is always a good companion. A couple we met along the way gave us a heads up about a quarry that we would see along our path close to the river. There was no sign to proclaim what we were seeing but we found ourselves facing a rock face that had thousands of chisel marks from the Roman age of occupation and rule of Britannia. Roman soldiers had carved rock from the bluff to repair Hadrian's Wall and to created aqueducts. I was mesmerized by the rock face carved by hand almost 2,000 years ago.
We had scheduled a walking tour of Hadrian's Wall near the community of Haltwhistle. The wall was created to keep the barbarians of their day away and the Roman ruled Britannians contained. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us perspective on the wall that just wandering on our own would not have provided. We joined fellow Americans from Vermont, California and New York who were also interested in what happened in early Britain on the guided tour and then we took advantage of a nearby museum. The Roman Army museum portrayed life as a soldier making use of current technology under the command of the Roman government in a 'barbaric' land.
Now it was on to Scotland!
SCOTLAND
Our destination after the Roman interlude was Scotland. The terrain got rougher and the hills got to be more like mountains. One more day would see us near the Orkney Islands and our ferry ride/bus tour.
We planned our route north around AirBnb stays to maximize the ability to cook and the possibility of doing laundry, both of benefit for us, our budget and dietary preferences. This also necessitated finding grocery stores when supplies ran low and, without a cooler, that happened frequently. Tesco had met our needs over and over again throughout the UK (kind of like a Walmart Neighborhood Market though some would be more similar to Walmart Super Centers).
Our trip to the Orkney Islands was made via a to ferry and a bus tour. Barry was delighted to turn the driving over to someone else after weeks in the UK. Overcast skies at the start of our journey made way to clearer skies. While on the ferry, an avid birder pointed out a puffin. We missed the season for them to be on land but we did get to see one!
When we landed and loaded our tour bus, we had the good fortune to be in the front seats so our view was perfect. We were taken to five of the 70 islands that make up this section of Scotland. Bridges built by World War II prisoners of war joined the islands we saw. Our first bridge was just feet away from sunken World War I battleships that had been placed to prevent enemy submarines from entering the home of the British Navy during WW II. Just a reminder that the UK was heavily affected by the war in ways the US was not.
The Orkney Islands face more severe weather than other parts of the UK and the animals reflected that. The sheep were wooly, the Highland cows (pronounced with long o) were wooly and one farmer even had a pair of wooly pigs from Hungary.
We walked through an old cathedral, St Magnus, started in the 12th century whose walls showed the evidence of weathering. Like the other cathedrals we had seen, people were buried in the walls but here the epitaphs were very different and bore skulls and bones. We did enjoy exploring old church buildings in every country and checking out the cemeteries!
One thing we had not anticipated in Orkney was the dating of the ancient ruins of Skara Brae. These dwellings predate the pyramids of Egypt! For 4500 years they were buried by the sands of the north Atlantic Ocean. When a storm of huge proportions uncovered the walls, the dwellings were preserved just as they had been when inhabited. Also nearby were stones placed in a circle 1,000 years before Stonehenge of England. It was amazing to view these artifacts of Orkney's past.
Another type of chapel on Orkney was more recent but beautiful. Italian prisoners of war captured in Africa worked to create a chapel of worship in their spare time. It was another reminder of how closely the islands were involved in World War II.
Our return trip on the ferry started with a brief shower which resulted in wet clothes but a beautiful rainbow. What a way to end our special day!
Rain which we had seen very little of since our arrival in the UK made its appearance as we started the last leg of our journey south and with it low clouds that cut down the visibility. Loch Ness (with no sight of a monster) was beautiful even with clouds as were the other lakes. The rugged mountains and rugged coastline were amazing. We stayed one night on the western coast of Scotland and enjoyed the setting sun until almost 11:00 pm. The bay and port were so interesting to view out of our hotel window. It was here in Oban that we had our best fish and chips of the trip. Every experience we had with local food was amazing but our dinner here was "wow"!
Our last travel day found us back in Wales to return the rental car. The last night in Wales was spent in an older hotel with a long history with the rugby union of Wales. These folks in the UK take their rugby and football (soccer to us in the US) seriously!
