Doug's Photos

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Philippines Trip

In November and Decmember 2025, we took a trip to the Philippines. We spent time in Manila, El Nido, Cebu and Bicol.

Below is the map showing where we took photos. Click the picture below to see an interactive map. Click any of the pins in the interactive map to see when and where the picture was taken and a link. Click that link to go to the picture in the blog post below.

Nov 27 to Dec 2, 2025 - BGC Manila

During the first part of our Philippines trip we stayed at an Airbnb in BGC, Manila. Our first dinner was at Din Tai Fung across the street from the Airbnb. Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant known for its xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). One of my favorites is the chocolate xiaolongbao, which is a dessert dumpling filled with dark chocolate. They're all delicious though which is why we ordered the birthday basket with a variety dumplings.

Across the street from the Din Tai Fung was a Megaworld Uptown Mall. In addition to the usual collection of stores and restaurants, there was a Catholic Chapel, not something I'm used to seeing at a mall.

While in Manila we took a couple of tours including a food tour and an historical Manila tour.

Nearby Mall of Venice had a gondola ride. Something I've also never seen at a mall before.

Dec 3 to 6, 2025 - Mayon Volcano Region

The next part of tour trip we flew to Legazpi in the Mayon Volcano Region. You don't always get a clear view of the volcano, and this time was no exception.

The first night we stayed at Your Brother House Tribal Village, a very rustic hotel.

Our Hut at Your Brother House Tribal Village

The next few nights were at Misibis Bay Resort, a ways from the volcano but with much more upscale accommodations. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to make much use of the private beach.

Dec 7 to 13, 2025 - BGC Manila

We flew back to Manila and the Airbnb in BGC.

Night Shot Megaworld Uptown Mall Fountain

Dec 14 to 16, 2025 - El Nido

And soon off to El Nido, a beautiful beach town on the island of Palawan.

Nacpan Beach is a stunning, 4-kilometer stretch of powdery white sand and turquoise waters in El Nido, Palawan, often cited as one of the best beaches in the Philippines

Dec 17 to 19, 2025 - Cebu City

Dec 20 to 22, 2025 - Oslob Whale Sharks

I didn't really know what to expect when viewing the Oslob Whale Sharks, but this really wasn't what I expected. The whale sharks are huge but the boats bo just 100 yards offshore and the whale sharks are there being lured near to shore by fishermen feeding them. Overall it's a bit of a zoo because of the number of boats and people, but it was still pretty amazing to see the whale sharks up close.

The first day of whale shark watching I saw more people and feet than whale sharks.

Luckily we had planned a trip to Sumilon Island Sand Bar later that day which was a lot less crowded and more peaceful.

The second day I was more prepared and managed to get a few pictures of whale sharks without a sea of legs in the picture.

Dec 23 to 25, 2025 - Moalboal Sardine Runs

Dec 28 to 29, 2025 - Camay Coast Beach Resort

This wasn't the end of our trip. After returning to Manila for New Years we flew to Singapore Auckland to catch a cruise to Syndey. See the next blog post for that part of the trip.

Click this link to see AI chosen highlights from our trip or one of the pictures above to see more pictures from that part of the trip.

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Colorado Cross Country RV Trip

Below is the map of our 20 night RV trip to and from Steamboat Springs Colorado. Click the picture below to get a live map. Clicking a pin on that map will show a description of the picture. Clicking the link in the description takes you to the blog entry describing the that day with links to an album with more pictures for the day.

20 Night September 2025 Cross Country Trip

Click a picture below to see highlight pictures from the trip or scroll down to see more pictures from each day.

Can you see the two people in the above photo? Hint, they're tiny specs in the bottom center of the photo!

Friday, October 3, 2025

Arches, Blanding, Gooseneck, Monument Valley

Our last part of our trip we stopped at Arches National Park and Monument Valley. Although we had a two night reservation at Grand Canyon we skipped that due to a government shutdown.

Click a picture below to see more pictures from that day.

September 30, 2025 - Arches National Park

Although we had seen a lot at Arches during our trip out to Steamboat Springs, we wanted to go back and see some of the areas we had missed first time around.

Oct. 1 to 3, 2025 - Monument Valley

The picture below was taken at the Edge of the Cedar State Park Museum in Blanding Utah on the way to Monument Valley.

Our first trip to Monument Valley! Starting from the sunset shot taken the evening we arrived until we left two days later we had a wonderful time. Be sure to sign up for one of the early morning guided tours to see the sunrise and get some great pictures. Click the picture below to see more pictures from our time in Monument Valley including our sunrise backroads guided tour.

If you only have time for one Mounument Valley shot, make sure you take this from near the visitor center at sunset. It is the most iconic view of Monument Valley and you will see it on many postcards and souvenirs.

Below was taken during our sunrise backroads tour of Monument Valley. It is called the Ear of the Wind and is a natural rock formation that has a hole in it that creates an echo effect when you speak into it. It was a lot of fun to try out and we had a great time on the tour.

