2026 Denver - A Day Around Red Rocks.

We drove up a week ago for the John Fogerty concert at Red Rocks and had some time to explore the area.

We arrived late afternoon on Sunday and had dinner at one of our favorite fast food places, In-n-Out Burgers.  Sadly, the closest one to Omaha is in Colorado.

On Monday we were going to have a walking tour of historic Denver but, due to a misunderstanding and crappy communications from the tour conductor, we thought it was canceled.  (The Wife tried to get a refund but the asshole threatened to block her number so "she could scream into the void.")  We pivoted and went to a few places surrounding Red Rocks instead.

Buffalo Bill Cody's grave, Lookout Mountain, CO.

Our first stop was The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave.  This was an interesting museum located on Lookout Mountain.  The views from there were incredible - the mountains in the west and the great plains in the east.

Our next stop was the Mother Cabrini Shrine.  The views from here were nearly as magnificent as those from the museum.  We stopped here because the church the Wife attends is the St. Francis Cabrini Church.

Dinosaur tracks.

Next we went to Dinosaur Ridge and took a guided bus tour of the fossil beds along the ridge.  It was an interesting forty-five minutes paleontologist led tour - though his jokes were a bit lame at times, he kept it interesting.  We had maybe a dozen in the bus and all of us were going to the John Fogerty concert later in the evening.

We ended our pre-concert events with dinner in Morrison, CO at The Cow, An eatery.  The food was good and hit the spot.  We did some shopping at some eclectic boutiques across from the restaurant before heading back to our hotel for a pre-concert nap.

Our Monday was awesome.  We had fun and the weather was terrific (during the day ... not necessarily at the concert).  We're battling humidity here in Omaha and, while it was warm in the Denver area, there was no humidity and it felt awesome.

A few more pictures can be found in my 2026-08 Denver Area Google Photos album.

Ephemera #178

• I haven't updated my walking since the end of June and, frankly, I haven't walked much in that time.  I've only walked seven times since the 27th of June, the longest period between hikes being thirty-five days which covered most of July.  The only reason I can give are the humid days we've had this summer.  I mean, lately, it feels like you can barely breathe, the air being so thick.  So, since my last update, I walked 37.1 miles (59.7 km) which is sad for a fifty-six day period.  That should have been between 100 and 140 miles really.  Disappointing.
• This week we visited our travel agent and finalized a few things for our next trip coming in October.  We will be traveling in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France (north of Paris mostly).  The Wife has been doing a lot of work booking tours and tickets.  it's going to be an interesting trip.
  
  While at the agents, we provided more information for the Southern Spain Holy Week trip we are planning for next March.  She will help us with transportation and hotels.  One spot we may visit has a connection to the Aragoness portion of the Camino that I walked in 2013.  I think the Wife will like it (assuming it survives the fires in Spain).
• At the end of this week we will be going to the Denver area to go to a John Fogerty (from Creedence Clearwater Revival) concert at Red Rocks.

2026 Cape Town, South Africa, Part 3: Paragliding ... Food ... Dogs

July 18: Paragliding and more.

Since shark cage diving didn't kill us, today we took an Uber to Signal Mountain to go tandem paragliding.  Signal Mountain overlooks the oceanfront.  The clouds were low this morning and we were concerned about having to postpone.  As we were going through the orientation, the view we had of the ocean and the neighborhoods below us disappeared.  We joked around with our tandem partners as we waited to see what was going to happen with the weather and, as quick as the clouds came in, it cleared up.

Paragliding over Cape Town, the Atlantic Ocean, and the landing zone below us.

I didn't know what to expect.  It turned out paragliding is more like hot air ballooning than skydiving.  Once you get over the idea of running off of a mountain, the rest is very relaxing.  My tandem partner explained everything to me as he caught thermals to keep us up in the air.  The flight took us around one side of signal mountain, over an oceanfront neighborhood, over the Atlantic before landing in a seaside park.  He did offer to let me 'fly' the paraglider but I decided just to go along with the ride and let the professional do the flying.  The Wife and I really enjoyed the experience.

The park was busy with a 5k being run in the area.  Booths were set up selling running paraphernalia including one called 'Ass Magic'.   We were going to Uber to the hotel but realized the park wasn't that far from the Victoria & Albert (V&A) waterfront so we walked it.  We had some lunch there and did more shopping.

Singers and dancers at the Gold Restaurant.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

In the evening we went to Gold Restaurant to eat local cuisine and watch dancers and singers.  The Wife made the innocent mistake of telling our server that it would be my birthday in a couple days and I ended up with the circle of singing servers wishing me a happy birthday.  Yeah ... not my favorite thing.  The Wife took several videos of the show ... Check them out in the Google Photos album.

July 19: A free day for church, more shopping, and minor distress.

Sunday morning started with ... intestinal distress.  Something I ate was not so golden at the Gold Restaurant.  Fortunately, I travel with medicine for exactly such situations.

