Musings
Last Adventurer
#preservethegood

As you’ve seen above, #preservethegood could mean anything – it could mean helping someone in a time of need; it could be picking up trash on a trail, or a wilderness area; it could be educating people on leave no trace principles; it could be making a difference in any way you want; and it could be just about anything you want as long as you are focused in keeping the magic and the unique positive things in this world and this life. In terms of tangible things, I encourage you, my readers and followers to use the hashtag when you post a photo of something amazing; or when you’re talking about something exceptional you – or someone else has done to improve the world. I look forward to seeing how all of you end up preserving the good in 2015, and you can rest assured that as always, I will keep preserving the good where I find it as well, because as Plato says, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” 

#preservethegood
Hiking, State Parks
Last Adventurer
Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

As I mentioned previously, Waimea Canyon is a site that is most definitely one of the “must-view” locations on Kauai, and in the world; and as I also mentioned, the best way to experience it is to hike it. While there are many great hikes through the canyon, the best hike in my book is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. It is the best hike to me because at four miles roundtrip, it is accessible, it has stunning views of the canyon from inside the canyon, and it ends at the top Waipoo Falls. It also allows the hiker the chance to swim in a waterfall, which is a once in a lifetime experience.

Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

Strange Spots

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Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge

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Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge

The emerald island has 3,171 kilometers of stunning coastline. Some of this coastline – like the Cliffs of Moher, and the Giant’s Causeway is well-known, and well visited. Other areas, however, feature pristine, off-the-beaten track gems with no tourists, and no locals. In the middle of this spectrum is the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge, the island’s only extreme historic coastal adventure. Created over three hundred and fifty years ago by salmon fishermen to connect Ireland to Carrick a Rede Island, the rope bridge was originally a single handrope which crossed the distance – some sixty feet (20 meters)– and depth – some hundred feet (30 meters) from bridge to ocean. At that time, the local fishermen crossed this rope with their fishing gear and catch to work at the fishery on the island. This fishery operated only during the summer months, and the bridge was dismantled and stored in the winter.

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The Dark Hedges

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The Dark Hedges

In Ireland and Northern Ireland, there are innumerable locations where one can observe both ruins, and stunning natural phenomena with little to no effort, as many of these spots have been set aside for the public. While it is debatable which of these locations is the most stunning, one of the most popular spots on the entire island is a tree tunnel now known as “The Dark Hedges”. Voted as one of the top five tree tunnels in the world, along with many other accolades, the Dark Hedges is also one of the most photographed locations in all of Northern Ireland. And, while it has been featured in many television shows and movies, in 2017, it is most commonly known as the Kingsroad from Game of Thrones.

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Corcomroe Abbey

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Corcomroe Abbey

Throughout the entirety of Ireland, ruins of castles, old buildings, mansions, and various other structures dot the countryside. In addition to these modern ruins, other, older ruins from Neolithic times hide under hills and other spots. All of these remnants of the past provide Ireland as a whole with a unique charm, and offer unique opportunities for those travelers who wish to experience locations that are off the beaten path. While some of these locations are on private property, and are inaccessible, some of these locations are well preserved, and hidden in plain sight in various spots of the country, such as Corcomroe Abbey.

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St. Brigid's Well

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St. Brigid's Well

One of the many interesting things about Ireland is that it is a place where the practices of the past and present intersect in modern day life. While there are many examples of the past in modern day Ireland, one of the tangible features that people can experience are the many holy wells that still dot Ireland’s countryside. During the nineteenth century, a survey was taken of the wells that were considered holy, and over 3,000 were considered to have some sort of interesting power. While this number has likely decreased over the course of time, and a subsequent survey has not been conducted, many of these holy wells remain, and are very accessible. One of the most well-known of these wells due to its location near the Cliffs of Moher is St. Brigid’s Well outside of Liscannor.

Cave of the Four Horsemen

Cave of the Four Horsemen

From Baja California through the Los Angeles basin, there are many pieces of rock art that link today’s California to the California of the past. While many of these pieces are located in hard to reach places, and have suffered the ravages of time, or mankind, the Cave of the Four Horsemen in Malibu is a location that has been both well-preserved, and for the most part, is easily accessible. Officially known as the “Saddle Rock Pictograph Site”, the Cave of the Four Horseman is a pictograph site located in a rockshelter in Malibu, and is the best preserved rock art of the Chumash tribe. While the Chumash inhabited the Los Angeles basin from 5,000 B.C. onward, the Cave of the Four Horsemen is unique because it depicts the expedition of Gaspar de Portola, which passed through the region in 1769-1770. Although the rockshelter has a plethora of fine paintings that have survived, the signature pictographs depict four individual men on horseback, and is the inspiration for the cave’s name.

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa

Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa

In the middle of a huge lava field, halfway between Keflavik International Airport and Reykjavik lies Iceland’s most popular tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa (or simply “the Blue Lagoon”). While a majority of Iceland is visually stunning, with tall snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, and green expanses, this portion of the country looks more like the moon. The Blue Lagoon as well looks like something from another planet with its iridescent blue shade and steaming hot water. While Iceland is the world’s leader in geothermal energy because of its position on a number of volcanoes, and does have a number of natural geothermal pools, the Blue Lagoon is not one of them.

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

Pacific Southwest Railway Museum

In the far southeast corner of San Diego county lies a small town, Campo. Campo is well-known historically for two things - the ancient Gaskill Brother's Stone Store, where a shootout occurred in 1875; and for being the nearest town for the southern terminus of the Pacific Crest Trail ("PCT"). The PCT starts at the United States-Mexico border, and as Campo is only 1.2 miles from the border, it is the jumping off point yearly for PCT through-hikers seeking to travel South to North on the trail. Campo is also home to a unique and hands-on museum, the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum. The museum is the main location and headquarters for the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum Association ("PSRMA"), which was founded in 1961, and has been the preeminent group for railroad enthusiasts in the greater San Diego region for over fifty years. Since 1980, the museum has been open at the location in Campo, and from that point on has been a place where old railcars and engines are stored for public visitation, a place with an excellent interpretive museum about the rail history of Southern California, and on occasion, a place that provides tours along the rail line from the old Campo railroad station (adjacent to the museum) on the trains that the association owns and operates.