The day after Thanksgiving I went for my last hike of 2011 in the Catskills with Matt, Carrie, Franklin and Arthur. It was rather spontaneous, I first proposed the plan that Sunday to Matt, still itching to make use of newly purchased camp gear from our Arizona camping trip earlier in November. We decided on camping 2 nights and hiking a combination of 2 trails – the Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide (WCS) and the Phoenicia East Branch (PEB).

This combination made a convenient loop back to the parking area. We parked where the PEB ended and the WCS started. It wasn’t very well marked, but after a few minutes of looking, we found the trail sign for the end of the PEB. We arrived in the early afternoon and made our way southeast with intentions on going off-trail a bit to camp out at Terrance Mountain.

We found the lean-to just as the sun began to set (first image). It was such a clear sky! I remember everyone sighting their own shooting star, with the exception of me of course!

At the first of 3 peaks – Wittenberg Mountain. A refreshing view for a water break!

Matt climbing up the Cornell Crack, about a ~15ft, which after an accidental rock scrambling detour, was no challenge!

Sorry Mochi, we have one more peak to get past, and it’s the highest!

Here we are at the end of a successful hike!

Can’t wait to return to the Catskills!

Resources:

• Maps for this area from NY-NJ Trail Conference
• A very informative blog article of the same trail by Mountain Visions

The route we took highlighted:

Recently, I’ve returned from an amazing trip from Las Vegas, Nevada to Phoenix, Arizona, stopping in Supai, Grand Canyon and Sedona. It was my first time to all these places. I have so many photos and insights to share, but first here are some panoramas I took with my camera.

Lake Meade

After Vegas, Matt and I stopped at Lake Meade. I never realized how many sections there are to this lake. I could spend more than a week camping around the entire lake.

Download Lake Meade Panorama

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam was just another few miles away, so of course we stopped by! This is a view from standing on stop of the dam, looking at the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.

Download Hoover Dam Panorama

Grand Canyon

After backpacking in Supai on the Hualapai Indian reservation, Matt and I drove to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, camped with snow in 7 degrees Fahrenheit and woke up at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise!

Download Grand Canyon Sunrise Panorama

Tempe, Arizona from Hayden Butte

The last stop of the trip was in Phoenix. When we got into town we checked out Tempe downtown and took a quick hike up the Hayden Butte trail. I had mixed feelings about this trail – it offers an amazing 360 view of Tempe and out, but was a bit run down and from afar just looked like a landfill. My favorite part of this view has to be seeing all the solar panels on top of the so many buildings!

Download Tempe Panorama

 Phoenix, Arizona from Camel Back

Our last hike of the trip was to Camel Back. It’s in the middle of a residential area in Phoenix. It was encouraging to see so many locals out there so early in the morning. It was a very steep but short hike. The views offered a glimpse into the lives of some of Phoenix’s most luxurious houses and also some of the farms bordering the outskirts.

Download Phoenix Panorama

All these panoramas were taken with my Canon S90 and stitched together using Hugin then touched up using Photoshop.

While in Florida this October, I stopped by Crestview, to visit Stacey, one of my closest friends since high school. Crestview is a small Air Force town, sitting right on the outskirts of Eglin Air Force base, so I did not expect much as far as tourism goes. Her husband, Danny, suggested we check out the Armament Museum on base, I thought it would be a huge snooze-fest. I knew next to nothing about jet mechanics and history of aeronautics. Fortunately, Stacey is a former jet mechanic for the Air Force (yes, a female jet mechanic) and lucky us bumped into the museum’s director on the way in, who generously gave us an enthusiastic exclusive tour! What I thought would be a quick 15 minute fly by turned out to be a very thorough walk through. It makes such a huge difference when you are able to learn first hand from people who are so passionate about their field!

Above: Stacey nerding out over an F-16 model, which she has worked on in the past.

Above: Stacey posing in front of the First Lady – the first C-130 ever built.

Above: terminals from the 50′s.

Above: In the cockpit of the First Lady. We were able to act like children and play and push aaaall the buttons we wanted!

Air Force Armament Museum – Official site.

