Hiking, day 59: Rabbit Mountain

There was a surprise break in the weather, so I'm back at it one more time this year!

Hiking, day 58: Hall Ranch

With the impending snow and sub-freezing weather, this may be my last hike of the year! Hope you've had a great time following along with my hikes and travels in 2017 - and I'll see you even more often in 2018!

Hiking, day 57: Sandstone Ranch

It's finally starting to get cold consistently in Colorado, but I'm trying to push through a few more days before the end of 2017. I headed over to Sandstone Ranch for the first time since the fire a few weeks ago; I didn't notice any damage from the public trails, so it looks pretty safe to walk around again.

Last Day in New Orleans

It was a bit of a rainy morning on our last day in NOLA, but I did manage to snag these photos of this thing on our way to brunch before our flight:

Hiking, day 56: The French Quarter

I feel almost bad to call this a hiking day when my only photo from today is from Cafe Du Monde, but we did actually walk around quite a bit to check out a lot of the shops around town, most of which ask that you not take photos. Definitely a good end to a great vacation!

Hiking, day 55: Louisiana State Museums

I hit up two more of the state museums today, both at Jackson Square.  Both focus on Louisiana and New Orleans history.

The first museum I checked out was The Cabildo, which is more of a traditional history museum, covering New Orleans and the surrounding area.

Had to take a few fun shots of the chandeliers.

Surgeon's autopsy chest.

Napoleon's death mask.

In between the two museums is the St. Louis Cathedral, so I made a stop there to check out the artwork.

The second museum is the Presbytere, focusing on hurricane history on the first floor, and Mardi Gras on the second floor. This is the actual piano of Fats Domino, ruined during Katrina.

Notes from a survivor living in an abandoned house after Katrina.

After the museums, I checked out the only vampire store in the US. The ladies at the store eventually hooked me up with the info about a secret vampire-themed speakeasy that we went to later in the evening.

View of the water from the Jackson Brewery building.

Bar kitties at the vampire speakeasy!

"Absolutely no shape shifting on the balcony," and other house rules in the bathroom.

Exquisite paint on the speakeasy's ceiling.

Hiking, day 54: New Orleans Mint & Jazz Museum

I headed out this morning back into the French Quarter, with my destination being to head through Jackson Square and then on to the former US mint, now housing the Jazz Museum.  I loved the exhibits about the mint, but I have to say the Jazz Museum was overly empty for the size of the building.

The old bank building, now housing one of the police district offices.

Jackson Square.

Outside of the old US mint.

This was a pretty neat exhibit in the Jazz Museum.

Vintage Mardi Gras doubloons.

Very cool lighting fixtures in one of the local breweries.

Statue of Joan of Arc.

Absinthe bar, one of the stops on our ghost pub crawl.

See the "ghost" on the second floor?