We walked to a church for Mass before returning to V&A.  We were caught in the rain but we were prepared with our umbrellas.  This time we visited an enclosed, high-end market.  They had a lot of cool stuff but it was all overpriced.

A set of statues at V&A.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

My intestinal distress cleared up by the end of the day.

July 20: A free day for the Museum of the Dog, the Iziko Slave Lodge, and a birthday dinner.

For my birthday we walked around old town starting with lunch and another visit to Green Market Square for some last minute shopping (We shop a lot and ... I spent a lot more than the Wife).

We walked to the Museum of Dogs which tells the history of Cape Town, and South African, life through the eyes of dogs and their owners.  It was, actually, interesting.  It helps if you do the scavenger hunt you can pick up at the front desk.

After the more light hearted Museum of Dogs, we walked to the much more serious Iziko Slave Lodge museum that chronicles slavery in South Africa.  We're not big museum people but we seem to be getting better in our old age as we are enjoying them more.

In the evening we went to Nelson's Eye Steakhouse for my birthday dinner.  The food was really good and there weren't any singing waiters or anything.

July 21: Castle of Good Hope and heading home.

Our flight home wasn't until 8:00PM so we visited the Castle of Good Hope, a mix of Castle and museum.  We spent time there going through the various military and historic museums and exploring the castle before we had to go to the airport.

The interior courtyard of the Castle of Good Hope with Table Mountain in the background.
(Photo taken by the Wife.)

We went to the airport early but this gave us time to eat a good lunch before we had to check in and go through security.

The return flight was an hour longer than the outbound flight but it went fairly quickly and we arrived mid-morning which is an odd time for us.

Cape Town is an interesting place and we took full advantage of the time we had there.  As we advance in age, this will probably be our last trip to Africa as we are shifting more to Europe and perhaps South America.  Cape Town's mixture of cultures made it a good place to finish off the continent.

Photos can be seen in my 2026-07 Cape Town South Africa Google Photos album.

2026 Cape Town, South Africa, Part 2: City ... Island ... Penguin Colony

July 15: City Walking Tour.

We didn't realize how tired we were from the shark cage diving the day before but we both ended up sleeping nearly eleven hours. Today we had a walking tour scheduled for the afternoon.  We walked from the hotel to the meeting point.  It was a drizzly day.  We ate at a great brunch place called Egghead before meeting with our guide.

The colorful Bo-Kaap neighborhood.

The gentleman who was supposed to be our guide was sick so he sent us Teresa.  She was a character.  She took us on a meandering walk past museums, historical buildings, parks, and districts like colorful Bo-Kaap.  Teresa was more of a friend showing off her hometown than a tour guide which suited us just fine.  She adjusted the route, avoiding places we'd visited on our free day, and added things we asked about.

The tour ended at the Victoria & Alfred (V&A) Waterfront, an upscale shopping and eating area which we would visit multiple times during our stay.  V&A was also where the ferry we would take to Robben Island would leave.  We visited a three story souvenir shop and had lunch in a restaurant while watching dancers in a little square.

We decided to walk back to the hotel which turned out to be a little too much for us after walking all afternoon.  I'm not sure how far we walked but I would guess around 8 miles (12.9 km) total.

July 16: Robben Island and Table Mountain.

Today we took an Uber – they were dirt cheap in Cape Town – back to the V&A and took a ferry to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.  While he was imprisoned for a total of twenty-seven years, he spent eighteen of those years on Robben Island.

We disembarked the ferry on the island and got on busses that would take us around the island showing the various prisons on the island and talking about the various people who were imprisoned here.

Nelson Mandela's cell.

The final stop was the prison where Mandela had been held.  Here we were led by a former prisoner who explained about the conditions and the experiences of the prisoners.  He was an interesting man.

After returning on the ferry to V&A, we took an Uber to Table Mountain.

The rotating tram to Table Mountain.

Table mountain overlooks all of Cape Town.  While you can hike up to the top, we decided to take the tram.  The tram is one of three in the world that rotate as they move along the cable.  This allows the riders a complete 360° view during the ascent and descent.  We ate lunch and did some shopping at the top before taking in the beautiful views of Cape Town.  This day turned out to have the best weather of all our days in Cape Town so we were lucky.

A panorama of Cape Town from Table Mountain.

July 17: Cape of Good Hope and Penguins.

Our original itinerary had us going to Zimbabwe and taking a helicopter flight over Victoria Falls but, before we even left the States, we realized we didn't have any way to get to Zimbabwe and the tour was canceled.  Instead, the Wife booked a coastal tour.

One of the coastal overlooks on a hazy day.

The coastal tour picked us up at our hotel and took us along the coast visiting different parts of Cape Town along the coast.  We stopped at viewpoints to see the rough, boulder strewn coast along the Atlantic Ocean.

Some of the seals from Seal Island.

We got out of a van and got on a boat tour that took us out to Seal Island.  Someone onboard had a drone that probably got some incredible footage.

A female ostrich.

Back on land we did some shopping while we waited to join another van with more people which took us to an Ostrich farm before ending near the Cape of Good Hope.  We ate lunch here.

