Houghton Falls and some app recommendations

Today it rained, but we did a short hike. I survived because it was shorter than yesterday. I still don't like walking in slick conditions going downhill over tree roots. We never did find Houghton Falls, but we saw some interesting things along the way. The Falls may come and go with the season and I am guessing that the falls are not the reason people make the effort with this trail.

Along the way, I saw a couple of women examining and photographing a strange looking plant. They said the plant was quite rare and was called Indian Pipe or Ghost Flower. The totally white plant did have a pipe-like appearance so I also took a couple of pictures with my iPhone. 

I tend to explore apps I think may have educational value and I have been using several apps or services that make an effort to identify what appears in an image. I tried them on the strange flower I had photographed and both made successful identifications.

The first service is part of Google Photos and is called Google Lens. It is available to all at no cost.

The second app is called PlantSnap. I tried this app in Hawaii with mixed success, but it worked fine with the Ghost Flower. This flower has such a unique appearance that the identification services probably have an easy time finding a match,

The Ghost Flower has such a strange appearance because it lacks the chlorophyll that gives most plants their green color. This plant is parasitic and is able to get nutrients from other plants. 

Settle for pickled herring

Hanging out with younger folks can be a challenge. For today's activity, our group decided to hike to an overlook near the sea caves. You have probably seen the photos of kayakers exploring these caves or maybe the brave souls who walk out to the caves when the lake freezes in winter. We decided on a hike - a 4.6 mile "moderate" difficulty hike. I am not much of a hiker. I consider myself a city stroller and walk 1.3 miles or so to my coffee shop (and back) frequently. I have difficulty with hiking conditions - sharp downhills with steps are a particular problem - bad feet/ankles from too many years of basketball I claim as the cause for my problem. Moderate turned out to be more difficult than I could handle and rather than slowing the young folks down, Cindy, Kaia, and I turned around after a mile or so. I did make my 10,000 steps today. The good photos were at the end of the hike, but I am a purist and only post the images I take.

All I could come up with is this picture of pickled herring. I ordered this delicacy a few years ago and may have posted a similar picture, but I am a fan of pickled herring and I ordered this appetizer again today because I remembered how good it was. My feet may be in decline, but my memory is great. Same reaction to the delicacy this time. Last time we tried to find a place to purchase some to take with us, but could not find an outlet in Bayfield.

I recommend iBuprofen for sore feet.

Wisconsin - Up North

We haven't really spent much time travelling since Rome, but we had the opportunity this week to take a quick trip up north (about 100 miles north of our lake place) with the Tanners. We brought both of our campers - the rPod for Grandma and Grandpa and the popup for everyone else. We are in Washburn, WI, on the shore of Lake Superior. I think we are just south of the Apostle Islands.

We used to take more road trips in the summer, but that was when we had to travel this time of year. It is nice to avoid the busy travel season as much as we can. It is hot and typically very crowded especially if you like to camp. The Internet allows folks to book ahead of time in national parks and this makes it nearly impossible to just go when you want. Most parks have a 48-hour cancellation policy so there is little penalty for making a reservation just in case. The sites with hookups (electrical, water, and sewer) go first. I have reached the age at which I don't sleep on the ground anymore. Our location for the next few days has electrical and wifi (actually television too, but I can get by with just wifi) so we are in good shape for these short stays. 

This seems a great location. Washburn is very close and a nice tourist town. A couple of coffee shops, a great bakery (above), and some artists. It is a small community so things are not out of hand when it comes to tourism, but a very nice place. I assume every lakeshore community in this area is similar. Just right.

I have posted pictures of our rPod several times before, but I don't remember showing what the inside of the camper looks like. If you can imagine me sitting on a short queen bed taking this picture, you should have a sense of the size of our camper. We have a television/video system, shower/toilet (on the left), table/couch/second bed (on the right), and a kitchen area with fridge, microwave, two-burner stove and sink. This is a nice setup for two people. We looked at larger rigs, but wanted something we could pull with a four-wheel drive suv allowing us to unhook get around pretty much as if we were travelling by car. We pay $28 per night which seems reasonable. Did I mention we have WiFi?

Hot, (not) flat, and crowded

I apologize for the delay in posting any comments and photos from Rome. I ran into a problem uploading photos to this blog so I decided to wait until I reached home.

Rome was a challenging experience. I understand the interest that many have in the ancient. It is challenging to consider how life then would have been so different and yet so similar. Beyond having this insight into the passage of time and the realization that Europe has so much more history than North America, I did not have the reaction of others when confronting the history present in Rome. I think I am more appreciative of the information than the experience. The experience itself is hot, dirty, and extremely crowded. It is difficult for me to be reflective in this setting. The following image may give you a sense of what I mean by crowded - this is a photo of the Spanish Steps. What you see here is nothing in comparison to Vatican City (which we did spend time viewing) and the Colosseum which we did not enter. This would have required several hours standing in line.

I process my travel experiences with a camera. This is a personal thing and I know some believe you just look and appreciate. This just does not work for me. I also prefer taking pictures of things other than people. Cindy always complains I take too few pictures of people. So Cindy - I did take a few pictures of you.

Here are a few more photos.

Vatican City

I liked the flare.

Swiss Guards (guys and women with automatic weapons were also very visible)

Not the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed)

One of the Colosseum (as many people cropped out as possible)

Trevi Fountain

A few others I like

I won't push any more pictures on you. If you are interested, all of my photos are public.  

This is all for now. We are resting and hope to hit the road (or water) again soon. Thanks for connecting.

Oh, the title? A derivation of the title from one of my favorite authors (Tom Friedman - Hot, flat and crowded). Friedman also writes about the connected world and the foolishness of those who believe we can isolate ourselves.  

A latte is not always a latte

Things I find familiar are sometimes interpreted differently in other cultures.

I fancy myself a coffee expert. I have visited coffee plantations. I purchase my beans from roasters and have invested in several expensive coffee machines. I do understand that there are many ways to make coffee and some need no fancy gadgets.

I assumed Italy was a knowing coffee culture. I was a little taken aback when I encountered the press a button coffee machine used during breakfast at our hotel.

I like a latte with breakfast so I decided that the latte button would dispense my preferred drink. What the button generated was a glass full of warm milk. I am not a warm milk drinker. Then a solution occurred to me. I would dispense a second cup of coffee and mix the two producing a cafe au lait. I used to have this drink in a cafe near the University of Minnesota campus. You received coffee and milk in two glasses to be mixed to your preference so this was not my own idea.

The coffee button (actually caffe) produced what I think of as espresso. So mixing the two which is probably what is expected without the second cup is the anticipated behavior. This was not obvious to this tourist. I guess this is why the latte is technically a caffe latte.

Now that I have mastered Italian coffee I feel cultured.