Queen's Canyon & Dorothy Falls

Just north of Garden of the Gods is the historic site of Glen Eyrie, owned by the Christian ministry The Navigators. They are generous enough to allow people to hike on their property (Monday through Thursday, see their website for details, and you'll need to sign a release), and since I had a day off work and the weather was beautiful, I decided to hike up Queen's Canyon from Glen Eyrie. It's a very worthwhile hike.

The trail starts like many, with scrub and rock outcroppings.

The canyon becomes very narrow in places, and there are some wooden bridges that cling to the walls.

The path crosses the stream many times. Sometimes there are logs to help, other times it's easier to step over the rocks. Waterproof boots help in places.

Finally, there's a beautiful waterfall (Dorothy Falls). The trail does continue up a very steep section but I didn't climb it carrying my camera equipment.

Empire State Building Views

Here are some views from the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building, taken on a cold winter day back in January.

First is a view looking West across the Hudson River towards New Jersey.

Next is one looking south. Note the Hudson River on the right and the East River on the left, joining in the Upper New York Bay in the far distance. The cluster of tall buildings in the distance is lower Manhattan, the Wall Street area.

Here are assorted tall buildings at dusk.

And finally, here is the Chrysler Building at dusk.

Cradle of Aviation Museum

There's a fascinating museum in suburban New York (specifically in Garden City) called the Cradle of Aviation. They have many interesting aviation exhibits, including full-size planes such as this F-11 that greets visitors in the entrance.

Exhibits include many older planes such as these (notice the wooden propeller on the first one).

Here's the Grumman Lunar Module LM-13. This particular module was intended for Apollo 18, which was canceled.

This is one of two surviving "sisters" of the famous "Spirit of St. Louis."

All in all, it makes for a fun afternoon for aviation enthusiasts.

Socks (My Dog)

Although I don't post pictures of my family here, I do occasionally post pictures of my little Pomeranian, Socks. Here he is laying on the carpet.

And here he enjoying a walk in the local park.

And here he is making himself comfortable in bed.

Northport & Cold Spring Harbor

It was cold in New York, as these pictures show, all from Long Island. The first two are of the harbor in Northport.

The next two are in Cold Spring Harbor, home of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, famous for its discoveries in DNA.

Ventura Harbor

A couple more pictures from California, this time from Ventura Harbor.

Even on the beach I was able to find a flower growing.

Ground Zero

I was in New York with my family a couple of weeks ago visiting my father and stepmother, as well as my brother and his family. While there we made a visit to Ground Zero, which at this point is a large construction site. I found it very moving, very difficult not to think about what had happened there. The last time I was there, the World Trade Center was still standing; in fact, we all went to the top as tourists no more than a couple of months before 9/11. I have to admit, I'm not sure I would want to work on the site.

More from New York in a few weeks.