Day 8-A place you've traveled to

From Singles 2011

Obviously, this one has been difficult. I feel like I've been very fortunate to do a significant amount of traveling. Based on the expectations I formed growing up in Versailles, I feel sort of like every day I'm still traveling. (If my point of reference was a little less humble, I'd probably recognize that my travel has not been all that great.) In addition, I've written a lot in this blog about traveling - traveling within Australia (Sydney, Blue Mountains, the Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Melbourne, the Red Center), traveling around the South Island of New Zealand, and some traveling in the US (Ohio, NY, Arizona). My criteria for this entry, therefore, became
1. someplace I'd not described earlier in this blog and
2. someplace I'd have a few photos to jazz up my description.

Now, in 2002 just before Kevin moved "home" to Ohio to be with me, I flew down to Australia and we spend 2 months driving clockwise around the country. We managed to visit every state and territory - though I didn't actually conclude the loop. I had to fly back. Kevin, on the other hand, spent another several weeks finishing the task. This might have qualified - since I've not written about Tasmania or Western Australia, the Nullarbor, the pinnacles, Monkey Mia.... BUT, I have no photographs - here. They are all on photo Cd's in storage in Ohio.

I did have a few photos from Savannah, Georgia which is one of my favorite places to visit. And, somewhere I have a few from a road trip I took between Fayetteville and Wilmington, NC on a beautiful, foggy fall day. Ultimately, I've selected a hike we took in 2005 in Glacier National Park (Montana) to Iceberg Lake. We were in the park for Kevin's family reunion. July. I was recently unemployed - recent enough to have absolutely NO INKLING that in only 3 months Kevin would be moving to Brisbane so that one of us was working.

I have my journal from that summer here with me. (It is not because I've traveled with ALL MY personal records - its just that my journal entries occur WAY LESS often than my blog entries. Sometimes - not uncommonly - months go by without a notice. So, this was the journal still "in play" when I moved in March.) This is all to say that I am able to give you a bit more information than what you'd expect if I were relying on my memory.

From Singles 2011

This was the second hike of the day. I wanted to see the icebergs in Iceberg Lake. We started the 4.8 mile hike at 4 PM. Given the painful experience of the previous day's hike (huge elevation change) which resulted in a very slow pace AND rushing through the encroaching darkness on our hike at Cradle Mountain Tasmania (it is very dark in the wilderness and there is really not much effort make to create a smooth walking surface), I made the executive decision that we would "turn around" at 6 PM, iceberg or no iceberg. (For those of you who are Queenslanders, it ISN'T dark yet at 6 PM. It wouldn't be dark for another 2 hours. I know. Maybe you should sit down while that sinks in.)

From Singles 2011

It was a fabulous day for hiking- perfect blue jeans and t-shirt weather. The wild flowers were blooming and the streams ran full.

From Singles 2011

We met several groups of people hiking out from Iceberg Lake - most walking with walking sticks to which were attached jingle bells. People do this in order to warn off (frighten off) bears. My explanation, and the only one that feels reasonable, is that Santa tried to enslave bears (prior to reindeer) to pull his sleigh. Bears retain this ancestral memory and avoid the jingle, jingle, jingle. As we had no bells, we opted for an occasional carol.

From Singles 2011

We did make it to THE Iceberg Lake. No real icebergs just some ice rimming the lake and ice/snow on the surrounding peaks. Very pretty. While there we heard a great rumbling roar - AVALANCHE! Though the event occurred outside our view, the force was sufficient to create waves in the lake.

From Singles 2011

Recently, we learned that the next reunion will once again be in Montana at Glacier. Unfortunately, we won't be able to attend. But, we're ready - maybe in a few more years. I've got a list of "to do" hikes in my journal!