A baboon that passed me on the trail.

After lunch we had three options: A funicular up to a lighthouse, a short uphill hike to the lighthouse, or a roughly forty-five minutes hike down to the Cape of Good Hope.  The wife, a fan of funiculars chose the funicular ride.  The rest of the group, myself included, decided on the longer hike to the Cape of Good Hope.  Unfortunately, due to electrical fluctuations, the funicular closed right as the Wife was approaching the ticket booth window.

On the trail down to the Cape of Good Hope.

I didn't know this as I was already hiking down.  Along the way I was passed by three baboons that didn't seem to care about me ... one passing within six inches (15 cm) of me.  The hike was mostly downhill giving spectacular views of the rocky cliffs and a secluded beach.  Near the end the hike went up a little to a viewpoint above the cape.  The trail down from the viewpoint to the beach parking area was a bit treacherous – I wish I'd had my trekking poles.

African Penguins at Boulders Beach.

The bus picked up everyone at the bottom and we drove to Boulders Beach to see a penguin colony.  We had time to visit the African penguins.

After a brief delay when one of our bus mates went missing, we returned to our hotel.

Photos can be seen in my 2026-07 Cape Town South Africa Google Photos album.

2026 Cape Town, South Africa, Part 1: Three Words – Shark ࢈ Cage ࢈ Diving

July 11 - July 12: Getting There.

We Left Omaha at 8:00pm, one of the latest flights we've ever taken out of the airport.  This was the start of a combined sixteen to seventeen hours of flight time between Omaha, Atlanta, and Cape Town, South Africa.  The two flights and the one layover went remarkably smoothly.

Once we got to Cape Town, getting to our hotel was a bit ... hazardous though that might be too harsh a word for what eventually happened.  We went through a gauntlet of taxi drivers and, it turned out, fake Uber drivers.  We, unfortunately picked the wrong guy.  He got us to our hotel in a timely fashion but he tried to charge our credit card one hundred times the actual fare.  Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for the fraudulent Uber driver, my credit card declined the charge.  I blame nobody but myself for walking into that mess.  Fortunately we didn't lose any money and, so far, our card number has not been used fraudulently.  Kudos to our credit card security folks.

July 13: A Free Day To Wander

Our first full day was a free day for us.  We filled it up with a few things.  First we walked to the District 6 museum.  Along the way we saw statues of Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu.  The museum was interesting telling the history of apartheid.  The museum is small but full of interesting, thought provoking  displays.

The District 6 Museum.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

After the museum we walked to the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flight into Egypt.  Unfortunately we could not go in due to restoration work that was going on ... and apparently it was a long way from being finished.  We did stop at a gift shop hoping to find a Mary figure that the Wife read about but they did not have it nor had they ever heard of it.  This would be the first time in years that the Wife would not come home with a new Mary figurine or icon.

One of the attractive walking paths in Cape Town.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

Next we went to Green Market Square to check out the market.  We would visit it several times during our stay in Cape Town.  One interesting thing is most tourist markets here are not limited to South African handicrafts but cover most of South Saharan Africa.  I presume that is because South Africa may be most travelers' one and only visit to the African continent.

From left to right: Ostrich, Kudu, and Springbok.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

In the evening we walked to Marco's African Place for dinner.  The restaurant serves different types of game animals and has live African music.  We had the Pan-African Platter which had grilled ostrich, Kudu, and Springbok.  I have to say, my meat palette really couldn't tell much difference between the three but they were all lean and good.

July 14: Shark Cage Diving!

The primary reason we selected Cape Town for our trip was shark cage diving.  We heard about it from some fellow travelers during our trip to China back in 2012.  Things have changed since 2012.  The great white sharks they were famous for are no longer there due to overfishing and unruly orcas.  Despite that, there were plenty of sharks to see.

A visitor that the crew hand fed on the way out to see the sharks.

We were picked up at our hotel and driven to Simon's Town, a township that is part of sprawling Cape Town.  We got on a small boat with twelve guests and four crew.  We stayed relatively close to shore even though you really couldn't see it.  We passed Seal island to see the seals, and the main meal for the sharks in the area.

We anchored and the cage went over the side.  The cage was lashed to the side of the boat.  We put on wetsuits.  Only ten of the twelve guests were going in (not everyone was comfortable doing this) so we got in the cage in groups of five.  We all used respirators tethered to the boat which allowed us to stay underwater indefinitely.  Now, it's winter time in South Africa and the water is cold.  The water temperature was actually higher than the air temperature but there was an initial shock when I slid into the cage.  I turned on my waterproof camera and I got an error – it couldn't read the card.  Fortunately, after a minute or two, it started to work.  I'm assuming it was a thermal shock to the camera as well.  We spent about twenty-five minutes in the water (The Wife and I were in the second group).  The first five to ten minutes were fine but I've noticed the video footage I took became more and more shaky as I stayed in the water.  By the time I got out I was shivering uncontrollably.  Here is a link to my first, unedited video which should give you an idea of what we saw.