My road trip to Nashville, Tennessee ended with a high note – a trip to Hatch Show Print! This print shop is renowned in the print world, it is the oldest running letterpress shop in America. The front serves as a gift shop, the back as a studio and print shop. My friends and I were also very lucky to get a small private tour of the entire space by the manager, Jim Sherraden! Read on for more photos!

Jim started by giving us a run down on history of shop. The shop opened more than 120 years ago, and they have been at their downtown location since 1992.  They are primarily in the show poster business and have had the privilege of working with some of the most iconic stars such as Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton.

As you can see they have an extensive library of blocks and plates, all made onsite. No block is thrown out, it will most likely be reused. It does look messy, but we were assured it was an organized mess.

Above: view of the long, vast shop from the front.

Jim holds up one of their oldest large scale plates, carved out of wood and still stained with red ink from the last run. He talked about their different styles as he showed us various current projects, including those from their internship program.

All their printing is done in house. They have so many presses, including a large scale one that prints 41″ by 30″ plates. They also have a rotary in the back to create plates from digital files.

I left with some many posters!!! Such a treat! And aside from posters, Hatch Show Print also has a lot of cats wandering in the front!

Hatch Show Print – official site.

Currently in Florida, still on a happy high from Amanda’s & Adam’s wedding. I actually snapped this photo during the start of the reception over at the gorgeous Bella Collina in Monteverde, FL. Then inspired by Julian Bialowas, via today’s Revolution.Is, I combined the photo with one of my favorite quotes by Picasso that my friend Jerlyn shared with me earlier this month. It translates to ”Leave for the morning only what you are willing to leave undone if you died.” Hope you find it inspiring & motivating! The full 1280×960 pixel image is also available.

The sky gently rains to remind us that it’s time to go home…

Having way too much fun with my new toy. Photo of Masood taken partially submerged underwater at Kim’s pool on Shelter Island, New York. Yes, this photo is unedited!

I never thought I would be one of those victims you would read about in the ‘safety’ section of travel guides. It has been a little over a year since I was drive-by-robbed in Ho Chi Minh City, Việt Nam, and since I made one of the best decisions in my life.

The details are still hazy, it all happened so fast. Next thing I knew I was on the ground and Geoff, my travel companion back then and Vỹ, the hotel receptionist was running down the street. I’m not sure if I screamed or even made a sound. I just remember the look on Vỹ’s face right before he starting running. Was it one person or two? Man? Woman? Was that a motorbike or motorcycle? They came by so fast.

My purse is now gone. It’s my last night in Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon. A horrible twist of fate, I had everything in my purse. I kept running through the list in my head as tears pour down my eyes while waiting on the phone for my travel insurance. Purse, camera, cash, lots of it, VND & USD, cell phone, iPhone, diary, all my credit/debit cards, flash light, Leatherman, pen, hankie, mints… Each held sentiment to me.

There were a million emotions running through my head. Anger, sadness, paranoia, insecurity to name a few. Paranoid about motorbikes, angry at myself for carrying so much, frightened of the drunk cops at the police station, and above all, insecure about continuing my trip through East Asia.

In the midst of all this chaos wreaked by one (or two) person and a motorbike, came so many good people whom I can never thank enough. Vỹ, the head receptionist at the hotel, for escorting me to the station, agencies, etc. and for translating. Geoff for helping with phone calls, letting me bum off him for a week and for being oh so patient while I was an emotional train wreck. The other hotel workers for staying up late to help out. The travel agency nearby, for being compassionate and making all those phone calls. The two elderly women who said they would pray for me. And for all my friends and family who wrote a flood of emails offering their support and optimism!

It took me a bit to replace everything and to get over it emotionally. Now this event is just a small dent in my amazing summer backpacking trip through East Asia. In the end, the things were just an inconvenience to replace. I am still a little sad that the stolen contents included my camera and diary which stored 4 weeks+ of memories and contact info of new friends and beloved businesses. Memories I won’t forget, connections may be lost, but here’s hoping we’ll all cross paths again.

I’m glad I kept on going.

