Wanderlust III: Further adventures

My ongoing travelogue/good memory repository. These get long so I break them up.

Part 1 - "Wanderlust"

Part 2 - "Wanderlust II: The Quickening"

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS (Again) - Oct 13-15, 2023

BEST MEMORIES

- Taking Natasha to Boxley Valley during the elk rut so she could see them and hear the bulls bugling.

- Hiking down to Hawksbill Crag/Whittaker Point

- Getting our Arkansas State Park Passports and our first park stamps.

- Annie Leibowitz exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

ISTANBUL, TÜRKIYE - March 15-23, 2024

- A trip to with Natasha to see her Russian family in a location that both we, and they, could get to. I didn't realize we would be there during Ramadan until we arrived.

BEST MEMORIES

- Tea Hunting with Natasha.

- Meeting Natasha's family for a family dinner.

- A tour by boat of the Bosporus strait.

- Hookah and tea with Natashas Sister and her husband.

- The Hagia Sophia.

- The Grand Bazaar

- The Basilica Cistern

- The Blue Mosque

- A dram of whiskey with the guys.

- The Spice Bazaar

- Impromptu boxing lesson

- Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

- Gulhane Parki

- finding Knafeh (Arabic: كنافة) on the last day.

- returning to Bilice Kebap for a second time for the last family meal of the trip.

NASHVILLE, TN - August 15-17, 2024

- A trip to Nashville when Natasha's son finished the program at the North American Lineman Training Center

BEST MEMORIES

- On the trip to and from Nashville, adding six state parks to our Arkansas State Parks Passports (Lower White River State Park, Village Creek State Park, Parkin Archeological State Park, Mississippi River State Park, Delta Heritage State Park, and Louisiana Purchase State Park)

Lower White River State Park Visitor's Center

Village Creek State Park

Louisiana Purchase State Park

- Open house at the North American Lineman Training Center

- Belmont Mansion

- Walking around "The District" downtown before grabbing some sushi at the Assembly Food Hall

- A last minute stop by "Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum" in Jackson, TN on the way home.

ARIZONA - April 21-26, 2025

A trip to with Natasha to show her the Grand Canyon (and secretly to find California Condors)

BEST MEMORIES

- The Painted Desert  (Petrified Forest National Park)

- Newspaper Rock (Petrified Forest National Park)

- Hiking Blue Mesa Trail (Petrified Forest National Park)

- Crystal Forest Trail  (Petrified Forest National Park)

- An evening walk through Flagstaff

- Grand Canyon National Park

- Spending a little time photographing birds at the canyon. Walking some of the rim trail. (Grand Canyon National Park)

- Waiting for sunset at Lipan point in freezing gale-force winds. (Grand Canyon National Park)

- Sunrise back at Mather point (Grand Canyon National Park)

- Going to Marble Canyon and the Navajo bridge in search of California Condors.

- A low level pass-over by a California Condor.

- Horseshoe Bend at Sunset

- Sunrise at Grandview Overlook while out looking for Black-Chinned Sparrows and other birds.

- Glen Canyon Dam

- Tour of Upper Antelope Canyon. I timed the reservation for the best chance at sunbeams.

- and it worked

- Separating prehistoric fact from fiction at the Moenkopi Dinosaur Tracks site

- Finding Natasha some Fry Bread to try at the Cameron Trading Post.

A much-too-short visit to Cave Creek Regional Park on our way back to the airport from Sedona.