Tag Archives: hiking

Bounding Through Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

Bandalier National Monument in New Mexico

Bandalier National Monument in Los Alamos, New Mexico isn’t officially a National Park, but the National Park Service manages it. The area features 33,750 acres of dramatic cliffs and walled canyons, and is the home of ancestral Pueblo people. A visitor’s center has recently been rehabilitated and updated with a high definition new movie: This Place Knows Us.

Start with the movie, then proceed through the interpretive exhibits of the ancient Pueblo culture. Of course, there’s a gift shop, too.

Tyuonyi Ruins

Leave plenty of time to get out on the 70 miles of trails. The closest archeological site is just 400 yards from the center and can be reached by the paved 1.2 mile Main Loop trail.  The ruins of the Tyuonyi, a circular village of about 600 rooms, and the nearby cliff dwellings make an hour round trip. These are communities dating back over 900 years.

Not having traveled much in the Southwest, I was thrilled with the opportunity to climb the ladders into hollowed out cave dwellings. The views of sharp terra-cotta colored ledges glow majestically and the whole area pervades a spiritual sense. Look for a series of cave rooms called the long house, a reconstructed talus house, an adobe construction built on the slopes or talus, and some petroglyths.

Climbing into a cave dwelling

Believe it or not, only one other person from my group wanted to venture another mile further off trail to Alcove House.  That’s likely because we’d need to push ourselves to make it there and back on time. But, it just so happened that the other person was famous travel photographer, Peter Guttman. If for no other reason that to watch Peter at work, I was going, huffing and puffing aside!

So Peter and I hiked as fast as we could and then climbed 140 feet straight up a series of ladders to reach the Ceremonial Cave or Alcove House. I found it exhilarating since I didn’t have time to worry over the scary drop below.  Warning:  these ladders are very steep and would not be safe for younger children. And this park has an elevation around 7,000 feet which makes breathing somewhat difficult for a sea level Floridian.

The climb to Alcove House

Ah…the reward. At the top Peter and I found a round reconstructed kiva (underground pueblo dwelling for ceremonies) overlooking a view that stretched seemingly forever. I didn’t descend down the kiva rather choosing to sit and meditate, soaking up the sacred vibes. (That and catch my breath.)  Up there my imagination could easily hear the beat of a drum and envision ancients performing a ritual to the gods. If you go to Bandelier, by all means, make the effort to climb to Alcove House.

Peter descend into the Kiva

Hustling back down, Peter and I ran into Tom Wilmer, who was interviewing a Park Ranger along a trail for his NPR radio show. We also ran into a tarantula, although I was hoping for an American pika, a small rodent related to a rabbit. No luck.

Bandalier National Monument stays open year round but offers no lodging within the park. Reservations are required for the limited campgrounds. The National Park Service Junior Ranger Program awards patches to children completing a booklets about the site.

May I also recommend photographer Peter Guttman’s collection of images spanning three decades, all seven continents and 160 countries. These amazing photos are available on Beautiful Planet —  a groundbreaking app that captures the beauty of our world and its cultures. If I had a Mac or i-Pos I’d own it.

Check it out at:  Beautiful Planet

Walking with the Park Ranger

Enter a Photo Contest to Win a Trip to St Lucia

Gazebo on the Beach at Coconut Bay Resort
Gazebo on the Beach at Coconut Bay Resort

I traveled to St Lucia about a year ago and believe me, this island offers more than you can imagine- read my article St. Lucia: Small Island, Big Adventure or about my zipline adventure at Zip Therapy.

All you have to do to win a family vacation at Coconut Bay Resort is send a photo to Caribbean Travel and Life magazine. To entice you I’ve included a few of my own photos taken during my wonderful stay at Coconut Bay.

Palm by the beach
Palm on the beach at Coconut Bay Resort, St Lucia

Just follow all the links below.

Win a 5-day/4-night all-inclusive stay at St. Lucia‘s Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa!

Think you have a winning Caribbean vacation photo? Send it to us and you just might find yourself on another Caribbean getaway courtesy of St. Lucia‘s Coconut Bay Beach Resort. The family-friendly resort is putting a 4-night stay on the line–including all of your meals, snacks, drinks and even resort taxes + gratuities for one lucky family of four–and all you have to do is share your favorite Caribbean snapshot!

It’s easy to enter in two simple steps: Just become a fan of Caribbean Travel + Life’s Facebook page–where you’ll enjoy daily Caribbean updates like travel news, hotel and airfare deals, contest announcements and more–then submit your favorite Caribbean travel photo to winatrip@caribbeantravelmag.com.

Official Rules


ENTER NOW

Step 1: Click the link below to become a fan of our Facebook page…

Caribbean Travel + Life’s Facebook Page

Step 2: Email us your favorite Caribbean vacation photo at winatrip@caribbeantravelmag.com!

** Bonus: Become a fan of Coconut Bay Beach Resort’s Facebook page too–Then if you win, you’ll also get the VIP treatment with round trip airport transfers, a bottle of champagne and a fruit platter in your room!

