Grossglockner Nationalpark: The Moelltal

 

Many skiers know the Moelltaler Gletscher (Glacier) as a fantastic Ski area south of the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in Austria.  But as beautiful as the snowed-in Moelltal is in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall are at least as attractive for visitors!

If you come from or drive towards the Grossglockner Summit (3,798 meters), hold your horses, stop the car and take a long walk through the flower-blooming meadows and inhale the aromatic mountain air.  

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Watch the mountain farmers working in high-elevation farm areas mowing the hay with sickles and filling their hay stakes to let it dry for winter storage.  The cows cannot graze fresh food in winter and need to be fed with this hay.

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Visit the Putzenhof, a wonderful restaurant where you can enjoy delicious food - in fair weather served in their garden under huge shade-spending trees. But that´s not all: the large building houses the gold-digging museum. The area was once famous for its precious metal and gold has been traditionally mined here in the valley and its surroundings.

Homes, churches, and even a small castle give the appearance a homey and cozy feeling due to the liberal use of wood, overhanging roofs, and window boxes filled with colorful flowers.

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Visitors can even make a road trip on a steep, narrow winding road up to an Alm (meadows in the mountains) from where they can discover the mountain tip of the Grossglockner (Glockner Blick), walking over meadows where cows are grazing.  There is also a guesthouse where visitors can stay overnight, and have a typical Austrian meal.  The view towards the mountain peaks is stunning!

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Come and enjoy this beautiful Moell Valley any time of the year, smell the roses and the fresh hay, and admire the lovely mountain buildings and the snow-covered peaks.  Visit waterfalls, white-water streams, the gold-mining museum, and drive up to the high-mountain meadows (or even better walk).  This valley has the best of an old-fashioned ¨Sommerfrische¨.

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Downtown Milan, Italy: Museum and Botanical Garden in Brera

How to find a quiet and natural oasis in the middle of an Italian metropolis.

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Behind the southern facade of the Brera Palazzo, the Botanical Garden is a romantic oasis of greenery among the buildings in downtown Milan.  Located in the heart of the city, ca. 400 meters from the Scala, or 600 meters from the Duomo.  It is an oasis of tranquility and beauty.  Start seeing beautiful medieval art by Italian painters from the 15-hundreds, in the Palace, the Pinacoteca di Brera, before entering the Botanical Garden to admire nature´s art and beauty.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the wealth of flora and discover 

the fascinating history of plants from around the world. This tranquil 

garden was established in 1774 with flowerbeds, ponds, and an
arboretum with centuries-old trees.

These large trees, often growing in unusual locations or 

between flowerbeds, including two 2-and-a-half-centuries-old 

Ginkgo bilobas, the garden's patriarchs and symbols.

The Brera Botanical Garden is open to the public throughout 

the year and admission is free. Address: Via Ancona Angolo Via San Marco,

Milano MI Brera. Open daily from noon to 2:30 and from 7 pm to 10:00 pm

There are two entrances: via Brera 28 passing through the corridors of the 

Academy and via private F.lli Gabba 10

How to reach the garden:

By tube: MM3 (Montenapoleone), MM2 (Lanza), MM1 (Cairoli)

By tram or bus: 1, 2, 4, 12, 14, 61, 94

The Garden can be reached from Milano Centrale Railway Station 

(3 stops on the yellow MM3 line), from Milano P.ta Garibaldi Railway Station

(1 stop on the green MM2 line), from Milano Cadorna Railway Station 

(1 stop on the red MM1 line).

                                   Discover the vintage charm of Brera, with its galleries, antique stores, 

                           and flower-decked balconies.  Besides historic architecture such as Brera Palace, 

          stop by the ¨Eataly¨ food market.

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Amazing Cowboy Town in Montana

 

Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota lack gas stations and coffee shops on Interstate 94, 

so I decided to make a quick detour into a town I found on my travel map to fill up 

and get a coffee. To my surprise, I entered an old-fashioned Montana cowboy town.

The first thing I saw was a livestock auction. 

                                                 Once the horse-trading and livestock center of the country, 

                                             Miles City still has weekly livestock auctions and, once a year, puts 

                                                on the Bucking Horse Sale for rodeo stock buyers and breeders.

Before Miles City, Montana, was founded in 1887, George Miles, the nephew of General Miles
bought a herd of sheep, the first of many commercial enterprises in his involvement with 

the core founders of the town.

