National Park

Many of the things we did and places we went were not on the "normal" tourist agenda. Chris was a willing accomplice in my quest to see the "real" Spain. We went to Garripilos to see the cross-country event, but it was a lot of walking, long lines at the port-a-potties and expensive food - not to mention the crowds. We saw enough to appreciate the organizers and the riders. I am very familiar with three-day eventing as I used to compete on a much lower level 20 years ago, but Chris had never seen it in person. So it was fun to explain to her the strategies and intracacies of this phase in particular. When we had out fill of the sun and sore feet, we hiked back out to our car and headed west towards the mountains with a Michelin Map, half a case of bottled water and all kinds of "nourishment" and, of course, our cameras.

This is a reservoir. Several large cattle ranches seem to butt on it's shores.

Mountains have always drawn me to them. The beauty of their majestic height. I have alwas thought them to hold hidden wonders, waiting for me to explore. These are not even close in height to the Rockies, perhaps closer to the Great Smokie mountains, yet, they are quite different, more like the white mountains of eastern Arizona.

The roads were long and winding, as always on my journeys, I vow to find other roads to take me back so as to see as much as possible. The roads were very good and not much traveled on a weekday. As here in the USA, there are scatterings of private ranches, homes and small towns, each with a charm and pride unique to this part of Spain.

This shows a modest size town in a "hidden" valley....many more reside tucked in such valleys or on the tops of strategic hills, built with defense from the from the invading Moors centuries ago. Almost all homes are white stucco making them look like patches of snow from a distance.

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