Great Outdoor Day #12 - La Jolla Loop-Eye-popping Flower Forest

La Jolla canyon is blanketed with the shaggy trunks of the giant coreopsis bursting with bright yellow clumps of daisies from Feb-May. Most families with small children stop at the base of the waterfall about ¾ miles into the trail. The boulder-step hike beyond the fall winds up the narrow gorge overlooking the streambed with willows and black walnut alive with birdsong. Steep switchbacks take the hiker through the flower forest to a serene backcountry meadow. The trail levels off through a tree tunnel of lavender-blue California lilac and leads to a pond lined with pussy willows. Nestled among the spreading coastal oak near the pond are picnic tables that invite the hiker to take a rest and enjoy lunch alfresco. Nearby is an overnight campsite.

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Color me flattered – First Featured Adventure Travel Writer

I am pleased to be the first featured adventure-travel writer in the new and improved Travel World International Magazine. The March issue is dedicated to adventure travel from “Hiking on the Edge” in China’s Tiger Leaping Gorge to “Following the Herd” in Tanzania. Editor, Donna M. Airoldi asked me some pointed questions about why I became a travel writer and how I got started. I had fun answering them and a lot more questions. Click here for my interview on page 60.

http://www.travelworldmagazine.com/node/147

Enjoy all the articles in this exciting issue dedicated to outdoor fun. http://www.travelworldmagazine.com/

I’m sure you will find a trip that rekindles your spirit of adventure

Home Sweet Home

Why endure long, cramped flights to foreign lands when you can explore a wonderland of waterfalls on trails winding through lush forests here in the USA? Among other adventures, New England Hiking Holidays offers a six-day trip through the Pacific Northwest’s most scenic areas with stays at bucolic inns tucked in the woods.

The trip begins in Portland, a fun stop in itself. A spectacular drive along the Historic Columbia River Highway takes you across the Bridge of the Gods to rustic Skamania Lodge, home base for three nights. Within Columbia Gorge, first explored by Lewis and Clark, are more than 30 accessible waterfalls. A hike into Eagle Creek highlights everything that the Gorge has to offer; deeply cut gorge walls, rushing, water, crystalline air and towering trees.

Next a scenic drive to Mt. Hood with a stop to sample the famous cherries in the Hood River Valley. Two days are spent at the foot of Mt. Hood hiking into the heart of the forest to alpine lakes reflecting the snow-capped monarch. The last morning takes you to the Salmon River Trail though magnificent stands of old growth timber. NEHH always offers an easier and more challenging option on any given day. You are not compelled to stay with the group, but why not have the benefit of knowledgeable guides who spare you from making a wrong turn.

A blissful, carefree holiday is waiting for you right here at home.
June 19th - June 24th
June 26th - July 1st
All inclusive
5 days, 5 nights

http://www.nehh.com/

for complete itinerary and pricing

Email - nehh@aol.com

Call 1 800 869 0949 or (603) 356-9696.

Solstice Canyon - A Spring Bouquet

Solstice Canyon has several trails with varying degrees of difficulty that take the hiker to one of four year-round waterfalls in the Santa Monicas. Follow the path tracing Solstice Creek and take the track on the right side of the bridge to Sun Rising Trail. After a quarter-mile ascent, you see a bright pool of sunshine glowing on the shimmering blue ocean far below. After winter rains the canyon is bursting with blooms that include Indian paint brush, pink morning glory, blue diks, and purple evening night shade. New buds lift their faces to the warming sun eager to join the spring bouquet. The Chumash understood nature’s ways and set fire to the hills clearing the way for new life. The recent Malibu fire that destroyed mansions has a silver lining that can be witnessed here in the form of wildflowers

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