Savvy Exploring

Short flat hike with interesting flora and rock formations

Dramatic but tranquil, very rewarding for an easy hike. Santa Elena Canyon was gorgeous. From the lookout you could see an abrupt stone wall stretching into the distance in both direction. It was a severe transition from rolling desert to a solid wall of stone that only parted for the canyon. In my opinion this is the prettiest of the canyons.

Pinnacles Trail to Emory Peak, to Boot Canyon, to South Rim, to Laguna Meadow

You can do Dog Canyon for an in canyon experience or Devil’s Den for a rim hike.

Cinque Terre is at once a serene oasis, a seething tourist destination, a pocket of communities on the edge, a place with a sometimes violent and tragic but rich history, and a place where you never know what you will find next.

Most of these castles are just there, free to enter, and begging to be explored. You can climb (and with the stairs rotted away sometimes you have to) and wander at your own risk, unhindered by signs or fences. Unlike the restored castles that are constantly under construction, the beauty of decay takes over and adds a life of its own to these abandoned structures.

Combine a gentle walk and a heart pounding adventure exploring tombs in the countryside. While Carrowkeel is not far from the highway, it is a bit of Ireland that not many people get to see.

Off the beaten path without being out of the way, this isolated peninsula makes the perfect picnic stop.

A road trip around Ireland and a couple days in Edinburgh. (8-15 day trip)