A Bronze Whaler or Copper Shark seen from the boat.
(Photo taken by the Wife)

Despite being cold, I managed to take three videos that showed several sharks up close, lured by the chum that was tossed in the water.  The sharks are Copper or Bronze Whalers that grow up to 11 feet (3.3 m) long.  In some cases, the cage was shaken when a shark hit the cage with its tail.  The Wife and I were both very happy with our one, and most likely only, shark cage diving experience.  Highly recommended.

Note:  While I had three cameras with me, I let the Wife take most of the cell phone pictures I'll be using to document most of the trip.  I was too lazy to pull out my phone most of the time.

Photos can be seen in my 2026-07 Cape Town South Africa Google Photos album.

The Next Adventure - Cape Town, South Africa

This weekend we are leaving to go to Cape Town, South Africa.  The trip is twelve days (including travel days).  We have a few activities nailed down including one we have been thinking about since 2012.  We will be doing the following:

• Shark Cage Diving: This is the one we've thought about since 2012.  We met a family during our China trip that had done it and had really enjoyed it.  I hope they dress us warm since it's winter there. (Yes, I'm more worried about staying warm than I am about the sharks.)
• A Walking Tour of Old Town, Cape Town: This will get us familiarized with the city.
• Robben Island and the Prison: Can't go to South Africa without some Nelson Mandela history.
• Table Mountain Cable Car: A trip up to Table Mountain in a rotating cable car, one of only three in the world.
• Tandem Paragliding: If going up to the top of Table Mountain weren't high enough, how about paragliding over Cape Town ... why the heck not.

We were going to take a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls but, unfortunately, that tour was canceled.

We have four free days which we will fill with smaller tours and activities that we'll work out while we are there.

One nice thing is we will be in the same hotel the entire time so no packing and unpacking while we are there,

I will, of course, document and share photos of our trip when I get back ... if we get back (LOL).

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, And 13

The last six days didn't have any shows or planned activities.  It was just a visit to our old haunts in California.  While the first week of this trip was fun and interesting, the second half was like slipping on a favorite pair of socks.

Day 8 and 9 - Chinatown, Olvera Street, Oxnard, and Ventura.

We left Las Vegas and headed into California.  We didn't have any activities planned for the rest of our road trip except for destinations.

Our first stop was Chinatown in Los Angeles, CA.  We hadn't visited here since we left California in 2008.  Sadly, a couple of stores we remembered shopping at were no longer there.

From Chinatown we walked to Olvera Street.  Olvera Street was just like we remembered.  We stopped at a shop and bought Marys and magnets.

From Olvera Street we went to Simi Valley to visit a friend of the Wife.  We met him at his school and we talked as he showed us his school.

We ended up in Oxnard where I'd spent twenty years of my working life.  We drove by our old house and were sad that the new owners had torn out all our trees.

Channel Islands Harbor outside our hotel room.

We visited the Rudder Room, a dive bar the Wife used to visit with her coworkers.  As you walk into the Rudder Room you walk through a long hallway, passing by the bathrooms.  The hall reeks of urine.  Apparently the smell hasn't changed since 2008.  One of my old coworkers was in the bar but he didn't recognize me.  We hadn't seen each other for over twenty years so I decided not to approach him.  We never had been close anyway.  The Wife and I had a beer and diet soda sitting on the beach behind the bar.

We ate at In-and-Out Burger for dinner that night.  If you haven't eaten at In-and-Out Burger, you should try to find one.  Worth the trip.

The next day we were going to visit with a couple more of the Wife's friends but, due to bad timing, we were not able to meet with either of them.  Instead we went out for breakfast at Mrs Olson's, a restaurant we used to frequent for breakfast.  The Wife was a bit disappointed that they no longer offered Bubble and Squeak.

We then drove to downtown Ventura and walked the main street that was converted into a pedestrian way during COVID and has remained so.  We bought a few things in our favorite stores.  We ended the day with dinner at BJ's where I had a pizookie ... of course.

Day 10 - Harmony, CA, Cambria, CA and elephant seals.

We left Oxnard and drove north up the coast.  Our first stop was the tiny town of Harmony, population 18.  We'd visited the town several times over the years and we've watched it change.  Originally it only had a post office and a pottery shop.  Restaurants and a chapel were closed.  A few years later the post office closed, but the small wedding chapel reopened and a small glass blowing place opened.  Now, the glass blowing place has grown larger, a wine bar and coffee shop has opened, and a small house that had always been at the entrance of this tiny town is now an AirBnB.

An elephant seals sunning himself.

Next we drove through Cambria.  Cambria is our happy spot.  We used to visit it when we just needed to get out of town for a day when we lived in California.  It was too early to eat so we headed farther up the coast to see the elephant seals.  There weren't as many as before but I think the population of seals varies depending on the season.  It was nice that there were wild life people there to answer people's questions, something that hadn't been there before.