After taking a taxi from the airport to the capital of Wales, Cardiff, we waited for our Mega bus to return us to London. The bus stop was next to the walls of yet another Welsh castle. It was a busy day of more student field trips as we watched from our park bench. So much history in this beautiful country!
Our Mega bus trip was uneventful. We decided to celebrate our last night in the UK back at the Three Magpies before our early morning flight out of Heathrow. Barry had lasagna while I indulged in mushroom and ale pie! A goodnight's sleep after a major repack to avoid any hitches in carry on luggage. The next night would be our own bed in hot and humid Missouri, but home!
Our dream trip was coming to an end but what a delightful time we had enjoyed! So many memories of amazing places and so many conversations with so many interesting people that crossed our path! We are forever grateful!
On our journey from Mammoth Cave we had planned to stop and visit "Snake Road" in southern Illinois. When we got to the road, it was being graded just ahead of us. It appears we collected a couple of nails from the road so we made our way back to the road before we totally lost all our air in at least one tire. Love the sensors that warned us of our problem. Since we had never had to change a tire, we were in for an adventure. We had unpacked most of the car to get to tools and almost figured out how to unmount the spare when a wonderful couple of gentlemen stopped by to see if we needed a hand. The answer was YES! Turns out that John had a handy man business and he was headed to catch fish bait and we were right on his route! It was a God blessing to be sure. He got the spare freed, found the holes in the tire and planned to carry our tire to a repair spot in Anna, Illinois, just up the road. John and his friend were so helpful and so considerate! Hollerboys 24/7 Odd Job Service if you are in the area. Praying God's blessing on his business and, more importantly, him!
We opted not to camp after the tire adventure and made our way to Belleville, Illinois, to enjoy a shower and someone else's cooking. The next day we made our way to St. Louis for our final National Park in the 48 states. Of course, we had been to this park before! This time we did not have the kids and we did not have to eat McDonald's on the River Boat anchored in the Mississippi River!
Interestingly, we had waded across the Mississippi at its start in Minnesota on our first NP jaunt right after retirement. Throughout our journeys of the last 20 months, we have seen the Mississippi River at different places. Each one was different and linked to this mighty river that flows by the Arch, more specifically the Gateway Arch National Park. We enjoyed a wander through the museum but did not feel the need to travel the tram to the top again.
What can we say about the months of travel and all that we have gotten to experience? It was such a gift God gave us, to allow us this adventure! What a blessing and so many memories! 48 National Parks in 20 months, a dream come true.
What is next? The UK (England, Wales and Scotland) and Iceland are our next destinations.(Alaska is a dream for the summer of 2024!) Our kids and some people from our school gave us money to travel to Wales when we retired. The plans are made and we are so excited! We will be adding to the blog as we can! Thanks for reading of our journeys!
This was also a return trip to Mammoth Cave. This tour was more about the history of the cave as a tourist attraction and our guide for the day was amazing. He was a retired teacher with a wonderful Kentucky accent (may have been exaggerated at times :)! Needless to say the cave itself did not reveal a great deal of change. After all it has been slowly forming for millions of years so the few short years since we came last are a blip on its history.
We camped at the NP campgrounds and got to have a number of conversations with camping neighbors. With only one more NP in the 48 contiguous states, we will miss visiting with camping neighbors most of all, we think! There are so many friendly people who have come to see what we came to see, God's amazing creation!
Our third national park of this trip was a return visit. We have been here in multiple seasons. Our first visit was before kids and it was also in spring. We mostly remembered how much it rained and how beautiful the waterfalls were. This visit was more hiking and we loved it!
We camped at Smokemont near Cherokee, NC, but we drove the road to the Tennessee side to hike and to walk to Clingman's Dome. Every time we have been here we have gone through Cade's Cove and this was no different. Our Tennessee hikes were full of triliums and water, so beautiful! The Cade's Cove drive did not provide a view of a bear this time or of a buck fight but still was beautiful. The hike from our campground at Smokemont was pushing us, 1400 feet elevation in 6 plus miles. But the views were worth every step.
Barry visited with some tech guys camping across from us who came to fish. He enjoyed their conversations. We had the prime spot for people to stop by to visit (near the bathroom) and we had many wonderful conversations. It was such a great spot!
