It’s the first week of 2023, just after New Year's Day, I made a trip to New York City between Jan 2-4 to run some errands. Along the way, I stopped at a few places of interest, of a few hiking trails near Lehigh River and Paterson Great Falls, which would be the focus of this post.
After a minor winter storm, I decided on a final hike of the year of following Tuscarora Trail to Pinnacle Shelter. Unfortunately, the storm created more ice than snow on the trail, with a high number of fallen trees that I had to bail out half way.
If there’s one event to capture the world's attention towards the end of 2022, it should be the ongoing FIFA World Cup, the second most watched sporting event that's held only quadrennially. Besides the deafening roar of fan-packed stadiums and its far-reaching fanfares, there are facets of this world cup that are oftentimes overlooked, like Qatar's heinous human rights records that built the stadiums with something comparable to modern day slavery.
One of such issues is gender equality, that recently made headlines with Iranian protestors, a close ally of Qatar. And if one compares the popularity of this (male) world cup to its female counterpart, it's not hard to realize the latter had been dwarfed by the former pretty much since their inception. On the sidelines, I had some online discussions on this subject, which quickly deteriorated into a debate, first heated, then ugly.
Thanksgiving day and fifth day of my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park. I would spend most of the day driving back to Odessa, TX, stopping at a few places along the way.
The fourth day of my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park. I planned an epic hike for the day, covering both Chisos South Rim and Emory Peak.
Second day of my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park as I would be visiting the typical tourist places in the park, that's Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive and Boquillas Canyon.
First day of my 2022 Thanksgiving trip to Big Bend National Park as I drove from Odessa, TX to the park.
Distant Cliffs
The cliffs that gloriously reflected the setting sun. To me it felt like a shimmering welcome after driving under gloomy clouds for the entire day. It ended up that those cliffs were actually Sierra del Carmen Mountains in Mexico.