USA

We followed Highway 1 along the California coast to Half Moon Bay where we had lunch and encountered the spectacular, shortened VW bus shown above. It is so Californian!

After lunch, we continued until we approached San Francisco where we joined the larger Highway 101. After a long, slow trip

This post is just a slide show. It begins at Ragged Point at the southern end of the drive and ends at Carmel to the north.

How was it? I imagined a twisty road amidst attractive coastline. I was not disappointed. For those inclined to spend multiple days in the

The three guest houses that make up the “Spanish village” of Hearst’s imagination are like the Three Bears: small, medium and large sizes. We were able to have a look inside the largest of the three, which is where the Hearst family stays when they come to call.

Casa

If you were lucky enough to be invited to stay at the Castle, you could expect to find yourself in pretty spectacular surroundings. We saw the public rooms in the previous post, now let’s have a look at bedrooms.

Hearst never “finished” working on the Castle, and probably never

“This must be a new experience for you to see the grand home of rich people”, I said to the British family joining us on our first tour.

Hearst imagined The Enchanted Hill not as a house or even a single structure. His model was a small Spanish town with

Most folks call this monument to tasteful pillaging Hearst Castle but its given name is La Cuesta Encantada, which means The Enchanted Hill. I’m here to tell you that when you sprinkle the fairy dust of money on ranch land, you conjure up a whole boatload ‘o enchanted architecture.

Meet Rik, creator and proprietor of the Itty Bitty Inn in North Bend, Oregon. Although the motel was built in 1950, you can bet it didn’t look like this in the early days. Rik took over about 1980 and began the transformation into the whacky place you see today.

Theres no story to be told this time, just a few photos of things i thought you might like to see.

Well, maybe one little story…

Some of you, my most perceptive and tasteful of readers, have said nice things about a few of my photos. That got me thinking.

”Hey, let’s check out the Holiday lights at the zoo.”

”What if it rains?”, said no one in Phoenix ever.

There’s nothing special here, just a holiday light show at the zoo. Lots of cities have them, Seattle for example. The difference is being able to stroll the

A look at the arrogant, misguided program to “improve” indigenous people by eradicating their culture.

If you put your hand on a hot stove, then do it again, most folks would think you’re a slow learner. On the other hand, they say if you get tossed off of a horse, you should jump right back on.

Where does that leave hiking?

We decided to

”Where is Biosphere 1?”, people ask. Unless you’re an astronaut or a billionaire, you’re probably standing on it. Yes, the Earth is the first and original biosphere known to humankind.

So, what’s Biosphere 2? It was an experiment conceived in the 1980s and executed in the early

Let me begin by denying that we would ever plan to lunch at a bar frequented by real bikers. Our bar, in Cave Creek, AZ is favored by the more genteel kind of biker, the one who buys a new Harley, adds $15,000 of extra chrome, and never, ever

The Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale is one of my favorite places. It’s immense. The upper floor is organized by continent. As you approach an exhibit, your headphones will automatically play a recording of the instrument or genre. No pushing of buttons, no scanning of codes. What to see

I think “Return to the Garden” has a certain biblical tone, don’t you? Rest assured this is the last whiff of religion you’ll find in this post. Unless your theology involves cactus worship.

I believe I’ve posted photos from the Desert Botanical Garden once or twice before,