We had decided to detour and pass through an area where the Linvilles had actually lived in North Carolina. Pilot Mountain State Park provided a great view of the Yadkin River Valley and a nice place to camp. The next day we wandered to Kernersville, North Carolina, where Barry's fifth great grandfather had owned land. We located a historical marker that gave Thomas Linville credit for settling the area. His brother William had owned the land near Winston-Salem, NC where the beautiful Tanglewood Park now sits. His historical marker had been knocked down a couple of years earlier and has not been reset but we found the concrete pad and the image is online so we counted that a win in our genealogy trail. Both brothers had come from the Shenandoah Valley to live here in North Carolina as the number of settlers heading from the east pushed the wilderness further westward.
New River Gorge National Park is located in West Virginia. We took advantage of a night in a camping cabin in Little Beaver State Park before we located a camping spot in New River. All the campsites are first come, first served in this park. There is not a lot of camping here and they plan to keep it that way. This area has long been a National River but more recently, in 2020, was chosen to be a National Park and Preserve. New River is actually one of the oldest rivers in the world and flows through the Appalachian Mountains.
The abundant activities on the water were evident as we passed by fishermen enjoying their pastime and then watched kayakers meet the challenge of the river. The New River boasts Class III to Class V rapids and along with two other rivers in the area, it is a mecca for kayakers.
New River also has the third highest suspension bridge in the US. The view from 876 feet below is awe inspiring. It is also fifth longest suspension bridge in the world. We did not expect to find such a special engineering feat in this area. The gorge is beautiful! We enjoyed the drive from the top to the bottom of the gorge on a one way road that provided amazing views of the river below. At the bottom we watched the kayakers pictured above meet the rapids head on. The map of the park upholds the reputation of the river with numerous rapids dotting the path.
We ended up camping at War Ridge which is not near the water but wonderfully quiet. We felt a little guilty taking a spot from someone who really needed to be near the water. It was another of those special spots where we were blessed to meet other campers who shared their evening walk with us. The full time RVers showed us how they had modified their camper to suit their needs for living full time on the road and continuing to work. We have learned so much about others and how they have oriented their lives to spend it in a way that makes sense to them.
This area is steeped in a history of mining as well as river life. After taking the photo of the Sandstone Waterfall above, we made our way up a road that Google was not happy with. It was rough in many places with one lane width so I guess Google thought we had no business traveling it but it was a the shortest route for a return to a path more heavily traveled. It was an adventure and Google finally forgave us and provided instructions.
We moved from North Carolina along with our kids to the Shenandoah Valley National Park in Virginia. Our destination was another Hipcamp. Google is our friend usually as we travel since a map with enough detail to get us to some of our destinations would not be feasible. However, when someone accidently enters the address for the trash receptacle several miles from the campground, instead of the camping spot, we can not blame Google. Google is not omniscient. As with many of our locations on our National Parks trips, internet signal was sparse but we managed to arrive at our destination with our daughter in law's skillful use of an iPhone.
Again, spring had not yet arrived in the National Park but the area was still beautiful. We braved chilly winds to have a picnic in the park along Skyline Drive on the first day and took a drive the next day to pick up the middle section of Skyline Drive to view more of this eastern national park. We got to experience a chilly night camping at 28 degrees so we cut our day short to batten down the hatches and prep for the cold.
The next day arrived sunny which quickly replaced the chill of the night. It was our last day with our family so we celebrated with a restaurant breakfast. After a hearty meal, we parted company as we made our way to our next National Park and they headed toward Washington DC for a few days. It makes our hearts happy to spend time with our children and grandchildren! Such a blessing!
Our final five National Parks trip set records for us. We experienced a tornado warning on our first night out, our only experience of this type with super hard rains and watching the excitement from a somewhat safe location. On our next to the last day out we had our first flat tire of the trip at 114,000 miles on the odometer. So grateful for safety in the storms and good Samaritans on the road!
We made our way to Alabama for our first night where we stayed outside of Cherokee. Our kind camp ground owner directed us to a novel restaurant near by where we enjoyed an early dinner in a cave, Rattlesnake Saloon. The food was delicious and the service was exceptional. After a short drive we made it back to the campground before the threatening weather set in. The camp ground office, showers and laundry provided a sturdy building to wait out the storm when the local factory and tornado warning system roused us out of our roof top view point. Lots of rain but minimal wind lasted about an hour and we returned to catch up some sleep.
