Hello Everyone,
And Happy New Year!
I'm spending the holidays in Grand Lake, Colorado. I've been out snowshoeing every day and getting acclimated to the altitude (8,360 feet). During the past 3 months, I was traveling mostly at sea level and lost my acclimatization to the altitude here. Yesterday was the first day I saw enough snowmobiles out on Shadow Mountain Lake that I felt comfortable going out for a cross-country ski on the lake.
The Grand Lake area has three large lakes and reservoirs, and it is a big destination for ice-fishing. Lake Granby, which is the best ice-fishing area, still isn't frozen enough for "traffic". It's one of the largest reservoirs in Colorado with a surface area of 7,250 acres and holds 539,758 acre-feet when full, and is the last to freeze.
I will be in Grand Lake through the end of January proving snowshoeing and ski tours in Rocky Mountain National Park. And then it is off to Panama, where I have three tours back to back! After that it is on to Taiwan for my March tour. There are still spaces available for some of the tours.
I have added a very special tour to Taiwan for March 2024. We will be visiting Taiwan during the cherry blossom season, and it will be especially beautiful.
Dates:
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Spring Dates: March 14 - 24, 2024, Taroko Gorge 4-day extension March 24 - 28, 2024. This is a special trip during the peak of the cherry blossom season. This trip will have more cultural stops and more walking, (with options for hiking) than my other tours. Spots left = 4
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2024: November 7 - 22, 2024, Spots left = 10
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2025: March 3 - 18, 2025, Spots left = 10
Here is more info on Taiwan:
Time to Travel to Taiwan: No visa required, officially bi-lingual with English as the second language, and non-stop flights from many cities in the United States.
Taiwan is a very special place and is one our favorite places! If you are a birder, in Taiwan you will find over 30 endemic species, with over 650 species in total. If you are a nature lover, besides the beautiful birds, you will find wonderful forests, canyons, mountains, stunning coastlines, lots of butterflies, fantastic local people, many interesting mammals and great food! If you are a hiker, you will find great trails through the forests, mountains and river canyons.
Taiwan is a small island located 110 miles off the coast of southeastern China. Although Taiwan maintains its own independent government, it is officially: “The Republic of China”. Taiwan is about 1.5 times larger than the state of New Hampshire and has a population of nearly 24 million people. Taipei is the capital city and is located in the northern part of the country and 9.3 million people live in the Taipei–Keelung–Taoyuan metropolitan area. Artifacts dating back 30,000 years have been found on the island and the Taiwanese Aboriginals have lived in Taiwan for 6,000 years. Over the past centuries, there have been many occupying forces: The Dutch, Spanish and Japanese, with China having the most control and influence. Today 85% of the population identifies as Han Chinese. Most Taiwanese are either Buddhist or Taoist and freedom of religion is in the constitution.
Through all the years of changes, the one thing that has not changed is the Taiwanese people's love of nature. Taiwan has 10 national parks covering a total of 1.9 million acres and every county has local forest preserves and parks. Taiwan is dominated by forested mountains and has 18 National Forest Recreation areas. The island is criss-crossed with a network of well-maintained hiking trails. Taiwan has 65 different fire-fly species, which are a beloved insect and protected in the country. Taiwan is home to abundant biodiversity. Over 650 different bird species, 61 mammal species (including the endemic Formosan White-throated black bear), 92 reptile species, 30 amphibian species, 400 butterfly species and over 4,000 vascular plant species.
Taiwan is a very modern and developed country with all the conveniences and luxuries anyone could need. About 10 million foreign tourists visit Taiwan every year and the country has the best hotels and restaurants for a great travel experience. It is a free, democratic and progressive society. You can visit Taiwan without having to get a visa in advance and much of the country is bi-lingual with English as the second language. Taiwan has a fantastic infrastructure including a wonderful rail system with bullet trains traveling 185 mph. We will take the train several times on the Taiwan tour and it is a very nice and relaxing experience to travel on the trains. According to the U.S. Department of State, violent crime against foreigners is unusual, and overall violent crime rates in Taiwan are among the lowest in the world. Taiwan has modern medical facilities, with state-of-the-art equipment available at many hospitals and clinics. For many of the other countries we travel to, these things are not always the case and so there are no excuses not to go to Taiwan!
You can find the Itinerary with more details here: Taiwan Tour
You can find a Map of the travel route here: Taiwan Map
You can find the list of Birds that we have seen on this tour here: Taiwan Trip List