The entry period for this contest is October 12th through November 8th, 2009, and winners will be announced by November 20th, 2009.

Official Rules


Your stay includes: four nights of all-inclusive accommodations at Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa in St. Lucia for two adults and up to two children (in same room); all meals, snacks and drinks at the resort; fully supervised children’s center; use of the resort’s water park attraction and other amenities; and all hotel taxes and gratuities.

** If you’re a fan of Coconut Bay Beach Resort’s Facebook page, your stay will also include round trip airport transfers from Hewanorra International Airport; a welcome bottle of champagne; and a VIP fruit platter on arrival.


Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa, located in St. Lucia’s exotic southern coast, is a 254-room, all-inclusive casual Caribbean resort that caters to couples and families alike. Mirrored after the island’s most famous landmarks, the twin Piton Mountains, Coconut Bay has its own set of twins, Harmony and Splash. “Harmony” is a tranquil adult-only oasis offering the perfect setting for a romantic escape with a palm-fringed pool, braided hammocks, intimate cabana beds and the oceanfront Kai Mer Spa, while “Splash” offers families a tropical playground featuring CocoLand Kidz Klub, a paintball facility, a watersports complex offering kitesurfing and the island’s largest water park.

View of the famous Gros Piton on St Lucia
View of the famous Gros Piton on St Lucia

Official Rules

Kayaking in St Lucia
Kayaking in St Lucia

View while hiking in St Lucia
View while hiking in St Lucia

St. Lucia: Small Island, Big Adventure


How many activities can one stuff into 5 days on an island only 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC? Well, I found enough on St Lucia to fill my plate, in fact there’s plenty more for super-sized appetites.

From Miami, connect directly to the Caribbean isle. All-inclusive resorts abound; my choice was Coconut Bay. You’ll arrive in time for a drink and a walk along the beach before dinner.

For starters, I decided to explore the island on an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV). Within a few minutes, I mastered the four-wheeled bike. I zoomed through grassy fields and up rocky ledges, peering at the Atlantic pounding the shore. I scooted onto sandy beaches where wild horses were grazing and then over to a banana plantation. Row after row of trees hung with bunches of green bananas. Having satisfied my taste buds, I returned my big-wheeled bouncing cycle.

For my entree, I spent the afternoon in one of the most glorious sites I’ve ever visited– Jalousie Beach. I snorkeled under the shadow of the pyramid-like Petite Piton, gazing up at its nearby twin, the Gros Piton. These famous mountains are St Lucia’s landmarks, rising like textbook drawings of volcanoes out of the sea. They blossom in lush foliage and are often shrouded in mist.

Scuba diving was an option, and St Lucia ranks with some of the world’s best. But the Caribbean shines so clear; you can see to great depths without the hassle of air tanks.

The next day I took the ultimate island challenge: a hike to the summit of Gros Piton, almost 3,000 feet. The trail of treacherous loose and moss covered rocks rises near vertical in places.  The UNESCO World Heritage site requires guides to safely lead groups through the climb.

View from hiking - half way up the Gros Piton
View from my hike - halfway up the Gros Piton

Stop at the halfway point. The view is as gorgeous as I imagine the Garden of Eden. Light crystals bounce off the water like shards of glass. The Pitons, in sharp contrast to the turquoise water, shine in ebony beauty. The arduous hike took five to six hours roundtrip. I returned to my hotel exhausted and aching, but wearing an “I Conquered” tee shirt.

On day four, I chose to kayak. Aah, tranquility is silently gliding by the mangroves in a sleek shell. The sapphire lake permitted clear visibility of the colorful tropical fish. My group stopped at Scorpion Island, and fortunately, we didn’t encounter any venomous arachnids. I did find a spectacular conch shell with a radiating fuchsia interior.

Returning once more to Coconut Bay, I rocketed down the water slides in their CocoLand Water Park, coming up with a big grin. To completely relax, I floated twice around the man-made Lazy River until massage time. Indulgence? You bet, but necessary! The Kai Mer Spa enveloped me in jasmine scents as my body soaked in the therapeutically applied oil.

On the last day I squeezed in my dessert: a morning excursion to the Tree Tops Zipline. Letting loose my inner child, I gleefully traversed the rainforest canopy over majestic rivers and plunging ravines. To soar like a parrot was an exhilarating way to end my island extravaganza.

Ziplining through the rainforest
Ziplining through the rainforest

By afternoon I boarded a plane and returned to Jacksonville at nightfall.

Some travelers vacation to escape life; others seek to engage the physical, mental or spiritual challenges. The tiny island of St Lucia offers a lavish banquet to satisfy both hungers. Her natural wonders are a menu in themselves. And, for those who want soup to nuts adventure, she offers a bountiful buffet of eco-friendly options. Fly away and feast on St Lucia.

Beach Resort & Spa: www.coconutbayresortandspa.com
Tree Top Adventures: www.adventuretourstlucia.com
ATV & kayaking: www.islandatvtours.com
Coconut Bay Resort BeachFull Moon over Coconut Bay