Our final shot taken at sunrise from the campground in Monument Valley.

Click one of the pictures above to see more pictures from that stop.

Monday, September 29, 2025

Steamboat Springs

Sept. 25 to 29 - Steamboat Springs Colorado

Finally made it to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for the first time. We had a great time and the weather was perfect.

One afternoon we went to Strawberry Park Natural Hot Springs. It was a great experience and the water was very warm and relaxing. The setting was beautiful and we enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.

One evening after a delicious dinner at a local downtown restaurant, we went for a walk on a bridege across the Yampa River.

The last morning we were there the view of the Yampa River from our campground was stunning.

Click this link or one of the pictures above to see more pictures from Steamboat Springs.

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Goblin Valley, Arches, Dinosaurs

The second leg of our trip to Steamboat Springs yielded some spectacular views in Goblin Valley State Park and Arches National Park. I had high hopes for the third stop of this leg at Dinosaur National Monument but the main exhibit area was closed for renovations.

Click one of the pictures below to see more pictures for that day.

Sept. 19, 2025 - Goblin Valley State Park

One of those pleasant surprises was our stop in Goblin Valley State Park. I'd seen the signs to Goblin Valley on the way to and from Arches National Park but had no idea what it was. The park is full of hoodoo rock formations that look like goblins, hence the name.

The picture below is a bit more impressive if you realize that some of those small dots in the picture are people.

Sept. 20 & 21, 2025 - Arches National Park

One of the photo highlights of the trip was our visit to Arches National Park. That's why we also stopped here on our way back from Steamboat Springs.

Do you see the two people in the photo above?

There's a line of people in the picture above!

Sept. 22 to 24, 2025 - Fruita Colorado & Dinosaur National Monument

On our way to Dinosaur National Monument we stopped overnight at that James. M. Robb Colorado River State Park in Fruita Colorado near Grand Junction. Right next door to the park is Dinosaur Journey Museum, which has a great collection of dinosaur fossils and exhibits. Nice, since our next days stop at Dinosaur National Monument was closed for renovations.

Again, since the main exhibit area of Dinosaur National Monument was closed for renovations we lucked out by visiting the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, Utah.

Click one of the pictures above to see more pictures for that day.

Friday, September 19, 2025

Cedar Breaks, Bryce, Kodachrome, Escalante, Capitol Reef

The first leg of our trip to Steamboat Springs we stopped at Cedar Breaks National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, Kodachrome Basin State Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capital Reef National Park. We had been to Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon before, but the other three were new to me.

Click one of the pictures below to see more pictures for that day.

Sept. 15, 2025 - Ivanpah Solar Electric Plant

On the way to Cedar Breaks, we stopped at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Plant. It's a very old plant that used steam generated by focused sunlight. I liked the photos I took of the mirrors and the sun reflecting off them onto the huge steam generators.

Sept. 16, 2025 - Cedar Breaks, Bryce Canyon

Cedar Breaks is like a small Bryce Canyon, but with fewer people. It makes for a nice stop on the way to Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon has a lot of places to stop and take pictures. On this trip we just stopped at one of them to take pictures before heading on to Kodachrome Basin State Park where we had a reservation for the night.

Sept. 17, 2025 - Kodachrome Basin State Park

We only had one night at Kodachrome Basin State Park before heading to nearby Escalante Petrified Forest State Park for our next night. You definitely want to be here for the early morning light. But I'd say we got a bit of a late start and missed the best light.

Sept. 18, 2025 - Escalante Grand Staircase, Capitol Reef

Just a short drive from Kodachrome Basin State Park is Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park.

Click one of the pictures above to see more pictures for that day.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Alaska Cruise

Below is the map of our 22 night June 2025 Alaska cruise. This was the longest and went the furthest north of any of our Alaska cruises. Click the picture to get a live map. Clicking a pin on that map will show a description of the picture taken at that location. Clicking the link in the description takes you to the blog entry describing the that day with links to an album with more pictures for the day.

Click the picture below to see highlight pictures from the cruise or scroll down to see more pictures from each day.

Endicott Arm, Vancouver, Victoria and San Francisco

This was the last leg of our cruise home from Alaska to San Francisco.

June 22, 2025 - Endicott Arm

We had one last chance to see some of the awesome Alaska glaciers with our day spent cruising Endicott Arm.

June 24, 2025 - Vancouver

Vancouver was a nice city to spend a day in.

June 25, 2025 - Victoria

Our last stop before heading home was Victoria. Usually the Alaska cruise ships stop for only a short time in Victoria, but we had a full day to explore the city. This time we decided to take a self guided tour of the Victoria China Town and, of course, some of the local pubs. To get there and back to port we used a reasonably priced Uber.

June 28, 2025 - San Francisco

After a couple of relaxing days at sea we were home at last! We had a great cruise but it was nice to be back in San Francisco.

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Click one of the pictures above to see more pictures for that day.