We visited London twice this year related to a Users’ Conference, once for organization/venue scouting and once for conducting the Conference.

Click on any image below to view slideshow of full-size images.

London was a great place to try to create memories for a bunch of engineers. Our group had a private event in the Engine Room of the Tower Bridge. That huge reciprocating steam engine was built in 1889 and produced a massive power output of 360 horsepower, which was a lot at the time, used to raise the bascule bridge. John got on a ladder to take this picture and Paula was not happy about that.

We also had a private event at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, often called the “birthplace of time”. Here we are on the Prime Meridian of the World at 0 degrees longitude. We had a real photographer to take this one.

We went on another organized hiking expedition in August, this time in the US to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in Wyoming. We flew from sea level to Jackson, Wyoming to have a couple of days to adapt to the altitude (6000 feet plus) before the hiking began. We then went to Yellowstone and stayed at two of the classic old lodges: Old Faithful Inn and Yellowstone Lake Hotel. Our outfitter said these hotels were “basic” and warned us not to expect 5-star accommodations from these vintage hotels, but they were both great. We could actually see the Old Faithful geyser erupting from the window in our hotel room! While in Yellowstone we hiked the Upper Geyser Basin, the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the trail to Storm Point on Lake Yellowstone.

We then moved to Grand Teton National Park, where we hiked the Two Ocean Lake Trail into Jackson Lake Lodge – another vintage lodge where we stayed the night. It is known for its floor to ceiling window views of the Grand Teton mountains in the dining room. It hosted the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole Symposium the week after we were there. The first day we hiked up the valley above Jenny Lake, the Jewel of the Tetons. The second day we hiked around Phelps Lake in the Rockefeller Preserve. The third day we had a scenic float trip down the Snake River.

Bears are a big deal in both of these parks, and each couple had to carry a belt-mounted can of bear spray for defensive purposes. But we only saw one bear and didn’t use the bear spray.

Click on any image below to view slideshow of full-size images.

We went on an organized hiking trip to the Scottish Highlands in July. This was our first hiking since John’s 2021 accident, and it was a bit more challenging than the brochure advertised, but we both survived. Interestingly, they have signs in Scotland to warn about folks of our vintage.

We flew into Inverness, regarded as the capital of the Highlands, touring and tasting “whisky” (they are insulted if you call it Scotch) for a couple of days with Roger and Peg before meeting our hiking group at the train station. We even stumbled upon the local festival of the Highland Games in a park along the River Ness.

We hiked from Torridon on a trail up between Liathach and the famous Beinn Eighe, a massive ben (mountain), where we discovered a dramatic landscape of soaring pinnacles, cliffs and corries – valleys formed by glacial erosion. The next day we hiked out & back to a historic Bothy (old stone buildings where hikers stay overnight) and proceeded to Portree on the Isle of Skye. On the Isle of Skye we hiked the dramatic ridgeline at Trotternish through steep hillsides and past craggy peaks before climbing up and along the pinnacles and cliffs of the Quiraing, which we discovered in bar encounters later is a pretty famous hiking place. There we were met with stunning, but misty views of the sea and coastal landscape. After that, things tamed down a bit with hikes to the picturesque village of Plockton, Duncraig Castle and Cawdor Castle (connected in literature to Shakespeare’s Macbeth).

Click on any image below to view slideshow of full-size images.

Our first trip in over 2 years that required a passport was to the Dominican Republic in May. It was also the first time we went to an all-inclusive destination, at the Club Med Miches Playa Esmeralda on the north coast of the island. Kind of like a cruise ship on land, and in this case with mostly French-speaking passengers. It was great and we might do it again!

Click on any image below to view slideshow of full-size images.