Stuart’s travelogue

Haleakala Sliding Sands

Haleakala's Sliding Sands
Maui, 4 mile out & back trail, medium difficulty.
Elevation gain: 1,600ft (from 8,300 – 9,900ft)

Explore cinder cones and old lava flows from within Haleakala, possibly the largest dormant volcano on the planet.

Loch Leven Lakes

Pipiwai Trail

About 8 miles outside of Hana, the backside of Haleakala National Park extends down into the Kipahulu area and incorporates the Pools at Oheo Gulch, also known as the Seven Sacred Pools. Looking down at them from above, they look like stepping stones that descend down into the ocean.

russian gulch state park

In Mendocino County you'll find some of the greatest unspoiled coastal landscapes in between the redwood forests and the wine groves.

Russian Gulch State Park begins in the coastal mountains and cuts its way through a canyon of redwoods and out to sea, past a picturesque route one highway bridge, and a number of sea caves.

Guadalupe Canyon Parkway

San Francisco surprises with scenes of virtual wilderness smack in the middle of its urban areas. |

blackpool pleasure beach

For over a hundred years Blackpool Pleasure Beach has been thrilling the holidaymakers and daytrippers of Northern England with spectactular rides, attractions and shows.

Recent decades have seen the decline of the British seaside resort, and the town of Blackpool has been among those to suffer, yet the Pleasure Beach stands out as a jewel (albeit a rather tacky one) in the rough.

McWay Falls

No matter how many waterfalls you've seen before this one is a gem. Flowing year-round onto deserted pristine California sands, it's one of the most picturesque spots around Big Sur.

Bixby Creek Bridge

No journey to Big Sur would be complete without a stop to admire the elegant 1932 single arch design of Bixby Creek Bridge in its idyllic California coastline setting, thirteen miles south of Carmel.

You can read all about it at:

http://www.beachcalifornia.com/bixby.html

Lombard Street

One of San Francisco's most recognizable streets, it's almost cliché to come here during a visit to the city, but the novelty of such an unusual street is inarguably fun. Most locals never come here, but visitors line up for a block or two west of Hyde Street to drive down the eight or so bends at five miles per hour, while others taking photographs line the sidewalk staircases on either side.