The next day took us to a stop with some friends we had made in Bryce Canyon NP in May, 2022 who live near Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was a delightful time to get better acquainted and to hear of their next chapter of ministry. We got to share some experiences camping in the Colorado and Wyoming as they were planning a May vacation with their three children. Their hospitality was such a blessing!
April provided a wonderful time of camping with our oldest son and his family! We met them in North Carolina where they had been exploring before our arrival at a shared camping spot. This was our first experience with Hipcamp and it was perfect for our two family gathering. We were about 10 days early for any of the National Forest campgrounds to be open so we were especially grateful for the availability of this site.
Spring was slow in making itself known so we appreciated a shelter for evening chats and a lean to for cooking. The trees were not leafed out but there were some flowering trees displaying their colors giving promise of a new season. We were close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and a number of picturesque spots for hikes. The waterfalls were flowing which is always worth a trek. Most days were sunny though a chilly rainy day gave us a touring day from the car (mostly). We did adventure to the highest point in North Carolina which happened to be fogged in the day we traveled there.
Bearing the name of "Linville" made this a special spot as the Linvilles of the twenty-first century tracked the family name from the seventeenth century. The Linville Gorge area with Linville Falls, Linville River and subsequent Linville towns along the way were named for an ancestor who had the misfortune to die in the area. William Linville and his son crossed the path of an indigenous scouting party who feared discovery so they eliminated the threat leaving father and son dead. Not the most auspicious reason to name an area but it did end up as the first national news printed in Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia paper. So for that reason, this area bears the surname of Barry's fifth great uncle. Linville's nephew, Daniel Boone, supposedly was part of the group who came to find the bodies to bury them.
February saw us back on the road with a trip to Arizona and New Mexico. Our wedding anniversary falls on George Washington's REAL birthday (before Monday holidays) and we had not planned any special celebration of #49. In late January we learned of an opportunity to visit with a "circuit riding preacher" as he visited several church plants. We also had a standing invitation to visit a dear friend in Cave Creek, Arizona, so our plans fell in to place to make a trip. Meeting some awesome people who are part of these emerging churches was such a joy to our hearts! And there was snow!! There were so many special memories made during this journey, it was "right time, right place" for us!
To our delight we made it back to Palo Duro Canyon as February drew to a close and March "blew" in! This was our second trip to this beautiful Texas State Park! Each time we have had delightful hikes but even better visits with camping neighbors! It makes our hearts happy to meet other travelers and hear their stories along with the "why" of their journeys. We hold these conversations in our hearts and pray for these people who God brings along our path. Our lives are so much richer for these encounters with other people that God loves.
In this canyon filled with amazing rock formations, hoodoos, history and good red earth, we marveled at how anyone could make a living with a cattle ranch! The layers upon layers of diverse color and mineral content made our hikes "photo ops" at each bend in the trail. This is the second largest canyon in the United States and well worth a trip if you are any where near Amarillo, Texas.
We completed this journey in Kansas celebrating a grand daughter's birthday before returning to Missouri. Being retired is such an adventure for us!
In order to meet up with oldest son and his family, we saved our holiday celebration until after Christmas and met in San Padre National Seashore. December 2022 had provided some good weather and then delivered plummeting cold. Some of that cold apprehended us as we camped on the Gulf Coast but the views were still amazing! We rang in 2023 (in reality we were asleep by midnight) to the sound of the waves on the shore not far from our campsite and spent the first day of the year wandering up the beach trying to stay warm.
Since the cold had captured us along the coast, we decided to journey inland to Texas Hill Country. Night time colds still encouraged use of the hot water bottles and heaters, but the daytime hiking temps were amazing and the trails at Lost Maples Campground were a delight. We had wonderful conversations with the camp host and several neighboring campers. Having time with our family during those days was a delight as we wandered during the day and shared meals and stories in the evening.
When we parted company with Evan and his family after Lost Pines, Barry and I made our way north toward San Antonio to visit our dear sister in law and more family! A perfect time of enjoying people we love! And home just in time for more snow and cold in Missouri!!