Travelog for: Natt Noy

Next stop was around a 20 minute drive from where we were and technically on the outskirts of Orange... but knowing what it was that would be understandable. Not something you'd expect to see in the middle of the rural area of New South Wales... but an extinct volcano! Seriously, how crazy is that? It's the highest point West of the Blue Mountains which is on the outskirts of Sydney, around a 2.5 hour drive from where we are now... it's the famous Mount Canobolas... here I am at the top of the mountain...



The top photo you can the city of Orange in the distance... looks so tiny from up here... here I am on the compass at the apex point of the volcano... this is where you stand and it shows the direction to look to see the different cities and towns in the region... on a clear day you can see hundreds of kilometers.


Here's the panoramic view around the top of the mountain from one side to the other... as you can see it has a lot of radio and TV towers. Honestly it's a huge eye sore... oh well!







There are lots of hikes and bush walks all around the apex point of the mountain... we got to learn a bit about the mountain while we were here. If you see in this image you can see there are lots of "vents" where there were smaller less active volcanoes surrounding the main volcano... here's a bit of information about Mount Canobolas...


Mount Canobolas volcanic complex is listed in the Commonwealth Heritage Register for it's unique geological composition and location. These factors have resulted in a distinctive vegetation pattern, containing rare and unique species, which in turn contain habitats for a number of equally unique animals.

Within a 30 kilometer radius of Mount Canobolas, approximately 30 vents are known to have erupted. These eruptions commenced about 50 million years ago and halted approximately 10-15 million years ago. The Mount Canobolas vents erupted over that entire period, while others within the 30 kilometer radius were active for shorter periods. The basalt capping has largely weathered away producing fertile soils as far away as West Wyalong. Which is 222 kilometers away from Orange or just under a 3 hour drive West of Orange.

After we had a bit longer at the top of the volcano and a few more photos we started to head down the mountain. Half way down, we stopped and got a picture of the mountain and a better view of Orange from above. The small mountain next to the main apex of Mount Canobolas is called Little Canobolas, it's a 2km walk from the top of the mountain...



Well, we're not quite done yet... we have one more place to visit before we've seen all the main touristy areas of rural New South Wales (this area anyway)... write again soon with more photos of our next stop!

Next and last stop today is Lake Canobolas which is really the only water source in the region beyond Carcoar Dam which you saw a few weeks ago. Which is almost non existant. Thankfully there's more to this lake, although it is a man made lake... here I am in front of the lake... isn't it pretty on such a sunny bright day like today?



There were a LOT of ducks right near where we were standing... sadly we didn't have any bread to feed them... Sara says how she loves to feed the ducks and always feels a bit bad when they approach her and she doesn't have anything to give them...



All of us toyvoyagers decided to sit in one of the gum trees near the beach and relax for a little bit...



We sadly didn't stay very long since it was already almost 6pm! Would you believe it? Well one last look at the lake and it's time to head home...

Well that was a huge day for us, we got to see a lot of interesting things... but we've seen a lot of rural and regional New South Wales. I'll be leaving to my next host soon! Write again soon! Miss you mom!

Today was my last day in Orange. Sara is writing this note for me because currently I'm in a padded postbag with my new mate Lewis, at least I'll have someone to talk to! Next stop Wisconsin! I wonder what I'll get to see there! Write soon mom!

I've made it to Wisconsin!! 

and go to meet another voyager named Smooch ! Together got to make brownies and marshmallows together and she even let us lick the bowl!

More later!

We went out sightseeing today ... it was gorgeous weather! 

First stop was to see the official city welcome. The statue is of men playing the sport lacrosse and the flags are American flag, Wisconsin state flag and city flag.

Then we stopped at a park where she showed us where the local baseball team plays. We sat for a photo on a very big baseball bat. We went to a park just down the road... I got to go down the slide and swung on a swing!

Next stop was at the Riverside Park which is on the Mississippi River. She was surprised that the local paddle wheeler boat was in the water. It does local tours and eco-tours.

Had to pose for a picture with Hiawatha; she says this was Native American land.

We posed for a friendship picture in the friendship gardens at the park.

Saw one of the duck that hang around the park outside the river cleaning himself.

Then I got to see the two blue bridges that connect Wisconsin to Minnesota.

Here is me with a big American flag! 

Here I am seeing more ducks in the water. There are a lot of ducks that hang around the park. People like to bring down bread crumbs and feed them.

The children are statues that welcome those who dock here. During the summer there are tourist boats that visit La Crosse.

Posing for a picture with my friends in front of the bridges.

A beautiful picture of the Mississippi River looking northwest towards Minnesota.

And a picture of me with a statue of the American Bald Eagle as we leave the park.

On the drive home I got to see something huge!! Don't worry, I was good and didn't drink any.

Today was such a beautiful day so we went out sightseeing. 

This is a sign that explains the area that she lives in is called. My picture in front of an example of the coulees.

We then went to another landmark place. But first had to take my picture with the American flag that was flying very beautifully!



Grandad's Bluff is a favorite landmark here since it looks all over the city and more! (more of those pics in next section)

Here I am overlooking beautiful La Crosse in the springtime! We can even see the land from Iowa and Minnesota!  The pictures are from south to north. The trail that is shown on the first picture, has been closed for a couple years since they had bad flooding the last couple years and it's not safe to go down it (it was fenced off).

Going down from Grandad's Bluff is tree lined and also very twisty and has lots of corners. We had to drive carefully! But we made it safely down.



More adventures on another day!

Today we had another voyager show up!

Emil is here as he travels through the US.

We sat and told him all that we had seen so far. He's anxious to go and see things now!

We tagged along with Emil but stayed in the background since we saw the sights that he saw but we did come out for a picnic in the park.

It was a nice, sunny, and warm day! (32*C/90*F) 

After lunch, we got to see a barge go by on the Mississippi River!

More adventures later... when it's cooled off!

It was a very nice day out so we went along with our lovely host to run an errand which was also quite a drive... we got to see a lot!

First thing she showed us was something they call "Ten Mile Hill." It's just 10 miles long from one end to the other. Sounds intimidating though! You can see that they had to carve into the bluffs to make the road.

At one point on the road, we had to watch out for farm equipment.

Small town (population ~2000) of Westby, Wisconsin!



Since we are in the country, we found a big ear of corn! Really it's a big advertisement for a company and made out of recycled milk jugs.



After she was done at the dentist, we were driving and saw an Amish horse and buggy. The Amish don't rely on what we call modern conveniences such as electricity and cars.