We returned to Cambria and ate at the Main Street Grill that serves very good tri-tip sandwiches.  We eat here every time we visit Cambria.  I bought a t-shirt.  Then we walked through the town and shopped at garden stores, boutiques, and artist's store fronts.  We bought clothes and magnets.  I bought an african bowl made from woven electrical wire, an interesting mix between traditional weaving and modern materials.  The weather was perfect for our Cambria meander.  We stopped for some ice cream before we headed to our hotel to check in.

The Moonstone beach boardwalk.

We crossed the road in front of our hotel and walked the boardwalk along Moonstone beach.  We walked out on the rocks and found anemones in tidal pools.  It was windy and cold along the boardwalk.  I suspect it is always windy and cold along the water here despite the town main street being warm and inviting.

A tide pool anemone.

Day 11 - The World Famous Clown Motel

We left Cambria and drove across California, through a foggy central valley, through the desert, past Manzanar, before taking a windy, twisty-turny, road through the mountains that had drops that made your stomach float up in zero-G.  It was fun ... and a bit harrowing, frankly. 

The destination for the day was the town of Tonopah, NV.  There were two reasons to stop here.  First it was on the way to one of the Wife's students, which we hoped to visit.  Unfortunately their schedule prevented us from visiting.  Our luck with meeting friends on this trip was abysmal.

The second reason was the World Famous Clown Motel ... America's scariest motel. We stayed in the Exorcist room.  I'd wanted to stay here since I first heard of it years ago.  It was a weird place which, naturally made it an awesome place to stay.

The Exorcist Room.

Day 12 and 13 - The drive home

Our last two days were long ... nine to ten hour drives.  The last day, when we left Rawlins, WY the weather was terrible and the highway was icy .  We crawled along with traffic passing several semi trucks in the ditch .

In Nebraska we saw sandhill cranes during their yearly migration.

We were ready to get home after thirteen days on the road but we saw some cool things along the way.  We are starting to get a bit old to be in the car that long but we did this trip well.  Except for the last two days, out drives were reasonable.  The Wife and I tried to split the drive evenly which worked out great for both of us.  The next planned trip will be an international one in late July – Capetown, South Africa.

Weekly Ephemera #173

• Had an MRI of my prostate.  Not much has changed from the one taken a year ago which is good.  I'm scheduled for a biopsy in June to see how things have changed since the last one I had last year.
• I walked 38.8 miles (62.5 km) since my last Weekly Ephemera post.  This last week I actually managed to walk three times which has been a struggle this year.
• I finished the second season of "Fallout".  It was ok.
• We've started to plan out our 2027 travels.  We are looking at a loose festival theme that would include Holy Week in Spain, Dia de los Muertos in Oaxaca, and San Diego Comic-Con.

2026 Southwest Meander - Day 7

Day 7 - Las Vegas, NV

We left Kanab, UT and drove three hours, through beautiful landscapes and barren flats, to Las Vegas, NV.  We've been to Las Vegas many times before, not for the gambling, but for the shows.  This time would not be different.

When I picked a hotel in Las Vegas, I picked one that I'd thought we'd stayed at before a few years back but, totally by accident, I picked one that we'd never been to before but located in the perfect location for what we were planning to do.

The Judges and VIP section of the arena.

The first show we were going to was in the early afternoon and located, literally, across the street from our hotel.  The Battlebots Destruct-A-Thon was located in the Battlebots arena.  We walked over and, first things first, we went to the gift shop for a t-shirt, a magnet, a piece of 'Scrapnel' (a piece of scrap shrapnel from a battle bot with a certificate of authenticity), and a few gifts.

Several BattleBots were on display.

We entered the arena which included the same battlefield you see in Battlebots on TV (now on YouTube).  They were not filming a new show at the time but they hold daily shows.  I learned a few things.  There are multiple copies of each battlebot  When they aren't filming, random battlebots are selected to battle and a group of substitute drivers cycle through the running of the battles.  The owner/designers of the BattleBots only drive when they are filming.  Now before you start thinking these substitute drivers are professionals or anything, I ended up buying Red Vines and chips from one of them at the concession stand where we joked about having to feed the munchies and he looked like he had a lot of experience with the munchies.

They staged four battles which felt like you were watching the show on TV just more exciting in person.  One of the announcers, Bill Dwyer, was one of the original TV hosts for the BattleBots show on Discovery. Unfortunately, the lighting, the protective plexiglass, and the speed of the battlebot movements made it difficult to photograph the actual battles.

The Sphere from the outside, flowers projected on its surface.

After we left the BattleBots arena we walked the one mile to the Sphere.  Here we would be watching an AI enhanced copy of the original "Wizard of Oz".  The sphere is an incredible venue.  The actual venue takes up maybe two thirds of the sphere with the other third being full of escalators to get people to their seats.  We were pretty high up and, I suspect, anyone with a fear of heights would have issues entering the venue.  The stairs are very steep and I held on to the railings as I walked to my seat.

The "Wizard of Oz" in the Sphere.