Here are some of my favorite photographs of a few of the many vegetables & fruits I’ve encountered during my month long stay in Dominica!

Figs. I know, they look like little green bananas! In Dominica, they are called figs and are much starchier than the common banana fruit. They can be used as provisions or to thicken soups. They were growing in abundance along side the mountainous roads!

Chrysobalanus icaco, aka sea grapes. A thick, velvety skin with a sweet soft white flesh. Discovered by my friend Carlos‘ sharp eye at Tete Chien, part of the Kalinago reservation, located at the Northeast of the island. These fruits are only grown by the beach!

Orange! Yes, an orange! Typically found in many tropical areas across the world, this orange has a thick yellow-green skin and was more on the tart side. Given to me by my friend Edmund‘s mommy!

Took this photo at a vegetable and fruit stand at the ‘shacks’ in Portsmouth. Starting at the top left, going clockwise, we have turnips, green beans in plastic bags, passion fruit, eggplant, some fruit (perhaps pears?), cucumbers and soursop.

Fresh, hand picked nutmeg from one of my favorite places in Dominica – Screw’s Sulfur Spa. I never really knew that this was how nutmeg actually looks like until Screw gave me a bunch after my sulfur bath! The only nutmeg I’ve encountered are the powder or dried, shelled ones used for grating. Truly eye opening!

Scotch bonnet peppers, a staple of the Caribbeans and jerk sauce! They are close to the habanero family and boy, are they HOT!!! They come in various colors from bright red to light green and its shape is similar to a bonnet hat, hence part of the name.

Not quite sure what these are, but my friend Sonia and I found them in some bushes at the botanical gardens in the capital of Roseau. They are soft and smells so sweet. But the red color and our camper instincts labeled them dangerous… potentially… until we figure out what it is!

Guava – one of the only fruits whose outside smells like the inside flesh, and yes, it smells sooo good!!! This photo was taken when my friend Stephen and I chopped up a huge batch of guava to make fresh guava juice.

These last two photos don’t fall under vegetable or fruit, but I had to share! These little flower bushes are all over the island and if you pinch and pull it out near the bottom of the stem, you can suck a tiny amount of sweet nectar!

Despite the record setting heat wave and a cold (yes, a horrible combo), I made it out to the Serious Eats All-Star Sandwich Festival last Saturday with my friend Alan! It was a day of hard work… eating around nine sandwiches plus drinks & snacks in over 100° F heat on Governors Island!

Above: Pork Belly Sliders from ‘Wichcraft;

Above: two of hundreds of sandwich contestants – my friend Alan holding our VIP swag & me, enjoying a People’s Pop bar!;

Above: Festival tents & picnic grounds at Governors Island.

Left: top- Gramercy Tavern’s Ham & Cheese, right- Taim’s Falafel, bottom left- Best Pizza’s Meatball Sub, center- Torrisi’s Turkey Sandwich; Right: top left- Bành Mí Zòn’s bành mí, top- ‘Wichcraft’s pork belly slider, right- Peanut Butter & Co’s Elvis sandwich, center- lamb meatball sliders from Locanda Verde, bottom left- animal sliders from Kenji;

Left: lamb sliders from Locanda Verde; Right: vanilla ice cream with toasted curry coconut from Big Gay Ice Cream Truck;

My favorite sandwich is the ham & cheese sandwich from Gramercy Tavern! The bread was burnt & crispy on the outside and had a nice, chewy inside. The pickled carrots on the bottom added a nice balance to the abundance of soft, slightly sweet ham!

Originally purchased in a gift shop for scuba diving, this disposable waterproof camera from Polaroid (yes, that Polaroid) failed to provide any photos past 3m, but did provide a lot of fun, anticipation and anxiety having to wait weeks to view these. None of these photos have been edited (with the exception of some cropping). Either the bits of sand and water helped create the grainy filter or the machines at my parent’s Walgreen are tragically hipster. We live in an age of instant gratification and waiting for this film to develop was well worth the wait. More photos after the jump.

All but two photos were taken in Dominica, the other 2 were taken underwater in the Dominican Republic.