Charles River Reservation

I had to go up to Cambridge Massachusetts for work this week.  I flew up Sunday and stayed at the Royal Sonesta.  I work up early Monday morning, but didn't have to be to work for a while.  So I went for a hike along the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike Path in the Charles River Reservation.  It's a really nice greenway trail along both sides of the Charles River.

The views of the river were really scenic.  And early morning sun was very pretty.

The entire trail is about a 17 mile loop, but that's a little long to hike.  Fortunately, there are a number of bridges that provide pedestrian access across the river to make a short loop.  At one spot, a number of large number of daisies were blooming.

I could see the white patches from all the way on the other side of the river.  There were also a lot of Canada geese and their goslings.

The weather was very nice, a lot cooler than back in Raleigh.  I went for another walk after work and enjoyed the New England weather.  There were a lot of birds in and along the river.  Besides the geese, I saw ducks, gulls, cormorants and even a night heron.

It was nice to able to be able to walk everywhere for a few days.

Bosch Alive

Wednesday was my last day in Berlin.  Most of my colleagues headed to Dessau, but I stayed to continue working in Berlin.  I had seen a sign for Hieronymus Bosch exhibit, so after work I decided to check it out.  I walked over to Alte Münze to see the Bosch Alive exhibit.  It was not like a traditional museum exhibit at all - it seemed more like a rave venue than a museum.  I had to walk around to the back of the building and go through a dark corridor to find the entrance (it was well signed at least).  After paying admission I headed inside.  There were a couple of dark rooms with benches and beanbag chairs in the center.

On all the walls, projections of The Garden of Earthly Delights was shown onto the walls, with the figures from the painting animated and set to music.  It was really cool - I've always loved Bosch and The Garden of Earthly Delights is my favorite work of art.

I watched through the animations and then left.  Afterwards, I headed to Tex-Mex Cantina for dinner and then walked past Museum Island.  It was late so I didn't have a chance to visit the museums, but the buildings were really nice.  The Bode Museum along the river was really scenic.

Heading back towards the hotel, I passed the Berlin Cathedral.

This has to be one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen, with a nice fountain in front.

There was a service, so I wasn't able to check out the inside.  Then I started heading back towards the hotel, passing through Gendarmanmarkt one more time.

After a few pictures, I headed back to the hotel to pack up for a long flight home in the morning.

Jetlag in Berlin

I had to go to Berlin for work this week.  I was pretty jetlagged upon arrival on Monday and was struggling through meetings.  When they were finished, I walked to the Hilton and checked in.  After checking in, I went for a short walk around the city.  First, I headed to Checkpoint Charlie that was just a block or two from the hotel.

The former crossing point of the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin is now a major tourist site.  Today, it's just a booth in the road, with museums, tour guides, and fast food restaurants.  With bright neon signs for MacDonalds and KFC, it was hard to picture this as the gateway to Communist East Germany.

After a couple pictures, I headed back towards the hotel and took a short walk around the Gendarmenmarkt, a beautiful square directly in front of the hotel.

There were three buildings here - the German Cathedral, or Deutscher Dom, was directly across from the Hilton.  It had been destroyed during WWII, but was rebuilt shortly after re-unification.

Across the square was the French Cathedral or Französischer Dom, which like the German one had been damaged in WWII, but subsequently repaired.

In between the two churches was the Konzerthaus or Concert Hall.

There were some interesting statues leading up to the Konzerthaus.

I milled around the area and got a few pictures and then headed back to the Hilton to try and sleep off the jetlag.

Sunset over Bozeman

I spent this week in Bozeman, Montana for work.  After this past weekend with temperatures over 80 in Raleigh, it would take a bit of acclimation to get used to the Montana winter.  There were a few hiccups in Denver, but finally I made it to Bozeman.  After checking in at work, I headed over to the College M Trailhead for a sunset hike.  There's a hard way and easy way to get up to the M.  Either way, it's 850 feet of elevation gain.  The hard way goes up in 0.5 miles, while the "easy" way goes up in 1.5 miles.  With all the snow and ice on the ground, I opted for the easy way this time.  Hiking up wasn't too bad.

The trail was covered in snow, but traction was good enough in most places.  There were a couple of slick spots, but I picked up a hiking stick at the trailhead, so it wasn't too bad.  Up at the M, the views over Bozeman were great, especially nearing sunset.

I took a rest up here and got some pictures.  A couple who came up after me had a very friendly dog who I played with for a bit.  The couple was very friendly and I enjoyed talking to them for a couple minutes - the guy had just gotten back from Anchorage and the lady was from Asheville, NC.  After talking with them for a bit and getting some pictures, I headed back down.

Near the bottom, as the sun was setting behind the mountains, the sky lit up with some fantastic colors.

I got a few more pictures, then headed back.

Grotto & Arch Falls

Thursday was my last day in Bozeman. After work, I headed south back into Hyalite Canyon, but this time heading to the trailhead for Grotto Falls. A lovely trail followed Hyalite Creek upstream to this waterfall.