The movie started with a small projection like a normal movie theater then at the perfect time the movie expanded to fill the inside of the venue.  AI was used to wrap the film around the inside of the Sphere.  Most of this was seamless but there were a few glitches here and there but, having said that, it was very impressive.  A large gasp rose from the audience when the projection expanded.  There were other things to enhance the movie experience like paper leaves flying around the venue during the tornado scene.  I was surprised how much of the movie I'd totally forgotten about.  Scene after scene seemed new to me even though I'd watched this movie a kajillion times.  Shows you how little I'd paid attention, and how much my memory simply forgot, watching it as a child.

Psychedelic Sphere.

The best part of the Sphere, frankly, was the graphics that are projected on the outside of the venue.  I probably could have sat there all day just watching it change.  It was particularly spectacular at night.

We managed to get out of Las Vegas without gambling even once and I didn't miss it.

Next ... Oxnard, Cambria, and the Clown Motel.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 4, 5, And 6

The next part of our road trip took us to a beautiful place picked out by the Wife.  Our original hope was to get permits to go see the Wave, a rock formation in the North Coyote Butte.  Permits are granted by lottery and are limited to a very small number each day.    We didn't get permits the 'normal' way but the company we went through would check to see if there were any cancellations.  Unfortunately there were none.  This is to be expected since we had heard stories of people trying for permits for five or even ten years unsuccessfully.  The company we worked through did offer us other hikes similar to the wave in the area so it wasn't a loss.  The company package we paid for included lodging in Kanab, UT just north of the area where we would be hiking, two guided hikes, and a dinner in a nice restaurant in our hotel.

I did not do my homework leaving all the planning to the Wife.  Because of this I arrived in Kanab without my Tilley hat, which I always wear when I hike, or my GPS.  So I have no distances for the hikes we did.  Still kicking myself a little bit.

Day 4: Getting to Kanab, UT

We left Oracle fairly early and drove the seven to eight hours to Kanab, UT.  Our hotel was nice with a fireplace in our room.  We went out looking for dinner and got a shock at how expensive the food was.  Having said that, restaurant choices were limited in Kanab and the food was delicious.

Day 5: South Coyote Butte

Undulating layers of petrified sand.

While we didn't get a permit to the Wave, we did manage to get a permit, with the help of the company, to South Coyote Butte.  South Coyote Butte has formations similar to the Wave and, according to our guides, has a more diverse landscape.

We had two guides, one an experienced guide, the other a trainee though he also was experienced with desert hiking.  The drive to the trailhead was two and a half hours with a stop along the way to use the facilities and chocolate chip cookies.

A fossil footprint.
The layers under the fossil have weathered away showing the underside of the dinosaur fossil print.

The hike was three to four hours long with a lunch break.  We saw beautiful wavy rock formations and fossils.  The views along the hike were spectacular.  There was something new to see around each corner.

The varied landscape of the South Coyote Butte.

After returning to the hotel we ate our included meal.  We had $150 worth of coupons from the company and we used most of it.  I ended up ordering the bone-in prime rib which turned out to be two and a half pounds (1.13 kg) of meat.  I ate maybe a third in the restaurant.  Another third would be eaten in our room on our last day in Kanab.

Day 6: White Pocket

The white formations from White Pocket.

Our second hike was in a place called White Pocket.  We had a single guide this time and we were joined by a man, his son, and the father's partner.

Not everything at White Pocket is white but they are all amazing.

We had the same two and a half hour drive to the trailhead.  The scenery and formations here were quite different from those of South Coyote Butte.  Over the next three to four hours we explored the variety of white and multicolored formations in the area.  So close to where we were the day before but with such different formations and colors.

Next ... Robots and Witches.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

2026 Southwest Meander - Days 1, 2, And 3

Our latest adventure was a roadtrip through the southwest desert and our old California stomping grounds in Oxnard and Cambria.

Day 1: Dodge City, Kansas

We left on the Monday after the end of the winter olympics.  I based our stops on the experience we had on our last road trip to Key West in 2023.  During that trip we drove too long each day and often arrived in the dark.  On this trip I kept the days shorter, rarely going over eight hours.  This dictated our first stop to be in Kansas and I picked Dodge City figuring there would be something interesting in the famous cowboy town.  Turns out I was wrong.

Dodge City probably is an interesting, if not touristy town, during high season, but in February it is not.  Most of the downtown area was torn up with construction and the hotel I'd picked was ... adequate but not awesome.

The sign that welcomes you to Dodge City.

We drove around to find something interesting and found a few things.  Just outside town is a cross marking the point reached by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado.  Next we stopped at an overlook expecting a view of the Kansas plains or Dodge City, but instead got a view of a large cattle feedlot.  The Wife and I shook our heads at this.  We stopped to get a picture of the impressive sign as you entered Dodge City and took pictures of the various statues of gunslingers and famous cowboys, real and fictional that dot the city.  We ended the day with what I consider to be a mediocre meal at a local restaurant.

We did avoid going to the Mid-point between Los Angeles and Cleveland that is listed on the internet as a five star attraction.  The one photo showed an empty field with no marker or anything.  I think it might have been a joke.

