When news of the coronavirus began to emerge in early 2020, we were vacationing in Hawaii with friends Marlene and Steve. The four of us briefly raised (then promptly dismissed) the question about whether our upcoming three-month trip to New Zealand might be affected. It was, of course, along with all other travel plans for that year . . . and beyond.
Despite the pandemic, we enjoyed fantastic travel adventures during 2021, starting with a two-week road trip in New Mexico in May, then eight weeks in Montana and Alaska in June and July, followed by seven weeks exploring the Colorado Plateau region of western Colorado, southern Utah, and northern Arizona in the fall. Would we have chosen those destinations without pandemic-related travel restrictions? Likely not, which makes the memories even sweeter.
In case you missed our 17 blog posts about the aforementioned trips, you can find the links here: A Synopsis of Our 2021 Travels.
We wrote this article to highlight other places we happened upon during the year that didn’t make it into a blog post (until now) but are worthy of a mention and a few photos. Enjoy!
Mountain Views
Frigid (and Wonderful) Week in Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park – Carol & Her Sister Janice (February)
View from rental condo – Estes ParkView of Stanley Hotel from Knoll-Willows Open Space trailBear Lake – Rocky Mountain NPAlberta Falls – Rocky Mountain NPMany Parks Curve Overlook – Rocky Mountain NPJanice & Carol – Bear Lake
Gorgeous Hike to Kruger Rock (near Estes Park) with Norland Cousins (September)
Mark, Nancy, Cyndi & RickGold leaves on the aspen treesView of Estes Valley & Rocky Mountain NPAnother view from the summitSuccess!Always thrilled to see Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep
Laguna Coast (California) Wilderness Park Hike (December)
Snow-capped mountains in the distanceRiparian habitat in low-lying areas of the parkPark consists of 7,000 acres . . . . . . with 40 miles of trailsAndrew posing with his momSame pose with his dad
Colorful Rocks
Amazing Day at Valley of Fire State Park (May)
Valley of Fire was the first state park in Nevada46,000 acres of colorful sandstoneOur friend CarolynCarolDesert bighorn sheep – wow!
Seven Magic Mountains Outside of Las Vegas – An Art Installation by Swiss Artist Ugo Rondinone (November)
Only six of the “magic mountains” are visible from this locationHere’s all seven, with an impressive number of visitors posing for selfies on a Monday morning
Ocean Breezes
Five Weeks in Surf City USA – Huntington Beach, California (November & December)
“Nude Dude” surfer statueSurfers were out every day without failThe pier area was a beehive of activityNote the container ships in the background waiting for their turn to dockIt’s a beautiful beach – deep & longHuntington Beach fishing pierColorful mosaic bench Surfboard art in front of the lifeguard stationWe celebrated our 46th anniversary with a nice lunch . . . . . and view of the beach (and the Pacific Coast Highway)
Picnic & Coastal Hike at Crystal Cove State Park (December)
The park has two parts – a coastal area and a canyon section Beautiful hiking trail along the cliffsBeautiful beach belowCarol & Bill Includes a picturesque historic district with 46 beach cottages built in the 1930s & 1940sBeach bar decked out for the holidays
Lunch and A Walk at Dana Point (December)
Dana Point is home to 2,500 boatsHiking trail at Dana Strand BeachMega-mansions at Dana Strand BeachCarol, Gail, Andrew & Bill
Scenic Views at Sunset Cliffs Natural Park in San Diego (December)
A 68-acre shoreline park . . .. . . managed by the city of San DiegoDedicated in 1983Impressive wavesOne lone, hardy treePelicans & cormorants hanging out on a big rock
Freshwater Destinations
Hiking at Lake Mead & Hoover Dam (May)
Critically low water levels at Lake MeadHiking trail with five former railroad tunnelsView from Hoover Dam looking downstream toward Lake MeadMike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge looking upstreamfrom Hoover Dam
Beautiful Scenery at Holland Lake MT (June)
View of the Swan Range from the Falls TrailHolland FallsWildflowers were abundant & colorfulPracticing our selfies
Smoky Skies at Missouri Headwaters State Park (July)
Lewis & Clark’s group camped here in 1805It’s the official starting point of the Missouri River . . .. . . created by the confluence of Jefferson, Madison & Gallatin RiversPreserved gravesite of early pioneers
Strange Sights at the Hot Springs State Park in Thermopolis WY (July)
Colorful terraces . . .. . . created by mineral hot springs
Interesting Old Places
Granite Ghost Town State Park near Phillipsburg MT (June)
Kim, Owen, Philip, Carol & Bill at the “Visitor Center”Park contains what’s left of an 1890s silver boomtown, once home to 3,000 residents Superintendent’s houseMiner’s Union Hall – a 3-story structure that served as social center for the townHome of Mae Werning – last resident of GraniteThis sign is pretty historic also, given the instructions to “call collect”
Mission San Juan Capistrano (December)
As advertised, it’s “worth a visit” (most definitely)Mark & Janice came all the way from Kansas to visitOf the 21 missions in California . . .. . . SJC is known as the “Jewel of the California Missions”Return of the swallows is still celebrated every spring . . .. . . but they largely abandoned the mission during a 1990s renovation project
Iconic Balboa Park in San Diego (December)
Balboa Park was founded in 1868 when the city of San Diego set aside 1,400 acres of “scrub-filled mesa” as a city parkThe Cabrillo Bridge was built for easy access to the park for the 1915 Panama-California ExpoMain entrance from the west sideAlcazar GardenBotanical Building – currently closed for renovationView of Lily Pond from the Botanical BuildingSpreckels Organ Pavilion opened for the 1915 ExpoBuilt for 1915 Expo – now available to rent for special eventsEl Cid statue dates back to 1930Moreton Bay fig tree was planted for the 1915 ExpoJapanese Friendship Garden – reimagined and reopened to the public in 1999Beautiful landscapes with water, plants, bridges and moreExtensive bonsai collection in the Japanese Friendship GardenPalm Canyon TrailMuseum of Us (formerly the Museum of Man)Kate Sessions “Mother of Balboa Park” statue Kannon Bosatsu statue represents goddess of compassion & mercy
Memorable Museums
Newland House Museum in Huntington Beach (December)
Built in 1898 for William & Mary Newland & their 10 childrenIt’s the oldest residence in Huntington BeachPiano in the parlorDining roomSpacious kitchen with an islandOne of several bedrooms
Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad CA (December)
Excellent museum sponsored by NAMM – Nat’l Association of Music MerchantsAll manner of guitars, as well as mandolins and ukuleles . . . . . . and banjos1902 Model B Steinway pianoAccordionsSynthesizersAn array of clarinetsDrum set made from 500-year old birch found at the bottom of Lake Superior
That’s it for the 2021 travel photo wrap-up. As we start the new year, we’re hopeful . . . yet again . . . that the pandemic will fade away and lead to fewer travel challenges for all of us in the months ahead. In the meantime, we’ll just make the best of it.
Bonus Gallery – Owen
How could I not include a few photos of our only grandson?
Just Passing Through 
All fantastic and memorable. Loved the thermo park in Wyoming! Beautiful anniversary photo. Love you guys!
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Thanks, Marlene! Like you, we love visiting the under-the-radar places. They don’t all pan out, of course, but some are special.
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