I presume there is a cave behind the waterfall, but the water level was really up today so I couldn't really see it. I stopped here to get a couple pictures, but wasn't ready to head back yet. A map at the trailhead indicated Arch Falls was just a little further up the creek. So I continued on the trail to try and find this waterfall. Looking across the gorge, Twin Falls was visible in the distance.

This gorgeous double waterfall was very high. But it was hard to find a good place for a picture and I’m not sure how to get closer. A Forest Service sign indicated that it was a location for ice climbing, so there must be a way. But the creek level was way up today, so no way to cross. I didn't really have time anyway. It was just a short ways further to Arch Falls.

I had to climb down a steep cliff to the base of this amazing waterfall. Although only 15 or 20 feet high, the water cascades down and flows under a natural rock arch. I’m so glad I continued on to see this one – I think it was my favorite of the week.

It was really cold down in the little ravine with this waterfall. The fast moving water created a natural air conditioning. I climbed back up and started making my way back. There were lots of lovely little trout lilies blooming along the forest floor.

Unlike the trout lilies in North Carolina, these didn't have the trout-patterned leaves. I think that they're Glacier Lilies.

It was just a little further back to the car and back at the hotel, I started getting packed up to head home in the morning.

Another Hike up the M

Wednesday, I had a dinner to attend after work, so not a lot of time for hiking. I headed back to the M and this time took the easy way up, or at least started that way. In about a half-mile from the trailhead, I turned right on College M Shortcut (#512). Again today, I enjoyed seeing the countless wildflowers blanketing the mountainside as I hiked up the mountain.

Unfortunately, the wildflowers bloom due to the lack of shade and it was another hot day today. Along the shortcut trail, there was a rock outcrop that provided some shade for a short ways.

Soon I made it to the M and stopped for a break to enjoy the view.

After a quick break, I started heading back down, staying on College M Trail (#511). Near the bottom, I turned right on Bridger Foothills Trail (#534) and went a half-mile or so to see some more wildflowers.

Heading back, I stopped one more time to see some beautiful lupine, then finished the hike back at the trailhead.

Then I headed into town and met my coworkers at Feast for dinner.

Hiking the College M

After work Tuesday, I headed to the “M” – perhaps Bozeman’s most popular hiking spot. I thought College M was a strange name for a National Forest hiking trail. Driving towards the trailhead on I-90, I saw the giant M on the side of the mountain and realized where the name came from. When I was here in February, the mountains were covered in snow and it wasn't visible. I parked at the trailhead, which was almost full and got ready. As I started hiking, there was a split and the sign indicated the easy way and the hard way. Of course I had to take the hard way. Gaining 850 vertical feet in a half-mile, this trail was exceedingly steep. The high temperatures and bright sunshine in Bozeman didn’t help. There was almost no shade on the trail. Although it seemed longer that it actually was, I made it to the top in about 20 minutes and stopped for a rest on the bench.

The views of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley from here were just phenomenal. Looking up, I saw a guy on top of the M. He whipped out a parachute and jumped off, paragliding down to the valley.

Now that's something you don't see every day. Well, maybe in Bozeman. Telling coworkers this the next day, they didn't seem to think it was too uncommon. After this, I started heading back down, taking the easy way this time. Beautiful wildflowers were blooming all along the trail.

The penstemon were particularly beautiful. But the most abundant were the arrowleaf balsamroots.

There must have been thousands of these pretty yellow wildflowers blooming on the mountainside.

As I was heading down, a storm rolled in.

In a matter of minutes, I could no longer see Bozeman - it was getting slammed with rain.

Fortunately, I was heading down so I picked up the pace, making it back to the car just as the rain was starting here at the Bridger Range. By the time I drove back into Bozeman, the rain stopped and I had dinner at Copper Whiskey, then returned to the hotel for the evening.

Palisade Falls

This week I headed to beautiful Bozeman, Montana for work. The last time I was here was in February and there was limited daylight. But this week, the sun didn’t set until after 9 so I tried to get out and see a little of the area after work each evening. I arrived at Bozeman at 1 local time and headed to the office. Getting off at about 5, I decided rather than going straight to the hotel and checking in, I would head south into the Hyalite Canyon area of Gallatin National Forest to see Palisade Falls. The drive in was absolutely beautiful. After passing the reservoir, I turned left on the gravel road and went about a mile to the trailhead for Palisade Falls. It was just a short hike on a paved trail to this stunning waterfall. The water tumbles down around eighty feet over some beautiful volcanic basalt cliffs.

I got a couple pictures and then started heading back. On the way back, I saw a couple hiking up and thought the guy looked very familiar. Turns out it was my coworker Mark and his girlfriend, also heading up to the falls for an after work hike. Back at the car, I started heading back, making a quick stop at the Hyalite Reservoir. The views over the lake were just stunning.

Despite high temperatures in the upper 80s, snow-capped mountains were visible in the distance. After a brief stop, I headed back to into Bozeman and checked in to the Holiday Inn Express, my home for the week, and retired for the evening.