Day 2: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Another seven hours driving got us to our next stop along the way, Albuquerque.  Our newly refurbished hotel was nice and within easy walking distance to the old town.  But, before we could enjoy the old town, I had to find a Toyota service place.  A plastic shield in the front driver's wheelwell had come loose and was making a racket.  They ended up just cutting out the shredded plastic shield.

After that racket was stopped, the Wife and I walked to the old town and did a little shopping and sightseeing before finding a nice restaurant to eat at.  The few hours we spent in the old town were relaxing.

Day 3: Oracle, Arizona and Biosphere 2

This was a shorter driving day but it was also very interesting and beautiful.  Part of the way took you down into colorful canyons and back up the other side.  While the Wife didn't enjoy the twisty-turny road, I always find this type of driving exhilarating.

Biosphere 2 near Oracle, Arizona.

We arrived at Biosphere 2 which is located fifteen minutes outside of the small town of Oracle, Arizona.  After entering the visitor's center and downloading the app, we followed the self-guided tour through the larger than expected facilities of the 'self-contained' habitat. The structure has spacious living spaces, farm fields, jungles, deserts, swamps, and even an ocean.  Everything is maintained, tho the ocean did die out and is in the process of being restored.  Ultimately, Biosphere 2 was a failed experiment when the oxygen levels within the habitat could not be maintained, but it was a fascinating attempt at creating a self-contained environment similar to what a Moon or Mars base might be like.

We spent the night in the only place to stay in Oracle.  The sprawling 'ranch' had many rooms/cottages that were very comfortable.  The property had trees and gardens though they were not ready for the high season yet.  There were only a few guests there in February.  The Wife enjoyed a go on a tire swing outside our room.  The pool wasn't ready yet but the hot tub was and the Wife and I soaked before the sun started to go down.  We had dinner at an italian place which, most likely, made most of its money from pizza sales.  The chicken parmesan we ate was very good.

Next ... Kanab, Utah.

Photographs can be found in my 2026 Southwest Meander Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #171

Just a quick note this week.  We are back from our Southwest meander. It turned out to be an interesting trip with Biosphere 2, interesting rock formations, battling robots, expanded movie classics, and old haunts.  I will try to start posting later this week. 

Our Next Trip: A Southwestern Meander

Next week we will leave on the first trip of the year.  It is a road trip throughout the southwestern US that will take us through some beautiful places, weird places, and old stomping grounds.

Our first stop will be the Biosphere 2 in Arizona.  The Biosphere is open for tours.  I was hoping to stop at Petrified Forest National Park along the way, but it doesn't look like we will have the time due to the Biosphere 2 closing times.

Our next stop Will be in Kanab, UT.  We will be here for three nights.  We are hoping to hike to see the Wave.  Access to the Wave is strictly limited and you get permits via lottery.  We have heard stories of people trying for over five years without getting a permit.  The company we are working with will send people to the Bureau of Land Management office to see if there are cancellations.  If there are none, the company offers hikes to similar wind carved features in the area.

After a couple days of hiking, we will drive to Las Vegas.  Here we will attend two shows.  The first is the BattleBots Destruct-A-Thon.  The second show is "The Wizard of Oz" at the Sphere.  This is more of a way to see what the Sphere has to offer than watching the movie which we have seen umpteen-zillion times already.

After las Vegas we drive to Chinatown in Los Angeles and visit with friends in our old Ventura County stomping grounds.

We then drive up the coast, spending a night in one of our favorite places, Cambria, CA.  Here we will have tri-tip sandwiches and enjoy the shops and the beeches.

Our last planned stop is the World Famous Clown Motel in Tonopah, NV.  We reserved the Exorcist room.

We were hoping to go to the speed trials at the Bonneville Salt Flats but there are none at this time of year.

The return home from the Clown Motel is currently unplanned.  We may add a stop or two along the way back but we will be playing it by ear.

Weekly Ephemera #169

Last weekend was a bit busy so I missed  a weekly update so this one will include some of last week.

• Last weekend the Wife's aunt and cousins visited from Florida.  They treated us to a Creighton men's Basketball game.  Unfortunately, my sports curse which had disappeared seems to have returned and Creighton lost.

Creighton vs Saint John

• This weekend the Wife hosted Bread Camp for her niece's husband and five year old son.  She taught them how to make different types of dough with their bread machine and made homemade pizza for dinner.
• We have finalized the bones of our next three trips.  The first will be a road trip after the Winter Olympics around Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California.  The second is just under two weeks in Cape Town, South Africa at the end of July.  The last is a month-long trip to Paris, northern France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium.  We have quirky things planned for all three of these trips, which I will document in posts prior to our travel dates.
• Over the last two weeks I walked four times for a total of 30.7 miles (49.4 km).  I missed a couple of walking days due to the visits.

2025 Balkans and Malta Travels - Magnet Edition

We Purchased magnets on our Balkan and Malta travels last fall, as we usually do, and added fifty-two new magnets to our collection.  Our collection now stands at Eight-Hundred-Thirty-Eight magnets.  Here are a few of my favorites from our last travels.

