Traditionally, families would move themselves and their livestock
from the lowlands to the cooler lush mountain pastures for about 3–5 months during
the summer.
They stay in simple wooden or stone houses, graze animals, make products like cheese, butter and yogurt, and then return to the lowlands before winter.
The walk follows an
elevated wooden boardwalk that winds through the narrow gorge above the Zarı
Stream.
With the suspended wooden platforms it reminded me a little bit of the Caminito del Rey that we did in Spain
at the end of last year.
Looking back at these photos, I do not know how we did
it.
The Caminito del Rey is a walkway in Andalusia, southern
Spain, running through the narrow El Chorro Gorge north of Málaga.
It has wooden boardwalks hugging the cliffs high above the
Guadalhorce River.
Literally translated, “caminito” means “little path.”
The name reflects how narrow and precarious the original walkway was, often no more than a meter wide (39 inches) and clinging
to the cliff face.
When King Alfonso XIII came for a brief inspection and
opening, the full name “Caminito del Rey,” “the King’s Little Path” became the
name that stuck.
It is a long 10 hour drive from Houston, but, the park is beautiful with mountains and desert.
It is so different than anywhere else in Texas.
So many Texans have never been and say they want to go, but somehow don't.
They don't know what they are missing!
In some ways it is the best kept secret in Texas.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are known for
having one of the longest and most colorful fall seasons in the eastern United
States.
A major reason the colors are so vivid is the biodiversity
of the mountains.
More than a hundred species of deciduous trees grow here, each changing at a different time and producing different shades.
That means we would get purpose-bred puppies when they were about 8 weeks old and give them preliminary training and experiences until they were 18 months to 2 years old.
Then they would go to "college" for advanced training from Certified Guide Dog Trainers.
From 2019 to 2020 we shared Puppy Raising duty, or should I say "privilege", with 2 other Puppy Raisers with a dog named B-Mac.
Allow me the nostalgia of walking down Memory Lane.
Being on the tip of the island there is a stunning coastline to walk and explore.
Boats can head out to sea to look for marine life.
There are an abundance of hiking and biking trails to keep fit.
There is just so much to love about Vancouver Island.
John and I were looking forward to doing a lot of hiking in the Bavarian Alps and the Black Forest in southwest Germany.
We had some challenges with the weather. It didn't want to cooperate.
Turns out this has been the wettest weather in Germany since 1881.
Which would explain why everything is so green and lush.
We did get some hikes in, and, we got to experience the local hospitality with "honour system" beer tubs and schnapps tasting.
We haven't been getting the best of weather with low clouds obscuring the tops of the mountains a lot of the time, but when it hasn't been raining, and especially if the sun has been shining, we get out there!
We find that starting at a higher altitude we have to "work a lot harder" getting up the steeper inclines.
That's our story and we're sticking to it.
We have decided that it has nothing to do with getting older and not being as active as we should be.
But getting out there to enjoy the scenery is definitely a motivator to push ourselves.
It is 30,000 hectares (over 74,000 acres) for a total of 300 sq km (116 sq miles).
It was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1979.
If you like stunning scenery, beautiful weather, vineyards, hiking, boating, wine tasting and great food, you can't go wrong in the Douro Valley.