Livestock speculation brought thousands of cattle to the open ranges in the late 1880s, 

and the railroad was extended through the area. Texas drove numerous cattle to Miles City 

to fatten them on free grass and move them to where they could be loaded on trains 

bound for the slaughterhouses in Chicago.

Miles City experienced rapid growth until the 1920s and 1930s.

                          The Range Riders Museum features an extensive collection of early Western artifacts.

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Wikipedia writes: ¨Miles City has a cold semi-arid climate and holds the record for 

the highest mean sea level pressure in the contiguous United States with a reading 

of 31.42 inHg (1,064 mb) on December 24, 1983.¨

After leaving Miles City and hitting Interstate 94 again, I saw 
thousands of waterbirds, geese, and ducks resting on several lakes
east of Miles City, ready to fly further north to Canada in early April.

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Collier Park, Oregon, Logging Museum

 

Driving in Southern Oregon, half an hour north of Klamath Falls on Hwy 97, 

the sign Collier Logging Museum made me stop in my tracks. 

A small park was open that allowed to see the logging equipment of roughly 200 years.

The Collier Logging Museum was established by the Collier brothers from the beginning.

The Collier family’s business ventures had left them with a large collection of antique logging equipment.

In 1947 they donated the first machines that would eventually be part 

of one of the largest logging equipment collections in the country.

The museum’s reputation as a haven for logging equipment grew over the years, 

and the donations rolled in. Alfred Collier continued to source new pieces for the 

museum until he died in 1988.

Several cabins are sprinkled between the logging machines, 

such as the Doctors' cabin, the homesteader's cabin and barn, 

the sheepherder's cabin, and a general store.

A self-guided walk with plenty of signs describes the history of logging 

and the tools and machines used.

Collier is home to the largest collection of historic logging equipment 

in Oregon and perhaps in the nation.

                The Collier Memorial State Park features a campground, 

              sn outdoor museum of historic logging equipment, relocated 

                      pioneer village and a new four-corral, primitive horse camp and trailhead.

                              Railroad buffs will enjoy learning about the role the railroad played in logging. 

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The arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1909 to southern Oregon transformed

 the area’s logging industry; Oregon’s timber could now be easily shipped nationwide. 

As a result, investments in rail-based logging equipment increased dramatically.

Milling machines were complex machinery that cut the logs into viable lumber pieces. 

Jagged-toothed band-saw blades were used for larger cuts while circular saw blades 

sawed the logs into smaller cuts. The park’s historic band-saw mill operated from 1930 until 1980.

If you travel in this area, stop by, leave your car, and enjoy 
a leisurely walk in the fresh air of the forest.

 

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Photo Tour: Sunny Mexico to Snowy California and Mild Oregon Coast

Long distances of Hwy 1 are along the beautiful shore with free camping
directly on the water

Driving Highway 1 and 5 on Baja California Sur to the North.

It´s a narrow road, often without a shoulder, and an adventurous drive...

Amazing sights, exciting nature, and remote places apart from the highway.

The Northern part of the Baja, in the Sorona province, shows remands of former volcanos

Huge Bougainvillea trees in small towns along the way, here in Mulege

Crossing the border into the USA, the first snow-capped mountains appear 

in the distance, a stark contrast to the huge palm trees in Palm Springs, California

Joshua trees along the road are beautiful ancient trees in the Southern California Sierra

The first snow mountains of the High Sierra appear.  The Hwy 395 winds between
14,000 ft mountains of the Sequoia Ntl. Park and Yosemite Ntl. Park

Large Sequoia trees along Hwy 395 towards Lake Tahoe

Mono Lake in February

Lake Tahoe - before the next day´s snow storm ...

Snow right and left towards Klamath Falls, but sunny on this early February day

Northern Sierra High Mountains

Watch out for bears, and better don´t walk in the woods

After a snowstorm around Bend, OR, area it gets mushy and rainy

Huge Redwood trees, up to 5-stories high right and left the road.

Finally, milder weather on Oregon´s beaches

Tsunami hazard signs all along the Pacific Coast from California up to Washington State

Beautiful rocky coast along the shores of Oregon State

No bears anymore, but elks with large Antlers

The first Daffodils of the year in early February growing along the backroads

Sculpture in front of a native casino in Washington State, close to 

Port Angeles, the ferry harbor to Canada

Marvelous Rhododendron trees on Vancouver Island in February

An exciting, long cross-country trip through Mexico, USA, and Canada

I would do it again in a heartbeat, but maybe not in Winter, but rather in early Spring to avoid 

the snowfall in Northern California and Oregon on highways that are not plowed.

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