Tag Archives: Which Way

Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Magic Mountain

August 29, 2019 XingfuMama 3 Comments

Better than any ride at Disneyland! The lupines along this portion of the trail were amazing.

These are some photos of the upper (higher elevation) portion of the lakes loop trail starting at Paradise. We had a misty but bright morning the day we hiked the loop.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

I think I can’t, but then I do

August 22, 2019 XingfuMama 3 Comments

The Golden Gate Trail is the skinny zigzag up the side of the hill.

One of the more breathtaking (and, for me, breathless) loop trails that I hike at Mount Rainier is to go up Golden Gate trail to the skyline trail to Panorama Point.

Skyline Trail is well named.

The lower skyline trail is permanently closed, except for those adept with ice axes. So up one goes even farther.

There is a spot on the Upper Skyline Trail that has much better views than Panorama Point does:

But Panorama Point has a potty (as well as crowds of the many folk who hike directly to and from it starting at the visitor center.

I never go into this hike thinking I will make it, I give myself permission before I start to just go as far as I can and enjoy the beauty that I see, but I always do.

If you ever get a chance to go to Paradise, this is a great loop since many do not go beyond the there and back to Panorama Point, so you have less crowded trails. By hiking up Golden Gate in the morning you get shade for the steepest uphill. When you get above the tree line there is usually a nice breeze for the (not entirely insignificant) remainder of the uphill. There is some scree scramble but not too bad. If it helps you to gauge: I hike in hiking shoes (not boots), carry a mono-pod/hiking stick and don’t have exceptionally good balance. I am a bit nervous, but have never had a problem.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Challenge

China, Guilin

Rainy Day Walk-about in Guilin

July 5, 2019 XingfuMama 1 Comment

A solid wood tea table and "chairs" made of sliced tree crosssections beside an elegant Chinese screen and door. This is the lobby of the Aroma Tea House in Guilin, China.

A woman with an umbrella walking on a wet walkway paved with stone being swept by an orange vested worker wearing a broad brimmed woven bamboo hat, in Guilin, China.

A group of people singing in a floating pavilion with a dragon head on Rong Lake in Guilin, China.

A wet pathway of alternating square cut stone and embedded pebbles running along the edge of the lakes in Guilin, China.

Lovely bas-relief art, inspired by the local landscape, adorns this boat and pedestrian underpass, a very busy street runs above it. Guilin, China.

The sun and moon pagodas on Rong Lake in Guilin, China, on a gray, rainy day.

People with umbrellas fishing in the lake in Guilin, China.

An ornate gate along the path around the lakes in Guilin, China.

A large puddle reflects the moon pagoda and a walker with an umbrella, in Guilin, China.

Variety of paths and a boardwalk over a small stream in Guilin, China.

No matter how I try, I can’t seem to be systematic about publishing photos. These are from my May trip to Guilin, in China, during their rainy season. The last full day we were there we wandered around the lakes in the middle of town in the rain. We were wet through and through, but we didn’t want to waste any time in that lovely city.

Some other posts from that trip are: Rainy Season on the Li River, Which Way to the Karst?, Sun and Moon Illuminated and Illuminating, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 1, A Few Rainy Days in Guilin China-Day 2, Misty Vistas.

Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Guilin, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Which way to the Karst?

May 16, 2019 XingfuMama 9 Comments

I continue to try and work with photos taken on my recent trip to China. Here are a few more from our Li River Cruise Trip.

Two half arches with Chinese writing, a boulevard leading toward the karst hills visible in the distance. Guilin, China.

A snack vendor with cooked corn and eggs, a wide variety of fresh fruits and bags of nuts, along with sweatshirts. At Zhujiang dock, Guilin, China.

Rows of boats waiting to take passengers down the Li River at ZhuJiang Dock, Guilin, China.

A line of boats chugging toward karst hills, on the Li River near Guilin, China.

A line of tour boats passing a limestone formation on the Li River, near Guilin, China.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Challenge

England, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Around in London

March 15, 2019 XingfuMama 2 Comments

People walking out from under the ornate arch at the entrance to Paddington Station in London.

Pedestrians in the street and on the sidewalk.

Paddleboarders paddling past old warehouses and canal boats in the Paddington Basin in London.

Narrow coverd passage way leads to a cobblestone courtyard with housing in former stables.

A man in a hat and backpack looking at cars passing on a London Street.

A few pictures from our few hours in London last summer for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge.

https://sonofabeach96.com/2019/03/14/which-way-challenge-march-14-2019/

Africa

Is the road going forward? or back?

January 22, 2019 XingfuMama 1 Comment

I’ve been working with old photos lately. Here are some ways from a visit to Masai Mara National Park in Kenya in 2012.

Posted for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China, Snapshots from a Happy Life

A wall that connected

Gallery December 20, 2018 XingfuMama 1 Comment

One thing that fascinated me when I researched about the Great Wall of China is that it was used more for communication than for separation. In the days before cell phones, messages could be sent quickly over long distances along the wall using smoke, flares and flags.

These are photos from the reconstructed area called Mutianyu. It is less crowded than Badaling, which is more easily accessed from Beijing. As I mentioned we had a private driver to our hotel as part of Wild Great Wall’s self-guided tour so we did not have to figure out how to get back to the city.

Comparing from the photos I posted last week, Which Way. You can see that the reconstruction and maintenance are a monumental endeavor. The wall is along the crest of the hills and the area is not accessed by roads, the materials are heavy and there is a lot of territory to cover.

Traveling this section there are a lot of stairs, steep and uneven in many places.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge

China

Which Way

December 17, 2018 XingfuMama 2 Comments

These are from a walk we took on the Great Wall of China last spring, from Jiankou to Mutianyu. These are all from the unimproved section (Mutianyu is one of the large sections that has been improved.)

The walk was about five miles and the package we used had a driver who drove us to Jiankou, then walked with us to the first tower on the wall (that is a steep-ish, but short hike), after taking our picture he returned to the car and drove around to Mutianyu to meet us. Once on the wall you can follow it and the instructions provided easily. I can recommend the outfit we used: “Wild Great Wall”, I’ve used them three times for different activity levels. We all felt that is was beneficial to see both the unreconstructed and the reconstructed wall. If I stay on task this week (not real good odds) I will post pictures from the reconstructed section of the wall next week.

For Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge.

China, Picture Galleries, Snapshots from a Happy Life

Which Way-Weifang

December 6, 2018 XingfuMama 1 Comment

Peony garden at Shihu Yuan.

Keyhole gates at Shihu Yuan.

Avenue to a temple decorated for Qing Ming Festival.

Walkway at Yangjiabu Folk Village.

A few pictures of ways in Weifang, Shandong Province, China, for Son of a Beach’s Which Way Photo Challenge.

England, Hadrian's Wall Walk

Back to the Wall

November 25, 2018 XingfuMama 1 Comment

I never finished the series of posts I intended to write about walking Hadrian’s Wall last June.

Here is a gallery of pictures from the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail between Housesteads Fort and Chester’s Fort.

In this stretch, while not including the highest point on the walk, it passes something equivalent to the Continental divide in North America, the texture of the clouds changed, and it got way less windy.