Zeus.

Meteora, Greece.

Communist era pillbox in Tirana, Albania.

Northern Macedonian shoes and dress.

Popeye, filmed in Malta.

You can see our entire collection in our 2006-2025 Travel Magnets Google Photos album.  You can also access them from the Travel Magnets tab above.

2025 Malta Travels

Leaving the Balkans

We left Northern Macedonia returning to Albania.  We stopped at a park where we had a boat ride, drank coffee and drinks, while we fed the ducks.  We stopped at a park for lunch at a nice restaurant.

Our last night we had our goodbye dinner near our hotel.  We all would be leaving very early to home or, in our case, the island of Malta.

We arrived at Valletta the capital of Malta and were able to get in our room right away despite being early.  The Wife took advantage of the pool while I rested in the room.  I joined the wife and we ate lunch at the pool restaurant.

As we ate, we watched yacht crews preparing their boats for the 600 km Rolex Middle Sea Race.  The race would start the next day.  117 crews started and 110 finished.

Later in the afternoon we walked to old town Valletta previewing our walking tour planned for the next day.

Neptune fountain outside old Valletta, Malta.

Valletta, Barrakka Gardens, St. John's Co-Cathedral, and lower Valletta.

Our guide picked us up at the hotel and we went on a walking tour of old Valletta.  He explained the history of Malta and the city.  He pointed out government buildings and historical landmarks.  We stopped to have lunch in an outdoor restaurant.

St. John's Co-Cathedral.

After lunch we visited St. John's co-cathedral.  The cathedral is beautiful and full of Maltese history.  Our guide gave us a detailed tour pointing out sculptures honoring the builders and contributors to the cathedral.  The tour ended with a Caravaggio painting, 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist'.  Our guide pointed out things we would have missed and he made it interesting.  He covered the life of Caravaggio who led an interesting life.

Caravaggio's "The Beheading of St John the Baptist".

From there we went to the Barrakka Gardens overlooking the port and two old cities on the other side of the harbor which we would visit the next day.  This was also the place to view the start of the boat race.  Fortunately it was earlier in the day and the crowd at the garden had dissipated by the time we were there.  The view from the gardens was interesting as you could get a feel for the old architecture of the city.

Senglea, Malta seen from the Barrakka Gardens.

The day ended with a walk through lower Valletta, the less commercial and more pedestrian part of the old town.  We say normal life here with less tourism.

Vittoriosa City, Senglea Gardjola Gardens, Marsaxlokk, and Hypogeum

Narrow streets in Senglea.

Today our guide took us on the other side of the harbor to explore the other old cities.  We visited different parts of these cities learning about the history of the cities.

We visited the Hypogeum, an archaeological dig under the city.  The Hypogeum guide took our tour group through the digs pointing out religious and burial areas.  The tour was well done and very interesting.

We stopped at a park for a view of the harbor from another angle and we enjoyed the views and a lookout post.

We ended the day in Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing town.  We visited the market and had lunch along the town harbor.

Island of Gozo, Calypso Cave Terrace, Salt Pans, Dwejra Inland Sea, Citadel Old Capital City, and Victoria

Today we left the main island of Malta for a day trip and took a fast ferry to the Island of Gozo.

We stopped at archeological ruins and explored the history of the islands.   We visited the Calypso cave terrace to admire a panoramic view of the bay and valley.  The cave itself was not open to visitors due to it being hazardous and damaged from previous visitors.

The salt pans along the Mediterranean sea.

From there we visited the salt pans where salt has been collected for many years.  The views from the viewpoint were amazing.

We visited the Dwejra inland sea and enjoyed more views of nature, cliffs, and arches.

Dwejra inland sea cliffs and arches.

The day ended with a tour of the Citadel and the city of Victoria where we learned history, and, naturally, went shopping.  The Wife and I are big travel shoppers though we usually have something specific to the location in mind.

Mdina Old Capital City, Rabat, Hagar Qim Temple, Dingli Cliffs, and Blue Grotto

Mdina old capital city.

The last day of our tour combined history and nature like most of the tour.  We first explored Mdina, the old capital city.  We walked through the narrow, winding streets learning about the history and culture of the city.

We toured parts of Rabat including a lunch of Pastizzi a specialty from the area. We did more shopping and visited a church.

We visited ruins of the Hagar Qim temple.  The impressive ruins  are partially covered to preserve it.  At this point I was a little ruined-out but it was still interesting.

Lastly we visited the Dingli cliffs and the Blue Grotto.  We were going to take a boat ride here but the wind made the seas choppy so we only say things from afar.

Free Day

Our last day in Malta was a free day.  We spent hours by the pool, me reading, the wife swimming, and we ate lunch poolside.  In the afternoon we walked back to old town Valletta and had some ice cream and finished our last minute shopping.

Our hotel pool.

The next day we returned home after three weeks on the road.  It went smoothly despite the government shutdown.  In the end, Malta was a nice way to end our adventure.

Photos can be found in my 2025-10 Malta Google Photos album.