Trond Kristiansen

Hotel Monte Vista, Flagstaff

The drive from Grand Canyon to Phoenix offers a lovely panoramic view of the desert and plains of Arizona. On the way, we stopped in the nice town of Flagstaff and visited the Montezuma Castle. The Montezuma Castle is one of a number of preserved anicent dwellings in northern Arizona that offer a glimpse of how the Native Americans of the area lived (NPS). On our drive to Phoenix, we visited the Desert Botanical Garden which has a enormous collection of cactii. At the time when we visited there was also an impressive art exhibit by Chihuly.  The Botanical Garden was a must see.  Pictures are out online here.

After I lived in Woods Hole for half a year in 2005 I always jump on any chance I get to go back to that quaint little town, and so I did last December when I got to go for a few days. Woods Hole is truely a wonderful little place, perfectly surrounded by water. Although much of the ocean properties are private, there are several beaches and small forests where you can go hiking and running and just enjoy the scenery. One of my favorite places in Woods Hole is Nobska Light, and I always go for a walk to the lighthouse whenever in town. This time I also took a couple of pictures.

Panorama view of San Francisco

The location by the water, the hillsides, the streetcars, the people, and the laidback feeling of San Francisco makes it one of the most intriguing and attractive cities in the US. I enjoy hiking around the city with the occasional stop at a cafe, bar, or a gastropub such as the Monks Kettle, before stopping at one of the many really good restaurants. Also, the city now has a new aquarium at the California Acadademy of Sciences that alone is worth the trip to the city. I have collected some pictures from San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from May 2009.

Garrapata State Park, California

In Monterrey County in California is the charming town of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Going south on Highway 1 towards Big Sur is the Garrapata State Park.  This is a small park that offers the best of the Big Sur region including some steep ascends to the peaks of the Santa Lucia Mountains that offers views of the Pacific. Liz and I followed the Rocky Ridge, Soberanes Canyon Trails, which gain 1200 feet of elevation. The hike is medium hard but well worth the effort. As you move away from the road you enter a nice secluded forest with a little stream, but soon the path takes you higher into areas of wildflowers, before you start to gain elevation and you are stunned by the views of the Pacific and the rolling green hills. Pictures are posted here.

Traveling South from San Francisco we followed California State Route 1 along the coastline. The route is beautiful as it follows the jagged cliffs and the green rolling hills along the coastline. Scattered along the road there are a myriad of small and larger State Parks, and all of these parks have unbelivable hikes and beautiful scenery. Liz and I went hiking in Garrapata State Park and climbed to one of the taller peaks in the area, which gave us a wondeful view of the coastline. We hiked the area during May at a time when tons of wildflowers were blooming. We also explored several other State Parks in the area and pictures are found here.

San Juan Bautista

The arrival of non-native Americans to California introduced Christianity and missions to the native Americans back in the eighteenth century. The spaniards built a chain of 21 missions along the southern coast of California. Many of these missions have been restored and you can visit them. Liz and I went to two of these missions; San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo built in 1770 and San Juan Bautista built in 1797. Some pictures from this trip are found here.

One of my favorite things about the US is its national parks. I am currently reading the new book by Duncan Dayton and Ken Burns “THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICA’S BEST IDEA Companion Book” which accompanies their TV series.

Sequoia National Park

This book gives a picture of the politics and personal devotion involved in the creation of these national parks. After reading the book I will definitely be more aware that these parks may not always be there for us to use unless we do more to protect them. Last May, I visited Sequoia National Park which was unbelieveably beautiful. The park had everything I wanted to see including fantastic sequoias, high altitude peaks, brown bears, and peace and quiet. Visiting the park in May meant that there were still patches of snow at the Wuksachi Lodge at 7000 feet. A day-hike to Panther Peak summit took me to 9000 feet and part of the hike was through snow. The view from Panther Peak was spectacular and well worth the strenuous altitude ascent. Some pictures are posted here.

Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas

During a road trip through the western US, my dad and I drove across the plains of Nevada. We followed Highway 50 which is also called “The loneliest road in America”. When you look at the map of the US you can tell that the country is big, but I had no idea how big it really is. Just crossing Nevada from West to East took us the better part of two full days, and during the drive, we entered a valley that seemed endless. Eventually we reached a mountain range that we had seen on the horizon, and when we crossed it  we encountered another enormous plain spreading out in front of us. These plains kept on coming until I lost count of them. Of all my traveling in the US, I think this trip across the Nevada is one I will definitely remember as a trip that made me realize what the West is all about.  I highly recommend seeing parts of the US like Nevada that are not always mentioned as highlights.  Taking the backroads has a lot to offer and it is unbelievable how many great moments you can experience in what is usually thought of as pretty desolate country. Pictures are found here.

An important part of my roadtrip in the USA in May 2009 was to explore as many of the amazing National Parks that the US has to offer. This included a trip to the incredible Grand Canyon. In fact, I went there two times in one month. The first time I traveled there with my Catalan friend Jordi, and the next time with my dad. On both occasions we stayed for a couple of days inside the park at the South Rim (National Park Service). Staying inside the park is expensive, although extremely convenient if you want to spend most of your time as close to the Canyon as possible.

Grand Canyon

Jordi and I spent one day traversing the Bright Angel Trail which takes you down to the bottom of the Canyon. We hiked down to the Indian Garden where we turned around (wikipedia). The hike moves you quickly down and into the Canyon, and at first you are surrounded by other tourists that have come to enjoy the Canyon. However, after about and hour of hiking the density of people starts to disperse and you are suddenly in the Canyon by yourself and can enjoy the peace and quiet. The trip down the right Angel Trail is truely amazing and well worth doing. Next time I go to the Grand Canyon I would like to go to the Phantom Ranch and stay for a night before continuing on to the North Rim. The pictures from Grand Canyon can be found here.

During autumn of 2007 my parents and I decided to go on a roadtrip from North Carolina to Massachussetts, traveling through Virginia (link), Pennsylvania (link), Connecticut, Rhode Island (link), before we ended in Woods Hole, Massachussetts (link) one month after start.

Newport, Rhode Island

Some of the pictures I took on that trip have still not been posted online so I dedcided to sort through them and post some of the nicer ones. I start with some pictures from Newport, Rhode Island (link). This gallery include some images of the The Breakers which is a Vanderbilt mansion located on Ochre Point Avenue. The mansion was built between 1893 and 1895 (wikipedia).